This gallery here has a picture of a very strange looking suit of armor which supposedly belonged to “Prince Nikolaus IV, the Black”. It’s the second photo from the top. But I can find absolutely ZERO information about this supposed individual. “Prince Nikolaus IV” shows five hits, besides that armor website; of these hits, only one makes a very brief reference to him:
“In the meantime, Kunz Lochner of Nuremberg also was catering to royalty, having completed the famous garniture for prince Nikolaus IV in 1555.”
Oh, yes. Really famous, indeed. :rolleyes:
Other than that I sure as hell can’t find any historical documentation that a Prince Nikolaus IV “The Black” even existed. It doesn’t even say what country this guy was from.
Turns out there is a page for him on Wikipedia, just under the name “Mikołaj “the Black” Radziwiłł” and not “Nikolaus.”
Like that thread about King Edward IV, this guy’s picture really reminds me of someone famous from the present day, but I can’t quite figure out who. Any ideas?
You want to see amazing photos of armor? This guy’s Flickr page has thousands of amazing, high-res photos that he took of the most exquisite suits of armor in the world, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I have spent hours and hours browsing that page; I never get tired of it. I will have to go see them in person sometime.
My favorite among them has got to be George Clifford’s armor. That guy’s closeup shot of his helmet is the wallpaper on my cell phone. It never ceases to amaze me that craftsmen hundreds of years ago, aided by none of the technology that we take for granted today, were able to create such unbelievably elaborate and beautiful suits of armor - and that there were men back then so powerful that they could commission something like that for themselves like it was nothing.
