Reinforcing Breastplate Bevor, and Grandguard for the Joust

c. 1560

South German, Augsburg

By the sixteenth century, armorers devised this steel reinforcement as replacement for wooden shields or targes used in the joust. The section covering the shoulder, known as a grandguard, was bolted down firmly over the left side together with a reinforcing (second) breastplate. The grandguard served as a target and was often fitted with a trellis pattern to grapple the lance head after impact. The helmet was bolted to the upper section (bevor) for added thickness and protection, replacing the heavy jousting helm of the past.

Status: On View, Gallery 239
Department: Applied Arts of Europe

Title: Reinforcing Breastplate Bevor, and Grandguard for the Joust
Place: Augsburg (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1555–1565
Medium: Steel
Credit Line: George F. Harding Collection
Reference Number: 1982.2677a-c
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/116623/manifest.json

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Reinforcing Breastplate Bevor, and Grandguard for the Joust

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.