Changes in the shapes of breastplates in the 16th century Main Page Previous Page Next Page

Maximilian and his Armourer Conral Seusenhofer From "The Armourer and his Craft" by C.J. Ffoulkes.	Breastplate circa 1510-20 inv. num. A-281

The woodcut on the left illustrates fasionable clothing in the early 16th century. The shape of the clothing has changed from what we saw in the previous image. The neck line on the doublet drops down and squares off and the shape becomes bigger and rounder. Some styles include a number of pleats, others are puffed and slashed. On the right we see a breastplate from the same time period. The neckline on the breastplate is lower and straighter. The shapes get larger and rounder. Sometimes the breastplates are plain as illustrated in this example.

This breastplate also illustrates some changes in construction. The neck roll is now turned inward instead of being turned out. We also see an early example of a "gusset" at the arms. This is a separate plate that carries the protective flange instead of it being part of the breastplate. This becomes more common during this time period and is often present for the rest of the century. This allows the breastplate to be wider while still allowing the wearer to move.

As a side note, this woodcut also shows us a nice view of the tools used in the fabrication of armor.