Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 3).djvu/246

 Armoury of Madrid (Fig. 1013). Its protectiveness does not really excel that of the armament of the preceding generation; the principle of its construction is the same, only more elaborated. In the application of its decoration there is exhibited the individual style of the armourer, just in the same way as the hand of a particular painter can be seen in some great picture. This is noticeable in the case of the horse armour of the XVIth century, when produced by artist-armourers of renown; but, as the XVIth century progressed the deterioration in workmanship becomes very apparent. So that at its close, horse armour when used was of "stock" patterns, often enriched, but in just such a meretricious fashion as was the ordinary body armour of the time.

A 243 to 262, Royal Armoury, Madrid

Many fine individual chanfrons of XVIth century date are extant. Of