Subject: Ritter knight

Culture: Imperial German / Austrian

Setting: French, Turkish wars, Europe early-mid 15thc

Object: Maximilian armor

* Metropolitan Museum of Art > Stone Gallery of Arms and Armor

"Armor Steel

German (Nuremberg), ca. 1520 and later

At the turn of the sixteenth century German armorers abandoned the slender lines of the late Gothic style and adopted the fuller, more rounded forms favored in Italy. In the new style, the shallow parallel channels that covered the entire armor, except for the greaves (lower leg defenses), were not only decorative but actually strengthened the metal. This distinctly German armor is often referred to as 'Maximilian style' because it was introduceed during the reign of Emperor Maximilian I (r. 1493-1519). Fluted armor appears to have been a specialty of Nuremberg.

"The armor displayed here is representative of better quality fluted armors. However, the two-piece construction of the breastplate, with its pierced decoration at the apex of the lower plate, while standard on German Gothic armors, is highly unusual, if not unique, on armor of this period. The waistplates and tassets (upper thigh defenses) are of a later date. The breastplate is stamped with the mark of an unidentified armorer: in a shield, a half lion or a bear above the letters L.B." ...

* Metropolitan Museum of Art > Stone Gallery of Arms and Armor

"Elements of a Light-Cavalry Armor Steel Christian Schreiner the Younger (Mühlau, recorded 1499-1528)

Austrian, (Innsbruck/Mühlau), about 1505-10

This armor is a rare example of the fluted, or 'Maximilian,' style in its earliest stages. The armor was made in either Mühlau or in neighboring Innsbruck soon after the Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519) established his court armormaking workshop in Innsbruck in 1504. Little is known of its maker, Christian Schreiner the Younger. Only two of his works survive, of which this is the most complete.

"A strong Italian influence is apparent in this armor and in armors of the Innsbruck/Mühlau school in general. They are characterized by full, rounded forms and sparing use of surface ornament, as opposed to the purely German Gothic style typified by slender proportions and pierced openwork.

"Particularly distinctive are the gracefully bold mitten gauntlets, which blend features of the late Gothic design with the evolving German Renaissance style." ...

* Carnegie Museum of Art > Scaife Galleries

"German Helmet, c. 1530 steel"

Arlington Museum of Art > A Knight's Tale *

"Close Helmet German manufacture 1520 Steel This helmet is a magnificent example of the final and finest period in the production of so-called 'Maximilian' armors in Germany. Among its unique characteristics is the globular helmet bowl, delineated by fluting that reinforced the structure.

"The visor is made of one piece of steel, as was the rule for this model, and fashioned in a style called monkey face. The more common helmet style was referred to as bellows-shaped in reference to its similarity to a bellows device."

* Alcázar de Segovia

* Royal Ontario Museum > Samuel European Galleries > Arms and Armor

"Armure allemande dite << maximilienne >> Portée par la cavalerie. Armure de guerre composée de morceaux de plusieurs armure différentes. Acier, avec sangles en cuir. D'Allemagne méridionale, certaines parties portent des poinçons typiques de Nuremberg. Vers 1510-1525. ...

Armure classique à cannelures de cette période que les historiens modernes ont appelée << maximilienne >> en souvenir de l'empereur Maximilien Ier. Ce nouveau style d'armure conjuguait les lignes arrondies et charpentées de l'armure italienne aux cannelures étroites et verticales des modèles allemands. Elle était communément portée entre 1500 et 1540, bien qu'on continuât à fabriquer pendant toute cette période des armure à surface lisse. En général, plus les cannelure sont étroites et rapprochées les unes des autres, plus l'armure est récente. Après 1510, les bords de la maximilienne étaient souvent décorés de bordures cordées, ce qui témoigne de l'influence que la Renaissance exerça en Allemagne."

* Royal Ontario Museum > Samuel European Galleries > Arms and Armor

"Cuirasse allemande

Faisait partie à l'origine d'une armure de planes couvrant tout le corps, qui comprenait des protections pour les bras et les jambes.

Allemagne méridionale, vers 1510-1515. ...

La cuirasse est composée d'un plastron et d;une dossière conçus pour être portés ensemble.

"Ce modèle a une braconnière (pour protéger le bassin) et des tassettes (prolongements de la braconnière en acier laminé qui couvraient le haut de cuisses). Si la forme des tassettes est typique du début du XVIe siècle, le bord cordé du plastron date des armures à cannelures dites << maximiliennes >> d'apres 1510 environ."

* Metropolitan Museum of Art > Stone Gallery of Arms and Armor

"German Fluted Armor

From about 1490 to 1510, substantial changes occurred in the design of German armor. The slender, elongated forms of late Gothic armor gave way to more burly, rounded shapes that reflected the influence of the Italian Renaissance on German fashion.

"A new type of armor developed in Germany around 1505. It was characterized by parallel or radiating ridges and channels, known as fluting, that covered most of its surface. While essentially decorative, the light-catching ridges also strengthened the steel plates without adding extra weight. Because fluted armor emerged during the reign of Emperor Maximilian I (1493-1519), it has been called 'Maximilian-style' armor since the nineteenth century. Its popularity was greatest in southern Germany and Austria, where the fashion lasted until the early 1530s. Nuremberg was the leading producer of fluted armor, followed by Augsburg, Landshut, and Innsbruck.

"Fluted armor was usually polished birght; but, on elaborate examples, the smooth areas between the ridges were sometimes blackened or filled with etched ornament.

* Metropolitan Museum of Art > Stone Gallery of Arms and Armor

"Armor

Steel

German, about 1535

This is a fine late example of a fluted armor, made shortly before the style went out of fashion. The bands of scales and distinctive roping of the lower edge of the helmet adn the top edge of the breastplate are features frequently found on armors from northern Germany (possibly Brunswick). The leg defenses are of the same period but did not originally belong with the rest of the armor. The armor is distinguished by its unusually large size and impressive height." ...

* Metropolitan Museum of Art > Stone Gallery of Arms and Armor

"Armor

Etched steel

Attributed in part to Kolman Helmschmid (1471-1532)

German (Augsburg), about 1525

The helmet, pauldrons (shoulder defenses), and vambraces (arm defenses) of this armor are attributed to Kolman Helmschmid based on comparison with his known works. The helmet's distinctive snub-nosed visor appears to be a form that he originated and used on three other helmets, all dating from the mid-1520s. The decoration of these elements is typical of the style of Daniel Hopfer of Augsburg (about 1470-1536), a celebrated armor-etcher and printmaker, who is known to have worked fro the Helmschmids.

"The remainder of this armor is composed of southern German elements of about 1520 to 1530, except for minor restorations." ...

* Higgins Armory Museum

"'Maximilian' field armor, about 1525-30

Southern Germany

Steel; iron; leather; modern restorations

Weight: 64 lb. 14 oz. ...

Full-plate armor was in widespread use on European battlefields from 1400-1575. It was designed for protection, but also conformed to current fashion trends. The rippling of the steel in this armor served the utilitarian purpose of strengthening the steel, as well as imitating the stylish pleats in men's clothing of the period. The orientation of the top plates on the upper leg served to deflect an enemy sword away from the knight's groin. The ornamental rib at the top of the breastplate protected the neck from an opponent's sword point."

* Higgins Armory Museum > lobby

"Close helmet with ceremonial 'wolf-faced' visor

20th century reproduction by Ernst Schmidt company of Munich, Germany" ...

* Higgins Armory Museum > Orientation Gallery

"Combat armor after the 'Maximilian' style

European, second half of the 19th century

Steel; brass; leather ...

Higgins obtained this armor while in France during 1926. As seen in the accompanying photographs taken at his William Street home, he was evidently quite pleased to have gotten a suit large enough for him to wear. He must also have been quite excited to suit up, because he reversed the arm and shoulder defenses. The sword's crossguard is upside-down as well."

* Higgins Armory Museum > theater

* Arlington Museum of Art > A Knight's Tale

"Suit of Armor

German manufacture

ca. 1500-1510

Steel, leather, fabric

This style of fluted armor is known as 'Maximilian,' in honor of Maximilian I of the House of Hapsburg and Holy Roman Emperor (1508-[1]519) who seems to have especially appreciated this type of armor. The production of this model terminated after 1525 due to stylistic influences from Italy."