Kasten-brust armour

A knight in full kasten-brust armour without gauntlets (altar of Saint Leonard churge in Basele by Conrad Witz,1435)

Kasten-brust armour (German: Kastenbrust — "box-shaped breast") — is a German form of plate armour from the first half of 15th century.

Kasten-brust armour was a style of early gothic armour widely used in the Holy Roman Empire. Typical harness construction consists of: a grand-bascinet helm, box-shaped cuirass, firm gauntlets, and long skirt. Only one set is known to have survived until today, and this armour (made approximately at 1440) is now in the Rathaus Museum of Vienna. Kasten-brust armour is however widely represented by paintings and statues of the first half of the 15th century.

Gallery

• 
  Knights in kasten-brust armours (altar of Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent by Jean van Eyek, 1427-30)
• 
  A statue of Arthur from the Great Ancient Kings Kenotath in Innsbruck (Austria), one of several examples of Kasten-Brust armor worn by the statues within Maximilian's tomb, this particular example displaying anachronism

External links

• Living History Library entry for Kastenbrust armour
• Replica with detailed fotos

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kasten-brust.

References

• Osprey-Military "German Medieval Armies 1300-1500" (Men-at-Arms Series t166), text by Christopher Gravett, colour plates by Angus McBride, editor Martin Windrow, Reed International Books Ltd., ISBN 0-85045-614-2 "