Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 4).djvu/54

Fig. 1108. Additional close helmet to the suit (Fig. 1107) Tower of London, Class II, No. 83

reinforcing breastplate shown in the lower half of Fig. 1109. The tassets are detachable at the third plate, an arrangement which made the plates hang better when the wearer was on horseback, as can be seen in the case of the Tower suit. The open burgonet helmet, which is forged from one piece of metal, has a finely modelled comb; the protecting umbril is fashioned from another plate, and is attached by rivets. The cheek-pieces are large and full, having a small movable plate at their extreme ends; to this was formerly riveted the strap that buckled beneath the chin. The buffe is attached by hooks fastened to its side, which pass through eyes in the cheek-pieces; it is further held rigidly in position by means of an oblong slot working on a rivet fitted to the cheek-piece. The additional pieces formerly in Windsor Castle also included a reinforcing breastplate. The decoration of the whole suit is simple, and very characteristic of work of this school, consisting of broad vertical bands slightly recessed and incised with double lines and fully gilt. These bands are connected at intervals by narrower bands verging at right angles from them. The narrower bands are shaped to the outline of three crescents joined end to end, an arrangement which at a distance gives a scale-like appearance to the surface. Taken separately, the weight of the armour formerly at Windsor is as follows: the burgonet 19 lb., the breastplate 9 lb., the backplate 9 lb., the gorget 6-1/2 lb., the tassets 26 lb., the extra breastplate 10 lb., and the small reinforcing chin-piece 1-1/2 lb., making the extraordinary total of 81 lb. In connection with the great weight of this suit it is interesting to note that parts have been enlarged by the insertion of pieces of metal, although the cir-