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Man-at-arms
A man-at-arms was a soldier of the High Medieval to Renaissance periods who was typically well-versed in the use of arms and served as a fully- armoured heavy cavalryman. A man-at-arms could be a knight, or other nobleman, a member of a knight's or nobleman's retinue, or a mercenary in a company serving under a captain. Such men could serve for pay or through a feudal obligation. The terms ''knight'' and ''man-at-arms'' are often used interchangeably, but while all knights equipped for war were men-at-arms, not all men-at-arms were knights. Terminology Though in English the term man-at-arms is a fairly straightforward rendering of the French ''homme d'armes'', in the Middle Ages, there were numerous terms for this type of soldier, referring to the type of arms he would be expected to provide: In France, he might be known as a ''lance'' or ''glaive'', while in Germany, ''Spieß'', ''Helm'' or ''Gleve'', and in various places, a ''bascinet''. In Italy, the term '' barbuta' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bascinet
The bascinet – also bassinet, basinet, or bazineto – was a Medieval European open-faced combat helmet. It evolved from a type of iron or steel skullcap, but had a more pointed apex to the skull, and it extended downwards at the rear and sides to afford protection for the neck. A mail curtain (aventail or camail) was usually attached to the lower edge of the helmet to protect the throat, neck and shoulders. A visor (face guard) was often employed from c. 1330 to protect the exposed face. Early in the fifteenth century, the camail began to be replaced by a plate metal gorget, giving rise to the so-called "great bascinet". Early development The first recorded reference to a bascinet, or ''bazineto'', was in the Italian city of Padua in 1281, when it is described as being worn by infantry.Nicolle (1999-journal), p. 583. It is believed that the bascinet evolved from a simple iron skullcap, (''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "Helmet") known as the cervelliere, which was worn with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gendarme (historical)
A ''gendarme'' was a heavy cavalryman of noble birth, primarily serving in the French army from the Late Middle Ages to the Early Modern period. Heirs to the knights of French medieval feudal armies, French Gendarmes also enjoyed a stellar reputation and were regarded as the finest European heavy cavalry force until the decline of chivalric ideals largely due to the ever-evolving developments in gunpowder technology. They provided the Kings of France with a potent regular force of armored lancers which, when properly employed, dominated late medieval and early modern battlefields. Their symbolic demise is generally considered to be the Battle of Pavia, which inversely is seen as confirming the rise of the Spanish Tercios as the new dominant military force in Europe. Etymology The word ''gendarme'' derives originally from the French ''homme d'armes'' (man-at-arms), plural of which is ''gens d'armes''. The plural sense was later shortened to ''gendarmes'' and a singular mad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Greek ''hippeis'' and '' hoplite'' (ἱππεῖς) and Roman '' eques'' and ''centurion'' of classical antiquity. In the Early Middle Ages in Europe, knighthood was conferred upon mounted warriors. During the High Middle Ages, knighthood was considered a class of lower nobility. By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior. Often, a knight was a vassal who served as an elite fighter or a bodyguard for a lord, with payment in the form of land holdings. The lords trusted the knights, who were skilled in battle on horseback. Knighthood in the Middle Ages was closely linked with horsemanship (and especially the joust) from its origins in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuirassier
Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adopting the use of pistols as their primary weapon. In the later part of the 17th century the cuirassier lost his limb armour and subsequently wore only the cuirass (breastplate and backplate), and sometimes a helmet. By this time, the sword or sabre had become his primary weapon, with pistols relegated to a secondary function. Cuirassiers achieved increased prominence during the Napoleonic Wars and were last fielded in the opening stages of World War I (1914-1918). A number of countries continue to use cuirassiers as ceremonial troops. The French term ''cuirassier'' means "one with a cuirass" ( fr , cuirasse), the breastplate armour which they wore. 16th and 17th centuries The first cuirassiers were similar in appearance to the fully armou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demi-lancer
The demi-lancer or demilancer was a type of heavy cavalryman in Western Europe in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Characteristics "Demi-lancer" was a term used in 16th-century military parlance, especially in England, to designate cavalrymen mounted on unarmoured horses, armed with a slightly lighter version of the heavy lance of a man-at-arms and wearing three-quarter or half-armour, in contrast to the full plate armour of the man-at-arms or gendarme, who rode barded mounts. The cuirass (torso armour) and pauldrons (shoulder protection) of the demi-lancer were intended to be at least pistol proof. An open-faced helmet, such as the burgonet, was often worn in place of the fully-enclosed close helmet. Armour for the leg and foot was replaced by long cuff-topped riding boots. In addition to the lance, the demi-lancer would have been armed with one or two wheellock or snaphance pistols carried in saddle holsters, and a sword (including Walloon swords and rapiers.)Tincey and Tur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of European history, following the decline of the Western Roman Empire, and preceding the High Middle Ages ( 11th to 13th centuries). The alternative term ''late antiquity'', for the early part of the period, emphasizes elements of continuity with the Roman Empire, while ''Early Middle Ages'' is used to emphasize developments characteristic of the earlier medieval period. The period saw a continuation of trends evident since late classical antiquity, including population decline, especially in urban centres, a decline of trade, a small rise in average temperatures in the North Atlantic region and increased migration. In the 19th century the Early Middle Ages were often labelled the ''Dark Ages'', a characterization based on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breastplate
A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is also a term for a piece of clothing used by drag queens and cross-dressing performers, which mimics a woman's cleavage or breasts. European In medieval weaponry, the breastplate is the front portion of plate armour covering the torso. It has been a military mainstay since ancient times and was usually made of leather, bronze or iron in antiquity. By around 1000 AD, solid plates had fallen out of use in Europe and knights of the period were wearing mail in the form of a hauberk over a padded tunic. Plates protecting the torso reappeared in the 1220s as plates directly attached to a knightly garment known as the surcoat. Around 1250 this developed into the coat of plates which continued to be in use for about a century. True breastplates re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lance Rest
A lance rest ( French: ''arrêt de cuirasse'' or ''arrêt'') is a metal flange or hook that is typically attached to the right side of a breastplate, just under the armpit. The lance rest appeared in the late 14th century, remaining in use until the use of full plate armour and heavy lances became obsolete for general use in the late 16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ... and early 17th centuries. The use of a lance rest can be more readily understood by examining the French term ''arrêt'', or "stop" (in the sense of a mechanism which is used to prevent something from moving.) The lance rest was not used to simply hold the weight of the lance, as the English name might suggest, but to stop the rearward movement of the weapon upon impact. This would allow the w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plate Armour
Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Years' War, from the coat of plates worn over mail suits during the 14th century. In Europe, plate armour reached its peak in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The full suit of armour, also referred to as a panoply, is thus a feature of the very end of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. Its popular association with the " medieval knight” is due to the specialised jousting armour which developed in the 16th century. Full suits of Gothic plate armour were worn on the battlefields of the Burgundian and Italian Wars. The most heavily armoured troops of the period were heavy cavalry, such as the gendarmes and early cuirassiers, but the infantry troops of the Swiss mercenaries and the La ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mail (armour)
Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and the 16th century AD in Europe, and longer in Asia and North Africa. A coat of this armour is often called a hauberk, and sometimes a byrnie. History The earliest examples of surviving mail were found in the Carpathian Basin at a burial in Horný Jatov, Slovakia dated at 3rd century BC, and in a chieftain's burial located in Ciumești, Romania. Its invention is commonly credited to the Celts, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambeson
A gambeson (also aketon, padded jack, pourpoint, or arming doublet) is a padded defensive jacket, worn as armour separately, or combined with mail or plate armour. Gambesons were produced with a sewing technique called quilting. They were usually constructed of linen or wool; the stuffing varied, and could be for example scrap cloth or horse hair. During the 14th century, illustrations usually show buttons or laces up the front. An arming doublet (also called aketon) worn under armour, particularly plate armour of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Europe, contains arming points for attaching plates. Fifteenth century examples may include mail goussets sewn into the elbows and armpits to protect the wearer in locations not covered by plate. German gothic armour arming doublets were generally shorter than Italian white armour doublets, which could extend to the upper thigh. In late fifteenth century Italy this also became a civilian fashion. Men who were not knights wore arming dou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurfurst Otto Heinrich, Pfalzgraf Bei Rhein By Wendelin Boeheim
The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince-electors had the privilege of electing the monarch who would be crowned by the pope. After 1508, there were no imperial coronations and the election was sufficient. Charles V (elected in 1519) was the last emperor to be crowned (1530); his successors were elected emperors by the electoral college, each being titled "Elected Emperor of the Romans" (german: erwählter Römischer Kaiser; la, electus Romanorum imperator). The dignity of elector carried great prestige and was considered to be second only to that of king or emperor. The electors held exclusive privileges that were not shared with other princes of the Empire, and they continued to hold their original titles alongside that of elector. The heir apparent to a secular prince-ele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
