Armbrust

This crossbow is emblazoned with the French royal arms, the arms of Anne de Bretagne, and the symbol of the Order of the Porcupine (a depiction of the eponymous animal). This particular combination allows us to attribute this splendid weapon to King Louis XII of France, and to date it to between 1499 and 1514. Anne, Duchess of Brittany, wed Louis XII in January 1499 and died at the age of 37 in January 1514.

Prior to her marriage to Louis, Anne was married to his predecessor, King Charles VIII, who had died young; her first husband (though this union was quickly annulled) had been the young Maximilian I. The French royal arms on this crossbow cannot refer to Charles VIII because the Order of the Porcupine is a clear reference to Louis. This order of chivalry had been founded by Louis’s grandfather Louis of Valois, Duke of Orleans, in 1394. When Louis XII succeeded to the throne in 1498, he revived the order and chose the porcupine as his personal emblem.

The crossbow’s shape and stylistic details such as the etched decoration on the steel bow identify it as the work of a Spanish master. Spanish crossbows were renowned throughout Europe for their elegance and high-quality workmanship. Philip the Handsome probably commissioned the crossbow as a diplomatic gift for Louis XII, but we may assume that recurring political tensions with France prevented it from being sent to Paris, which is why it has remained in the Habsburg collection.