breastplate and over-breastplate, screwed together. The breastplate,
tin-plated to avoid oxidation, preserves the nails of the brocade with
which it was covered. The over-breastplate was also called ‘the
volant’--a defence much used in tilts in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. It was strengthened with iron, as stated in the description
of the honourable passage of Don Suero de Quiñones. It is doubtful if
this second piece was also covered with rich cloth, like others of a
later period; it has its original hollow lance-rest, for tilt, fastened
with a bolt and four staples. It has also a piece of iron, which we call
_flaon_, used as a wedge between the shield and the breastplate, and
forming a resisting whole against the adversary’s lance. This _flaon_,
the only iron one we have seen, serves also to fasten the helm to the
breast”--in the manner shown on the piece A16. [The _flaon_ was nearly
always of wood.]
The headpiece was correspondingly strengthened. Referring more
particularly to the tilting helm that forms part of the suit (A16)
belonging to Felipe I. of Castile (1478-1506), from which the casque
worn by Don Suero probably did not differ, the Conde de Valencia says:
“The tilting helm, or round closed _almete_, as it was called, appeared
at the end of the fourteenth century, and continued in use, with slight
modifications in each country, until the beginning of the sixteenth.
Designed to resist the impact of a lance in front, the part around the
vizor, or the horizontal opening between the crest and the face, was
strengthened, attaining a thickness of nine millimetres in some places;
in others, as the sides and occiput or back of the helmet, it gradually
diminishes. Its vertical and almost cylindrical length, is such that it
might rest on the shoulders, so that, fastened to the breastplate by the
hinge, and to the backplate by a strong strap, it might protect the
tilter’s head without inconveniencing his movements. In certain tilts,
this resource was insufficient against the violence of a lance-thrust at
full gallop of two horses going in an opposite direction, and then the
horsemen protected the head with a stiffened cap, which in German was
called _harnisch kappe_.”
The armet, the most graceful form of steel headpiece, also seems to have
been introduced into Spain about the middle of the fifteenth century. A
fresco in the Escorial, copied from a painting of the first half of that
century, representing the battle of Higueruela, depicts men-at-arms
wearing this species of helmet. It superseded the bascinet for use in
war, and will be described further on in these pages.
The sword continued, as during the preceding centuries, to be
two-edged, of rhomboidal or almond-shaped section, intended much more
for cutting and hacking than thrusting. The grip now tended to lengthen,
and the pommel, which was usually pear-shaped, became lighter. To this
period belongs G4, the sword presented by Pope Eugene IV. to Juan II.,
in the sixteenth year of his pontificate (1446), as the inscription
engraved with aqua fortis on the ricasso records. The blade is wide and
grooved. In the groove are inscribed the words PIERVS ME FECE.
“The guard, notable for its elegant simplicity, is all of silver, gilded
over and chased, with the cross of straight arms with fleurs-de-lys at
the ends. The hilt is a festooned ballister, _i.e._, a small pillar
swelling in the centre or towards the base, and the pommel, covered with
leaves, also festooned, is pear-shaped. The description in the inventory
of this Treasury (King Juan’s) makes us aware that the hilt has lost
much of its most beautiful decoration: ‘Another sword with a groove in
the middle and the words _pierus me fece_, gilded, has the cross one
hand in length, the pommel, hilt, cross, and all the sheath of gilded
silver, and on this are some open leaves soldered to some trunks; and
the cross is a serpent with wings enamelled green; the rim, which is the
first piece of the sheath, is enamelled blue with its _quirimi_’ (from
_quiris_, a spear or javelin), &c.”
G5. Blade of a Pontifical sword, sent to Henry IV. of Castile by Pope
Calixtus III. in 1458. (This Spanish pontiff, Alfonso Borgia, of
Valencia, was elected in 1455, and died in 1458.)
It has four surfaces, with false guard and long ricasso, sloped on both
edges; gilded and engraved on both sections. Length, 1.180; width,
0.039.
The history of this weapon leads us to suppose that the mark is that of
an unknown Italian swordmaker. On each side of the blade is a circular
shield with the arms of the Pontiff (a bull on a ground composed of
bezants, surmounted by the tiara and keys), and this inscription: ACCIPE
S C M GLADIVM MVNVS A DEO I QVO DEI CIES (_sic_) ADVERSARIOS P P LI MEI
XPIANI.
According to the note in the _Cronicon of Valladolid_, this sword was
sent to Enrique IV. of Castile by Calixtus III., to encourage him to
fight unremittingly against the Moors. The ornamentation has gone; but
we may judge of its richness and artistic value by the sketch of it in
the Inventory of the _alcazars_ of Segovia: it says--”.... A sword, all
gilded, nearly to the last third section, with large letters in each
portion, and the mark consists of seven spots on a small shield; the
pommel, the hilt, and cross are all of gilded _acucharado_ silver, and
in the middle of the pommel are the words Calistus Papa Tercio; the
sheath of gilded silver, engraved with evergreen oak-leaves and acorns,
has four round enamels on the middle portion; on one is St. Peter with a
cross in his hand, in a ship, and on each of the other two (_sic_) is a
coloured cross and four small ones; the rim is enamelled with coats of
arms of the Pope, and a shield with an ox in each quarter and some blue
letters ..., &c. This work of art was by the artificer of Zaragoza,
Antonio Pérez de las Cellas, established in Rome, who worked almost
exclusively for Calixtus III. during his brief pontificate.” (Muntz,
_Les arts à la cour des Papes._)
The name _falsaguarda_, or dummy guard, was given, in an Inventory of
arms of the sixteenth century, to the two small pieces or wings on the
blades of broadswords, a third of the way from the guard, where the
grooving on the blade ends.
These, of course, were presentation swords. The blade (G24), which is
traditionally ascribed to the Conde de Haro, of Juan II.’s reign, is
gilded and engraved at the upper end, the design representing on one
side the Annunciation, on the other, St. John in the Desert. It has a
groove down its entire length, and is diamond-pointed. The sword
(G23--plate 11) is of similar make, and is engraved in Gothic character
on a field of gold with texts, which, translated, run as follows:
THE LORD IS MY HELP; I WILL NOT FEAR WHAT MAN CAN DO UNTO ME, AND I WILL
DESPISE MY ENEMIES; SUPERIOR TO THEM, I WILL OVERTHROW THEM. On a
circle, part of verse 8, chapter xviii. of the Gospel of St. John: IF YE
THEREFORE SEEK ME, LET THESE GO THEIR WAY, BUT JESUS PASSED THROUGH (the
midst of them), and also in the centre, MARY VIRGIN. In another circle,
part of the anthem of the Purification of Our Lady: MAKE ME WORTHY TO
PRAISE THEE, BLESSED BE THE SWEET VIRGIN MARY, and, in the centre, the
monogram of Jesus Christ.
The guard consists of an iron crosspiece with traces of gold: the guard
curved towards the blade and twisted at the ends; circular pommel with
two faces with a cavity (round) in the centre, which was frequently
incrusted with the shield of arms of the owner.
The two-handed sword was introduced in the late fourteenth or early
fifteenth century. The Armoury contains a specimen (G15--plate 10)
belonging to the first half of the latter era. It comes from Mallorca.
The blade is almond-shaped, metre 0.990 long, by 0.038 broad; it has a
long ricasso, counter-guard (_falsaguarda_), and three grooves. The
guard is of copper, once gilded, with quillons drooping very slightly;
the grip, of corded wood, covered with leather; the pommel pear-shaped
and facetted.
Before the century was three-quarters gone, complete suits of
plate-armour were worn in Castile, though the hauberk was still
retained, in some cases, as an additional defence. The powerful and
ambitious Juan Pacheco, Marques de Villena and Grandmaster of St. James,
who died in the same year as his sovereign Enrique IV. (1474), is shown
(plate 12) wearing, in addition to the pieces which had now become a
regular part of the harness, espaliers in five pieces, and _tassets_ or
armour for the hips, of five pieces, in the graceful oak-leaf pattern,
which endured till the time of Charles V. The opening between the
tassets is defended by the skirt of the hauberk, worn beneath the
cuirass. That piece, and the vambraces, are exquisitely chiselled with
floral designs. The armour of Don Iñigo Lopez de Mendoza, Conde de
Tendilla, who died five years after Villena, is very similar. His coudes
are very large, chased, and set with gilt studs round the borders.
We have now reached the beginning of the most glorious and prosperous
epoch in the history of Spain. The chivalric spirit, which had been
sedulously fostered in the nation during the two preceding reigns, in
the age of the Catholic Kings, Ferdinand and Isabel, found its genuine
and loftiest expression in enterprises of supreme national importance.
This was essentially a martial age--the era of the Conquest of Granada
and of the Discovery and Subjugation of the New World. Everything
connected with the profession of arms became the subject of close study
and a matter for improvement. Farseeing men might have predicted, even
as early as the taking of Granada, that the armourer’s craft was a
doomed industry. Considering the productions of its latest ages, we
might be tempted to impute its extinction to its having reached a point
beyond which progress was impossible--where the artificer saw that all
attempts to improve on existing models must be vain.
An interesting relic of this period is the sword (G13) which the Conde
de Valencia thinks may be safely ascribed to Ferdinand the Catholic
(plate 10). The blade is rigid, of rhomboidal section, and without
ricasso; the crosspiece is of gilded iron, very plain; velvet-bound
grip; the pommel is pear-shaped and facetted. “Like nearly all the
swords for the saddle-bow of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,
which were fastened by the scabbard to the front bow of the man-at-arms’
saddle, this blade has a hilt of the kind then called ‘a hand and a
half,’ because its length allowed of its being used with one or both
hands without disturbing the equilibrium necessary for the proper
handling of the weapon.”--Valencia, _Catálogo_.
G1 (plate 11) is the Ceremonial Sword of Ferdinand and Isabel. The blade
is metre 1.070 long by 0.050 broad, almond-shaped, and without ricasso.
The crossguard is of gilded and engraved iron, the ends of the arms
cusped. On the cusps are the inscriptions TANTO MONTA[F] and MEMENTO MEI
O MATER DEI MEI. The grip is wire-bound and covered with red velvet. The
pommel is disc-like and cut and perforated into a cruciform device; it
bears on one side the yoke, the emblem of Ferdinand, on the other, the
sheaf of arrows, the emblem of Isabel.
G2 is the sheath of the preceding sword. It is of wood, covered with
crimson silk, minus the rim and the ferrule; it bears the Spanish shield
of arms as charged after the taking of Granada, and the devices of the
two Sovereigns.
“This Royal sword is extremely interesting in every way, as it was the
same that Ferdinand and Isabella and their grandson the Emperor, used in
the ceremony of conferring knighthood. This statement is in the
_Relacion notarial de Valladolid_, thus: ‘a wide sword, old, for making
knights, with flat pommel with holes and gilded cross’--a description
which agrees with the illustration of the same sword in the Illuminated
Inventory of Charles V.
“In our opinion, it is the Royal sword which, during the rule of the
House of Austria, and in accordance with the etiquette of the Houses of
Castile and Burgundy, in the solemn entries into cities and on Princes
taking the oath, was carried bare by the Chief Equerry of the King, in
the absence of the Count of Oropesa, ‘whose privilege it was in Castile,
and the Count de Sástago’s in Aragon.’ In support of this opinion we may
instance picture 787 in the Museum of Paintings in Madrid, called the
Pacification of Flanders, where Philip IV. is represented crowned by the
goddess Pallas, assisted by the Count-Duke de Olivares, who has the
sword referred to in his left hand.”
(G31--plate 13). The battle sword of Ferdinand the Catholic is thus
described: “The blade is hexagonal, fluted ricasso with scallop for the
index finger, and narrow groove down to the middle, in the centre of
which are the words--ANTONIVS ME FECIT. (This must have been the famous
swordmaker mentioned by Diego Hurtado de Mendoza in the _Vida del
Lazarillo del Tormes_.) Length, 0.900; breadth, 0.040.
“The whole of the hilt is of gilded iron, delicately chiselled; the arms
of the cross, which broaden at the ends, are flat and curve towards the
blade; it has branches curving to the ricasso; the grip is also gilded
and chiselled; pommel disc-like, with four crescent-shaped indentations
equidistant from each other; around both faces, in monachal letters, are
these octosyllabic verses:
“‘PAZ COMIGO NVNCA VEO
Y SIEMPRE GVERA (_sic_) DESEO.’
(There is never peace with me, and my desire is always for
war.)
“Both the author of the 1849 Catalogue and Jubinal attribute this sword
to Queen Isabel the Catholic, but without giving their reasons for so
doing. We find that the great Queen in the year 1500 owned several
cuirasses of Milan plates, covered with gold, which she doubtless wore
to defend herself from attacks like that at Velez-Malaga. She also had a
small dagger, the gold and enamelled handle of which was formed like a
sheaf of arrows (which was her badge); a sword with hilt of silver and
enamel, with strapwork of gold; and another with ‘iron hilt,’ possibly
the one we are now describing. As these words are not sufficient of
themselves to dismiss all doubt, we may refer to the document which
proves that the arm in question belonged to Ferdinand the Catholic. This
does not prevent its having belonged to his illustrious wife
previously.”
The Hispano-Moresque sword (G27) was long cherished as the sword of
Boabdil. The Conde de Valencia and other antiquaries have rudely
dispelled this tradition--like that which ascribed the blades numbered
G21 and G22 to the Cid and to Roland respectively. The blade comes from
the Berber district, and the hilt is certainly modern.
At this point the remarks of Don Juan Riaño (_Industrial Arts in Spain_)
on the manufacture of the Toledo blade cannot fail to be of interest.
“The celebrity of Toledo blades has excited the curiosity of many who
wished to ascertain the cause of their great excellence and renown. Some
supposed the sword manufacturers of Toledo possessed a secret for
tempering their arms. It was not so, however, their only secret being
the waters of the Tagus, and the fine white sand on its banks. This sand
was used for cooling the steel: when the steel was red-hot and began to
give forth sparks, it was uncovered a little, sprinkled with sand, and
sent on to the forgers. As soon as the blade was ready, it was tempered
in the following manner: a line of fire was made, and the blade placed
in it for four-fifths of its length. As soon as it was red-hot, it was
dropped perpendicularly into a bucket of Tagus water. When cold, if it
was found to be bent, a small portion of sand was poured on the yoke,
the blade placed upon it, and beaten until properly straightened. After
this, the remaining fifth part of the blade was fired; and when red-hot,
was seized with tongs and rubbed with suet. After this, the blade was
sent to the grinding stones, and finished by being polished on wooden
wheels with emery-powder.”
The armour worn in the latter half of the fifteenth century is
remarkable for its symmetry, simplicity, and graceful line-forms. From
the beginning of the century the Missaglias, a family of famous
armourers, had been settled at Milan, and the style they designed soon
became fashionable all over Europe. Fortunately for art, a rival
appeared in Nuremberg, in the person of Hans Grünwald, who died in 1503.
The competition between the Italian and German masters of the craft
resulted in the production of what are, perhaps, the most beautiful
pieces of armour ever forged.
The suits numbered A1 to A8 in the Catalogue of the Armoury belong to
the last decade of the fifteenth century, and were the ordinary
war-harness of the Spanish man-at-arms of the period. They do not differ
materially, and consist of the following pieces: armet, breastplate and
backplate, taces, tassets, espaliers or espalier-pauldrons, hauberk of
mail with short sleeves reaching to elbows and showing at the armpits,
coudes, vambraces, gauntlets--in most cases without articulated
fingers--cuisses, genouillères, jambs, and square-toed sollerets, or
shoes of mail. In some cases heavy reinforcing pieces only used for the
tilt have been added, such as heavy elbow-gauntlets and the
“grande-garde,” or extra piece for the left arm. The armets or helmets
merit close attention (plate 14). That of the suit A1 has a comb and a
reinforcing piece over the forehead; visor sharply pointed; large side
or cheek-pieces covering the chin, hinged above the ears, and secured at
the nape of the neck by a small rondel; and beavor of two plates, with
attachment to breastplate. In A5 the armet has, in addition to the
beavor, a tippet or skirting of mail; the beavor is of one plate only;
and the neck is protected by a gorget. The helmet A9, belonging to the
early part of the sixteenth century, and worn by the Duque del
Infantado has no beavor, and is of the “sparrow-beak” type, like that of
A7, where the occularium is the interval between the crownpiece and
visor.
The horses’ bards, for the most part, belong to a later period than the
riders’ suits. The barding (A3) probably dates from the last years of
the fifteenth century. It is composed of large plates of burnished
steel, and comprises: chanfron, mainfaire (mane-covering),
croupière--with wide hangings attached by thick tags of
silk--flechières, and poitrel with hinges and pins, allowing free play
to the horse’s shoulders.
The marriage of the third child of the Catholic Kings with Philip, heir
to the houses of Habsburg and Burgundy, in 1496, drew closer the
relations of Spain with the rest of Europe. The going and coming of
foreign princes, ambassadors, and statesmen rapidly familiarized the
Spaniards with the customs, fashions, and products of other countries.
Native art had new models, and began to lose some of its individuality.
The earliest example of foreign armour we find in the Madrid Collection
is the half-suit (A11-15--plate 15). It is of Flemish make, and, thanks
to the investigations of the Conde de Valencia, may be attributed with
certainty to Philip the Handsome, afterwards Philip I. of Castile. The
constituent pieces are the following:
Breastplate, with lance-rest, and over-breastplate; taces, placed over
the last-named to prevent the adversary’s lance finding an upward
opening; backplate with garde-rein (loin-guard) placed under it; hauberk
of mail with short sleeves covering rere-braces; espaliers; rondels
protecting armpits; coudes; vambraces; gauntlets; mentonnière, or
beavor-gorget, in three plates; peculiar steel hat, or _caperuza_, with
wide brim, turned upwards and outwards, of the shape of the cloth or
velvet caps worn in Flanders at the period (plate 16). The neck defences
are strengthened with mail.
The suit is decorated with gilding and engraving. On the breastplate we
note the emblem of the Order of the Golden Fleece, of which Philip was
Grandmaster, and the inscription, JESVS NASARENVS REX JVDEORVM. On the
backplate, O MATER MEI MEMEM; on the left rondel, the angelic salutation
in old Flemish, WEEST GHEGRVT MARIA VOL VAN GRACIEN DE HER ES METV ...
GHEBEN D; on the right rondel, the same in Latin. On the right coude,
IHES NASARENVS REX; on the left, O MATER MEI MEMENTO MEI. On the right
gauntlet, AVE MARIA ... GR.... IHES NASAR ..., and on the left, IHS
MARIA RENVS REX JVD ... On the brim of the caperuza, JESVS MARIA GRACIA
PLENA DOMINVS TECVM BENEDICTA TV-IN MVLERE (_sic_).
The two-handed sword bears the device of Philip, and the decoration is
in German style; but the mark is the same as that of the sword GI,
belonging to Ferdinand and Isabel, proving that the blade is of Spanish
make.
The Armoury contains a variety of pieces dating from the end of the
fifteenth century (plate 17 _et seq_). By using odd pieces of the
ancient stock in the Armoury, others from the dispersed collection of
the Dukes of Osuna, and particularly a series of Aragonese brigantines,
acquired, like the preceding, by Alfonso XII. in 1882, various types of
Spanish soldiers have been formed, such as pike-men, mace-bearers, and
other infantry of the fifteenth century--copying at C1 and C2,
sculptured figures decorating the portal of the Church of St. Paul at
Valladolid, and the choir seats of Toledo Cathedral carved by the
master, Rodrigo (1495), representing the then recent victories gained by
the Catholic Kings over the Moors of Andalusia.
D86 is a leather Moorish light cavalry shield, probably a trophy of the
Conquest of Granada (plate 161). The inside is bound in linen,
embroidered, especially the clasp, with floral and other devices in
coloured silk. Forming a band, which extends round the circumference,
and repeated on eight oval medallions, is an Arabic inscription which
reads, “And only God is conqueror.” On a like number of circular
medallions, smaller than those mentioned, may be read, “Happiness for my
master.”
The more interesting of the other objects of the same period are of
foreign make. The helmet D12 (plate 123), formerly attributed to
Boabdil, is certainly the work of the famous Missaglias of Milan, who
began to be known by the name of Negroli about this time. The decoration
exhibits a skilful blending of the Renaissance and Oriental styles.
“This helmet is of one piece, and is strengthened with supplementary
pieces that can be taken off and put on at will, being, by its rare
make, a complete head armour for two distinct purposes. Without the
added pieces, it is a simple helmet for war, similar to those on the
low-reliefs of the triumphal arch of Alonso V., of Aragon, in Naples;
with the reinforcing pieces, it is transformed into parade armour of
surprising beauty and good taste. These extra pieces are of plated
steel, chiselled with the outlines of leaves and arabesques in niello,
and the whole design beautifully shaded. The crest is defended by a coif
like that used for combat on foot. The plume-holder is placed over the
forehead. It is to be regretted that a piece of so much merit and value
has been deprived of much of the crest-work that once enriched it.”
The next piece (D13) is a salade (or helmet covering the nape of the
neck), of German fashion, but made by one of the Negroli family. It is a
pure, vigorous piece of work, cast, except the visor, in one piece. The
decoration exhibits the same happy combination of the Italian and
Oriental styles that characterises D12. The design inside the circles on
the skull might easily, at a cursory glance, persuade one of the Moorish
origin of the helmet.
The headpieces D14 to D22 emanate from Flanders. The Salade D14 (plate
125), worn by Philip I., has the skull-piece of octagonal shape and
ending in a knop, surmounted by a pomegranate. It seems to have been
suggested by the Moorish helmet and turban; and we read, in fact, that
Philip appeared before Ferdinand and Isabel in the tilt-yard at Toledo
in Moorish dress. D22 is a Flemish cabasset--an ungraceful
head-covering--forged in one piece.
III
THE AGE OF CHARLES V