were defences only worn on the left shoulder and arm and would not
be sold in pairs. At the same time we should remember that the
terms used for different portions of the suit are often confused,
and a word which now has a certain definite meaning in collections
was often used in a totally different sense. The Merates were
bound by this contract to work only for the Emperor. Their stamp
is generally supposed to be a crown and the word “Arbois,” but
it is uncertain as to what actual specimens now in existence are
by their hands. Possibly the “Burgundian Bard” (II, 3) in the
Tower was made by them. It bears a crescent and the letter “M,”
and is decorated with the cross ragule and the flint and steel,
the Burgundian badges which were brought to Maximilian by his
wife, Mary of Burgundy. Their names are mentioned in the list of
tax-payers in the parish of S. Maria Beltrade, the church of the
Sword-smiths’ Gild, at Milan under the date 1524-9, and they are
also mentioned in a letter from Maximilian to Ludovico il Moro in
1495 as excellent armourers. They took their name from the village
of Merate, which is near Missaglia, a township which was the
birthplace of the famous Missaglia family.
Work stamped with the word “Arbois” and the crown is found at
Vienna, 917, 948, and the “M” with the crescent is marked on the
bard of A, 3 at Madrid, on II, 3 and II, 5, Tower of London.
[Sidenote: _Thomaso Missaglia_, Milan, _circ._ 1415-1468. Marks 27,
78.]
[Illustration: FIG. 66. Capital formerly in the Via degli Spadari,
Milan.]
The family name of Thomaso and his descendants was Negroni, as
is proved by a tombstone formerly in the church of San Satiro at
Milan on which the two names appear. They came from the township
of Missalia, near Ello, on the lake of Como. Petrajolo, the father
of Thomaso, was also an armourer, and worked about the year 1390,
but we have little knowledge of his history. The house occupied
by the Missaglias was in the Via degli Spadari, Milan, and was
decorated with the family badges and monograms (Fig. 66). It was
demolished in 1901 in the course of street improvements, but was
first carefully drawn and described by Sigs. Gelli and Morretti
in their monograph on the Milanese armourers. The heavy work of
the armourers was carried out at a mill near the Porta Romana, for
which the Missaglias paid a rent of one sallad a year to the Duke
of Milan. Thomaso da Missaglia was ennobled in 1435 by Philip Maria
Visconti and was made free of taxes in 1450. There are many records
of commissions to him and of taxes and other municipal matters
connected with the family in the Archives of Milan. He died in 1469
and was buried in the church of S. Maria Beltrade, Milan. The only
known work by this master is No. 2 in the Vienna Collection (Plate
XXX). Baron de Cosson[144] has pointed out the strong resemblance
between this suit, the effigy of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of
Warwick, in S. Mary’s Church, Warwick, and the picture of S. George
by Mantegna in the Accademia, Venice.
[Sidenote: _Antonio Missaglia_, Milan, _circ._ 1430-92. Marks 24,
25, 26.]
Antonio was the son of Thomaso Missaglia, and was one of the
foremost of the Milanese armourers. As has been noticed in the
Introduction, the style of armour which was evolved by him and his
father seems to have been adopted by German craftsmen. There are
numerous records of payments and letters connected with Antonio in
the Archives of Milan from the year 1450 onwards. He worked for
Galeazzo Maria Visconti and for Bona di Savoia and after the death
of the former became Ducal Armourer. In 1456 he made armour for the
Papal troops, and about this time he enlarged the workshops of the
family in the Via degli Spadari. In 1469 the Duke of Milan gave
him a mill near the S. Angelo Canal. In 1470 he received a lease
of iron-mines near the forest of Canzo, near the Lago del Segrino,
from the Ducal Chamber, and in 1472, in recognition of his services
to the State, he was allowed to purchase the property.
The last entry in the Milanese Archives relating to Antonio
refers to his mines and furnaces in a letter to Bona di Savoia,
April 20th, 1480. In the MSS. Lib., Trivulziano, is a report of
the Venetian Embassy which came to Milan on its way to Germany,
written by Andrea de Francesca. This report states that Antonio’s
workshops were visited and armour was seen there to the value of
1000 ducats. He seems to have had a son Scabrino, but there are
no records of him as an armourer. Antonio died at the end of the
fifteenth century and is the last of the family who used the name
of Missaglia. His successors reverted to the family name of Negroni
or Negroli. The suit No. 3 in the Vienna Collection is stamped
with his mark (Plate II), and many helmets of the sallad type and
various pieces of armour bear a similar stamp in other armouries,
such as the Wallace Collection, the Porte de Hal, Brussels, etc.
etc. The close helmet on the “Tonlet suit” in the Tower, II, 29
(Plate X), is engraved with the Collar of the Garter and bears the
Missaglia stamp, and a suit in the Musée d’Artillerie, G, 3, bears
the same mark.
[Sidenote: _Gasparo Mola_, Rome, _circ._ 1590-1640.]
Mola is the only armourer whom we can identify as having worked in
Rome. He was born about the year 1590 at Breglio, where his father
was an architect. He came to Milan at an early age and worked there
as a goldsmith. In 1607 he made various objects in gold and silver
for the Duke of Savoy. In the same year he was summoned by Duke
Ferdinand de Medici to Florence, where he worked for two years.
In the years 1613-14 he produced medals for Mantua and Guastalla,
and about the same time he executed work for Carlo Emmanuele I of
Savoy. He committed suicide in 1640. Though we have no data for the
theory, it seems not unlikely that it was the studio of Mola which
Breughel has represented in his picture of Venus at the Forge of
Vulcan. The ruins in the background certainly suggest some of the
buildings in Rome, which might have been used for this purpose.
There are also many medals and examples of goldsmith’s work shown
on this picture in addition to the armour.
He was an expert in enamel-work and made richly decorated pistols,
and in 1642 produced a fine helmet and shield which are now in the
Bargello Museum, Florence.
[Sidenote: _Philippo and Jacomo Negroli_, Milan, _circ._ 1521-80.
Marks 42, 43, 44.]
Philippo and Jacomo Negroli were sons of Bernardino who worked in
Rome. It is uncertain whether their father still kept the name
of Missaglia, which was used by Antonio and Thomaso Negroni. The
earliest known work by these masters is dated 1532. For some
years they were assisted by their brother Francesco, who left
them about this date and worked alone for the Mantuan Court.
Brantome and Vasari both mention Philip as being a craftsman of
very high repute. His armour was always very costly, and Brantome
states that a morion made by him would cost 40 thalers and that
in sixteen years he had amassed 50,000 thalers. He seems to have
been ennobled, for Brantome calls him Seigneur de Negroli. He had
a house in the Porta Comassina, the wealthy quarter of Milan. His
work is always ornate, but does not transgress the craft-laws to
such an extent as did the armour of Peffenhauser and Piccinino
(Plate XXIX). Work by the Negrolis is to be found as follows: In
Madrid, A, 139-46; D, 13, 30, 64. Vienna, 330. Paris, G, 7, 10, 178.
[Sidenote: _Anton Peffenhauser_, Augsburg, 1525-1603.]
We have no details of the life of this craftsman beyond the
dates of his birth and death. He is best known as the maker of
elaborately decorated armour. The suit made for King Sebastian
of Portugal (Madrid, A, 290) is one of the most ornate suits in
existence (Plate XIV, also p. 75). His works are found as follows:
Madrid, A, 290. Dresden, C, 10, 13, 15_a_, 20; D, 11; E, 6_a_, 10;
G, 146. Vienna, 489, 490.
[Sidenote: _Lucio Piccinino_, Milan, _circ._ 1590.]
Lucio was the son of Antonio Piccinino, the famous sword-smith. It
is uncertain whether he actually produced armour himself or whether
he was solely concerned with the decoration. Like Peffenhauser he
delighted in lavish display of ornament without any consideration
to its fitness for armour. His work is extraordinarily minute and
the technical skill displayed is extreme. His work is only to be
found at Madrid, A, 291-4, and at Vienna, 543.
[Sidenote: _Pompeo della Chiesa_, Milan, 1590.]
The son of a noted craftsman, Pompeo was one of the foremost
armourers in the latter years of the sixteenth century. He was
Court Armourer to Philip III of Spain, and to the Archduke of
Milan, Alessandro Farnese. His work is found in the Armeria Reale,
Turin, C, 21, 70; in Vienna, 858, 859.
[Sidenote: _Conrad, Hans, and Jorg Seusenhofer_, 1470-1555. Marks
7, 8.]
The brothers Conrad and Hans at different periods filled the
position of Court Armourer to Maximilian I. Conrad was born between
the years 1450 and 1460. He was cousin to Treytz, who produced
the _Weisz Künig_, that chronicle of the doings and artistic
endeavours of the young Maximilian which, while it is amusing in
its sycophantic adulation of the Emperor is, at the same time, an
invaluable record of the operations of the applied arts of the
period and of costumes and armour then in fashion.
[Illustration: FIG. 67. Engraving on the left cuisse of Henry
VIII’s Suit, made by Conrad Seusenhofer (Tower, II, 5).]
In 1504 Conrad was appointed Court Armourer for a period of six
years with a further agreement for a pension of 50 fl. afterwards
for life. In the same year he received money for enlarging his
workshops, but after much correspondence it was deducted from
his salary. The young Emperor had theories about the making of
armour as he had about every other art and craft, and working in
conjunction with his armourer, and, presumably, taking credit for
his craftsman’s expert knowledge, evolved the fluted style of plate
armour which still bears his name. It was based upon Italian models
of the Gothic type which, at the end of the fifteenth century, was
distinguished by certain graceful flutings which Conrad and his
master elaborated till they covered the whole surface of the armour.
At this time the craftsmen of Brussels were noted experts in the
tempering of steel, and both Maximilian and Henry VIII employed
ironworkers from this city in their armouries.
Much of the raw material was drawn from Styria, and was exported
in such large quantities to England that the supply was in danger
of running short; so a monopoly was established and exportation
forbidden. This naturally raised the price, and was one of the
many causes which combined to keep up a ceaseless friction between
Maximilian, his Diet, and his armourers.
Seusenhofer favoured elaborate ornament on his armour, and this did
not please the officials who were responsible for the equipment
of the army. He was urged to produce plainer and more serviceable
work, a suggestion which Maximilian with his love of pageantry
ignored. In 1511 we find Seusenhofer complaining that Kügler, the
mine-master, was sending him inferior metal, and as he considered
that the use of it would be detrimental to the reputation of
Innsbruck as a factory of armour, he suggested that it should be
classed as Milanese. In 1511 the famous “Engraved Suit,” now in the
Tower of London, was put in hand as a present from Maximilian to
Henry VIII.
From the State Archives of Innsbruck (Jahrbuch II, reg. 1028) we
find that two cuirasses were ready for the King of England, one
gilded. There were apparently five others to be made, one of which
was to be silvered. This was probably the suit above mentioned.
The whole of the suit is covered with fine engraving representing
the stories of S. George and S. Barbara, with foliage and heraldic
badges. The designs have been engraved and a detailed description
given by Sir S. Meyrick in _Archæologia_, XXII.
The horse-armour is not by the same hand, for the engraving is
coarser. It may have been executed in England by German craftsmen
to match the rider’s armour (see Plates X, XII, Fig. 67).
There were ceaseless troubles over the payment and delivery of work
from the royal workshop. Sometimes Seusenhofer would retain work
for which the Emperor had pressing need till payment was made, and
on one occasion, when speedy delivery was not made, Maximilian
ordered the armourers to be placed in the forefront of the battle,
with no armour on, to show them what inconvenience their delay was
causing! It is needless to say that the armour was delivered at
once. So obsessed with the idea of his omniscience was the Emperor
that when, in the _Weisz Künig_, Seusenhofer suggests some secret
method of working the metal, he replies: “Arm me according to
my own wishes, for it is I and not you who will take part in the
tournament.” Again, Maximilian writes: “If you have forgotten the
art which I have taught you let me know and I will instruct you
again.”
The date of Conrad’s death is unknown, but it was, as far as can be
ascertained, about the year 1517.
He was succeeded as Court Armourer by his younger brother Hans, and
he in turn gave place to his nephew Jorg, who produced the suits
which exist at the present day in Paris, G, 41, 117; Vienna, 283,
407. The only authentic work of Conrad is in the Tower of London,
II, 5.
[Sidenote: _Jacob Topf_, Innsbruck, 1530-90.]
We have but little information respecting Topf, in spite of the
minute researches of the late Dr. Wendelin Boeheim. From civic
records at Innsbruck he appears to have been one of three brothers.
David, the youngest, was in service with Archduke Ferdinand at
Ambras and died in 1594. In 1575 we find Jacob working for the
Archduke at Innsbruck. Boeheim discovered in his investigations
that Topf was absent from Germany between the years 1562 and 1575
and was probably employed in Italy, England, and elsewhere. There
are no records of his employment in England except in a letter
written by Sir Henry Lee in 1590, where mention is made of “Master
Jacobe,”[145] who is now considered to be Topf. We have, however,
a most valuable record of work which was in all probability his
in the _Almain Armourer’s Album_, now in the Art Library of the
Victoria and Albert Museum.
This book consists of large drawings in ink and water-colour (17
in. by 11½ in.), thirty-one in number, which show twenty-nine suits
of armour with details of extra pieces for the joust.
On No. 14 is the signature: “These Tilte peces made by me Jacobe,”
but the name Topf does not occur in the Album.
In the year 1790 the book was in the possession of the Duchess of
Portland, at which time Pennant engraved the second suit of Robert
Dudley, Earl of Leicester, for his _History of London_. Strutt also
engraved the suit of George, Earl of Cumberland, in his _Dresses
and Costumes_ (II, Plate CVLI). The library of the Duchess of
Portland was sold in 1799 and the Album disappeared till the year
1894, when it passed into the Spitzer Collection. At the Spitzer
sale it was bought by M. Stein, of Paris, and on the advice and
through the personal efforts of Viscount Dillon, the present
Curator of the Tower Armouries, it was acquired for the nation.
Several of the drawings have been carefully reproduced by Mr.
Griggs in a book, edited by Viscount Dillon, under the title of _An
Almain Armourer’s Album_, and it is by the courtesy of the editor
and publisher that the accompanying illustrations are reproduced in
the present work.
The following list gives the complete series of plates in the Album
and shows which of the suits illustrated in the original are now in
existence.
DRAWINGS SUITS IN EXISTENCE
(None complete in all parts.)
1. The Earle of Rutlande.
2. The Earle of Bedforde.
3. The Earle of Lesseter (1st suit).
4. The Earle of Sussex The gauntlets were in the Spitzer
Collection.
5. Duke John of ffineland Prince of
Sweden.
6. Ser William Sentle.
7. My Lorde Scrope.
8. The Earle of Lesseter (2nd suit) A portion of a suit in the Tower
of London (II, 10) is of very
similar design--evidently by
the same hand.
9. My Lord Hundson.
10. Ser George Howarde.
11. My Lorde Northe.
12. The Duck of Norfocke.
13. The Earle of Woster A portion of this suit in the
Tower (II, 9). At Windsor
Castle a burgonet, buffe,
breast, back, placcate, gorget,
bevor, taces, lance-rest,
sollerets.
14. Ser Henry Lee (1st suit).
15. Sur Cristofer Hattone (1st suit) Windsor Castle. The gorget is a
restoration (Plates XXV, XXVI).
16. The Earle of Penbrouke Wilton House.
17. Ser Cristofer Hattone (2nd suit) The suit of Prince Henry at
Windsor was copied from this
and from No.17 by W. Pickering
(see Plate XX).
18. Ser John Smithe Tower, II, 12. This suit has
brassards which are not shown
in the sketch in the Album
(Plates XXVI, XXVIII).
19. Sr. Henry Lee, Mr. of tharmerie Armet in the Tower (IV, 29).
(2nd suit). Locking-gauntlet in the Hall of
the Armourers’ and Braziers’
Co., London (Plate XIII, Figs.
32, 68). Burgonet, buffe, and
leg-armour at Stockholm.
20. The Earle of Cumberlande Appleby Castle.
21. Sr. Cristopher Hatton (3rd suit).
22. Mr. Macke Williams.
23. My L. Chancellor [Sir Thomas
Bromley].
24. My L. Cobbon.
25. Sir Harry Lea Mr. of the Armore Hall of the Armourers and Braziers’
(3rd suit). Company, London. On each side of
the breast in the band of
engraving are the initials A. V.
(Fig. 69), which probably stand
for Anne Vavasour, natural
daughter of Sir T. Vavasour and
Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen
Elizabeth. The _Nat. Dict. of
Biog._ states that she was Sir
Henry Lee’s mistress.
26. My Lorde Cumpton Portions of this and of the next
suit were formerly at Home Lacy
and are now in the Metropolitan
Museum, New York.
27. Mr. Skidmur [John Scudamor].
28. My Lorde Bucarte Wallace Collection, 435.
29. Sr. Bale Desena.
There is also a suit at Vienna (491), made for Archduke Carl of
Steiermark, which Boeheim considered to be from Topf’s hands.
Fuller details of the above suits will be found in the reproduction
of the Album above referred to, and also in _Arch. Journ._, LI, 113.
[Illustration: FIG. 68. Gauntlet and armet of Sir Henry Lee (from
the _Armourer’s Album_, Victoria and Albert Museum). See also Plate
XIII and Fig. 32.]
[Illustration: FIG. 69. Rubbing of design on breast of Sir Henry
Lee’s suit, Armourers’ Hall, London.]
FOOTNOTES:
[143] Meister der Waffenschmiedkunst.
[144] _Arch. Jour._, XLVIII.
[145] See page 66.
LIST OF ARMOURERS’ MARKS
The following have been taken from rubbings, drawings, and prints,
and the authorship of the marks is that given in the several
catalogues. The nationality of the armour is given first as German,
Italian, Spanish, or French; following this is the approximate
date; and lastly the Museums in which the mark is found with the
catalogue number. The Roman figures denote the century to which the
mark is ascribed.
A = Athens, Ethnological Mus.
B = Brussels, Porte de Hal.
Ber = Berlin, Zeughaus.
D = Dresden, Johanneum.
G = Geneva.
L = London, Tower.
M = Madrid, Real Armeria.
N = Nuremberg.
P = Paris, Musée d’Artillerie.
S = Stockholm, Lifrustkammer.
T = Turin, Armeria Reale.
V = Vienna, Waffensammlung.
Ven = Venice, Museo civico and Arsenale.
[Illustration: ARMOURERS’ MARKS.]
1. XIV. =P=, H, 23.
2. XV. =P=, H, 27.
3. XV. =P=, H, 41.
4. Germ., XV. =P=, G, I.
5. XV. =P=, H, 36.
6. Rotschmied, Germ. 1597. =G=.
7. Conrad Seusenhofer, Germ. 1518. =L=, II, 5.
8. Jörg Seusenhofer, Germ. 1558. =V=, 283, 407. =P=, G, 41, 117.
9. Valentine Siebenbürger, Germ. 1531-47. =V=, 226.
10. Germ., XV. =P=, H, 11.
11. Germ., XV-XVI. =P=, H, 42.
12. It., XVI. =P=, H, 55, 305.
13. It., XVI. =P=, H, 54.
14. Germ., XVI. =P=, G, 23.
15. Adrian Treytz, Germ. 1469-1517. =V=, 66, 1018.
16. Veit, Germ., XV-XVI. =N=, =V=.
17. Wilhelm von Worms, Germ., XVI. =V=, 226, 296.
18. Merate brothers, It. 1495. =V=, 917.
19. Germ., XV-XVI. =P=, G, 18.
20. F. Siebenburger, Germ., XVI. =P=, G, 22, 568.
21. Germ., XVI-XVII. =P=, H, 166. =D=, E, 556 (see also 97).
22. City of Augsburg, XV-XVII _passim_.
23. Lorenz Colman or Helmschmied, 1516. =P=, G, 536; =V=, 1005.
24. Antonio da Missaglia, It. 1492 _passim_ (see also 36).
25. Antonio da Missaglia.
26. Antonio da Missaglia.
27. Petrajolo and Tomaso da Missaglia. 1400-68. =V=, 2, 3, 897;
=P=, H, 29 (see also No. 78).
28. Germ., XVI. =P=, H, 158.
29. Germ., XV-XVI. =P=, G, 382.
30. Sigismund Wolf, Germ. 1554. =P=, G, 63, 64, etc.; =M=, A, 231.
31. It. (?), XVI. =P=, G, 36.
32. Germ., XVI. =P=, G, 147, H, 97.
33. It., XV. =A= (possibly a Missaglia mark, see No. 24).
34. It., XV. =A=.
35. It., XV. =M=, D, 14.
36. Antonio da Missaglia, It., XV-XVI. =P=, H, 29.
37. XVI. =P=, G, 84.
38. Matthaias Fraüenpreis, Germ. 1549-75. =V=, 397, 950; =D=, G, 39.
39. Franz Grofsschedl, Germ. 1568. =V=, 989; =D=, C, 1, 2.
40. Coloman Colman or Helmschmied, Germ. 1470-1532. =V=, 175;
=D=, G, 15; =M=, A, 19, 59, 73, etc.
41. Lorenz Colman or Helmschmied, Germ. 1516. =V=, 62 (see also
No. 23).
42. Philipp Negroli, It. 1530-90 } =V=, 330; =M=, A,
43. Philipp and Jacomo Negroli ” } 139-46; =D=, 13, 30, 64.
44. Philipp and Jacomo Negroli (?). =P=, G, 7, 10, 178.
45. City of Nuremberg, XV-XVII _passim_.
46. Kunz or Conrad Lochner, Germ. 1567. =V=, 334; =P=, G, 182,
etc.; =M=, A, 243; =S=, 64.
47. Heinrich Obresch, Germ. 1590.
48. Anton Peffenhauser, Germ. 1566-95. =V=, 489; =M=, A, 290.
49. Hans Ringter, Germ. 1560. =V=.
50. XVI-XVII. =P=, G, 124.
51. Possibly the Merate brothers, It. XV-XVI. =V=, 60; =L=,
VI, 28; =M=, A, 3.
52. Germ., XVI. =V=, 9.
[Illustration: ARMOURERS’ MARKS.]
53. Possibly the Merate brothers, It., XV-XVI. =V=, 948.
54. Possibly Hans Grünewalt, Germ., XV-XVI. =V=, 66, 995.
55. It., XV. =V=, 5.
56. J. Voys, Netherland, XV-XVI. =B=, II, 39, 40; =M=, A, 11
57. XV. =M=, A, 4.
58. XV. =M=, A, 6.
59. On a mail skirt, XV-XVI. =T=, G, 86.
60. Peter von Speyer, Germ., 1560. =B=er.
61. It., XV. =G=en.
62. It., XV. =G=en.
63. Germ., XV-XVI. =P=, H, 76.
64. It., XV. =G=en.
65. Germ., XVI. =V=, 63.
66. It., XV-XVI. =V=en. Mus. civico.
67. It., XVI. =V=en. Arsenale.
68. On a sallad with Missaglia mark, It., XV. =V=en. Mus. civico.
69. Germ., XVI. =B=, II, 101.
70. Germ., XV-XVI. =V=, 1022.
71. Armourers’ Company, London, XVII. =L=.
72. Germ., XV. =D=, A, 75.
73. Netherlands, XV. =D=, A, 75.
74. Siebenburger (?), Germ., XVI. =B=, II, 92.
75. It., XVI. =M=, A, 147.
76. Jorg Sigman, Germ., XVI. =M=, A, 238.
77. It, XV. =A=.
78. T. and P. da Missaglia, It., 1400-1468. =P=, H, 29; =V=, 2, 3;
=L=, II, 29 (see Nos. 24-7).
79. Sigmund Rosenburger, Germ. XVI. =D=, C, 3, 4.
80. City of Augsburg (?), XVI. =D=.[146]
81. City of Augsburg (?), XVI. _passim_.
82. Germ., XVI. =D=.
83. M. Petit. Fr. XVII. =P=, H, 150; =V=, 711; =M=, A, 379.
84. Sp., XV. =M=, D, 24.
85. It., XV. =A=.
86. It., XV. =A=.
87. XVII. =M=, B, 11; =T=, C, 14.
88. XV. =P=, H, 141.
89. Germ., XV-XVI. =L=, II, 37.
90. XVI. =L=, III, 186.
91. Germ., XVI. =L=, II, 3.
92. Sp., XV. =M=, C, 10.
93. Sp., XV. =M=, C, 10.
94. It., XV. =A=.
95. XV. =M=, D, 18.
96. Germ., XV. =B=, II, 170.
97. Germ., XVI. =B=, II, 182; =D=, E, 556 (see also No. 21);
=S=, on a crossbow, 143.
98. Germ., XVI. =B=, II, 30.
99. Germ., XVI. =B=, II, 3.
100. Possibly the city of Wittenburg, XVI. =B=, II, 4, 41.
101. Sp., XV. =M=, C, 10.
102. Sp., XV. =M=, C, 10.
103. It., XV. =A=.
104. Germ. XV. =V=.
FOOTNOTE:
[146] A similar mark was used by the Armourers’ Company, London,
about 1640.
POLYGLOT GLOSSARY OF WORDS DEALING WITH ARMOUR AND WEAPONS
The meanings of the words in this Glossary are given either from
comparison of various scattered entries in contemporary documents
or from the following works:--
Boeheim. _Waffenkunde._ 1890.
Cotgrave. _Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues._ 1611. =C.=
Du Cange. _Glossaire Français._ Edit. 1879.
Florio. _A Worlde of Woordes._ 1598. =F.=
Gay. _Glossaire Archéologique_, A-G (never completed). 1887. =G.=
Harford. _English Military Discipline._ 1680. =H.=
Meyrick. _Antient Armour_ (glossary). 1842.
Roquefort. _Glossaire de la Langue Romaine._ 1808. =R.=
Valencia. _Catalogue of Real Armeria, Madrid._
Where no reference letter is given the meaning given is that
generally accepted at the present day.