ARMOUR & Weapons of The TudorsThis is a featured page

Armour & Weapons
of the Tudors

Armour
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The format is Historical info on the left and pics of the Series on the right
Jonathan Rhys Meyers as King Henry VIII

King Henry VIII
founded the royal armour workshop at
Greenwich Palace
in 1515 & top rank craftsmen were
brought in from Germany to Greenwich.
Average annual pay was approx 10 pounds and a suit of armour
was worth 300 pounds
. There was also a law that a man had to earn more
than 100 pounds to own a gun or crossbow

Armour of the Tudors

LINKS:

Armour, Shields & Helmets
Historical
Series
Henry VIII - Page 2 - The Tudors WikiHenry's armour
Henry VIII's armour in his early years
Henry in armourArmour
Henry VIII - Page 2 - The Tudors WikiHenry's armour
Henry in later years
Henry in armour
Armour
Henry in Armour
Henry in Armour
Armour
Armour
The Tudors Costumes - The Tudors Wiki

Kris Holden-Reid (Compton) said the jousting scenes were fun, "besides the armour that was made for the series was aluminum, not very heavy at all"



Henry's armour
Field Armour of King Henry VIII c.1544
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC
Charles Brandon in his armour
Charles Brandon
Helmet
Henry
armour



Armour

Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham

in armour which is more medieval
in its look as befits his character
of being the leader of the conservative nobles.
Names of the components of a suit of armour:

1.Helm (Helmet)

2.Gorget

3.Pauldrons

4.Spaulders

5. Chainmaille(Gussets)

6.Vambrace

7.Gauntlets

8.Breastplate

9.Faulds (Tassets)

10.Kneecup

11.Greaves

12.Sabatons (Solorets)

13.Coif

14.Arming Cap

15.Gambeson

16.Haubergeon (Hauberk)

[source: reliks.com]


Charles Brandon as played by Henry Cavill


Guns
Historical
Series
Matchlock:
The matchlock, also called the musket, the arquebus, and various other names, was invented in the 15th century.The musket was about five to six feet long, and weighed about twenty pounds. When fired, the musket was supported by a forked stick.
MatchlockThe first dated illustration of a matchlock mechanism dates to 1475, and by the 1500s they were universally used. Despite the appearance of more advanced ignition systems such as that of the wheellock and the snaphance, the low cost of production, simplicity, and high availability of the matchlock kept it in use in European armies until about 1720. It was eventually completely replaced by the flintlock as the foot soldier's main armament.


Musket
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey watches as
King Henry fills his musket
JRM

Wheel lock:
Wheel lock gun
The firing mechanism of the wheel-lock gun worked on the same principle as a cigarette lighter. A metal wheel rubbed against a piece of iron pyrites. This produced sparks, which ignited the gunpowder in the pan. This fine gunpowder then ignited the coarser powder in the barrel.

Flintlock:
Flintlock
In 1608, a Frenchman from Normandy, one Marin le Bourgeoys, was appointed to the French court. He made the first true flintlock for King Louis XIII shortly after his accession to the throne in 1610. This was not an idea that sprang full-blown from his mind, but the result of putting together the pieces of a puzzle which already existed. The development of firearms had proceeded from matchlock to wheel-lock to snaphaunce and miquelet in the previous two or three centuries, and each type had been an improvement, contributing some design features which were useful. It remained for Monsieur le Bourgeoys to fit these various features together to create the flintlock. The new system quickly became popular, and was known and used in various forms throughout Europe by 1630.
Henry fires a flintlock
Henry fires a flintlock in celebration
of his illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy's birth.
(This type of gun would not be invented
till a century later)




Bows & Arrows
Historical
Series
Long Bow:
Longbow

This is a bow that is roughly equal in height to the person who uses it.When the longbow was introduced to warfare it revolutionized how battles were fought. Archers could stay behind the front line and loose deadly barrages of arrows at leisure.
Shortbows and crossbows were no match in either distance or accuracy.
Henry & his longbow
Henry with his long bow as Anthony Knivert watches




Henry shooting his bow
Charles Brandon as played by Henry Cavill

Bows

Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
shows his son how to pull a bow




Swords, Lances , Blades & Axes
Historical
Series
Longsword:
LongswordBeginning around 1350 the use of very long swords began in earnest. These swords were designed to be used with both hands on the elongated grip or with one hand on the grip and the other on a covered center part of the blade designed for leverage. Tactics included using an overhead plunging attack upon the heaviest plated armor.
Woodcut of swordsmenThe use of these swords, along with the evolutions taking place in firearms development and armor piercing arrows signaled the demise of the mounted armored knight on the battlefield. Use of these swords lasted from roughly 1350 to 1550, declined in the late 16th century, and they were obsolete by the early 17th century.
Henry with his sword
French swordsman
This picture is a French executioner. A typical sword of execution would have a two inch (5 cm) wide blade which was blunt ended and measured about 40 inches (100 cm) in length. One example from Germany bears and inscription which translates: "Whenever I raise my sword I wish the sinner everlasting life."
Jean Rombaud the french swordsman in the seriesThe Frenchman who was brought specifically for the
job of Anne's Execution was called Jean Rombaud
in the series and there is a strong possibility that may have been his name as he was named on the French Rolls of 1530 as such. It is recorded that she did look back several times.
sword of execution

A typical Sword of Execution
German - 17th Century
sword of Anne's execution
Sword
The words on the sword read:
"La main droite, c'est mon Seigneur.
La vertu, L'amour, La mort."


"The right hand, this is my Lord.
Virtue, Love, Death."
Executioner's sword

Swords
Swords
Sword
Sword
Lance
Anne gives Henry a lance
Anne Boleyn smiles as Henry tries
out her wedding gift of two lances

Spears






Headsman's axe & Block from the Tower of London
Block and Axe at the Tower of London
Executioner
executions








Horses
Historical
Series
Henry at the field of cloth of GoldHorses played a vital role in the economy of pre-industrial England. They acted as draught animals, pulled ploughs, waggons and coaches, worked machines, and transported goods around the country. As saddle animals they enabled their riders to carry out a wide variety of tasks, and at all levels of society they were regarded as status symbols in a unique relationship with man shared by no other animal. During the Tudor, horses were needed in ever-growing numbers, and for a greater variety of tasks.


Henry on his horse
Henry had a stable of 200 horses & was the first patron of horse racing, despite the Pope's demands for cessation of all racing in England.

His favorite breeds were the Barbarys (from Spain and Italy) and Neopolitan Coursers, which cost about 12,000 English pounds in today's money. He encouraged the breedng of the Irish hobby, an ancestor of the Connemara & founded the Royal Paddocks at Hampton Court.

Many said that Henry was a grand horseman in his youth. He had stud farms at Hampton Court and in Nottinghamshire.
Thomas Kryvet was Henry's first Master of the Horse.
The Tudors Armory - The Tudors Wiki
Tapestry of Knight on a horse owned by Henry
The Tudors Armory - The Tudors Wiki
rijks museum
JRM as Henry

King
King


Jousts & Tournaments

Historical
Series
Jousting 1546
The jousting that was played in Tudor times, was most likely to have been the INDIVIDUAL JOUST which took effect after 1420 and involved an encounter with lances between two knights. The rules were simple. If a combatant struck either rider or horse he was disqualified. A clean hit to the center or "boss" of the shield shattering the lance, or unseating the opponent scored points.
The Tudors Armory - The Tudors Wiki

The Tudors Armory - The Tudors Wiki
The Tudors Armoury - The Tudors WikiIn later times the third type of Joust was introduced, this was known as The PRACTICE TOURNAMENT and was less brutal than the two before its time. This type of joust involved very little ceremony and few rules of which Henry VIII would not have been fond of as he enjoyed a grand ceremony for his jousts and made sure rules were in play.
Henry was a keen jouster. Twice he nearly died. He fought his friend, Charles Brandon, without covering his face. Brandon's lance landed just one centimetre away from making a hole in the king's head. Then when Henry was 44 years old, he was injured again. He was crushed by his horse and lay unconscious for two hours.
The Tudors Armory - The Tudors Wiki
Jousts were big events. They were often held on special occasions. Many thousands of people watched, not just nobles. Anyone could get in for about 12 pence.

There might also be plays and other entertainment put on at the same time. Many knights dressed up as heroes from history. When Henry married Katherine of Aragon in 1509, she played the role of a Greek goddess and the knights fought a joust for her.
joust in the late 15th century
The Tudors Armory - The Tudors Wiki
The Tudors Armory - The Tudors Wiki
knights and lost jousts

This is an earlier depiction of the aftermath of a thirteenth century joust, known as the TOURNEY PROPER This form was the most brutal and costly in lives. All participants, upon hearing the charge, promptly melee' crashed onto the tournament field and proceeded to unhorse all others by any method at hand until a winner was determined.
[source: Squidoo]

joust display
The Tudors Armory - The Tudors Wiki
William Compton















MsSquirrly
MsSquirrly
Latest page update: made by MsSquirrly , Oct 22 2009, 8:43 PM EDT (about this update About This Update MsSquirrly Edited by MsSquirrly

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thekombatbarbie Sex scandals aside, there is more to our king! 6 Sep 6 2009, 1:01 PM EDT by juliana-angela
Thread started: Jan 11 2009, 1:46 PM EST  Watch
With the influence of Karenof Bethany and Ms. Squirrly, I have just started my personal study of the strategic military arts of Henry VIII.

The Battle of Flooden has struck my fancy for two reasons.

1) It was the last battle to be won by the long bow.
2) I have a personal affinity to foot soldiers as I served the vehicles for many Honorable Combat Engineers. (Some of the stories they told me still give me nightmares!)

What battles of Henry VIII have caught your interest? How do you think the Queen Regent at that time affected him?
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pookiesmama Henry the military mastermind! 0 Dec 16 2008, 10:00 PM EST by pookiesmama
Thread started: Dec 16 2008, 10:00 PM EST  Watch
I would love views on Henry and his military from EVERYONE.
All englishmen usually kept arms in their homes in accordance to their position/wealth.
Henry increased his navey from about 6 ships to over 50 ships
He led the biggest invasion against France.
He had built the gunship MARY ROSE named for his SISTER NOT Mary B. as Phillipa Gregory would have us think of her "copyright mary'
Henry began weapon production in Englandand he imported weapons in large amounts
His favorite weapons (I THINK) were the longbow, pike and hand arms
He had a calvary...smallo..but well trained most likely noblemen

I feel that Henry's education WAS a little different than his brother Arthur's. Arthur being the Heir would have been schooled for the Throne where Henry was PROBABLY schooled MORE than his brother for his father's plan of Henry being in the CHurch. Then Henry would have been schooled
learning a lot about Roman History, Macedonian history etc..I am sure that a young Henry HAD to have been introduced to Spartan History as well and WITH that comes Alexander. the ABSOLUTE GREATEST MILITARY MIND ever! And the Spartas ,Leonidas WOW Imagine Henry wanting to learn more about them. . .I would like to know what YOU think about my theory here (or am I just a crazy old woman down south who has had TOO much coffee)
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