1874. Dagger given by Louis XV of France to the King of Spain, 186
1704. Sword of Isabel the Catholic, 187
1589. Petronel of Charles V, with Battle-Axe, 187
1581. Yataghan of Mustafa, Bey of Oran, 187
1561. Battle-Axe, 15th-16th centuries, 187
1563. Kriss or Malay Dagger, 187
1587. Battle-Axe, Byzantine style, 187
1702. Sword of the Great Captain, 187
1764. Martel-de-fer of Charles V, 187
1591. Alfange or Indian Scimitar, 187
1698. Sword, 16th century, 187
1719. Sword of the Count of Corunna, 188
1843, 1816. Pieces of the Barding of a Horse, 188
1696. Sword, 15th century, 188
1716. Sword of Philip I, the Handsome, 188
2045, 2049. Pistols, 16th-17th centuries, 188
2077. Dagger, four edged, 16th century, 188
1814. Sword, found in the Tagus, and given to Philip II, 188
1359, 1315. Armpit Shields, 188
1763. Spurs, in Filigree Silver, 188
1328. Lance-Shield of the Prince of Parma, 188
1759. Sword of Bernal Diaz del Castillo, 188
1697. Sword of the Prince of Conde, 189
1644. Two-handed Sword, early 15th century, 189
1777. Sword of Philip II, 189
1794. Sword of Don John of Austria, 189
1708. German Sword of Frederick Henry, Count of Nassau, 189
1845. Sword of John of Urbino, 189
1692. Magnificent Toledan Blade, unmounted, 189
2067, 2076. A pair of Pistols, 17th century, 189
1823. Piece of a Horse’s Barding, 189
1769. Sword of Pizarro, 190
1726. Head Stall, 190
1721. Very remarkable Sword of the Renaissance, 190
1718, 1771. Rondels, 190
2044. Pistols, 16th and 17th centuries, 190
929. Head Stall for Charger of the Count of Niebla, 190
1770, 1761. Beautiful Stirrups, with Figures, 190
1768. Unique Spur, 190
1873. Sword, 191
1850. German Sword, 191
1912. Sword of Philip III, 191
1911. Sword of the Duke of Montemar, 191
1872. Sword of Charles II, 191
2034, 2031. Pistols, 191
523. Chamfron, 191
1773. Sword of Philip II, 192
1659. Sword with four Sides (German), 16th century, 192
1807. Sword of Hernan Cortes, 192
1856, 1857. Magnificent pair of Gauntlets, 192
1727. Lobera Sword of St. Ferdinand, 192
1645. Sword of Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 192
1562. Moorish Boarding Gauntlet, 14th to 15th century, 193
1619. Sword presented to John II of Castile by the Pope Eugenius
IV, 193
1711. Halberd of Charles V, 193
1529. Iron Ring, with Points inside, 193
1588. Bracelet of Ali Pasha, Turkish Admiral at Lepanto, 193
1502, 1544. Moorish Quivers, 193
1556, 1605. Malay Battle-Axes, in Wood, 193
1620. Sword of Diego Garcia Paredes, 193
1606. Wooden Stirrup, 193
1644. Two-handed Sword, early 15th century, 193
1554. Quiver with Arrows of the Cacique Guarimacoa, 193
2535. Halberd Plate, 15th century, 193
1585. Moorish Boarding Weapon, 15th century, 193
1776. Espadon or large two-handed Sword of Charles V, 194
1878. Sword of the Count Lemos, 194
1862. Valencian Sword of Ferdinand D’Alarcon, 194
1976, 1968. Beautiful Pistols of 16th century, 194
567. Chamfron which belonged to Philip IV, 194
1775. Espadon of Diego Garcia de Paredes, 194
1848. Flaming Sword of Don Juan of Austria, Son of Philip IV, 194
1852. Sword of Pedro Mendez de Aviles, 194
1762. Sword of Cardinal Fernando, Brother of Philip IV, 195
1924, 1806,} 1833.} Pieces of Barding for a Horse, 195
1049. Sword of the Count of Benavente, made at Zaragoza, 195
1634. Espadon, 195
1599. Scimitar of Don Juan of Austria, 195
1598. Spanish-Moresque Sword, 195
1729, 1767. Maces, 15th and 16th centuries, 195
1765. Two-handed Sword of Ferdinand V, the Catholic, 196
1662. Sword in its Sheath, studded with Jewels, 196
1713. Two-handed Sword of Charles V, 196
1706, 1701. Maces of the Constable of Bourbon, time of Charles
V, 196
1700, 1707. Stirrups, of Turkish form, of Charles V, 196
629. Gilded Handle to Crossbow, 197
1529. Iron Ring, with Spikes inside, which the Moors used as an
Instrument of Execution, 197
598. Flemish Crossbow, 16th century, 197
628. Crossbow, incrusted with Ivory, 197
640. Crossbow of the Duke of Alba, 197
1522. Arabian Spur, 197
1538. Shield for Crossbowman, 197
Gaffles for stretching the String of the Crossbow, 197
Trophy formed of different Weapons, by E. de Zuloaga, 198
Trophy formed of several pieces of Armour of Philip II, 199
Marks used by the principal Sword-makers of Toledo until the beginning
of the 18th century, 200
Key to the foregoing, 200A
Heads of Spanish Lances and Pikes, 15th to 17th centuries. ‘The Pike I
would have, if it might be, of Spanish Ash, and between 20 and 22 feet
long.’--Sutcliffe, _Practice of Arms_ (1593), 201
Heads of Spanish Lances used for Tilts and Tournaments, 15th to 17th
centuries, pointed, round headed, or furcated, 202
Spanish Knives employed by the chief Carver at the Royal Table the
Handles of which are richly decorated with the Spanish Arms of the
time of Philip IV, 203
J 28. Hunting Crossbow, early 16th century, 204
J 18. Spanish Hunting Crossbow of Charles V, 204
J 37. Small Hunting Crossbow, 16th century, 204
H 9. Martel-de-Fer, early 16th century, 205
H 6. Battle-axe, middle 16th century, 205
H 14. Battle-mace, late 15th century, 205
H 15. Battle-mace of Charles V, 205
1987, 1992. Spanish Arquebuses, end of 16th century, 206
1955. Petronel, 16th century, 206
1961. Spanish Arquebus, with octagonal Barrel inlaid with Mother of
Pearl and Ivory, 16th century, 206
1972, 1977,} 1946.} Keys or Cranks to cock the Arquebuses, 206
1602. Elegant Sabre of a ‘Chef d’Estradiots’ (Venetian) given to
Philip III, 207
2243, 2285. Spanish Knives, with Spanish Arms, time of Philip
IV, 207
1577, 1578. Persian Sabres, 207
1604. Gourma, or Dagger, 207
1579. Sabre of unknown origin, 207
1600. Misrae or Scimitar of Ali Pasha, Turkish Admiral at
Lepanto, 207
1572. Miserecorde, or Dagger, of Diego Garcia de Paredes, 207
1566. Dagger of Charles V, 207
1580. Dagger of the Kabyles, 207
1562. Manople or Moorish Boarding-sword, 14th-15th centuries, 207
2167. Repeating Hunting Gun, 208
2296. Turkish Cannon Tinder, 208
2140. Hunting Gun with twelve Shots, 208
2164. Repeating Gun, made in 1705, 208
2534. The Barrel of a Breech-loading Gun, 208
2294. Turkish Gun Tinder, 208
2142. Model of a Gun with fourteen Shots, 208
1. Arquebus of Don John of Austria (K 14), 209
2. Arquebus Handle, Dagger, and Primer combined (G 151), 209
3. Arquebus of Don John Joseph of Austria (K 23), 209
4. Arquebus Handle and Primer (K 12), 209
5. Nuremburg Arquebus, 16th century (K 11), 209
1940, 1944. Barrels, 15th century, 210
651. Lance, with two little Barrels, 17th century, 210
903. Spanish Arquebus, 15th century, 211
9178. Petronel, 1547, 211
2080. Pistol, with three Barrels, 211
2126. Pistol, with Rifle Barrel, 211
2225. Hunting Gun of Philip V, breech-loading, 211
2024. Petronel, 16th century, 211
2635. Revolver, 18th century, 211
2045. Pistol, with two Barrels, 16th century, 211
K 30. Small Arquebus of Charles V (Italian make), 212
K 33. Small Spanish Arquebus, 1531, 212
K 55. Small Pistol-arquebus, middle 16th century, 212
Double breech-loading Cannon, in bronze, used in Spain from the end of
the 15th century, 213
A 190. Tailpiece of a Horse’s Bard, 1545, 214
A 190. Chanfron, representing the Head and Neck of a fantastic Dragon,
covered with Scales of Gold, 1545, 214
531. Head-stall of Philip III’s Horse, 215
534. Chanfron and Mainfaire of a Horse of Philip III, 215
567. Chanfron of Horse of Philip IV, 215
525. Chanfron (Moorish), 216
558. Chanfron and Mainfaire, 16th century, 216
565. Chanfron, with the Imperial Arms in Colours, 216
F 110. Chanfron, early 16th century, 217
F 113. Chanfron, early 16th century, 217
1762. Sword of Cardinal D. Fernando, Brother of Philip IV, 218
1613, 1624. Christian Standards, from the Battle of Lepanto, 218
Flag carried at the Obsequies of Philip II, 219
Standard of the Ex-Bodyguard, 220
Standard taken from the English who besieged Carthagena (America) in
1741, 221
Flag from the Battle of Lepanto, with a Painting representing Christ
and St. Martin, 222
Seal of Charles V when Count of Flanders, showing him on Horseback in
Armour, 223
Small Shield on Head-stall, with the Arms of Philip II when
Heir-apparent, and also those of his Wife, Queen Mary of
England, 223
Salade-morion of the Prince of Asturias, Baltasar Carlos of Austria
(1629-1646), 223
M 75, 77, 76. Lanterns from Flag-ships gained by the Marques de Santa
Cruz in various naval Engagements, 224
Sedan Chair of Philip V (from the Coach-houses of the Royal Palace,
Madrid), 225
Sedan Chair of Ferdinand VI (from the Coach-houses of the Royal
Palace, Madrid), 226
Sedan Chair of Charles IV (from the Coach-houses of the Royal Palace,
Madrid), 227
Sedan Chair of Philip V (from the Coach-houses of the Royal Palace,
Madrid), 228
Sedan Chair of Charles III (from the Coach-houses of the Royal Palace,
Madrid), 229
Campaign Litter of the Emperor Charles V, 230
Carriage given by Napoleon I to Charles IV (from the Coach-houses of
the Royal Palace, Madrid), 231
Gala Coach of Charles IV (from the Coach-houses of the Royal Palace,
Madrid), 232
Carriage of the President of the Cortes (from the Coach-houses of the
Royal Palace, Madrid), 233
The Crown Coach (from the Coach-houses of the Royal Palace,
Madrid), 234
Wedding Coach of Ferdinand VII and Maria Christina (from the
Coach-houses of the Royal Palace, Madrid), 235
Carriage of the Mace-Bearers of the Cortes (from the Coach-houses of
the Royal Palace, Madrid), 236
Carriage, with gilt Panels, of Charles IV (from the Coach-houses of
the Royal Palace, Madrid), 237
Cover of an Album, exterior, the work of E. de Zuloaga, 238
Cover of an Album, interior, the work of E. de Zuloaga, 239
Portable Chair, in Leather, of the Emperor Charles V, 240
Magnificent Bureau, in engraved Iron, belonged to Charles V, 241
Wooden Trunk, with Ornaments in the Pointed Style, 242
Iron Inkstand, embossed and inlaid, the work of E. de Zuloaga, 243
General View of the Interior of the Armoury, 244
General View of the Interior of the Armoury, 245
General View of the Interior of the Armoury, 246
Figure explaining various technical Terms used in the Text, 247
Figure explaining various technical Terms used in the Text, 248
SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR
INTRODUCTORY
The prominence which Spain has enjoyed from the earliest times as a
manufactory of armour and a school of arms is attributable, in the first
instance, to its mineralogical richness, and, subsequently, to the part
it played in the military history of Europe. In the days of Rome’s
greatness, Spain became the chief mineral-producing tributary of the
Empire. Its mines contained in perfection all the metals then applied to
warlike uses, and its rivers were believed to possess peculiar
properties for the tempering of blades. Bilbilis was as much a name to
conjure with among the Roman warriors as was the “Bilbo” among the
gallants and swashbucklers of Shakespeare’s day. Toledo and the sword
are indissolubly associated in the literature of arms; it is impossible
to mention the name of the city without recalling the unchallenged
excellence of the blades it has given to the world. And if Toledo is the
city of the sword, Spain is the land of swordsmanship. It was in Spain
that the muscular sweep of the broadsword was refined into the
scientific point-play of the rapier; it was there that the art of fence
originated; and to-day it is claimed that there are more books on
fencing in Spanish than in any other language.
From the highest in the land to the lowest the love of arms is seen to
have been inherent in the Spaniard from time immemorial, and he has ever
shown himself quick to adopt foreign methods and innovations that
promised to lend greater efficacy to his blow and sterner resistance to
his defensive armour. Francis I. beheld the youth of Spain stoutly
accoutred and armed to the teeth, and exclaimed, “Oh, happy land, which
brings forth and rears armed men.” The profession of arms was the
avocation of every Spaniard; he left his mother’s breast to take his
place at his father’s side; he was a soldier by birth, breeding, and
training. Only a nation of soldiers could have successfully withstood an
invasion so overwhelming as that of the Saracens. Only a race imbued
with the traditions and love of war and its arts could have persevered
so long against enormous odds to the final and glorious triumph of the
closing years of the fifteenth century.
The Spaniards of the days of Pizarro and Cortes, like their
contemporaries, the English admirals, courted war as a mistress, and
strove to meet her in their bravest array. The devoted attention they
paid to their armour and the temper of their weapons excited the
regretful admiration of their determined foe, old sea-dog Hawkins. The
Castilian loved the glint of shimmering steel and the ring of a true
forged blade on stout harness; his was a land of iron, and so long as
the issue of the battle depended on the sword and the lance, he could
defy Europe, and hold two Continents in fee. But the age of iron passed;
with it passed that grand old craftsman, the armourer; and the day of
Spain also, passed, for a while, into the grey evening of nations. For
Spain, so faithfully wedded to its native arms, and so pre-eminent in
their use, was slow to embrace the faith of explosives. Cervantes, in
the following passage, which he puts into the mouth of Don Quixote, has
left on record the aversion of his countrymen to the levelling-up
influence of the rifle, and their exaggerated attachment to the weapons
of chivalry:
“Blessed be those happy ages that were strangers to the dreadful fury of
those devilish instruments of artillery which is the cause that very
often a cowardly base hind takes away the life of the bravest gentleman,
and in the midst of that rigour and resolution which animates and
inflames the bold, a chance bullet (shot perhaps by one that fled, and
was frighted at the very flash the mischievous piece gave when it went
off), coming nobody knows how or from whence, in a moment puts a period
to the brave designs and the life of one that deserved to have survived
many years. This considered, I could almost say I am sorry at heart for
having taken on me this profession of a knight-errant in so detestable
an age: for though no danger daunts me, yet it affects me to think that
powder and lead may deprive me of the opportunity of becoming famous,
and making myself known throughout the world by the strength of my arm
and the dint of my sword.”
The national love of the sword and buckler was encouraged in the
Spaniards by many of their sovereigns, foremost among whom was the
warrior-King, Charles V. In the beginning of the sixteenth century the
crown of Spain passed to this prince, the grandson and heir of
Maximilian of Germany, in whose veins flowed the blood of the martial
Dukes of Burgundy. Maximilian had done more than any other monarch to
encourage and advance the armourer’s art, and Charles V.’s passion for
the practice and perfecting of arms, and all that pertained to military
equipment, was even greater than that evinced by his grandfather. By a
fortunate combination of circumstances, supplemented by his lust of
conquest, he found himself the monarch of three realms, in one of which
(Spain) the love of arms was almost a mania, while in the other two
(Germany and Italy) the armourer’s craft had attained a degree of
perfection that has not been approached in any other age or country. The
sovereign that could command the services of the Colmans of Augsburg and
the Negrolis of Milan was in an unequalled position for one who desired
to gratify a taste for armour, and Charles did not neglect his
opportunity. He patronised liberally the master-craftsmen of Italy and
Germany, sedulously stimulating their rivalry the while, and at his
death left to Spain--the worthiest of his realms to inherit it--the
finest collection of knightly harnesses that any monarch had ever
possessed.
It will be gathered from the following brief sketch that Spain has
achieved distinction both as a manufactory and a storehouse of arms.
Aragon, and, to a less marked extent, Castile, were always in the van
where the improvement of armour was concerned; and although experts
consider that Italy set the fashion in the craft during the Middle Ages,
it is by no means certain that Barcelona did not, at some periods,
assume the lead. Swords, as in the days of the Cæsars, continued to be
exported to Italy from Catalonia through the twelfth, thirteenth, and
fourteenth centuries, the traffic, curiously enough, being chiefly in
the hands of that unwarlike race, the Jews.
But while arms and armour have ever been a study in the Peninsula which
has engaged the closest attention of Kings, soldiers, and artificers, no
distinct style, no essentially national type of armour was, or could be,
evolved. Nor is this fact calculated to cause surprise, for it is
obvious that there can be no Spanish school of armoury in the sense that
there is a Spanish school of painting, or of music. Weapons and means of
defence must vary according to periods rather than localities, and thus
it follows that while the armour of one century may be easily
distinguished from that of another, to differentiate between a German
and a French suit of the same period is always a difficult, frequently
an impossible, task. The warrior could not permit himself to be swayed
by fanciful or patriotic prejudice in the fashion or make of his arms;
his life depended on the stoutness and quality of his weapons, and he
secured the best that his means could command wherever they were
obtainable. If the enemy were possessed of stronger, more pliant, or
better tempered weapons or accoutrements, the soldier had no choice but
to learn the methods of his foeman. The secrets of improvements in the
science of armoury could only be preserved in times of peace, for, once
the weapons were used in the tented field, the riddle of their
superiority was solved. The harness of a vanquished knight became,
according to the laws of chivalry, the property of his conqueror. In
this manner a constant interchange of arms and armour went on through
the Iron Ages, and the equipment and methods of victorious and
vanquished nations were sooner or later divulged and adopted.
There is, therefore, as has been said, no national school of Spanish
arms; and the Royal Armoury itself, although admittedly the finest
collection of its kind in the world, is not a gallery of Spanish
workmanship. Thanks to the range and extent of the dominion of its
founder, Charles V., the Armoury, from its institution, has assumed an
international character. Here are suits of harness, the choicest product
of native craft, executed at the Emperor’s command, interspersed with
the finest works of Germany, of Flanders, and of Italy--gifts,
purchases, and the spoils of war. In no other collection of a like
nature can be seen so many _chefs d’œuvres_ of the greatest masters of
Europe; but while so many of the most important exhibits are of foreign
origin, the museum remains essentially the Royal Armoury of Spain--the
repository of the armour of its kings, the swords of its captains, and
the trophies of its victorious armies.
I
FROM THE FIFTH TO THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY
When, in the fifth century, the Visigoths passed over the Pyrenees and
laid the foundations of a new nation, they found a people armed for war,
as they were clothed in peace, after the Roman fashion. The legionary’s
equipment must have been tolerably familiar to the fair-haired invaders,
and it is likely that they had already adopted it in many of its
details. That they did so on their establishment in Spain, at all
events, is proved by the descriptions contained in the _Etymologies_ of
St. Isidore, which, however, make no mention of the lorica or
breastplate, and ocreas or greaves worn by the soldiers of the empire.
Reference is made instead by the saintly chronicler to coats of fence,
made of chain-mail, or of thick quilted stuff woven in Silesia.
There was at one time a very general belief that chain armour was
introduced into Europe from the East. This view is successfully combated
by Hewitt--_Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe_--who proves that this
important article of military apparel was worn by the Germans, Normans,
and Anglo-Saxons at a very remote period. Varro, indeed, ascribes its
invention to the Gauls. The Anglo-Saxon epic, “Beowulf” (eighth century)
contains many allusions to the “ringed byrnie,” while in the _Volsunga
Saga_ we read that “Sigurd’s sides so swelled with rage that the rings
of his byrnie were burst asunder.” It is evident from this passage that
what was meant was mail-armour; _i.e._, composed of interlinked rings,
not merely the quilted tunic on which were sown metal discs, such as
was, however, undoubtedly worn also at that time and for many centuries
after. Both kinds of defensive armour may have been brought to Spain by
the Visigoths, or again adopted by them subsequent to their settlement
in the country.
I have been unable to discover on effigies or in illuminated manuscripts
any specimens of Visigothic armour. There is good reason to believe that
it was far from being of a rude description. The methods of tempering
steel which had made the blades of Toledo and Bilbilis renowned
throughout the Roman world could hardly have been forgotten; and Baron
Davillier has shown that a craft closely allied to the armourer’s--the
goldsmith’s--received liberal encouragement from the successors of
Ataulfo. The Saracens, according to their own historians, were amazed at
the splendour and richness of the treasure accumulated in the cities of
Spain. Tharik Ben Zeyad, when he took Toledo in 712, found amongst a
profusion of crowns, jewellery, and plate, “gilded armour, daggers, and
swords richly mounted, bows, lances, and various arms, offensive and
defensive.” The spoils, as enumerated by another writer, included one
thousand swords for the use of the kings, and one hundred and seventy
crowns of pure gold.
This testimony is confirmed by the priceless relics of Visigothic
dominion, preserved in the Cluny Museum, and, thanks to the liberality
of Queen Isabel II., in the Royal Armoury at Madrid (see plate 1). The
circumstances of their discovery, as related by Don Pedro de Madrazo,
and set forth by Conde de Valencia de San Juan, are of almost romantic
interest.
“On the night of August 25th, 1858, a man and a woman were journeying on
two small donkeys along the road from Toledo to Guadamar. On approaching
the Guarrazar fountain, they observed by the light of the moon, that the
rain which had fallen during a great storm the previous day, had washed
the earth down towards the issue of the fountain, and left bare what
looked like tombs. Out of curiosity, or necessity, the woman got off her
donkey, and approached them, and in a square hole, made of stones and
lime, ill-concealed with two flat stones, between which the moonlight
penetrated, she saw with wonder that something strange was glistening.
On her exclaiming, the man also dismounted, and, putting his hand into
the hole, he touched an object like a collar made of hearts. He took it
out, and after that, other things of different shapes, then a cross,
then a crown, and then a larger one ... washing them with the water from
the adjoining fountain, gold and precious stones revealed themselves to
their astonished eyes. They afterwards declared that they thought they
were dreaming. They took away the treasure they had found with all
secrecy; said nothing in the town, and the following night, with the
same secrecy, and provided with a small lantern and the necessary tools,
they returned to examine the marvellous hiding-place, whence they took
all that remained.
“Within a few days pieces of valuable gold and silver work of an unknown
period began to be seen in the Toledo silversmiths’ shops, and a
goldsmith and dealer in stones and gems in the town, who had his house
and workshop in a beautiful garden by the Tagus, near the Sword Factory,
and who was distinguished among his fellows by his taste for archæology,
had the patience to acquire one by one, and to match together the
different pieces under observation; after many combinations and
rectifications, leaving out some pieces, and, with consummate art,
supplying others that were missing, he at last formed, or rather
restored, several crowns, among them one very large and valuable, which,
by the hangings, was found to be the crown of King Recesvinto (649-672).
“With the same secrecy that the discoverers of the treasure had
observed, Navarro (for this was the name of the dealer in stones and
gems) proceeded with the difficult task of restoring to their original
shape those inestimable insignia of Visigothic Royalty. He took them to
France, and they were already in a case in the Cluny Museum when Spain
heard of the discovery and extraction of the crowns of Guarrazar.
“But the treasure, taken in 1858 from Guarrazar to Guadamar was not
exhausted. About May, 1861, a villager of Guadamar, Domingo de la Cruz,
who had found in the same Guarrazar cemetery, but in a different hole to
the one already explored, other crowns and objects used for worship,
presented himself at Aranjuez, where Queen Isabel was at the time. This
man, after many ambiguous and roundabout proposals, having ascertained
that no harm would come to him from the revelation he was about to make,
and, above all, stimulated by the promises which, relying on the
generosity of the Queen, the Intendant Don Antonio Flores cleverly let
fall in the conversation, said he was the possessor of these treasures.
The crafty rustic had them with him, but at the moment he did not say
so, and only showed them when Flores, having obtained the consent of her
Majesty, formally offered him, in the Queen’s name, a life-pension
[4,000 reals a year], which from that day was religiously paid to him.”
The Armoury and the Cluny Museum probably contain only a half of the
treasure of Guarrazar. As we have seen, much of it was broken up and
melted down by the goldsmiths of Toledo. It is said that it comprised a
beautiful golden dove, which came into the possession of a jeweller, who
had so many qualms of conscience concerning it, that he at last took the
drastic course of throwing it into the Tagus. That rapid stream must
have received a good deal of Visigothic treasure since it first flowed
under the arches of Toledo.
The crowns preserved at Madrid and the Cluny are not the official
insignia of royalty, but offerings at the shrine. This is proved by the
inscriptions on them, and by the fringe of pendants, which could not
possibly have dangled over the royal countenance. The crown of King
Suintila (numbered N1 in the catalogue), who reigned from 621 to 631, is
formed by two semi-circles of double gold plate, joined by hinges, the
resulting hoop being 0.220 in diameter, and 0.060 in height. The inside
plate is plain. The outer hoop is encircled by three bands in relief,
two being set with pearls and sapphires, and the middle and wider one
designed with openwork rosettes, enriched with settings of the same
stones. In its original state the crown had, hanging from its lower
edge, a cross and twenty-two letters, making up the inscription,
SVINTHILANVS REX OFFERET. All and each of the letters were actual jewels
set in a vitreous substance, like enamel sockets, attached to which are
brilliants, pearls, and pear-shaped sapphires hanging from each other in
the order mentioned. Though only twelve letters were remaining, the
dedication was skilfully reconstructed by Senores Madrazo and Amador de
los Rio. The crown is suspended by four chains from an ornament composed
of two golden lilies separated by a piece of rock crystal cut in facets.
Each chain consists of four links, shaped like the leaf of the
pear-tree. Hanging from one of these chains is a cross of beautiful
workmanship, composed of pieces from two other crosses, belonging in all
probability to two different crowns.
The exhibits N4 and N6 are |
|
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기