Norman Crusader; there were other anachronisms almost as glaring. The late Mr. Barber, who had charge of the Armouries for many years, was conscientious, but unobserving. The armour, under his care, was vigorously scoured at given intervals by the troops of the garrison, by no means to its advantage. The appointment, however, of Viscount Dillon as Curator of the Armouries in 1895 saved them from continuing to be what they were at one time—the laughing-stock of the continental cognoscenti. On Viscount Dillon's retirement in 1913 Mr. Charles ffoulkes, F.S.A., was chosen as Curator. Mr. ffoulkes has done admirable work in the Tower Armouries, and no appreciation can do justice to the value of the splendid catalogue of our national collection for which he is responsible.
Having thus very briefly outlined the past history of the armour at the Tower, we will deal individually and in chronological order with certain historical XVIth, century suits preserved there. No suits are likely to have greater interest for the armour lover, and especially the Englishman, than those war harnesses, for they may all be accepted as having truly belonged to the royal and noble personages to whom they are now accredited. Of the suits in question, one—already referred to—is known for certain to have been the personal property of King Henry VIII, and it is probable that four others also belonged to him. The one known to have been his is that mounted harness, made to measure for King Henry, somewhere between the years 1511 and 1514 by Conrad Seusenhofer of Innsbrück (Fig. 1016). Until 1895 it was supposed that it was presented to King Henry VIII by the Emperor Maximilian on the occasion of the English monarch's marriage with Katherine of Aragon in 1509. But inasmuch as Viscount Dillon has yet to lay before the Society of Antiquaries his promised notes on the making and despatch to England of this particular suit, the reader must be content with such information as we ourselves can glean as to its history. In the 1547 inventory, to which we have already referred (ante, page 191), this suit is described under the following item in "Grenewich. In the Custodye of S^{r} Thomas Pastone knight," etc.
"In the first House. Itm Upon the Third horse a Harnesse given unto the kings Maiestie by Themperor Maximilian w^{th} a base of stele and goldesmythe worke Silver and guilte with A border abowt the same silver and guilte of Goldesmythes worke and A barde of stele w^{th} a Burgonion Crosse and a fusye and a Saddell with A crymmyn and A shaffron to the same" (see Fig. 1002).
