OF DON ALVARO CABRERA - Metropolitan Museum of Art
OF DON ALVARO CABRERA - Metropolitan Museum of Art OF DON ALVARO CABRERA - Metropolitan Museum of Art
against the heat of the sun. But the chief reason _-j eI * y for its adoption was that it afforded a means for _^^BCy^^rC Pctthe * display of heraldic arms, which distinguished friend from foe. Ultimately the surcoat s a biody became an additional defense for the and was thickly gamboised, or quilted, as in our '\ ~ % -effigy. The great development of the use of ib oDs th a Aboe the quilted protections for the body came from the t, e kEast, where the Saracens had long been acquainted with them. One of the forms of the gambeson (the padded leathern undergarment bright v i in oworn beneath the surcoat), the acton (hacqueton), shows its oriental origin by its name, derived from the Arabic al qutn, from which the word cotton also comes. Thus the influence of a a w t s the Moorish occupation of Spain during seven Te sc centuries is seen in these quilted costumes and t beg n in the overweighted decoration of the surcoat. Cavalry was the strongest arm in the Middle Ages, and so leg armor was an essential part of a the knight's equipment. Mail hose (chausses) came into general use about the beginning of the twelfth century. At first they did not enclose ao 10 the leg entirely, but were left open at the back Goliath, front the Maciejowski Bible, about ti' 1260, showing a mail defense interlinked in one piece, a brimmed helmet, and iron or leather shin guards. In the Morgan Library The most showy element in the military ward- robe of Don Alvar6 is the surcoat. Above the hips and on the sleeves it is studded with nu- merous rosaces and heraldic plaques, and it fits the body closely. It reaches to the knees, and below the hip it is loose-fitting and falls in stiff folds, which indicate the thickness of the gar- -: ment; part of the painted pattern, including bright vermilion in one of the folds, is still present. The knightly surcoat was usually slit up in front and behind for convenience in rid- ing, a detail which the sculptor has omitted. The surcoat was originally introduced about the beginning of the thirteenth century to pre- serve the mail from rain, and as protection RIGHT: Drawing by Villard de Honnecourt, about I260. The mail coif is throzwn back over the shoulders, letting one see the close-fitting bonnet of cloth or leather worn beneath. ' 280 /
Detail from the "Manessehandschrift," showing close greaves and long-cuffed gauntlets, first quarter of the xiv century. Detail from altar frontal, showing war hat and face defense of plate, school of Navarre, early xiv century, Museo de Bellas Artes de Catalunia, Barcelona. Detail of a crossbownan with war hat and gorget, from the manuscript of "De officiis regum" by Walter de Milemete, 1326 or 1327, in the library of Christ Church, Oxford and held secure by laces, as may be seen in the Album (about 1260) of the architect Villard de Honnecourt. About the middle of the thirteenth century the need for increased protection against the progressively improving weapons led to the gradual addition of one piece of plate armor after another. The first reinforcing plates appeared on the knee, for this was a vulnerable spot of the mounted knight. The knee defenses were prolonged downwards in the form of shin guards, and so the evolution of the complete suit of plate began. A further development was the addition of thigh defenses to the knee cops (poleyns), and these permitted the shortening of the hauberk to mid-thigh. The early unre- inforced style of mail continued to be worn for a long time after the plate defenses had been introduced. Mail chausses were frequently worn in the early years of the fourteenth century and were worn occasionally till the middle of it. The earliest greaves of leather or plate pro- tected only the shins, as may be seen in the Maciejowski Bible (about 1260) in the Pierpont Morgan Library and on the marble bas-relief of Guigliemo Berardi (1289) in the cloisters of the 281 Annunziata at Florence. The early leather and plate arm defenses also protected only the outer part of the arm. Close greaves are mentioned in France as early as 1302 in the inventory of Raoul de Nesle, Constable of France, who fell in the disastrous battle of Courtrai. Here is the notation in the inventory: "Harnas de gaumbes fourbis, de coi les greves sont closes." The term "fourbis" clearly implies metal. Close greaves are of rare occurrence in medieval art before the middle of the fourteenth century, and I know of no representations earlier than those cited below. Well modeled close greaves may be seen on the tomb of William de Valence, Earl of Pembroke, erected in WAestminster Abbey in 1324, in Simone Martini's equestrian portrait of Guidoriccio da Fogliana, in the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, which is dated 1328, and on the equestrian effigy of Can Grande della Scala (died 1329) at Verona. The greaves of Don Alvar6's effigy, which have a mid-vertical ridge on the shin plate, which overlaps the back plate, are not especially shapely. They are apparently represented realis- tically and were fitted over thick hose, which
- Page 1 and 2: THE ARMOR OF DON ALVARO DE CABRERA
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- Page 5: Effigy of Ramnn Folch X de Cardona
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against the heat <strong>of</strong> the sun. But the chief reason<br />
_-j eI * y for its adoption was that it afforded a means for<br />
_^^BCy^^rC Pctthe *<br />
display <strong>of</strong> heraldic arms, which distinguished<br />
friend from foe. Ultimately the surcoat<br />
s a<br />
biody became an additional defense for the and<br />
was thickly gamboised, or quilted, as in our<br />
'\ ~ %<br />
-effigy. The great development <strong>of</strong> the use <strong>of</strong><br />
ib oDs th a Aboe the quilted protections for the body came from the<br />
t, e kEast, where the Saracens had long been acquainted<br />
with them. One <strong>of</strong> the forms <strong>of</strong> the<br />
gambeson (the padded leathern undergarment<br />
bright v i in oworn beneath the surcoat), the acton (hacqueton),<br />
shows its oriental origin by its name, derived<br />
from the Arabic al qutn, from which the<br />
word cotton also comes. Thus the influence <strong>of</strong><br />
a a w t s<br />
the Moorish occupation <strong>of</strong> Spain during seven<br />
Te sc centuries is seen in these quilted costumes and<br />
t beg n<br />
in the overweighted decoration <strong>of</strong> the surcoat.<br />
Cavalry was the strongest arm in the Middle<br />
Ages, and so leg armor was an essential part <strong>of</strong><br />
a the knight's equipment. Mail hose (chausses)<br />
came into general use about the beginning <strong>of</strong><br />
the twelfth century. At first they did not enclose<br />
ao 10 the leg entirely, but were left open at the back<br />
Goliath, front the Maciejowski Bible, about ti'<br />
1260, showing a mail defense interlinked in<br />
one piece, a brimmed helmet, and iron or<br />
leather shin guards. In the Morgan Library<br />
The most showy element in the military ward-<br />
robe <strong>of</strong> Don Alvar6 is the surcoat. Above the<br />
hips and on the sleeves it is studded with nu-<br />
merous rosaces and heraldic plaques, and it fits<br />
the body closely. It reaches to the knees, and<br />
below the hip it is loose-fitting and falls in stiff<br />
folds, which indicate the thickness <strong>of</strong> the gar- -:<br />
ment; part <strong>of</strong> the painted pattern, including<br />
bright vermilion in one <strong>of</strong> the folds, is still<br />
present. The knightly surcoat was usually slit<br />
up in front and behind for convenience in rid-<br />
ing, a detail which the sculptor has omitted.<br />
The surcoat was originally introduced about<br />
the beginning <strong>of</strong> the thirteenth century to pre-<br />
serve the mail from rain, and as protection<br />
RIGHT: Drawing by Villard de Honnecourt,<br />
about I260. The mail coif is throzwn back over<br />
the shoulders, letting one see the close-fitting<br />
bonnet <strong>of</strong> cloth or leather worn beneath. '<br />
280<br />
/
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