For some reason that I cannot fathom at all, I’ve recently become obsessed with Medieval knights and armor. I don’t know why I suddenly took an interest in this; it certainly isn’t something I cared very much about before; but now I’ve been spending a lot of time just browsing through collections of armor and reading about different kinds of it.
When you look at the pictures of European monarchs prior to the 1800s they often have ceremonial armor. This photo of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, has him wearing armor even though I’m pretty sure nobody actually wore that sort of armor on the battlefield at that time in history. It’s clearly a ceremonial suit of armor. Charles VII also has the armor in his portrait, but the next emperor, Francis, doesn’t.
The English monarchs, at least in the images I’ve looked at, seem to have stopped wearing ceremonial armor in their portraits with Henry VIII. Although I do know that Henry was a fan of jousting and that he had a suit of jousting armor with a metal penis-guard.
When exactly did the monarchs of Europe stop incorporating Medieval military traditions into their ceremony? When did they stop having elaborate suits of ceremonial armor made for them? When did they stop holding jousting tournaments? Is there a clearly defined period in history when this shift occurred?
Well, I don’t think European monarchs EVER stopped incorporating medieval military traditions/ymbology, however heavily modified by time. But I think you have largely pinned down when the display of fancy armor came to a hault in the preceeding paragraph. Full or 3/4 plate seems to have shrunk from elite troops to just commanders and high nobility ( most often one and the same ) by the early 18th century. Heavy breast plates continued in use with cuirassier cavalry right down to WW I, but the full kit was probably an anachronism in most areas after ~1700 ( though I’d have to double-check that in regards to Eastern Europe ).
As to when jousting fully disappeared as a popular event, I have no idea. Hopefully someone who does know will happen along, because I’m now slightly curious myself :).
But why did it eventually disappear? It seems so…awesome. I mean, if I was some really really rich, powerful guy, I would have jousts NOW. There’s just something timeless about charging towards another guy on a huge horse and smashing him with a lance.
If I’m ever extremely rich - and I certainly hope to be, one day - I want to have a huge collection of armor. That would be my dream. I would have an armorer make me dozens of suits of custom armor, from elaborate jousting armors and Maximillian fluted armor to chain-mail and plate armor, brigandines, gorgets, sallet/bevors, and those badass helmets with the visor that comes to a sharp point. I would hire someone to take thousands of pictures of me just posing in the armor.
Well, afaik, no one “jousts” today. They have staged “jousts” at Renfaires, and the SCA (and others) do an Ok re-enactment of foot tourneys (swordfights), but a real joust is just too damn dangerous for the horse.
If you like there are armourers in the SCA and other groups who will happily make you a set of “real” armor,and you can even fight in it.
There’s a International Jousting Association, but there the aim is to break your lance, not unhorse the other dude.
Jousting fell out of favour in France after King Henri II died in 1599 with a bit of lance through his eye.
This site has an easy to read history of the “sport” and draws the conclusion that the skills of the joust were less important after the invention/introduction of firearms.
Jousting was mostly abandoned at courts throughout Europe in the early seventeenth century. However, often this was because it evolved into other forms of equestrian entertainment. There was a whole genre of Baroque court entertainments that was basically just ballets with horses. That was the original purpose of the Zwinger in Dresden. The obvious survival of that tradition is, of course, the Spanish Riding School in Vienna.
The fashion for wearing armour in portraits lingers on after that for several generations and does so longer at some courts than at others. In England it dies out in the late seventeenth century - Charles I had regularly been shown in armour (most famously here and here) and there are occasional examples under James II and William III.
What finally killed it off in the eighteenth century throughout Europe was that it became trendy for monarchs to wear regimental uniforms, both in portraits and as their everyday dress. That way they could appear serious, macho and understated, all in deliberate contrast to the flamboyant outfits associated with civilian courtiers. Also, the great advantage of armour in portraits had been that it had unambiguously indicated that the sitter was (or wanted to be seen as) a soldier. Uniforms were now just as effective in showing that.
I also think that ceremonial “court” armor was worn at balls, parties etc., into the 17th century-long after armor had vanished from the battlefileds. I would imagine that the workshops that made the armor (mostly in Germany and Italy) switched to making other stuff as the demand for plate armor waned.
I to am fascinated by this perios (armored knights, feudalism); however, reviving this would mean revisiving a social system that people would not tolerate…face it, medieval life (unless you were a nobleman) was pretty lousy.
I suspect that jousting and armor for monarchs started to go out of style once the tradition of the monarch personally leading leading his troops into battle ended.
IIRC, the last English monarch to lead troops in battle was Henry VII.
His son, Henry VIII did have ceremonial suits of armor, but never fought in battle. He did participate in the sport of jousting, though, and an accident during his last joust seriously disabled him for the rest of his life.
