The Helmschmied family of Augsburg were one of late medieval Europe's foremost families of

armourer Historically, an armourer is a person who makes personal armour, especially plate armour. In modern terms, an armourer is a member of a military or police force who works in an armoury and maintains and repairs small arms and weapons systems, wi ...

s. Their name, sometimes also spelled ''Helmschmid'', translates to ''helmet smith''. The family's most prominent members were

Lorenz Helmschmied Lorenz Helmschmied or "Helmschmid" (active 1467–1515) was a German armourer and a member of the Helmschmied family of armourers from Augsburg. He was one of the primary armourers to the Habsburg court of the Holy Roman Emperors Frederick III ...

(''floruit'' 1467-1515), Kolman Helmschmied (1471–1532) and Desiderius Kolman Helmschmied (1513–1579). The Helmschmieds made

armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

for the high nobility of the Holy Roman Empire, including multiple emperors, for rulers of the Spanish Empire, for the archdukes of Austria and Tyrol, as well as other wealthy clients. They competed for fame and noble patronage with the other two most prominent late 15th century European armour smith families, the Seusenhofers of

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

(Austria) and the Missaglias of Milan. Many works that the Helmschmieds made for

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...

and

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

are preserved in the Royal Armoury of Madrid, and many of their other works are kept in the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal do ...

in Vienna.

Gallery

File:Sallet of Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519) MET DP-12880-034.jpg, Sallet helmet made for Holy Roman Emperor

Maximilian I Maximilian I may refer to: *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1486/93–1519 *Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, reigned 1597–1651 *Maximilian I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636-1689) *Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, reigned 1795� ...

File:HJRK A 79 - Armour of Maximilian I, c. 1485.jpg, Armour made for Maximillian I File:HJRK B 174 - Racing armour back, c. 1495.jpg, Horse racing armour made for Maximillian I File:Close Helmet for a Boy MET DP22401.jpg, Helmet made for a young boy File:Pair of Tassets of Emperor Charles V of Austria (1500–1558) MET DP341735.jpg, Pair of tassets made for Holy Roman Emperor Charles V File:Burgonet MET 25.135.66 005AA2015.jpg, Burgonet helmet File:Antonio Moro - Willem I van Nassau.jpg, William the Silent (William of Orange) wearing Helmschmied armour File:WMK - Kürass Ferdinand.jpg, Armour made for Archduke

Ferdinand I Ferdinand I or Fernando I may refer to: People * Ferdinand I of León, ''the Great'' (ca. 1000–1065, king from 1037) * Ferdinand I of Portugal and the Algarve, ''the Handsome'' (1345–1383, king from 1367) * Ferdinand I of Aragon and Sicily, '' ...

, who would later become Holy Roman Emperor

Gallery

References

Further reading