What is this Composite Stechzeug?
This jousting armor was made around the year 1500 CE in southern Germany, probably in Nuremberg. It would have been worn not only during jousts but also during ceremonial occasions like parades, as shown above. During this time, the Hundred Years' War between the English and the French had recently ended, and the Byzantine Empire had been conquered by the Ottoman Turks. England and France were beginning to consolidate their power under their monarchs with the creation of bureaucratic networks that could collect taxes and fund armies which made the nations less reliant on their nobles. In the late 1400s, Germany was still a loose confederation of small kingdoms collectively known as the Holy Roman Empire. These small kingdoms were constantly at war with each other over land as well as influence in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor, one of the most influential people in medieval Europe. The period around 1500 CE was also marked by the cultural movement known as the Renaissance, famous for its paintings and statues by artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
Zachary Barney, Class of 2025, College of the Holy Cross
