Armour for horse and rider, early 16th century

This composite armour is made up of parts made in South Germany between c.1510-20, and reflected the status of its wearer as part of a military elite. By the 16th century the improved craftsmanship of western European plate armour had made shields unnecessary on the battlefield. It consists of an armet (closed helmet), a collar, a breastplate and backplate with skirt and tassets (thigh guards), a pair of spaudlers (shoulder guards) and vambraces (forearm guards), a pair of gauntlets, a pair of cuisses (thigh guards) and poleyns (knee guards), and a pair of greaves (lower leg guards) and flat-toed sabatons (foot guards). The ‘Maximilian’ style fluting on the armour (after the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I) provided additional protection and imitated the pleats and tucks of contemporary fashion. The knight is armed with a lance (vamplate and lance head 16th century; the lance 19th century). Horses could be just as vulnerable on the battlefield as their riders; the horse armour consists of a shaffron (head guard) and peytral (chest guard). The mannequin has been decorated with reconstructed barding in red-and-white. (Fitzwilliam Museum)

By Ibrahim Zamir