ARMS

AND

ARMOR

Entries by Helmut Nickel, Curator; Stuart W. Pyhrr, Curator in Charge.

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Sword and RelatedJewelry

Langobardic, about A.D. 600

and Sword:gold hilt,with filigree cloisonnedecoration, single-edged ironblade;overalllength,15 in. (63.5 cm).Medallion: gold,with a frame JustinII (r. A.D. 565-578); enclosing solidusof Emperor filigree with filigree; I3/8 diameter, in. (3.5 cm).Fourbeads:gold, decorated
length of each, 3/4in. (I.9 cm)

OchsSulzberger Mr. Gift, Purchase, andMrs.Arthur in honorof HelmutNickel,1988

1988.z97.I-3 a-d

In manywarriorgravesof the DarkAges a beadof agate, was amber,or meerschaum foundnext to the sword.This or Schwertperle, "swordbead,"was a good-luckpiece ata tachedto the scabbard a strap.Sometimes gold or silver by coin mountedas a pendanttakesthe placeof the talismanic bead;in this case the gold coin of Emperor JustinII (which gives a convenientdatepost quem),set in a frameof matching filigreedecoration,seemsto have beenthe sword's The Schwertperle. similarlydecoratedbeadsmighthave been ornaments the attachment for strap. in The swordis of a type calledsemi-spatha earlymedieval sources.The tenth-century Waltharius, earliestsurthe epic vivingpartof the Nibelungencycle,tells how the hero, a Visigothheld hostageat the courtof Attilathe Hun, makes his escapeby arminghimself"in the Hunnishfashion"with a double-edged long sword (spatha)hangingat his left side and a single-edged on of semi-spatha his righthip. The carrying two swordsof unequallengthseemsto have beena characteristicof Eastern steppenomadsand was adoptedby warriorsat the fringesof the steppes.The practicewas still to be foundamongseventeenth-century Polishhussarsand ninein Japanesesamurai.The Langobards, their teenth-century to fromnorthernGermany Italy,remained in migration what is now Hungaryfor one or two generations, long enoughto take over some elementsof armsand armorfrom the Eastern nomadictribeswith whom they camein contact.
HN

of Althoughnothingis known aboutthe provenance these objects,it can be assumedthat they cameextraordinary probablyas a chancefind-from the graveof a Germanic warriorof the late MigrationPeriod,duringthe so-called DarkAges. Several hundredswordsfromthe DarkAges were excavated at sites throughout Europeduringthe last 150 years.This The of swordis by far the most spectacular. construction the hilt is typicallyGermanic; hourglassshapeof the grip the to found in northern corresponds particularly specimens and Germany Denmark.The gold mountingsof the guard and pommelwere once rivetedover iron disks,whichhave corrodedaway; likewise,the gold wire of the gripwas wooden core. Most of the wrappedarounda now-missing surfacesof the mountsare coveredwith gold filigree; the pommelcap bearsa cloisonnedesign(the insemiglobular that lays have beenlost) in the shapeof a cross,indicating the ownerof this trulyprincelyweaponwas a Christian.

England,Oxford,196z; Wilfried Menghin,Das Schwertim friihen

Mittelalter, Stuttgart, 1983.

Related H. references: R.Ellis The in Davidson, Sword Anglo-Saxon

Armor of Don Luis (1707-1724), Prince of Asturias

French (Paris), 1712

thread Steel,gold, gilt brass,silk,cotton,paper,andmetallic

Height (as mounted), 28 in. (71.1 cm)

Armand Hammer andRogersFund,1989 Gift Purchase,

1989.3

its Exactlyfiftyyearsago the Department purchased last harnessof Henriii of armor,the mid-sixteenth-century
France (39.I21). Since that time few armors of artistic importance have appeared on the market. In 1989, however,

an we acquired exampleof remarkable quality,one that is also Frenchin originand of royalprovenance: armor the of Don Luis,princeof Asturias,who reignedbrieflyin 1724
as Luis I of Spain. Dated 1712, it is probably the last royal

paradearmormadein Europe. The armoris of verysmallproportions was intendedfor and a five-year-old It consistsof an open helmetof burgoboy. net form,breastplate with one-piecetassets,backplate, and gauntlets.Platesfor the collar,arms,and legs shoulders, are not includedand may not have beenplanned.The steel with verticalgold stripes surfacesare bluedand ornamented
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on the cuirassand gold bandsalong the mainedgesof the plates.The principaldecorationconsistsof gilt-brassrivet headscast as fleurs-de-lis, France,and as castlesand for lions, for Castileand Le6n,the armsof the Bourbonmonarchsof Spain.The fleur-de-lis also found on the buckles, is on the plumeholder,and as a three-dimensional at the lily the French apex of the helmet,proclaiming predominately qualityof the armor. The backplateis engravedin script:DrouarOrdinaire du refersto one of the Drouartfamilyof armorers, presumably workingat the sign of the helmetin Paris,perhapsto Andre, du Maisondu Roi. Signedand datedarmorsare exceptionally rare,and this exampleappearsto be the latestknown.
Roy au Heaume a Paris I712. This abbreviated wording

the cotton paddingfromthe metal.Insidethe left shoulderis a printednotice of a lotteryin ParisdatedNovemberzo, 1711, providingunexpected insightinto life in that city at the time this armorwas made. This diminutive armorwas presumably gift of Louisxiv the of Franceto his great-grandson namesake.Luiswas the and firstof his line to have beenbornin Spain(his father,Felipev, was born Philippe,duc d'Anjou,at Versailles) thus and embodiedthe legitimate Bourbonclaimto the Spanishthrone. Followingthe deathof the last Habsburgmonarchin

Madrid in I700, both the Bourbon and Habsburgs claimed Succession (I701-14). In this context, the armor, with its

recorded from 1674 to i688 as armurier-heaumier[ordinaire]

the throne,the resultof which was the Warof the Spanish

Eachelementretainsits originalpaddedliningcoveredwith crimsonsilk and red-velvet pickadils(the scallopedtabs that trimmed protectedthe overlapping plates fromscratching) with silver-gilt thread.The colorfulappearance thus preis servedintact, a featurerarelyfound on otherEuropean armors,most of which have been strippedof theirfabric The furnishings. liningcontainsscrapsof paperseparating
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heraldicdecoration,was undoubtedly intended prominent not merelyas a costumefor the youngprincebut as a dynasticsymbolfor the new monarchy.
SWP Bibliography: Os Descobrimentos Portugueses e a Europa do

Renascimento: Armaria Exhibition of (exhib.cat.), xvII European

Art, Science, and Culture, Lisbon, 1983, no. 69; Rainer Daehnhardt, "The Ghost King's Armour: An Extraordinary Child's Armour Recently Discovered," Man at Arms, Io, no. 5 (1988), pp. I0-15.