I've noticed that several Swiss armours seem to share a similar motif - pauldrons which are formed of many lames, arranged in sort of a radial "spoke" pattern instead of parallel lines. Here are some examples of what I mean.

This armour at the Musée de l'Armée belonged to Monsieur Chevalier Pierre "Sillyface" Bruner, a Swiss knight in service of the French crown:

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Then I noticed this armour in our very own museum albums section, at the Castel Sant-Angelo in the Vatican. It is very similar, even looking like it might have been made by the same armourer, and with a similar silly-faced visor, though this one is not an articulated buffe like the first but a close-burgonet type visor with a sneck hook.

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And at the Higgins Armoury, this armour is labeled as a composite from Switzerland and Savoy:

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Is this a Swiss style or are there other examples of armours with pauldrons like this from other countries?

Wow, I like the big honkin' hole that last one has in the abdomen. I can't help but feel that that isn't from "proofing" it... If so, it doesn't speak too highly of the maker.

on the actual topic of armour styles, I have heard that the spoked pauldron style was also used in France.

and as far as that 3rd picture goes, you have to know your armourer. cause if your armour fails, you've got more than a warranty issue on your hands...... :eek: :eek: :eek:

Cuirassier's breastplates were proofed with a pistol (usually with an underpowered load, too.) And often they were indeed pistol proof on the battlefield. But a musket with a full power load would usually go through it.

Excellent. My main mistake in initiating the challenge was that I misread musket and considered pistols being in question.

OK, something else I noticed on Vizael's blog: this half-armour, with the same kind of spoked pauldrons:

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Detail:

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You can see the very same little grotesque face with the ring - almost like a little door knocker - that is present on Monsieur Sillyface's armour, as well as Mr. Gutshot at the Higgins Armoury. Surely this has to be more than just a coincidence?

Was this a Swiss style, or a French style?

Here is another one of Tom Hoogerland's great photos of a pauldron from the Higgins:

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Description says "probably Switzerland."

I am thinking this has to be a distinctive Swiss style.

Unbelievable...Outfit4Events actually makes a miniature replica of Mr. Sillyface. Of all the obscure armours in the world I can't believe they used this one. I may just have to buy it...

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Hi :)
I see this photo of an armour well.
And I've watched the zoom photo of the part of the chest before.
Letters are carved on the chest of this armour. (part of flamed)
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What is written? :?: (Is it armour's name? Is it words of the Bible? Is it words of the magic?)
Are there the carved armour other than this armour? :?:

Thanks

sorry, i can`t read the inscription, do you have a picture with higher definition ?

Quote:

There are reports of cuirassiers' armour offering good protection against pistol shot. Arthur Haselrigge, the Parlimentarian general, was shot several times at the Battle of Roundway Down and survived.

oh yeah, i like this story. if i remember rightly king charles afterwards said something like "he could have endured a seven years siege in this armour, if there was enough space for food inside".

however, i`m astonished, how much energy these antique firearms produced - a modern 9x19 Para produces just ~ 500 J with ~350 m/s and a 7,62x51 Nato ~3000 J with ~ 900 m/s.
I know, its off-topic, but does perhaps someone know, how bows and crossbows did perform ??

From the data I've seen longbows produced only between 80 - 150 Joules, depending on the strength of the bow, but it takes much less energy for an arrow to pierce armor than a bullet, especially with armor-piercing arrows (there is some debate if bodkins were more effective than broadheads since broadheads have done better in testing than the conventional wisdom would dictate).

The strongest modern crossbows (250-300 lb draw) can produce between 150-200 Joules but they are much less powerful than the heaviest Renaissance weapons. There may be some new tests pending soon but so far I can't find any reliable data about something like a 1200 lb draw arbalest.

Also takes about half as much energy for a steel bullet to pierce armor than a lead bullet.

According to Alan Williams (Knight and the Blast Furnace)

1.9 mm 15th Century tempered steel armor takes about 1800 Joules for steel balls to penetrate, about 3000 for lead. Iron armor is about half as effective. 16th Century iron cuirasser armor 4mm thick takes about 2000 J.

An early Hussite firearm produced about 500 - 1000 Joules,

Early Arquebuses only produced about 1300 J at the muzzle, and were generally considered in period to be incapable of piercing good quality armor. Same for pistols of course*.

But a late 16th Century musket using corned powder can produce over 3000 J (more than an Ak-47) so with steel ammo it's more than enough to penetrate even the best quality armor, except possibly the laminated type they were making around the 17th Century. In general though the quality of armor declined gradually from the mid 16th Century onward.

*This didn't mean they weren't effective, because good quality armor couldn't cover every part of a rider and horse, or (especially) a group of riders and horses under concentrated fire.

J

thx, thats very enlightening.
i think i will buy "knight and the blast furnace" myself, although it seems to be not in stock at the moment. (at amazon)