Armures et armes anciennes

To affirm his political regime, Pandolfo Petrucci (1452-1512) took advantage of the potentialities
given by the Camera del Comune. It had been the arsenal of the city of Siena for a long time, but
Pandolfo changed its organization and widened its assignments. The maintenance and production
of weapons was still the principal purpose of this institution of the city. Under Pandolfo the production
of artilleries, ammunitions and the fortification activity was increased, thanks to specialists
like Francesco di Giorgio, Giacomo Cozzarelli and Vannoccio Biringucci, personalities who deeply
influenced the technical and military culture of all Europe. The Camera del Comune also managed
the military intelligence, useful tool to the dissembling politics of the Petrucci, and to the management
of the army. The Army of Siena was composed by a Condotta in Aspetto, which Pandolfo used
to create alliances. But the most important troops were the Provvisionati di Piazza, a professional
infantry faithful to the political regime and depending, both economically and for the supply of
weapons, on the Chamber of the town and the leadership of Pandolfo. The military politics of Pandolfo
Petrucci brought Siena among the greatest European powers of that time but its purposes,
mainly finalized to the maintenance of his own personal power, obstructed a true modernization
of the war apparatus of Siena, which in the following years had been inferior than its adversaries.

The Armory of the Museo Nazionale del Bargello of Florence preserves the remaining of the great Medici armory, founded by Cosimo I de’ Medici in 1540 and dispersed in 1770 by Peter Leopold of Lorraine, the future Emperor of Austria. In the State Archives of Florence are preserved the inventories of collections of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, thanks to which it is possible to recognize the weapons still remaining today. Among these stands out a small group of combined weapons, of which today are preserved to the Bargello seven pieces and one coming from the Ressman collection, described in this article. These weapons are of great value and rarity, some of them are the only sample today known to the world.

Joan of Arch effigies and depictions followed times and imaginaries of their productions periods. During the 19th century, she was often depicted as a young shepherdess, but the traditionnal oldest picture is truly showing her wearing arms and armour, if not with her standard, and the sword is among them one of the most symbolic attribute of her quest. Some preserved swors, two particularly in France has been kept with such attributions and connected to the legend, sometimes with few lights or evidence, but always meaning something important about what she was believed to have been and what such objects are able to bring us beyond centuries

After her historical armour suits, only possible to study by documents and some pictorial evidence from her time, as well as preserved archaeological comparison items, another subject is her armour after her own lifetime. The main depicted armour of Joan of Arc are obviously late interpretations, mainly coming from late Medieval typologies or even Renaissance models. But it's a true object of research as well, telling a lot about collectionism and museums history, also participating to a certain elaboration of her legendary appearance, even today.

Footman, soldier, billman, halberdier, gunner, sergeant, men-at-arms, squire, valet, pionnier, crossbowman, pikeman, handgunner, archer,... Men at war have a lot of names and role to play in the martial and military activities in the Middle Ages at the time of Joan of Arc. These terms are often coming from an evolution, from Antiquity and depict a thousand of jobs and crafts specialised in warfare, sometimes not so well known after these centuries.

After her sword(s), Joan of Arc have had some armour suits made for herself, sometimes offered as gifts, sometimes taken from ennemies. Without any preserved example, not even from her time, her white harness has always been researched about its appeareance, structure, reality and history by many authors. What do we really know about it finally regards to archives and collections ? This is a very short overlook of the deep subject.

by Fabrice DE BACKER, in Res Antiquae 18, 2021.

The artefacts discovered in excavations, with the textual and visual evidence, provide the support for a series of deductions on the manufacture of a scale-armour. Field experimentation gave an opportunity to the present author to understand how the craftsmen realized several different types of scale – armour, and the tools and resources that were employed to serve that purpose. This paper will provide some elements on the organisation and the equipment of a scale-armour manufacturer workshop during the Neo-Assyrian period.

Keywords: neo-assyrian, scale-armour, workshop, armourer, Tell Ahmar (Syria)
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Traduction par Storti Enrico de l'article "软兵之母-九节鞭" de Wǔ Bīng 武兵 Figura 1: photo prise par le traducteur lors d'une manifestation du Meihuaquan Le fouet à neuf sections (en métal) est une arme d'arts martiaux chinois utilisée dans presque tous les styles. Il appartient à la catégorie des armes flexibles (ruǎnbīngqì, 软兵器 1). C'est un type de "Fouet Flexible" 2. Surnommée "Mère ou Origine des Armes Flexibles" (ruǎnbīng 3 zhī mǔ, 软兵之 母), il peut être faite de cuivre, de fer, d'acier ou d'autres matériaux. Cette arme doit son nom au fait qu'elle est composée de neuf sections. Son « corps » est divisé en une partie centrale (zhōngjiān, 中 间) de sept sections, une section qui est le « manche du fouet » (biānbǎ, 鞭把), une autre section qui est la « tête ou pointe du fouet » (Biāntóu, 鞭头 4). Toutes les sections centrales ont trois anneaux. Deux anneaux supplémentaires qui produisent un son sont attachés aux anneaux qui relient le "poignée" et la "tête" à la partie centrale. Généralement, la longueur de l'outil doit correspondre à la hauteur du praticien, de sorte qu'en plaçant l'extrémité du manche sous la mâchoire, la tête du fouet touche le sol dans le bon sens (environ 1-2 mètres). De plus, chaque section doit être aussi longue que le poing d'un pratiquant. Une décoration en tissu pourrait être placée au bout de la "tête de fouet". Lorsque la décoration est présente, elle est appelée « fouet à soie colorée » (cǎichóubiān, 彩

Lucrarea prezintă activitatea de restaurare-conservare a unei armuri, in scopul asigurării stabilităţii şi a evidenţierii bogăţiei şi frumuseţii de corului.. Armura alcătuită din armura propriu-zisă şi lancea, aparţine Muzeului de Istorie a Moldovei din laşi, se încadrează in tipologia armelor de apărare individuală specifice secolelor XV-XVII, iar prin materialul de confecţionare şi decor se apreciază că este o armură de luptă.