THE INTERRELATIONSHIP

OF
COSTUME AND ARMOR
BY STEPHEN V. GRANCSAY
Curator of Arms and Armor

l ..i During the Middle Ages and This garment not only identified the wearer
the Renaissance dress was but was also in a sense a defense, for the insig-
much more an aesthetic mat- nia indicated the ransom which the knight
ter than it is today, and the could afford to pay for his life. When the
' w
j designing of clothes occupied knight's mail was removed a loose robe of
the attention of leading artists. cloth, the tunic, generally of wool, was worn.
Another difference from mod- This robe, originally a sleeveless garment which
ern custom is that men, not women, were the was the chief article of clothing, was a survival
innovators of fashion. It is with the styles and from early times.
adornment of clothes and armor that this ar- Not only were textiles used with the knight's
ticle is mainly concerned-a subject with so armor; they also formed a colorful part of the
many facets that one can only touch lightly on horse equipment. This is illustrated in a rare
it in the Bulletin. document for the study of early military equip-
Armor was a development of dress. Armor ment, a small stone bas-relief of a Spanish
and costume were always worn together, and it chevalier in this Museum, which was formerly
was inevitable that their forms and ornamenta- believed to come from the royal monastery at
tion should influence each other. This close re- Poblet and which was evidently once painted.
lationship is presented convincingly and effec- Here one can see the housings, or trappings,
tively in one section of the current exhibition which pass over the horse's head and hang
Adam in the Looking Glass, in the Costume In- nearly to the hoofs. The knight is fully clad in
stitute, where there has been assembled an ex- banded mail, his hauberk extending down the
traordinary collection of rare costumes, armor, thighs half way to the knees, and the legs and
and illustrated documents which show how fea- feet are encased in mail chausses. Over the mail
tures of material, style, and ornamentation is a surcoat, close-fitting but slashed at the
passed from one to the other. skirts for the saddle. The modeling clearly
One sees that the coifed hauberk of the twelfth shows that a heavily padded garment was pres-
century was the woolen dress of the period trans- ent underneath the mail.
lated into mail. In the beginning of the thir- A striking feature of costume during the
teenth century the hauberk of mail was made early centuries of the Middle Ages was the
with continuous coif and gloves and reached similarity in cut of the garments of men and
nearly to the knees. As an additional protec- women. This similarity disappeared in the
tion, the gambeson, a quilted garment stuffed fourteenth century, a period which saw the
with cotton or other material, was worn under gradual transition in armor from mail to a com-
the mail; for the infantry and some horsemen it plete defense of plate. The development of plate
was the sole defense. From about the beginning armor caused great changes in men's dress. As
of the thirteenth century a surcoat bearing her- first the lower legs and then the thighs were
aldic arms was usually worn over the mail, a encased in plate, the surcoat was shortened.
practice corresponding with the use of heraldry. (Particularly foppish knights used to have the
long surcoats dagged, a piece of vanity which
ABOVE: Arming points from the emblem of the cost the English knight Sir John Chandos his
Cracow glovemaker's guild. Polish, 1505 life, for he stumbled over the points, fell, and

177

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Relief showing the colorful surcoat and trappings of cloth used with armor in the thirteenth
century in the equipment of the knight and his horse. In the Metropolitan Museum
 tight-fitting. For this reason the tunic was ulti-
mately eliminated as the daily dress of men,
and two garments, the doublet and trunk hose,
took its place. Originally the doublet was drawn
on over the head, but later it fitted so closely
that it was buttoned down the front. A belt
was worn with the doublet, not round the
waist, but loosely over the hips, and to it were
attached a purse and dagger. With the com-
plete development of plate armor the cuirass
acted as a corset and emphasized the waistline.
Once men had been dressed as tight as possible
it was recognized that only a minimum num-
ber had figures that conformed to the ideal;
fashion therefore proceeded to emphasize
breadth of shoulders along with slimness of
waist in dress and periodically has continued
to do so ever since. It is said that Frederick I,
Count Palatine, ordered the extravagant Bur-
gundian dress to be worn by his court fools to
make it unpopular with his courtiers. How-
ever, the shoulder padding which characterized
this style was not entirely due to foppery but
arose from a practical need for the doublet to
act as a cushion for the armor.
The military costume of the fourteenth cen-
tury offers the most striking and brilliant com-
binations of materials, and the mail, plate, em-
bossed leather accessories, and rich heraldic
decoration show great variety of form and col-
or, the taste for bright colors in dress influenc-
ing the use of color in armor. Everyone recalls
references in the old romances to the colorful
knightly equipment; Sir Gawain's opponent,
for example, "was clothed entirely in green."
At important tournaments knights and their
attendants graced the scene with an endless
wardrobe of costumes and horse trappings of
brocade and embroidery embellished with
jewels, gold fringe, and plumes. Part of a horse
trapping of about 1337, in the Cluny Museum
Armor from Chalcis, showing a decorative in Paris, is embroidered in gold with the leop-
fabric covering riveted to the plates. Italian, ards of England against a background of red
about 1400. In the Metropolitan Museum velvet covered with delicate sprays of foliage
with knights and ladies playing among them.
was slain before he could recover his footing.) No doubt this trapping matched the knight's
Since plate armor afforded effective protection surcoat. Although there are no jeweled helmets
only when its elements fitted accurately, it was extant, we know from contemporary docu-
essential that the costume worn beneath it be ments that in their day they were plentiful.

178
 Linen and other fabrics were used extensive-
ly for soft armor. As few such defenses have
survived, their widespread use is not generally
appreciated. Textiles were also used as decora-
tive coverings for armor. Covering armor with
fabric was practiced only by the Linen Armor-
ers, who were also tailors. In Paris the tailleurs
(cutters) were distinguished from the couturiers
(sewers). In 1296 the Paris Tailors' Guild split
up into pourpointiers and doubletiers, the first
of whom produced the common articles of ap-
parel while the others made only the quilted
doublets worn with armor. Fourteenth-century
armorers were designated armuriers-brodeurs,
as the steel plates and the applied embroidered
coverings they made formed an integral item,
not two separate items, armor and dress. In
1322 the Armourers' Company of London had
a regulation that no armorer should attempt to
sell basinets covered with fabric, but should
show them uncovered, so that the workman-
ship might be seen and approved.
Surviving examples of fourteenth-century
armor are very rare. Among these is the earliest
extant homogeneous half-armor, of Milanese
workmanship, dating about 1390, in the Chur-
burg Castle in the Tyrol. The central element
of a backplate from Chalcis, dating from about
1400, is in the Metropolitan Museum. This
piece still retains its original linen damask cov-
ering. The earliest armor (composite) in the
Museum, also made about 1400, is from the
same source. It has a fine globose brigandine
with deep skirt, built of large, shaped plates.
The red velvet with which it is covered is a
restoration, but the rivets which hold the cov-
ering in place are original. Of the same period
is a breastplate with skirt, in the Bavarian Na-
tional Museum at Munich, entirely covered
with red velvet secured by golden studs.
The few existing examples of early armor
are supplemented by contemporary documents.
These frequently present a brilliant contrast Saint George represented wearing a pleated
between the sword belts, which were often surcoat over his armor and a wide-brimmed
studded with gems or enriched with enamel, straw hat. At the neck and hem of the mail
and the colored or mirrorlike armor. A paint- shirt is a border of brass links that were both
ing of Saint Michael and the Dragon, by an ornamental and rust-proof. Detail from a
unknown Valencian artist of the early fifteenth painting of about 1448 by Antonio Pisano
century, and a tapestry representing the Arm- Pisanello. In the National Gallery, London

179
 portioned body of the medieval knight ex-
4 N%l* presses his cult of slim beauty and hard phy-
sique, and his dress reflects the same ideal.
Throughout the fifteenth century armor fol-
lowed the excellent outlines of costume; it is
therefore more shapely than that of any other
period, and it is free from any grotesque orna-
ment.
Great importance was attached to the per-
fect fit of a suit of armor, just as in clothes. In
the armor of this period the anatomical knowl-
edge and sculptural skill of the armorer is
clearly evident. He used patterns similar to
those used by tailors in order to see the shape
of the various pieces in the flat and to get the
true outline before beating the plates into final
shape. When making a cuirass to measure, a
pattern of the patron's doublet would be sent
to the armorer. In January 1512 "Herzog Carl's
hosen und jopfen" were sent to the court ar-
The Duke of Bourbon in combat. The horse
morer Konrad Seusenhofer so that he could
trappings match the heraldic surcoat, and the make an armor. In the accounts of the royaI
helm, with a fleur-de-lys crest, is covered with
house of Spain in the time of Charles V there
a lambrequin, or scarf, bound on with an orle,
is an entry "for wax for making a model of His
or wreath. Detail from an illumination in the
Majesty's legs, to be sent to Master Desiderius
Tourney Book of Rene d'Anjou. French, 1460- Colman for the armor he is engaged on." The
1465. In the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris
album or sketchbook of the Augsburg etcher
Jorg Sorg, in the Stuttgart Library, is similar
ing of Hector, both in this Museum, show ar- to a tailor's pattern book.
mor covered with fabric. The copper-gilt and At the end of the fifteenth century a change,
enamel statue on the tomb of Edward the corresponding to a change in civilian dress,
Black Prince (died 1376) in Canterbury Cathe- took place in armor. Discarding slenderness
dral shows a body armor almost entirely of and grace of outline, the new style sacrificed
plate with a surcoat worn over it. The actual the lines of height for those of breadth and was
surcoat, an object of the greatest significance ornamented with parallel or almost parallel
in the history of costume and armor, hangs rows of fluting. This fluting, which developed
over the tomb. gradually from about 1425 and which is related
Etiquette, of course, played an important to the pleating of the costume, was not without
role in dress. During the fifteenth century there practical purpose; it not only presented a glanc-
were two principal styles: one, long and ample, ing surface to weapons, but gave increased
for ceremonial occasions; the other, tight-fit- strength and rigidity without extra weight. As
ting, for everyday use. Contemporary paintings the Emperor Maximilian I was actively inter-
show the grace and simple elegance of the cos- ested in the making of fluted armor, this type
tumes. The doublet, it can be seen, worn either was named after him in modern times.
loose hanging or belted, was open at the sides; The padded skirts worn by knights in the
sometimes the back and front each had a deep fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were imitated
V-shaped opening. The garment was usually in armor. Many harnesses with steel skirts are
pleated front and back and was cut to fit the still in existence, a famous one being the eques-
figure perfectly. The finely trained, well-pro- trian harness of Henry VIII in the Tower of

180
London. Military skirts are represented in the
publications of the Emperor Maximilian I. In
the Weisskunig the emperor is shown wearing
a skirt of figured stuff the design of which is
similar to that etched on a skirt of steel in the
Museum. Maximilian is known to have had
armor made with steel skirts of this type; since
the Augsburg armorer Lorenz Colman worked
for the emperor, and Burgkmair, who etched
armor, was a neighbor of Colman's, it may be
that our skirt was etched in Burgkmair's work-
shop.
The mutual influence of costume and armor
is seen not only in line and form but also in
decoration. The etched decoration of armor
often imitated the designs woven into textiles;
for the artists who decorated armor sometimes
copied or adapted the designs of dress materials.
One harness in the Museum has a tonnelet
which imitates in steel the cloth skirt of the
civil dress. Not only is the heavy fluted pleat-
ing of the cloth skirt imitated, but the etched
bands simulate a brocade pattern; the pile,
gold threads, and loops of the boucle weave
are also represented. The portrait of Lucio
Foppa by Ambrogio Figino in the Brera Palace,
Milan, shows armor etched with the same mo-
tive that is embroidered on the trunk hose,
and a similar etched motive appears on a hel-
met in the Museum. A half-suit in the MIuse-
um's collection, dating from the last quarter of
the sixteenth century, is closely etched with a
design of tree and crescent in so formal and
compact an arrangement as to suggest the pat-
tern of a damask. This design was at one
time believed to represent the repeated badge
of the Strozzi family; in reality, it is only a
stereotype motive, for it appears on other ex-
tant armor as well as in portraits, for instance,
that of the Connetable de Lesdiguieres in the
Museum of Grenoble. The armors of Francis
II and Henry III, in the Musee d'Artillerie in Armor with cloth laced over the cuirass
Paris, are etched with repeat patterns which rather than riveted to the plates. Detail
imitate the designs of textiles, and the armor from a Catalan painting by the Master of
of Charles IX, also in Paris, is embossed with Saint George, about 1430. In the Art Insti-
inverted chevron ridges which suggest the tute of Chicago
stitching of the doublet.
During the first quarter of the sixteenth cen- sions than in battle, and into its construction
tury armor was used more on ceremonial occa- and ornamentation were introduced features

181
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Giovanni Francesco Aquaviva, Duke of Atri. His trunk hose and helmet, or
burgonet, are studded with ornamental rivets that correspond to the structural
rivets in his brigandine. His sleeves of finely woven mail, interlinked like the
rings of a women's metal purse, were as flexible as sleeves of silk. This portrait,
painted by Titian in I552, is in the Picture Gallery, Cassel.

182
 simulating the fantastic costume of the period V in Westminster Abbey retains its figured silk
which lessened its protective value. The eccen- damask lining. The shield of the Archduke
tric dress it imitated is familiar to all of us Ferdinand of Tyrol which will be exhibited
from Burgkmair, Cranach, Diirer, and Holbein here with the treasures from Vienna also has
drawings showing puffings and slashings. The its original lining, which was worked by Cata-
fashion of slashed decoration, which appeared rina Leuca Cantona, a Milanese embroideress
about 1470, was invented to give freedom to at the Tyrolean court.
the limbs. Thus, at first, only the close-fitting How costume served as an accessory of ar-
arms and knees were slashed, but gradually the mor is shown effectively in a portrait of Sir
entire costume became so ornamented. In 1523 James Scudamore, whose armor, made about
Matthaus Schwarz had a fustian doublet made 1585, is in this Museum. The knight wears a
with, according to his own statement, 4800 lace collar; a broad sash over the breast- and
slits, through each of which white velvet backplates falls diagonally from the left shoul-
showed. der, whence two streamers flow from the knot;
Extravagance in dress often centered on the and his fringed skirt is patterned with diagonal
sleeves. In this Museum, from the armory of lines which are in harmony with the etched
Prince Radziwill, is an unusual pair of sleeves and gilded design on the armor. The embroid-
en suite with a backplate and its hoguine (but- ered sword belt from which the sword is sus-
tock defense). The sleeves simulate the wide pended is a common accessory of both costume
puffed sleeves that were compressed to form a and armor of this period, swords having been
cushion when worn under armor. The slightly part of the everyday costume of every gentle-
recessed ornament of the etched pattern repre- man from about 1525. A splendid German
sents the slashes which were introduced into
contemporary costume in simulation of wounds,
indicating the valor of the wearer. The slashed
motive appeared also in women's clothes. The
costume usually followed the needs of the ar-
morer, but in the case of these exaggerated
sleeves the patron, in commissioning his ar-
morer to imitate cloth sleeves in metal, was
apparently indulging in a little foppery. The
design with which our backplate and sleeves
are enriched appears in two woodcuts by David
de Necker, one showing it on costume, the
other on armor.
With the puffed and slashed dress was often
worn a tailored cape of mail, known as a bish-
op's mantle. It was usually fashioned of small
links of riveted mail with collar and vandyked
lower borders of latten rings, and it was worn
either over or under the cuirass or over the
costume without other armor. Over such capes
was sometimes worn a cloth cape which fol-
lowed the contour of the mail. Many of these
mail capes are represented in the drawings,
dated 1545, of Hans D6ring, a Hessian artist.
Shields often had richly woven linings that A soldier wearing a quilted jack. Detail from
matched the fabric of the knight's costume. The the Crucifixion by Hubert van Eyck. Flemish,
shield which hangs above the tomb of Henry early xv century. In the Metropolitan Museum

183
 sword belt of the sixteenth century is shown in
the Costume Institute.
To illustrate how costume served as a lining
for armor, a pair of trunk hose dating about
1600 and a slightly earlier doublet have been
associated and are exhibited in the Costume
Institute. The sleeves are so "upholstered" in
creases that when arm defenses are worn the
sleeve folds itself into a compact cushion, pro-
ducing no wrinkles to annoy the wearer. The
vertical straps, or panes, of the trunk hose also
fold neatly together, the heavy padding be-
neath them serving as an additional cushion
for the armor. The scallops at the waist of the
doublet kept the corselet from shifting and
sagging. The looped tabs bordering the col-
lars, shoulders, and sleeves are "pickadils";
London's Piccadilly takes its name from them,
for it was there that the fashion for piccadills
was developed.
A quilted jacket, or jack, reinforced with
pieces of metal, bone, or leather was the typi-
cal defense of the infantryman for centuries.
Such armored jackets were worn by archers,
musketeers, and pikemen when plate armor
was worn by their superiors. They were less
costly than plate armor and far more comfort-
able to wear, as they allowed more ease of
movement. An Elizabethan jack, in remarkable
preservation and in form exactly like the con-
temporary cloth doublet, is exhibited in the
Armor Hall. Quilted jackets are worn by sol-
diers today. Such jackets, either with or with-
out sleeves, are also worn by women.
The brigandine (literally armor for brigands,
or foot soldiers) was merely of more intricate
construction than the humble jack and made
of richer materials. It was what a dandy in ar-
mor regarded as the last word in comfort and
fashion. The brigandine of the sixteenth cen-
tury is a jacket of velvet or other rich material
with an interlining of rows on rows of small
plates, overlapping like roof shingles and riv-
Costume worn with armor, about I6oo. The eted to the inner face of the jacket instead of
helmet, quilted doublet, or pourpoint, and to the lining. A fine Italian sixteenth-century
trunk hose are original, but of slightly differ- brigandine covered with red velvet is exhibited
ent date and provenance. Similar associations, in the Costume Institute. (Cosimo de' Medici
however, occurred at the time. The boots are used to say that two ells of red cloth made a
reconstructed. In the Metropolitan Museum fine man.) Our brigandine is simply a rein-

184
George Clifford, third earl of Cumberland, in a wide-sleeved doublet with a
long skirt made specially to fit over his armor. Another harness that belonged
to the earl is on display in the Armor Hall. Miniature of about i59o by Nicholas
Hilliard. In the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England
 caps worn in Flanders and France in the late
fifteenth century. Similar caps appear in the
M1Iuseum's Unicorn tapestries. In the early six-
teenth century the head covering in vogue was
the large, flat, very fantastic beret. This is simu-
lated in the steel beret of the Emperor Charles
V in the Royal Armory in Madrid; a second
steel cap, North Italian of the early sixteenth
century, is in the Clemens collection in Col-
ogne. The triple-crested burgonets of the guard
of Cosimo de' Medici, of which the Museum
has two examples, were founded on the con-
temporary civilian velvet bonnet. Helmets of
the sixteenth century-the burgonet, cabasset,
and morion-were copied as hats. Often such
v~ ?helmets were covered with embroidered tex-
tiles: the burgonet in the Royal Armory in
Stockholm, for example, which was probably
worn by a spear page at the marriage of Gus-
Backplate, hoguine, and sleeves with puffed tavus Adolphus in 1620. Many helmets based
and slashed decoration. German, about 1525. on
tile seventeenth-century cavalier's hat are
In the Metropolitan Miuseutim extant; one in this MIuseum, a cavalier's hel-
mnetwith upturned brim, is an example of the
forced civil costume. We learn from contem-
porary documents, for example, Cellini's Au-
tobiography, that the civil costume, which ob-
viously was more comfortable than armor, was
often made to simulate the brigandine simply
to give the impression that the wearer was pro-
tected; for this was a period when everyone was
armed and, even then, when on the highway
one was not certain of reaching one's destina-
tion in safety.
Brigandines were, of course, custom made.
Their coverings include buckskin, silk, velvet,
even cloth of gold. MIetallic textiles, it may be
noted, were not always rare materials; after the
battle of Granson (1476) a hundred embroid-
ered coats of cloth of gold, which Charles the
Bold considered indispensable in the field,
were found in his tent.
Numerous instances could be given of the
influence of the hat on the form of the helmet
and vice versa. The counterpart of the chapel-
de-fer, or war hat, of the fifteenth century may
be seen in the contemporary beaver hat. In the Arimorand trunk hose wit/h matching deco-
Royal Armory in Madrid is the steel hat of ration. Detail from a portrait of Lucio
Philip the Handsome with a wide brim, turned Foppa by Am brogio Figino. In the Brera
upwards and outwards, like the cloth or velvet Palace, Milan

186
influence of the familiar Pilgrim's hat. In our
cavalier's helmet the hat cord, a survival of the
fillet which tied the cloth headdress, is simu-
lated in metal. At this time it was not entirely
unusual for a gentleman to wear his wife's dia-
mond necklace as a hatband! It may also be of
interest to note in passing that the cap of the
Soviet soldier is copied from the conical hel-
met of the son of Ivan the Terrible.
We shall now refer briefly to some features
of costume which have survived in armor.
Shoes with pointed toes were characteristic of ;.. ) - te-}
..??'
costume in the fifteenth century and earlier.
n _
The points grew ridiculously long, and finally
their length marked the degree of rank of the
wearer. Since with such footwear it was impos- Cabasset of a half-armor etched with a design
sible to walk, the points were bent up and se- of tree and crescent adapted from a tissue.
cured to the knee with fine chains. The style Italian, 159o0-600. In the Metropolitan Muse-
was introduced in armor in the second half of um. The same design appears on other armor.
the fifteenth century when the sabatons had
long points which could be removed by means mor Gallery, and a brigandine with its cod-
of turning pins. A pair of such sabatons forms piece is shown in the Costume Institute. That
part of the armor of Frederick the Victorious doublets were simulated in steel is known from
in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. numerous extant examples. These are usually
Early in the sixteenth century shoes were as hinged on either side and open in front, where
absurdly broad at the toes as they had previ- there is a row of rivets in imitation of buttons.
ously been pointed, and the style was also The tabs which appear on doublets to act as a
adopted in armor. With the development of cushion and to prevent the cuirass from shift-
hose in a single garment, or "tights," the cod- ing were also simulated in the cuirass itself.
piece made its appearance. This was first re- Sometimes the richly embroidered caparisons
produced in mail and later in plate armor. A were reproduced in metal, as in the horse's
number of codpieces are exhibited in the Ar- bard of the "Burgundian cross" armor of Phil-
ip II of Spain in the Royal Armory in Madrid.
A few survivals from armor may be noted in
costume of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen-
turies. Ladies and gentlemen wore lace col-
lars identical in style, and the style was influ-
enced by the soldier's neck defense. The
pierced lacelike steel guards of the cup-hilted
rapiers were in keeping with the contemporary
lace collars. Especially to be noted is the shape
of the doublet, which changed to conform with
the changes in the cuirass. The slits in the
doublets served the practical purpose of facili-
tating freedom of movement when armor was
worn. Accessories of doublet and hose were the
Steel beret made for the Emperor Charles V arming points, or metal-tipped laces, which
in the style of contemporary berets of velveet were always used to truss up or support the
or cloth. In the Royal Armory, Madrid elements of armor. Arming points were also

187
used to secure mail sleeves to a close buff jer- able information in the current exhibition in
kin, as they are in a portrait of a young man the Costume Institute. For additional informa-
by Giovanni Battista Moroni in the National tion the reader is referred to an article on "The
Gallery, London. The vogue for amply padded Mutual Influence of Costume and Armor: a
hose developed in the seventeenth century to Study of Specimens in The Metropolitan Mu-
serve as a cushion for the exceptionally broad seum of Art," which was published in Metro-
thigh defenses worn by pikemen. Buff leather politan Miuseum Studies, vol. III, part 2, June,
coats, often decorated with stitchery, were also 193 .
worn as a cushion under the heavy bullet-proof BELOW: Helm of the Duke of Brittany show-
armor, and when the armor was discarded the ing the lambrequin and crest (out of a coro-
buff coat served as the normal dress. net, a golden leopard between ermine horns).
From an illumination in the Tourney Book
Anyone interested in the fashions of the sol- of Rene d'Anjou. French, 1460-1465. In the
dier courtier will find an abundance of valu- Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris

.,

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188