Old Timey Art

Artist:                                                 Ryan Rebne                                          Jacob Halder
Date:                                            11 November 2019                                            1586
Medium:                                           Printer Paper                               Steel, Gold, Leather, Textile
Size:                                                    8.5 x 11 in.                                                69.5 in.

Created in the late 16th century, this set of armor was more than solely a pragmatic tool used in war. The armor was made in Greenwich, and was worn by the late George Clifford -- he so sadly passed away back in 1605. In his prime, Clifford was known widely for his capture of the Spanish fort in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1598. But Clifford's endeavors extended beyond that of just the battlefield. He, and his decorative armor along with him, participated in many tournaments (outings that the high class sometimes attended for casual entertainment -- included jousting and the like). Knowing that this was going to be something that he did often, Clifford designed the armor accordingly. He had it forged only from the most prestigious backgrounds: the royal workshops. It was here that the master armorer, Jacob Halder of of England, directed its creation.

When instructing Halder about its design, Clifford was very clear in his desires that it not only be the most elegant, showy, and flamboyant, but also the most intentional. This means that many of the minute details that can be seen in the armor are all done for a purpose. For instance, the Tudor rose theme,  the French fleur-de-lis, and the cipher of Queen Elizabeth I (two E's back to back), were all homages to various parts of Clifford's life. The French fleur-de-lis was a showing of Clifford's devotion to catholicism, the Tudor roses present his inherent tie to England, and the back to back Es make clear his closer than average relationship with Queen Elizabeth I herself.

The gold elements seen in the armor are quite obviously done intentionally by Halder as well. Clifford was known to be a man of great prestige and nobility. His life as a naval commander,  nobleman, and famous jouster makes the elegant nature of Halder's work no surprise. With a dark undertone, the gold is allowed to pop out that much more, thrusting the magnitude of Clifford's wealth and class unto all onlookers.

When looking specifically at the presentation of the armor now, we can further the aforementioned argument that this armor was used not solely for actual battle. The nonchalant popped knee, casual arm hanging, and lack of weaponry shows that this armor was much more for show than it was for pragmatic intentions.

It becomes clear through looking at this armor that there were many skewed value systems in this late 16th century era. The mere fact that armor as nice as this was used for decoration shows the romanticization of war that was present at this time. People of the upper classes, such as George Clifford, had abundant wealth, and were essentially at a loss as to what to spend it on. Thus, with obvious ignorance of the brutalities associated with war, battle, and violence, they turned armor and other tools into personal garnitures of sorts. No longer was anything safely "for the people", the rich claimed whatever they liked as their own and made it into a status symbol simply by getting talented craftsmen to bedeck it with gold.

Furthermore, the loosely defined border between religion and governance present in this time period can be seen in Halder's creation. When looking at the French fleur-de-lis and the back to back E's, it is easy to see the grossly homogeneous nature of the society that Clifford and Halder lived in. The tie to religion as well as royalty presents us with a clear cut example where there is division lacking between the church and the state.  Not only this, but the fact that Queen Elizabeth I was a known protestant, coupled with the fact that the French fleur-de-lis is a known symbol of catholicism, shows how complex religious tensions were at the time. Even though Clifford has an obvious allegiance to Queen Elizabeth I, it seems his religion is at odds with her's. This contrasting of religious ties was actually somewhat common at the time. Even Queen Elizabeth I, a protestant queen supposed to me a model of religious purity and holiness (even called "The Virgin Queen" by some), kept Catholic symbols like the crucifix, and even downplayed the role of sermons in defiance of a key Protestant belief. Another well known person of the time was the famous William Shakespeare. He was, similar to Queen Elizabeth I, a religious enigma. He was known to have Catholic family members, yet he himself was not a public Catholic, instead preferring to follow Protestant belief systems.

It is clear that during this time religious tensions were high. Many sectors of society were affected by these sometimes violent disagreements. However what people don't often realize is that those of this time were not as one-sided as the actions of the masses may lead us to believe.  Yes,  there were many intolerant fanatics, dead set on their religion being the only option. But there were also many people like Clifford, Queen Elizabeth I, and Shakespeare who had their toes dipped into both sides. I think that everyone would do good to step back and try to think a bit more like these three every now and then, a little duality in one's beliefs never hurt anybody.