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Early Renaissance Horse And Man Armors From Germany
  
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Smart About Art
By CHERYL VAN-BUSKIRK & EMILY RICE, For The Bulletin
Armor is protective covering manufactured from a variety of materials for soldiers, war animals and war machines. The earliest armor was called mail or chain mail armor and is made of interlocking iron rings, which could be riveted or welded shut. Gradually, small plates or discs of iron were added to the mail to protect the most vulnerable areas of the body. The most recognized style of armor in the world is plate armor associated with the knights of the late Middle Ages through the early 17th century in Europe. The use of battle armor diminished as firearms became more effective.
Full suits of armor were worn by generals and princely commanders up to the second decade of the 18th century in order to survey the overall battlefield in safety while mounted. The horse was afforded protection from lances and infantry weapons by steel plate barding which also enhanced the visual impression of a mounted knight. Late in the era, elaborate barding was used in parade armor.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art recently celebrated the gift of an outstanding masterpiece of early Renaissance armor. These complete horse and man armors were made in the early 1500s by well respected German armorers Wilhelm von Worms the Elder and Matthes Deutsch of Nuremberg. The horse armor is the earliest complete example outside of Europe and one of the few in the world that dates from such an early period.
The pieces were commissioned by Duke Ulrich of Württemberg (1487-1550) in anticipation of his attendance at the coronation of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in Rome. Their unique ornamentation features impressive etched and gilded figures of noblewomen and a dragon. The style of decoration on this armor is known by its German name, Goldschmelz. In this method, a design is first etched into the iron armor with acid. Gold is then applied with the use of copper, mercury and heat, and the surface is burnished smooth. Heat is applied to the steel surfaces to oxidize them, obtaining a blue/black sheen in contrast to the gold. The PMA’s J.J. Medveckis Associate Curator for Arms and Armor, Pierre Terjanian describes the decoration as “without equal among all other surviving man and horse armors.”
This spectacular addition to the large collection of arms and armor intended for kings, princes, noblemen, and their armed retainers enhances the museum’s ability to engage and educate visitors of all ages, especially students. The Museum is indebted Athena and Nicholas Karabots and the Karabots Foundation for their generous assistance in securing these items. According to a statement by Nicholas Karabots, “The Karabots Foundation was moved by the interest shown in the Arms and Armor Collection by children and young adults, and it is the Foundation’s hope that the addition of the horse and man armor to the existing collection will…encourage these young people to pursue higher levels of self-improvement via advanced education.” Perhaps one of the reasons for the perennial popularity of the Museum’s Arms and Armor Collection is that these objects are tangible reminders of a romantic and exciting time.
When Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD, he initiated a protracted power struggle between Europe’s spiritual and political leadership. Less well known is that the Holy Roman Emperors also had to contend with increasingly serious challenges from the German nobility. For although each successive Emperor’s divine authority was officially granted by the Pope, he first had to be formally elected by seven of the most powerful German princes, known as Electors. The structure of feudalism mandated that land was granted in exchange for military service. With the rise and fall of particular lords and vassals, this led to a constantly shifting landscape, and the absence of any uncontested sovereign was to render the German lands politically fragmented for a thousand years. In such violent and unstable times, a noble’s suit of armor was a powerful symbol of his ability to rule.
The dramatic personal and political fortunes of Duke Ulrich of Württemberg underscore the violence and complexity of this feudal world. We can presume that the Duke’s attendance at Emperor Maximilian’s coronation marks him as a person of some importance, even though (or perhaps, because) one of his first acts as Duke only a few years earlier had been to invade a powerful neighbor who was one of the seven Electors on whom Maximilian depended for his nomination. In 1511 Duke Ulrich married Maximilian’s niece, further tying his fortunes to the Imperial family. However, one of the chief weaknesses of the feudal system was the inherent instability of a political system founded on personal loyalties, and the Duke’s world was soon turned upside down.
In 1515 Duke Ulrich killed one of his own courtiers on a hunting expedition, apparently to facilitate a romantic liaison he was pursuing with the man’s widow. Ulrich’s young wife fled to the court of her brother, Wilhelm IV of Bavaria. When Ulrich further antagonized the interests of the royal family by occupying the free Imperial city of Reutlingen, Wilhelm was at the head of the army that invaded his lands and sent Ulrich into exile for the next fifteen years.
In the meantime, a new Emperor was crowned in 1520; Charles V was immediately beset by demands for greater autonomy from the German princes. In the feudal world, political loyalty was inextricably bound up with religious conformity, and when Martin Luther initiated the Protestant Reformation a year later many of these same princes exploited the opportunity to declare their independence from the Emperor and from Rome.
For his part, Ulrich contributed to the ensuing chaos by forming alliances with both the Protestant Swiss and the Catholic French against the Holy Roman Emperor and his Catholic Church. In the end, Ulrich’s cousin helped him to regain his lands, and Ulrich became one of the leading German Protestant Princes who fought in the Smalkaldic League against Emperor Chalres V and his Catholic allies. His dispute with the Emperor was settled with payment of a hefty fine after the League’s defeat in 1547.
Ulrich died in 1550. Before the close of the century one of his armors was requested by Archduke Ferdinand II for the “armory of heroes” Ferdinand was constructing at his castle in Tyrol; a glorious coda to a colorful life.
This article draws on factual information from World History published by Macmillan/McGraw Hill, A History of Western Society, by Houghton Mifflin Company, World History: Perspectives on the Past, by McDougal Littell, and The Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Full suits of armor were worn by generals and princely commanders up to the second decade of the 18th century in order to survey the overall battlefield in safety while mounted. The horse was afforded protection from lances and infantry weapons by steel plate barding which also enhanced the visual impression of a mounted knight. Late in the era, elaborate barding was used in parade armor.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art recently celebrated the gift of an outstanding masterpiece of early Renaissance armor. These complete horse and man armors were made in the early 1500s by well respected German armorers Wilhelm von Worms the Elder and Matthes Deutsch of Nuremberg. The horse armor is the earliest complete example outside of Europe and one of the few in the world that dates from such an early period.
The pieces were commissioned by Duke Ulrich of Württemberg (1487-1550) in anticipation of his attendance at the coronation of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in Rome. Their unique ornamentation features impressive etched and gilded figures of noblewomen and a dragon. The style of decoration on this armor is known by its German name, Goldschmelz. In this method, a design is first etched into the iron armor with acid. Gold is then applied with the use of copper, mercury and heat, and the surface is burnished smooth. Heat is applied to the steel surfaces to oxidize them, obtaining a blue/black sheen in contrast to the gold. The PMA’s J.J. Medveckis Associate Curator for Arms and Armor, Pierre Terjanian describes the decoration as “without equal among all other surviving man and horse armors.”
This spectacular addition to the large collection of arms and armor intended for kings, princes, noblemen, and their armed retainers enhances the museum’s ability to engage and educate visitors of all ages, especially students. The Museum is indebted Athena and Nicholas Karabots and the Karabots Foundation for their generous assistance in securing these items. According to a statement by Nicholas Karabots, “The Karabots Foundation was moved by the interest shown in the Arms and Armor Collection by children and young adults, and it is the Foundation’s hope that the addition of the horse and man armor to the existing collection will…encourage these young people to pursue higher levels of self-improvement via advanced education.” Perhaps one of the reasons for the perennial popularity of the Museum’s Arms and Armor Collection is that these objects are tangible reminders of a romantic and exciting time.
When Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD, he initiated a protracted power struggle between Europe’s spiritual and political leadership. Less well known is that the Holy Roman Emperors also had to contend with increasingly serious challenges from the German nobility. For although each successive Emperor’s divine authority was officially granted by the Pope, he first had to be formally elected by seven of the most powerful German princes, known as Electors. The structure of feudalism mandated that land was granted in exchange for military service. With the rise and fall of particular lords and vassals, this led to a constantly shifting landscape, and the absence of any uncontested sovereign was to render the German lands politically fragmented for a thousand years. In such violent and unstable times, a noble’s suit of armor was a powerful symbol of his ability to rule.
The dramatic personal and political fortunes of Duke Ulrich of Württemberg underscore the violence and complexity of this feudal world. We can presume that the Duke’s attendance at Emperor Maximilian’s coronation marks him as a person of some importance, even though (or perhaps, because) one of his first acts as Duke only a few years earlier had been to invade a powerful neighbor who was one of the seven Electors on whom Maximilian depended for his nomination. In 1511 Duke Ulrich married Maximilian’s niece, further tying his fortunes to the Imperial family. However, one of the chief weaknesses of the feudal system was the inherent instability of a political system founded on personal loyalties, and the Duke’s world was soon turned upside down.
In 1515 Duke Ulrich killed one of his own courtiers on a hunting expedition, apparently to facilitate a romantic liaison he was pursuing with the man’s widow. Ulrich’s young wife fled to the court of her brother, Wilhelm IV of Bavaria. When Ulrich further antagonized the interests of the royal family by occupying the free Imperial city of Reutlingen, Wilhelm was at the head of the army that invaded his lands and sent Ulrich into exile for the next fifteen years.
In the meantime, a new Emperor was crowned in 1520; Charles V was immediately beset by demands for greater autonomy from the German princes. In the feudal world, political loyalty was inextricably bound up with religious conformity, and when Martin Luther initiated the Protestant Reformation a year later many of these same princes exploited the opportunity to declare their independence from the Emperor and from Rome.
For his part, Ulrich contributed to the ensuing chaos by forming alliances with both the Protestant Swiss and the Catholic French against the Holy Roman Emperor and his Catholic Church. In the end, Ulrich’s cousin helped him to regain his lands, and Ulrich became one of the leading German Protestant Princes who fought in the Smalkaldic League against Emperor Chalres V and his Catholic allies. His dispute with the Emperor was settled with payment of a hefty fine after the League’s defeat in 1547.
Ulrich died in 1550. Before the close of the century one of his armors was requested by Archduke Ferdinand II for the “armory of heroes” Ferdinand was constructing at his castle in Tyrol; a glorious coda to a colorful life.
This article draws on factual information from World History published by Macmillan/McGraw Hill, A History of Western Society, by Houghton Mifflin Company, World History: Perspectives on the Past, by McDougal Littell, and The Philadelphia Museum of Art.
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