Full Plate Armor (Garniture) of George Clifford, Third Earl of Cumberland, end of XVI century (1590-1592)

Full armor set of George Clifford of the end of XVI century (1590-1592) 

His Majesty Henry VIII left a mark in history so brightly, as anybody did. Majority remembers about his wives, some keeps in mind Anglican Church, very few are aware of foundation of the Royal Navy, laid by him. But, quite a few knows, that there is Henry VIII to whom we owed the appearance of the Royal Almain Armoury and Greenwich Armours in the 1525 year. 

Guest German artisans were creating armor of the singular beauty and quality and teaching English armorers. So, Royal Armoury was developing on the German base and by borrowing some knowledges from other arms schools. There was no lack of orders at Greenwich artisans. They were improving, so Greenwich armour successfully competed with German and Italian armor.

Armor Garniture of George Clifford, Third Earl of Cumberland, a masterpiece of Greenwich workshop, had been created in the 1590-1592 years.

Jacob Halder managed invention of this armor kit. He left us not only armor by itself, but also work drawings, which we may see in “Jacobe Album”.

Now, this medieval armor set is kept in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

So, when we required sample of real medieval armor, not only beautiful and striking, but also suitable for real medieval fight both on the war and tournament, so we chose Cumberland armor without thinking twice. As this armor is flawless as visually, so functionally. Besides, among all the items from the arsenal of Greenwich workshop, it is best preserved, boggling the imagination up to now. This set is typical one, but the most beautiful representative of the Greenwich armor, featuring fanciful mix of armor elements from the other workshops. Although German blacksmiths stood at the origins of workshops, the cuirass and spaulders of this set were borrowed from the Italian armor, and helmet is Burgundian armet. Tasses and cuisses were taken from the Low-German and Nurnberg schools, other elements – from Augsburg workshop.

Such combination allowed Jacob Halder (and later, Steel Mastery artisans) to create unique battle set, which is light, articulated and well protecting at the same time. We guess there is one of the best medieval armor to choose. Regarding elements of armor, so knight’s head is protected with late armet with chin plate on hinges and two-part visor. Gorget protects the neck. Body is covered with cuirass with tasses. Asymmetrical spaulder of five plates are designed as for dismounted, so for mounted battle. Two-leaved armor arms with circular protection are completely shut and do not restrict movements. Gauntlets with long pointed cuffs, 13-strips hand protection and scale defense of thumbs continue arms’ protection. Entire tassets with steel plates pass into two-leaved greaves, which end with sabatons, which are not wide and non pointed nose.

Decoration of medieval battle armor deserves big attention. Elegant etching covers armor with fine floral “Tudor” ornament, which was popular among Greenwich artisans and actual up to now. We did not add gilding, as on the Cumberland armor, striving to create a replica with a hint of individuality. Steel Mastery’s blacksmiths are ready to make any pattern by customer wish, just like other type of decoration, which you would like to see on your Cumberland armor. Please pay attention, that this kind of adornment is not included to the base configuration. However, option “Decoration” was made especially for the fulfillment of your fantasies :)

You can use this full authentic medieval armor for:

• SCA
• HEMA
• Larp
• Stage performances
• Medieval festivals
• Reenactment events

This made-to-measure battle armor is completely handcrafted by our artisans.

Medieval suit of armor includes the next parts:

• Helmet armet
• Plate spaulders
• Cuirass with tassets
• Full arms
• Gauntlets
• Full leg armor (thigh armor, greaves, sabatons)

Base price includes following options:

• Cold-rolled steel 1.0 mm for all metal parts
• Satin polishing
• Brown leather belts
• Steel nickel-plated buckles
• Steel rivets
• No decoration

Main photo shows medieval armor with following options:

• Cold-rolled steel 1.5 mm
• Brown leather belts and strings
• Brass buckles
• Brass rivets
• Mirror polishing as finish treatment
• Decorative etching

This model can be moderated, as you wish. Features, which can be modified such as type and thickness of metal, colour of leather straps, additional decoration are specified in options. In addition, you can combine various elements of the armor, for example, cuirasses of one type and the helmet of another.

Benefits, which you’ll get, if you buy medieval armor at Steel Mastery:

1. Custom-made high-quality metal body armor, handcrafted by your individual parameters;
2. Reliability and comfortable wearing for years;
3. Product made by experienced blacksmiths, who really know how to make a good armor;
4. Convenient payment systems (Paypal, Skrill, Visa, MasterCard, American Express);
5. Flexible return system in case if you don’t like an item.

You may also like these models of medieval full armor sets: Milanese style full armor set, Knight armor set of the 15^th century.

In section Suits of armor, you can see all models that we offer for ordering. If you didn’t find any for your taste and wish, please send us photo and description of the required model and we will make it for you.