Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 3).djvu/253

 graceful and slight outline of an earlier generation is maintained. In that splendid harness made by Seusenhofer for King Henry VIII, to which we shall refer later, all those characteristically graceful forms of an Italian late XVth century harness are present, the XVIth century influence appearing only in the surface etching. What a magnificent display this suit must have made in its original state! Who at that time, looking at this splendid example of the armourer's craft, so graceful in outline, so extremely workmanlike, so glittering in the freshness of its silver-gilt plating, its trimmings of gilded brass, would have deplored the advent of the XVIth century? Even to-day, after the passage of over three hundred years, and alas! after much rough handling, the suit still makes a dignified and impressive appeal. Its noble proportions continue to challenge admiration; its silver plating, now with little trace of its former gilding, still survives on certain less exposed portions of the surface; and, though their gilding has disappeared, the brass trimmings of the interlocked monograms of Katherine and Henry remain to border its tonlets. Part of its glory has indeed faded; but the essential features which to our mind distinguish this fine field harness are preserved as thoroughly as in the case of the most complete suit of the XVth century.

A horse armament with its surface etched in a fashion similar to that of the Seusenhofer suit, and which was also originally silver plated, can be seen in the Tower Armoury (Fig. 1002). It is this harness, we think, that presents one of the first instances of embossing or hammering from the back being employed so as to give surface decoration in relief. The design is boldly executed, the main theme of the embossed ornamentation being the Burgundian cross raguly, pomegranates, and the flint and steel of the Toison d'Or. The bold engraving upon the surface adds detail to the embossing, and the pomegranate design is duplicated round the border. The absence of roping and the general features of the harness suggest its date as being very early in the XVIth century, possibly within the first five years.

In our anxiety to deal at once with the decorated armour of the XVIth century, we have somewhat got ahead of our subject, and have omitted to mention that transitional type of harness which combined the elegance of the Gothic form with the robustness of the Maximilian order. Here the characteristic plain edging of the principal plates can be seen gradually developing into what is termed the "cabled" or "roped" pattern which represents the form of an actual twisted rope, and giving a finish to the edge of a plate. This roping remained in general fashion until the use of armour was abandoned at the end of the XVIIth century. The full-stomached