Extant 15th Century German Gothic Armour -- myArmoury.com

Blaz Berlec · Last edited by Blaz Berlec on Sat 20 Nov, 2010 5:58 am; edited 2 times in total

I have to thank to the members of Arms and Armour Forum Image Database (http://www.armsandarmourforum.com) for permission to use their photos for this list. I would also like to thank Carlo Paggiarino and Tobias Capwell for all the help.

Of course the list isn't in finished state - I unfortunately don't have much info on many of the suits. I would really need a book like Boccia's - Le armature di S. Maria delle Grazie for German armour, which is sadly missing.

I have roughly divided armours into these “styles” - German, Italo-German composite style (including “alla Tedesca”, Italian made armour in German style), Innsbruck style and the remaining suits (mostly Spanish).

Note: although the list contains quite a large number of suits it is poorly suited for showing of armour development. We have only one suit from “Kastenbrust” era (and not a very typical one). The rest are almost all from the last quarter of 15th century, when the “High Gothic” style fully emerged, so we are missing the radical changes German artwork shows from 1450 to 1470.

The list:

German armour

1440 - 1450 Wien, Austria, Wien Museum Karlsplatz, inv.no. 127 000-009, composite Kastenbrust armour, South German. Legs later, 1460
1470 (horse armour ca. 1480-1490) Berlin, Germany, Deutsches Historisches Museum, W. 1052, equestrian field armour, Landshut
1470 Gothic Armour - no info, similar suits appear in Bildindex.de, described as being in Munchen, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum
1470 - 1480 Nuremberg, Germany, Germanisches National Museum, Landshut, composite
1475 - 1485 London, UK, The Wallace Collection, A21, composite
1475 -1500 Diest, Belgium, Stedelijk Museum, province of Flemish Brabant, reproduction?
1480 Vienna, Austria, Kunsthistorisches Museum, A.60, armour of Archduke Maximillian I. (later Emperor) by Lorenz Helmschmied of Augsburg
1480 Berlin, Germany, Klingbeil Collection, composite, south German and Austrian
1480 Leeds, UK, Royal Armouries, south German, made for Waldemar VI of Anhalt-Zerbst
1480 New York, USA, Metropolitan Museum, de Dino collection, Franco – Italian, removed from display, reproduction?
1480 - 1490 Ingolstadt, Germany, Bayerisches Armeemuseum, south German, partially supplemented armour
1480-1490 - Wien, Austria, Wien Museum Karlsplatz, inv.no 127.010, by Lorenz Helmschmied
1484 - Vienna, Austria, Kunsthistorisches Museum, A 62, armour for Archduke Sigismund von Tirol, by Lorenz Helmschmid, Augsburg
1485 - Vienna, Austria, Kunsthistorisches Museum, A58 and A126, composite, parts made for Sigismund of Tyrol by Lorenz Helmschmied
1492 - Vienna, Austria, Kunsthistorisches Museum, A 79, armour of Emperor Maximillian I. by Lorenz Helmschmied
1490 - 1511 – Vienna, Austria, Kunsthistorisches Museum, equestrian composite armour for Emperor Maximilian I, South German and Netherlands
Dresden, Germany, Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen, cuirass, bevor and sallet
Glatt, Germany, Glatt Castle
London, UK, The Wallace Collection? composite, breast and arm defences German
Grandson, Switzerland, Grandson castle, reproduction?
Brussels, Belgium, Koninklijk Legermuseum, composite armour, German
Hohenschwangau, Germany, Hohenschwangau castle, reproduction? Pauldrons were at one time assembled incorrectly
Philadelphia, USA, Philadelphia Museum of Art, composite armour, parts are from fortress of Chalcis on the island of Euboea, Greece, known as the "Chalcis Hoard"
Moscow, Russia, The Kremlin Armoury
Nuremberg, Germany, Kaiserburg Museum
Paris, France, Musée de l'Armée (Les Invalides)
Philadelphia, USA, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia, USA, Philadelphia Museum of Art
St Petersburg, Russia, The State Hermitage
St Petersburg, Russia, The State Hermitage
Varna, Bulgaria, King Wladislav III Jagelo Mausoleum
Warsaw, Poland, Polish Army Museum (Muzeum Wojska Polskiego)
Worcester, USA, Higgins Armoury and Museum, Germany (Munich), 1911-1919, based on the original of 1485. This is a (rather free) replica of the armour of Archduke Sigismund of Tyrol.

Italian armour „alla Tedesca“ (in German style) and Italo-German composite style

1450 - 1460 Worcester, USA, Higgins Armoury and Museum, inv. no. 2607, composite Field Armor, 1440-1505, North Italian and possibly Flemish, Giovanni da Garavelle, Giovanni dei Barini (called Negroli), and others.
1470 Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany,Museum im Prediger, from church in Heiligenkreuz, milanese armour with certain German stylistic elements
1470 Leeds, UK, Royal Armouries, II.168, composite armour "alla tedesca", breastplate formerly in Churburg, Milano and Brescia
1470 Leeds, UK, Royal Armouries, composite armour, Milano

Innsbruck style

1480 Churburg, Italy, CH S24, armour of Gaudenz von Matsch, made in Innsbruck, German and Italian influences
1488 - 1489 Vienna, Austria, Kunsthistorisches Museum A9, by Hans Prunner for Philip I the Handsome, king of Castile and Léon
Berlin, Germany, Klingbeil Collection, armour in the style of Jörg Treitz of Innsbruck, composite, Tyrolean (reproduction?)
1490 Churburg, Italy, CH S31, tournament partial armour, Innsbruck
Images from Trapp, Oswald, The Armoury of the Castle of Churburg

Other suits of armour

1475 – 1500 Paris, France, Musée de l'Armée (Les Invalides), Spanish
1475 – 1500 Paris, France, Musée de l'Armée (Les Invalides), Spanish
1475 Paris, France, Musée de l'Armée (Les Invalides), Milan, Missaglia, ex Argaiz and Pauilhac collection
Madrid, Spain, Real Armeria, Spanish armour

-------------------------------------------------------------

German armour

1440 - 1450 Wien, Austria, Wien Museum Karlsplatz, inv.no. 127 000-009, composite Kastenbrust armour, South German. Legs later, 1460
Images courtesy of Blaz Berlec

1470 (horse armour ca. 1480-1490) Berlin, Germany, Deutsches Historisches Museum, W. 1052, equestrian field armour, Landshut
Images courtesy of Matthias Goll, AAF ID

1470 Gothic Armour - no info, similar suits appear in Bildindex.de, described as being in Munchen, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum

1470 - 1480 Nuremberg, Germany, Germanisches National Museum, Landshut, composite
Images courtesy of Jan Winkler*, AAF ID

1475 - 1485 London, UK, The Wallace Collection, A21, composite
Front image from Edge D, Williams A, Study of the German Gothic 15th century equestrian armour(A21) Image of back courtesy of Dr. Andrea Carloni (Rimini, Italy), AAF ID

Blaz Berlec · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 5:27 am Post subject:

1475 -1500 Diest, Belgium, Stedelijk Museum, province of Flemish Brabant, reproduction?
Images from Flickr gallery of Roel Renmans, roelipilami

1480 Vienna, Austria, Kunsthistorisches Museum, A.60, armour of Archduke Maximillian I. (later Emperor) by Lorenz Helmschmied of Augsburg
Images courtesy of Gregory J. Liebau, AAF ID and Hammaborg.de website

1480 Berlin, Germany, Klingbeil Collection, composite, south German and Austrian
Images from Embleton Gerry - Medieval Soldier

1480 Leeds, UK, Royal Armouries, south German, made for Waldemar VI of Anhalt-Zerbst
Images courtesy of Doug Strong, AAF ID

1480 New York, USA, Metropolitan Museum, de Dino collection, Franco – Italian, removed from display, reproduction?
Images from Laking Guy Francis, European Armour and Arms Vol. 1

Blaz Berlec · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 5:28 am Post subject:

1480 - 1490 Ingolstadt, Germany, Bayerisches Armeemuseum, south German, partially supplemented armour
Images courtesy of Matthias Goll, AAF ID

1480-1490 - Wien, Austria, Wien Museum Karlsplatz, inv.no 127.010, by Lorenz Helmschmied

1484 - Vienna, Austria, Kunsthistorisches Museum, A 62, armour for Archduke Sigismund von Tirol, by Lorenz Helmschmid, Augsburg
Front image courtesy of Blaz Berlec, AAF ID, back image from Flickr gallery of Roel Renmans, roelipilami

1485 - Vienna, Austria, Kunsthistorisches Museum, A58 and A126, composite, parts made for Sigismund of Tyrol by Lorenz Helmschmied
Images courtesy of Gregory J. Liebau, AAF ID and Hammaborg.de website

1492 - Vienna, Austria, Kunsthistorisches Museum, A 79, armour of Emperor Maximillian I. by Lorenz Helmschmied
Images courtesy of Blaz Berlec, AAF ID

Blaz Berlec · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 5:28 am Post subject:

1490 - 1511 – Vienna, Austria, Kunsthistorisches Museum, equestrian composite armour for Emperor Maximilian I, South German and Netherlands
Images from Flickr gallery of Roel Renmans, roelipilami

Dresden, Germany, Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen, cuirass, bevor and sallet
Images courtesy of Igor Zeler* and Gary Shepard, AAF ID

Glatt, Germany, Glatt Castle
Images courtesy of Timm Radt, AAF ID

London, UK, The Wallace Collection? composite, breast and arm defences German
Image from Turnbull Stephen, The Book of Medieval Knight,

Grandson, Switzerland, Grandson castle, reproduction?
Images courtesy of Matthias Goll, AAF ID

Blaz Berlec · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 5:29 am Post subject:

Brussels, Belgium, Koninklijk Legermuseum, composite armour, German
First image courtesy of Carl Koppeschaar, AAF ID, second image from Flickr gallery of Roel Renmans, roelipilami

Hohenschwangau, Germany, Hohenschwangau castle, reproduction? Pauldrons were at one time assembled incorrectly

Philadelphia, USA, Philadelphia Museum of Art, composite armour, parts are from fortress of Chalcis on the island of Euboea, Greece, known as the "Chalcis Hoard"
Images courtesy of Todd Hoogerland, AAF ID

Moscow, Russia, The Kremlin Armoury
Images courtesy of Ivan Glin, AAF ID

Nuremberg, Germany, Kaiserburg Museum
Images courtesy of Matthias Goll and Jan Winkler*, AAF ID

Blaz Berlec · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 5:30 am Post subject:

Paris, France, Musée de l'Armée (Les Invalides)
Images courtesy of Igor Zeler*, AAF ID

Philadelphia, USA, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Images courtesy of Todd Hoogerland, AAF ID and Gardner, Foreign Armour in England

Philadelphia, USA, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Images courtesy of Todd Hoogerland, AAF ID

St Petersburg, Russia, The State Hermitage
Images courtesy of Ivan Glin, AAF ID

St Petersburg, Russia, The State Hermitage
Images courtesy of Oleg Naumov and Ivan Glin, AAF ID

Blaz Berlec · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 5:30 am Post subject:

Varna, Bulgaria, King Wladislav III Jagelo Mausoleum
Image courtesy Stanimir Dimitrov of AAF ID

Warsaw, Poland, Polish Army Museum (Muzeum Wojska Polskiego)
Images courtesy of Doug Strong, AAF ID

Worcester, USA, Higgins Armoury and Museum, Germany (Munich), 1911-1919, based on the original of 1485. This is a (rather free) replica of the armour of Archduke Sigismund of Tyrol.
Images courtesy of Lonnie Colson, AAF ID

Blaz Berlec · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 5:31 am Post subject:

Italian armour „alla Tedesca“ (in German style) and Italo-German composite style

1450 - 1460 Worcester, USA, Higgins Armoury and Museum, inv. no. 2607, composite Field Armor, 1440-1505, North Italian and possibly Flemish, Giovanni da Garavelle, Giovanni dei Barini (called Negroli), and others.
Images courtesy of Todd Hoogerland, AAF ID

1470 Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany,Museum im Prediger, from church in Heiligenkreuz, milanese armour with certain German stylistic elements
Images courtesy of Christian Wiedner, AAF ID

1470 Leeds, UK, Royal Armouries, II.168, composite armour "alla tedesca", breastplate formerly in Churburg, Milano and Brescia
Images courtesy of Igor Zeler*, AAF ID

1470 Leeds, UK, Royal Armouries, composite armour, Milano
Images courtesy of Lonnie Colson, Doug Strong, AAF ID

Blaz Berlec · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 5:32 am Post subject:

Innsbruck style

1480 Churburg, Italy, CH S24, armour of Gaudenz von Matsch, made in Innsbruck, German and Italian influences

1488 - 1489 Vienna, Austria, Kunsthistorisches Museum A9, by Hans Prunner for Philip I the Handsome, king of Castile and Léon

Berlin, Germany, Klingbeil Collection, armour in the style of Jörg Treitz of Innsbruck, composite, Tyrolean (reproduction?)
Images from Embleton Gerry - Medieval Soldier

1490 Churburg, Italy, CH S31, tournament partial armour, Innsbruck
Images from Trapp, Oswald, The Armoury of the Castle of Churburg

Blaz Berlec · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 5:32 am Post subject:

Other suits of armour

1475 – 1500 Paris, France, Musée de l'Armée (Les Invalides), Spanish
Images courtesy of Igor Zeler*, Doug Strong, AAF ID

1475 – 1500 Paris, France, Musée de l'Armée (Les Invalides), Spanish
Images courtesy of Doug Strong, AAF ID

1475 Paris, France, Musée de l'Armée (Les Invalides), Milan, Missaglia, ex Argaiz and Pauilhac collection
Images courtesy of Doug Strong, AAF ID, and Granada 1492, Osprey

Madrid, Spain, Real Armeria, Spanish armour
Images courtesy of , James Arlen Gillaspie, AAF ID

Blaz Berlec · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 5:33 am Post subject:

(post reserved for extension of the list, since each post allows maximum of 12 photos)

There, that's it for now. Happy

Michal Plezia · Industry Professional

Wow. Good job. Thanks for this topic. Happy

Scott Hrouda · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 7:53 am Post subject:

Blaz,

Another great topic, thank you. I greatly appreciate the logical and orderly presentation of exceptional armours. Well done. Happy

Colt Reeves · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 11:57 am Post subject:

I like threads like this. For me at any rate they are often quite educational. It's when going through threads like this that it really hits home that much of what we see as far as reproductions and media goes is all based on a relatively small number of popular pieces. The tip of the iceberg so to speak, with millions more pieces that never really get to be in the spotlight and that I never saw before.

When I look through such threads I usually think something like this: "Cool, spiffy, oh that one is ugly, I like that one... wait, that one is real?!?!? If I saw that at a Ren Faire I would have said it wasn't historical!"

Sander Marechal · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 1:59 pm Post subject:

A fantastic resource!

But really, someday someone should pour this thread and others like these into a searchable database a la Effigies and Brasses. I can see great value in a resource like that.

More on topic: I'm fascinated by all the different sallets. Whet you put them all together like that, you can clearly see how much variation there was between them.

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Sat 20 Nov, 2010 4:06 pm Post subject:

Blaz thanks for all the work in putting together in one Topic all of these armour pics.

No wonder this has become a Spotlight Topic: WOW Happy

Blaz Berlec · Posted: Sun 21 Nov, 2010 2:14 am Post subject:

Thanks for the kind words and highlight!

Anyone knows anything about this armour? It's from a poster for exhibition of armour in Czech republic that was held from 11. 2006 to 3. 2007 in Hradci Králové and in 2009 on castle Bítov:

http://www.muzeumhk.cz/clanky-vystava-chladna...broje.html

It looks a bit similar to the Helmschmied armour in Wien Museum Karlsplatz (Vienna city museum) which is not on display (why?).

I've found one image from the exhibition, the armour on the left:

http://img1.rajce.idnes.cz/d1/2/2808/2808165_...09-001.jpg

And what about these armours from Bildindex? There are some recognized ones, I won't post them here, then there is a repro made in 1945 (weird date for armour making), and three (composite?) armours that were in Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, München. Anybody has any info on these? The armour in list early on, 1470 Gothic armour looks very similar to theese, but the arms are certailny different.

Bildindex reproduction, 1945, Berlin Zeughaus

Bildindex 15.c field harness, Munchen, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum

And, another interesting thing, some stats on equestrian armour from Berlin, Deutsches Historisches Museum. 22.6 kg complete suit. Now that is sweet:

Maße: 185 cm, , 250 cm (max. mit Reiter) (Höhe), 70 cm (max.), , 110 cm (max. mit Sattel) (Breite), 245 cm (Gesamt. max) (Länge), 22.650 g (Gewicht)

http://www.dhm.de/datenbank/index.html?/gos-c...ank=allwww

Adam D. Kent-Isaac · Posted: Tue 23 Nov, 2010 8:15 pm Post subject:

Epic thread! What is the deal with this:

The fully articulated arms are totally out of period but also seem too good to be a reproduction - is this a composite armour with pieces from different time periods?

Tim Ormsby · Posted: Thu 25 Nov, 2010 2:15 am Post subject:

Can you host the pics somewhere other than photobucket? The bandwidth they allow is pitiful and it's already exceeded. Imageshack is much better IMO Happy

Jens Boerner · Posted: Fri 26 Nov, 2010 1:43 am Post subject:

I recommend http://www.armsandarmourforum.com/forum/ (nnot wanting to pull people to a different plattform, but the majority of images are from there).