Churburg style armor arms

Churburg Castle, built in 1253, is one of the best-preserved castles in South Tyrol and is particularly known for its armory, which contains 50 fully preserved suits of armour, all made for members of the Matsch family (from 1541 the Trapp family). This dynastic collection is of incomparable artistic and historical value. The collection is famous, among other treasures, for one of the oldest surviving transitional plate armour, #13, as well as other gems of Milanese origin.

Transitional armour lies somewhere between mail and full plate, where vulnerable areas are reinforced with pieces of plate. During the 13th century, first the knees and shins of horsemen received double protection, then arms and other parts. The manufacture of plate armour required capital, both for mining and for furnaces and workshops. An industry was born and in Lombardy, around Milan, this new industry flourished.

The Churburg #13 was made by Missiglia and several Milanese armourers around 1360-1390, and is the oldest in the Churburg collection (or anywhere else). The matching arm armour dates to about 1360.

On the Churburg arms, the cuff protects the forearm, the front of the elbow, and the upper arm gusset. These parts are joined together so that the hand is fully mobile; an obvious necessity for the armour to be functional. This style was initially characteristic of Germanic and northern Italian men-at-arms, and spread to the rest of Europe in the late 14th century. The original brass decorations have been replaced by steel gussets. The closed cuffs have been sized to fit over a gambeson.

The armour arms are attached to a mail shirt or arming connector at the top using separate arming cords. The Churburg arm armour weighs 3.55 kg per pair.

Made of 1.6mm steel.

Steel thickness may vary due to the handcrafting of our products. Carbon steel is not treated so it may rust, which is easily removable. You can protect this item from rust with synthetic or mineral oil.

No claims will be accepted for any of the above cases.