of working it was so
little known, that even as far back as the days of Richard II German
and Italian armourers were the chief workmen in Europe. It should be
remembered that the earlier kind of armour chiefly consisted of quilted
garments, further fortified by small pieces of leather, horn, or metal.
So far from the invention of gunpowder having driven out armour, if we
may credit the story of the earliest employment of that explosive, it
was at a date when plate armour was hardly in use, certainly not in
large pieces. What actually did cause the disuse of armour was the
change in ideas as to the movement of troops and the large quantity of
armour which was made in the sixteenth century, and consequently the
inferior make. In England the disuse of armour seems to have begun
earlier than on the Continent, but at no time were the ordinary soldiers
covered with metal as seen in Armouries and other places. The weight,
and what was more important, the cost, prevented such a thing. It was
only the rich who could afford to pay for and had horses to carry
armour, who wore much of what we see now. Again, armour for war was
much lighter and less complete than that used for the tilt yard, where
protection to the wearer was more considered than his ability to hurt
his opponent. The greater substance of such armour and its frequent
enrichment with engraving and gilding no doubt led to the preservation
of this class of defence. Chain mail suffered extremely by rust and
neglect, and even plate armour was subject to the same deterioration.
It is consequently not to be wondered at that little or no armour of a
date previous to the fifteenth century is to be seen in this collection.
On Henry VIII's death the first inventory of the Royal collection was
made, and this includes the armour and arms at Greenwich, and arms and
artillery at the Tower of London which, from the time of Henry VIII, was
one of the sights for foreigners of distinction. In the troubles of the
Civil War the arms were drawn out, and there is no doubt much, both of
arms and armour, was used and lost. The Protector took one suit, and it
was not till 1660 that the armour, which had meanwhile been brought to
London, was collected, and, with the weapons still in the store, were
formed into a kind of museum. It is to that period that may be traced
most of the grotesque stories associated with the collection. At various
subsequent periods additions were made to the collection