Arms and Armor in the works of Albrecht Dürer

[shayde78]

"Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg", 1523
Sword on the wall in the background

[shayde78]

"St. Bartholomew", 1523
The knife blade is interesting. Reminiscent of the blade held in a fist that serves as a maker's mark.

[shayde78]

"St. Simon", 1523
The instrument in his hand is a saw, rather than a weapon. Still, I included here because the hilt looks like something that, if we saw on a weapon, we might speculate, "could that be from a tool, rather than a sword?" Now we have an example of a saw handle for reference

[shayde78]

"Frederick the Wise", 1524
Crossed sword upper left corner.

[shayde78]

And, that's all of them - feel free to discuss, or simply reference as related to items you have in your collection.

I'm always curious to read your thoughts and comments. Overall, I hope this proves useful to some of you as it is my way of paying tuition for the education this forum has provided me over the years.

[corrado26]

It is the first time today that I saw your many posts which I looked at with great interest. Dürer's opus is really really remarkable and ingenious and I have to thank you to having posted it here.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by shayde78

And, that's all of them - feel free to discuss, or simply reference as related to items you have in your collection.

I'm always curious to read your thoughts and comments. Overall, I hope this proves useful to some of you as it is my way of paying tuition for the education this forum has provided me over the years.

Shayde, I just wanted to thank you for entering these, and especially for placing them as separate entries so we can discuss each individually. It is much easier than trying to refer to a long block of images of different works.
It is a very thoughtful thing to take the time to add these great works of Durer, who I think was an amazing artist with the detail in his illustration (especially in the arms) and the context.

These always remind me of the intriguing and mysterious illustrations in the Johnny Depp movie "The Ninth Gate" in thier character.

No tuition needed here we all learn together and from each other.

[Philip]

Originally Posted by shayde78

"St. Simon", 1523
The instrument in his hand is a saw, rather than a weapon. Still, I included here because the hilt looks like something that, if we saw on a weapon, we might speculate, "could that be from a tool, rather than a sword?" Now we have an example of a saw handle for reference

He is believe to have flourished in the 1st cent. AD, and is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke as "Simon the Zealot" for his reputed membership in that Jewish nationalist movement. There is an apocryphal book, Acts of Simon, that is not contained in the New Testament.

The implement is indeed a saw, he was martyred by being sawn in half. The place of his demise is not certain, variously placed in Greece or Persia.

As we've discussed in your previous excellent thread on the Nürnberg Chronicles, religious iconography of the era often depicted Saints with the instruments of their martyrdom -- such as Catherine and the spiked wheel, Sebastian with arrows, and Lawrence holding or standing next to the gridiron on which he was roasted.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by shayde78

"St. Simon", 1523
The instrument in his hand is a saw, rather than a weapon. Still, I included here because the hilt looks like something that, if we saw on a weapon, we might speculate, "could that be from a tool, rather than a sword?" Now we have an example of a saw handle for reference

Tools and weapons have always run close parallels, and often the rank and file in assembled forces were simply peasant farmers and the like who wielded whatever tools or implements they had at hand. Many weapons, especially many pole arms were made from or designed from bill hooks and tools of this kind.

The serrated blades of the swords used by the sappers etc in military forces were of course used as saws as well as a weapon as required.

[Jim McDougall]

As noted in post #35 re: hand holding a dagger

[Jim McDougall]

Re: Post 32, landscape with cannon, 1518
Added coat of arms of Nuremberg as depicted on cannon.

This was apparently one of a number of 'iron plates' and depicting curiously a group of Ottomans around an outdated cannon from Nuremberg. At this time Maximilian I, Holy Roman emperor was calling for a crusade against the Turks, which did not materialize. The symbolism in the work is unclear.

[Philip]

Originally Posted by shayde78

"St. Bartholomew", 1523
The knife blade is interesting. Reminiscent of the blade held in a fist that serves as a maker's mark.

Reminds me of a mini-falchion blade. The profile is almost a spitting image of the one on p 224 of Stone's Glossary... which is identified as German, 15th cent. (Metropolitan Museum of Art).

[shayde78]

Originally Posted by Philip

Reminds me of a mini-falchion blade. The profile is almost a spitting image of the one on p 224 of Stone's Glossary... which is identified as German, 15th cent. (Metropolitan Museum of Art).

St. Bart was martyred by being flayed alive. He is often depicted holding a skinning or flensing knife and also wrapped in his own skin. The texture of the 'garment' may well indicate some type of 'leather'. If I wanted to trademark a blade with an icon symbolizing a keen edge, I might choose to borrow from the iconography of St. Bartholomew.