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#31 | |
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Remember this Order was implemented by Dom Afonso Henriques first King of Portugal in the XII century and he descended from the French House of Burgundy, whose coat of arms featured mutiple fleur de lys. . |
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#32 |
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Cabasset, a Catalan term here attributed due to its resemblance with a 'cabás' (basket, container). Capacete in both Castillian and Portuguese.
Morrion, a Castillian term derived from 'morra', the top of the head. Morrião in Portuguese. Looks like disputing which one appeared first is like the egg and the hen dillemma. If artistic licence ougth to be considered within the universe of author's imagination, its degree may be subject of various factors, from the artist's reliabilty and whether he/she never saw and have the minimum glue of how it has been, to someone who witnessed the subject and even took part in it ... and of course also of his/her artistic gifts. From what i may figure, forces acting in the same timeline don't necessarily use equipment of the same version or generation; we may have 'X' wearing cabassets in one whereabouts, 'Y' wearing morrions in another episode and 'Z' wearing burgonets, whatever, in yet a different part of the world ... all in the same time period. As there may have been those who pick the newly invented stuff much earlier than others and those who stick to the same gear on an infinite basis. If Andreas doesn' mind for so much side topic, i would here show a couple of images. - A detail of the tragic battle of Alcacer Quibir (Ksar-el-Kebir) 1578. The author was Miguel de Andrada, woo took part in this battle, becoming prisoner and later liberated. Here the helmets, some with a plausible look, don't seem to be cabassets. - Neither is the helmet of this Castillian armour of the second half XV century; which is not surprising due to is earlier age ... although from this one we may realize 'what was coming'. - Then we have a mural in the palace of Marquis de Santa Cruz, in Ciudad Real, Spain. All those characters are identified as personalities who took part in epic Spanish battles, Lepanto (1571), Ourã (1575), Invincible Armada (1588). Taking apart the fantasy of the interpretation, it is interesting to see the guys wearing a sequence of cabassets and morrions. - And last, but not least ![]() You guys stay safe. . |
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#33 |
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The puzzle of the combed morion and just when it became widely known in the New World has proven a bit of a conundrum, and while I do not want to digress too much, it does seem a salient topic as we discuss the example of the OP.
As the late Walter Karcheski, as I noted, described in his monograph on the arms of the Conquistadors (1990), he commented that the 'combed morion' was not used in the early conquests by Pizarro in Peru and Cortes in Mexico. However it became popularized in the years later with other expeditions. While we know that the design originated in Castile, its inception into wide use seems unclear, but after 1530s beyond it did have a degree of presence in the expeditions that carried on. I found a useful reference which I used when researching a Spanish leather armor from New Mexico (c.1690s) a number of years ago. It was interesting to learn just how much the early Spaniards used leather and textile armor in these frontiers. It is "Spanish Arms & Armor in the Southwest" F.S.Curtis, New Mexico Historical Review, Vol. II, #2, 1927. p.108: In discussing Coronado (explorations 1540-42) and Onate (1598-1626) the author reveals that , "...of Coronados cavalry, Mota Padilla is our clearest informant, telling us that they were armed with 'lances, swords, and other hand held weapons and some with coats of mail, SALADES and BEAVORS, some of iron and some of RAWHIDE". further: "...Coronado himself and his chief officers probably went into battle clothed in full armor which covered them from sole to crown, discarding the less important portions while on the march and at times protecting themselves with cloaks from the sun shining on their steel cuirasses. The battle helmet was probably used very little except when action was imminent". In other sources it is noted that the closed helmet was used by officers and ranking individuals, it was often replaced by a broad hat that was secretly reinforced by steel bands. On. p.109, it is reasserted that the SALADE type helmet was a certainty. These descriptions in this reference are designated as 1) First period, exploration and conquest, presumably 1540-1604+ 2) Second period, Revolution and reconquest, 1680+ 3) final period 1693-1821. The plates attached are: 4: (1) ARMET, closed helmet, as used by officers (2) cavalry SALADE with beavor * the beavor is covering of lower part of face. (3) MORION.....here the word is used to describe what is clearly the pear shaped cabasset (4)pikemans helmet (pot) (5) the broad brimmed hat reinforced. Plate 5, has an armor with a combed morion, which seems presumably to be of the Onate period. Plate 7 (p123) describes the 2nd period, which is well into the 17th century until 1680s which included the reconquest against Indian revolts. This was the period of the leather armor I was researching (Pueblo Revolt, Santa Fe, 1680s-90s) Here the combed morion is seen, and is noted "...of somewhat more effective design than previously shown, used by both mounted and dismounted troops". It is noted that these as with other elements and arms, had continued use from earlier times. I attached pictures (art work) of Cortes, wearing close helmet as well as Pizarro with same. Note illustration of Coronado wearing morion, a clear case of license. These morions (aside from highly decorated examples) were for rank and file in the last half of the 16th c. so would seem unlikely for high ranking figures. |
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#34 | |
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Muchas gracias for the extensive contextual info with specific references! You might be interested in these two examples of Spanish brigandine cuirasses, of leather with small overlapping steel plates riveted on the inner side, both of the 16th cent. This type of armor dates from the early Middle Ages and was used throughout Europe, as evidenced in works of art. Due to its perishable nature, surviving complete armors mostly date from the final century of their popularity, the 1500s, and most of these are Italian or Spanish. Most of the Italian examples are constructed on a heavy textile shell with a velvet or silk exterior exposing the rivets; leather seems to be the preferred medium on existing Spanish examples. Two variations are illustrated here. The one covered whose breast is completely armored is in the Real Armería de Madrid, inv. no. C10. The other, especially rare form, is a thick elk skin vest with brigandine sleeves and tassets. In battle, a steel breastplate could be strapped over the exposed leather portion to provide full protection for chest and back; with it removed the garment was much more comfortable to wear in hot weather while on the march. This armor, ex-Sigmaringen Museum, was sold by Sothebys (London) on 29 July 1930 (lot 136). |
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#35 |
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Interesting ... and plausible, the habit of discarding armour components while on the march under weather elements; Portuguese are reported to have followed same procedures in India and whereabouts, according to period chroniclers.
Note that Mota Padilla, being F.S.Curtis clearest informant, was born in 1688 and his work was written in 1741, by the time Coronado was already lying under earth for some significant time; this speaking of artist's feedom. Also interesting to recall that armour protection had its first composition in leather materials; we just have to remember that the term 'cuirass' comes from the Latin CORIACĔA = couro, cuero (leather); from where we had the later "cuera", a piece of armour that Jim is so fond of ![]() But if XV-XVI century knights had to discard iron armour components, earlier dudes had no better luck, as those made of leather had to be built with double layers and stuffed with padding, which often had them infestated with fleas, due to inevitable sweat. The salad, speaking of it, a term originated from celada, originated from Latin cassis, caelata, chilezed helmet, Italian celada, could well resemble the artist's freedom used in the previous pictures i posted, as incharacteristic, depicted by early authors. And last, speaking of silk and textiles armour components, and following Filipe's interests in Iberian stuff, i would show here the LOUDEL (gambeson) of King Dom João I 1455-1495). I wish you all a happy Easter season ![]() . Last edited by fernando; 4th April 2021 at 04:06 PM. |
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#36 |
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Philip, thank you so much for this information and photos on the brigandines and leathern armor!!!! I do recall reading of these in my quest for the elusive 'cuera' I was studying.
(yes Fernando...I AM very fond of.....leather!!! but not in a kinky way ![]() The cuera I was studying was made in a very classic style with tassets etc. and had been found in storage unit in Arizona after reposing there for decades. It had come from a small private museum which closed, and legal disputes with estate had kept it entangled thus. What was so unusual about this was that its form was nothing like the rawhide cuera typically worn by the 'soldados de cuera' who were the cavalry in the presidios of the Southwest frontiers into early 19thc. Apparently this particular cuera was of a unique form (to Santa Fe, N.M.) made by Pueblo Indians under direction of Spanish during the revolts of 1690s. As apparently no examples of cuera have survived (with the exception of one c.1770s found in Madrid; and one c.1820s in Smithsonian) the discovery of this one was a revelation. The type was unknown to writers on Spanish arms and armor who wrote in latter 19th c. and into early 20th, as well as to Pierce Chamberlain ("Spanish Military Weapons in Colonial America 1700-1821", 1972) whom I knew and had great talks with years before the cuera study. The reason it was unknown was that the only depiction of it was in a tryptych painted c.1715 of a battle just prior where the Indian forces with the Spaniards were wearing these. They had been produced during the 1690s reconquest of Santa Fe by Pueblos using the cuir boulli process. * the paintings were done by Pueblo's with survivors of the battle advising. The paintings (on hides) were given to Jesuit priest, who sent them to his family in Switzerland during the expulsions of 1770s. There they remained until discovered and brought back to Santa Fe in late 1980s. This is why this form was unknown......examples had disappeared, and the only record pictorially had been absent from America until AFTER the last reference on Spanish Colonial arms and armor was written (1972). I know, quite off topic, but pertinent in a sense in that there is a notable dearth of accurate material concerning arms and armor used by the Spanish in the America's in early times. Regarding Padilla being a credible informant, what was meant by Mr. Curtis was NOT that he was informed by him personally, but that he was relying on accounts/narratives by him that WERE compiled in the period by an observer who had first hand information. This is often done by writers investigating events, and even after the persons involved have long since passed. I would suppose that much as with art, writers employ a degree of 'license' as used by novelists. However, those who strive for accuracy are generally holding to as much corroborated evidence as possible. I believe this is what Mr. Curtis was trying to convey. Fernando, as always, thank you so much for the great etymology on these terms!!! It is fascinating to have the genuine insights with your knowledge and resources, which give resounding perspective in these discussions. |
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#37 |
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Oh ...i forgot to upload 'my' cuera setup. One exhibited in the Oporto Military Museum.
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Thanks Fernando!
I guess that is in a sense a 'cuera', literally. While leather versions of armor, much evolved from brigandines clearly evolved in the America's early, even in the earliest explorations, these were widely varied, and fashioned from layers of various rawhides stitched together. The 'buff' coats as seen here, were also in use in England and elsewhere in Europe in this same manner, often under a cuirass. The 'cuera' I was seeking an example of, then at the request of a small museum, was the form illustrated in the attached photos. The leather example (front and back) was a typical form used through the 18th century in the North American Southwest frontiers. This is I believe the one held in Madrid. The depiction of the mounted soldado is with a shorter jacket version c. 1820s of the type found in the Smithsonian. It was during this search that the unusual example I ended up researching was discovered in Arizona. It is believed that it had ended up with Comanchero traders and filtered through trades, finally falling into the hands of a guy in Arizona who eventually built a private museum. It was in deplorable condition, collapsed, and painstakingly restored. What was unique about it was that it was of cuir boulli, rather than the rawhide type, and in a classical form. The cuera seem to have evolved from these buff type liners which effectively buffered the mail, which was far more common than the steel cuirass. With mail, it however quickly deteriorated without proper maintainance, and was terribly ineffective against arrows which spread and broke the rings, especially if corroded and brittle. Soon the mail was discarded, and the leather took over. It seems much the same in degree with some helmet forms. Interestingly, I have seen morions made in 17th c Italy of leather. |
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#39 | ||
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What an interesting discussion, gentlemen!
I just found this contemporary depiction of a soldier wearing a (comb)Morion in the thirty years war. Kind regards Andreas |
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#41 |
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Großartig, Andreas
![]() So ... the Swiss also had it. |
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![]() And the French, as this engraving of the Bartholomaeus-night in 1572 shows. Kind regards Andreas Last edited by AHorsa; 4th April 2021 at 07:47 PM. |
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#43 |
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As per François Dubois ---
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#44 |
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Great stuff guys!!!
Fernando that particular art work is probably one of the best known of the soldados. That short jacket cuera was indeed in vogue in 1803 and its use continued even after Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821. Actually troops of these soldados went from the presidios of SW Texas to the Alamo in 1836, and still using much of the equipage from the previous century (NO, they were not wearing morions! ![]() Good note on the leather versions. During the cuera research back a few years, I was communicating with the Univ. of Nebraska, where the battle involving the cuera took place. They had come across a leather 'bishops mantle' found along with a leather helmet just outside El Paso. It had been discovered about 1880s and been placed in the museum, but never been studied. Original ideas were that it was from Coronado, or more likely Onate's time, but inconclusive. Indeed the Swiss had morions (combed) and their Vatican guards are well known for their colorful uniforms. Actually, these became well known throughout Europe in the 17th century. The point of the original discussion here is just how early were these known in Portugal and Spain, and as noted, many artists have depicted them on the earliest explorers, including Cortez, Pizarro, and others in what is regarded as 'the age of exploration' (1492-into mid 1500s). It appears, as I have suggested in noting comments of the late Walter Karcheski, et al, that these combed morions did not become popular until after 1830s, and then quite gradually popularized. What has always been remarkable about the Spanish explorations and colonization in the America's is that typically very traditional arms and armor were distinctly favored, and kept in use almost relentlessly until the conditions demanded other options. These largely private expeditions (not originally funded by the Crown) used whatever arms that could be privately obtained, largely a 'hodge podge' of forms. The use of the sword, and later primarily the lance, became primary weapons as guns became unserviceable without necessary maintainance, and lack of powder was prevalent. |
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#45 | |
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Carlos V had his palace right on the square where Andre Rieu is now playing each year...☺ The most severest battle was when Farnese, the Duke of Parma, lead the Habsburgian forces ( a historical novel has been written titled "and then all hell broke loose"). FYI: the painting can be found in the Royal Palace of Aranjuez Last edited by gp; 4th April 2021 at 10:52 PM. |
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#46 |
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some more pics
Last edited by gp; 4th April 2021 at 10:31 PM. |
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#47 | ||
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The caption tells that this 'short' cuera was made with 7 suede skins in the quilted manner. Initial cueras were as large as down to the knee, and had wonderful decorations in their seams and pockets (per Jesuit father Pferffek); with vents in the front and back to make it easy for the mounting and sleeveless, not to embarass weapons handling; but still too heavy, with 12 to 15 pounds. In the provinces of Coahuila, Nueva León and Texas a version using padded cotton was used, but its efficacy was lower than those with 7 skins. Even so an arrow shot by a strong native could get through a 8 skin cuera. Quote:
![]() Looks like the Spaniards were encouraged by the cuera resource by a similar implement worn by natives, especially the Aztecs, in quilted cotton. In 1779 lieutenant D. Luis Bertucat created his own version of cuirass, made with imbricated lamellae of tin. It was rather lighter than the cuera and more effective against arrows, as per tests carried out in Chihuahua. He produced 50 units covering his own the costs, which equipped Croix's personal guard. Having proved to be useful in a 1780 combat, they were no further produced, with reasons unknown by the miltary. The author has never seen on of these devices. . Last edited by fernando; 5th April 2021 at 05:37 PM. |
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#48 | |
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You provide some interesting background info. I think the padded cotton is not necessarily lower than the layers of only skin, based on experiments conducted by archer friends in the Netherlands, who were serious about traditional Eastern archery. He says it all depends on how thick the quilting was. Shooting tests with pointed steel arrows shot from reasonably heavy bows demonstrate some surprising things. I was with one of these friends, shooting in a gym that had theater-stage curtains on the far end, separating another portion of the hall. Guys were shooting at various targets, including the usual straw butts, and doing tests against wood boards. Same arrows from same bows, which could easily penetrate an inch or so into a board, just bounced off the curtain, hardly leaving a mark on the cloth! During the 1594 Japanese invasion of Korea, the defenders developed a quick and easy to make armor for foot-soldiers, made of quilted layers (about 30) of coarse rice-fiber paper. It easily stopped arrows, and even musket balls. The ancestor of the Kevlar vest. The Mongols wore a shirt of well-woven silk under their armor. If an arrow pierced the armor, the silk kept the point from going very far into the body, so someone could break the arrow shaft, remove the armor, and gather the folds of the shirt around the arrowhead and pull it out, leaving a more superficial wound that might mean greater chances of survival than if it went deep into tissue, or an organ. I'll leave it to a physics guy to explain why arrows, which are so good at breaking through the links of chain mail or sticking deep into wood and harder materials, can be stopped so easily by soft things like quilting and curtains. Filipe |
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#49 | |||
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![]() And speaking of cueras (buff coats) and still hijacking Andreas thread, let us upload hereunder the harquebusiers attire of a noble person, Dom Pedro II King of Portugal (reigned 1683–1706) (Courtesy of The Met) - |
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#50 |
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All extremely interesting on these other elements of armor and the contexts surrounding the conquistadors. If I may, I wanted to return to the original topic on the morion, and its actual appearance in the America's with them.
As I had mentioned earlier in the discussion, the catalog by Walter Karcheski of the Higgins Armory Museum for the Florida Museum of Natural History (1990) had noted the morion was not used until later in the explorations. I received this from Kathleen Deagan, the director of the museum in 1998 as I was researching Spanish colonial weapons. As noted (7a, pictured) , "...Hollywood notwithstanding, the classic morion as shown here evolved too late to have been used by early conquistadors". These would include Cortes; Pizarro; DeSoto, Coronado in first half of 16th c.mostly c. 1540s. In 'Karcheski' re: DeSoto, "..he was probably dressed in a field breastplate and the 'favorite' helmet of the early conquerers- the open burgonet with a bevor". It is noted that infantry wore a simple headpiece such as a skull cap or sallet, many wore a removable defense called a barbera (BEVOR) on the lower face. However, in the tropical climates armets and close helmets saw only limited use...............light and airy headpieces like skullcaps, sallets and burgonets and the LATER morion and cabasset were preferred by foot soldiers and horsemen alike. |
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#51 | |
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Not only for keepng to persist with the (academic ?) perspective of some fourty years span in all history of the morrion and its variants, but also for the devious appearance of these exuberant helmets being depicted as equipping, from the simplest soldier to the most famous knight, who were around in times that the morrion didn't even exist; not only by artists of modern days but also,which i found hard to swallow, by contemporary authors. I would again stick to experts in the subject and will here show and tag the evolution of the morrion, incuding its predecessors and relatives, extracted from a WRITTEN WORK by Juan Molina Fernadez, a Spanish expert in XVI century military history. 1 - Capacete (helmet) with gusset from the end XV century, of Aragonese origin. 2 - Borgoñota (burgonet) from circa 1540, possibly German, with a characteristic peak on the skull top. The burgonet added from the salade mobile parts in the neck and ears as also a visor. 3 - Borgonet “hybrid” from 1540, already with a high resemblance to soon coming morrions. Practically a morrion with 'earmuffs'. It has a crest and wings/visors both in the front as in the back. As from 1545 experimental versions of the morrion start to appear, and in 1550 a significant number started to be seen in all Western in Europe. 4 - Early morrión, of conical body and without crest (comb), from around 1550. We see here the baisis of its desing, two warped brims that protect descent blows but, different to burgonets, don't protect the sides. Despite their popularity, burgonets didn't disappear, due to their better protection features. 5 - Italian morrion possibly of an officer, circa 1580-1590. Morrión italiano, posiblemente de oficial, de 1580-1590. The warping of the wings visibly exagerated and it becomes usual the crest to reinforce the structure. 6 - Capacete for an officer dated 1550 y 1560. Different from the morrión, has a completely flat basis and the brim is a sole circular piece. 7 - Morrión (originally blued) from 1570 with cheek pieces, belonging to the Saxony electors from 1570. This model became very popular, due to the improvement of sides protection. As from the XVII century, the morrion tends to simplify, due to indreasing military production, specially with the arrival of the thirty years war. The major change was the progressive loss of the crest (comb), this becoming no more than a sagittal brim, to reinforce the structure for the year 1635. 8 - Morrión of an English pikeman from 1640. We may observe the progessive simplification of then lines, eliminating the crest and rounding up the superior section of the casket; and the cheek pieces are made of only one piece. This search for the simplification makes capacetes being more common in the XII century that in the XVI at being more simple to produce. Therefore, the progressive design of the morrion makes it that both models come around a version of "morrion-capacete", as from the 1650 decade. As from then, the morrions fell in disuse, giving place to capacetes. 9 - The morrión-capacete from 1650 of the English infantry. The simplification of the construction drove to the unification of casket models, which will last until the end of XVII entury. . |
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#52 |
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Also one may see consistency with Bashford Dean's chart.
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