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Lafayette C Curtis
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 Posted: Sun 01 Jun, 2014 6:13 am Post subject: |
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Yeah. The armour seems to have rather more parts and articulations than what's really necessary in a functional military harness. But adding a very marginal improvement to comfort and/or range of motion for the sake of more bling seems exactly like what the rich and famous would have liked to do.
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Mart Shearer
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| Posted: Sun 01 Jun, 2014 8:37 am Post subject: |
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So what's the purpose of the hole in the back?
ferrum ferro acuitur et homo exacuit faciem amici sui
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Robert MacPherson
Industry Professional
Location: Jeffersonville USA Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 141
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| Posted: Mon 02 Jun, 2014 6:48 am Post subject: |
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Perhaps that armor had a "dorsal plate" as well. It's a logical extension of the idea. Presumably, the dorsal and ventral plate assemblies could be left buckled together at the shoulders and the whole thing slung on like a poncho. After the buckles were all adjusted properly the backplate and then the breastplate could be bolted into place, followed by the gorget. If the shoulder strap buckles were still accessible before the gorget went on, it would be pretty convenient to make fine fine adjustments at that point.
It seems like exactly the sort of thing that a gadget-loving monarch like Henry VIII would have been delighted with.
Mac
Robert MacPherson
http://www.lightlink.com/armory/
http://billyandcharlie.com/
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Eric S
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| Posted: Mon 02 Jun, 2014 2:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Mart Shearer wrote: |
So what's the purpose of the hole in the back? |
If you look at the first image you can see that the hole in the breast plate is used for attaching an auxiliary armor piece, the hole in the back plate may have had the same use. The second image shows the hole in the breast plate unused. Since there is no corresponding image showing the back of these armors there is not way to be sure but it makes sense that the hole on the back plate serves a similar purpose.
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Robert MacPherson
Industry Professional
Location: Jeffersonville USA Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 141
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| Posted: Wed 04 Jun, 2014 7:18 am Post subject: |
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Eric,
The "ventral plate" would have originally had a threaded stud riveted to it. The one in New York still has its stud, but the one in the Royal Armouries no longer does. The large hole surrounded by four smaller ones shows where it used to be riveted in place. This stud would have done a dual duty in securing both the breastplate and the reenforcing plate or plates. The armor's jousting grandguard survives, but there may originally have been an alternative reenforcing breast for the field, like the one for the armor in NY.
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTChC-TfoNYrNFs2Q2eEz_tDJn20eqP5Hqgu1JZl_MlKIPSdR3n
If the artist who made those drawings had done his homework, he would have shown a nut in the second image where he has shown a hole.
I do not know of any examples of reenforcing plates for the back. If we were to speculate, we could imagine a bullet-proof plate that completely covered the back. Such a thing is unprecedented, but we are dealing with Henry VIII; a monarch who was very interested in guns, and novelty, and novel guns etc. Perhaps a newfangled "field and tilt" with bulletproof plates both front and back is the sort of thing that would have pleased him.
Mac
Robert MacPherson
http://www.lightlink.com/armory/
http://billyandcharlie.com/
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Eric S
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| Posted: Wed 04 Jun, 2014 9:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Robert MacPherson wrote: | Eric,
The "ventral plate" would have originally had a threaded stud riveted to it. The one in New York still has its stud, but the one in the Royal Armouries no longer does. The large hole surrounded by four smaller ones shows where it used to be riveted in place. This stud would have done a dual duty in securing both the breastplate and the reenforcing plate or plates. The armor's jousting grandguard survives, but there may originally have been an alternative reenforcing breast for the field, like the one for the armor in NY.
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTChC-TfoNYrNFs2Q2eEz_tDJn20eqP5Hqgu1JZl_MlKIPSdR3n
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Robert, here is a larger image showing the threaded stud you mention.
Henry VIII Armor for field and tournament - exchange pieces, England (Greenwich), 1527. Met Museum.
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/b...fc0454.jpg
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Robert MacPherson
Industry Professional
Location: Jeffersonville USA Joined: 27 Feb 2008
Posts: 141
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This is a standard topic