Rennzeug

The two main types of late medieval jousting are the joust of peace (Stechen; see cat. 13) and the mock joust of war (Rennen). In a mock joust of war, the focus was on the knights’ equestrian skills and their handling of the lance. A lance was between 3 and 4 metres long, and together with the necessary equipment – lance head and vamplate – could weigh up to 13.5 kilogrammes (30 pounds).

As in the joust of peace, the equipment worn by participants in a late medieval Rennen was purpose-built for the sport. Until the late fifteenth century, most jousters wore their normal field armour, but around 1490 at the latest a highly specialized armour for the Rennen – the Rennzeug – was devised, most probably at the court of Emperor Maximilian I. This comprised an asymmetrical, box-like breastplate with hook (lance rest) and long counter-hook (queue), a lighter backplate, and longer faulds. The jouster’s head was protected by a bevor, which covered the neck and the lower part of the face, and a sallet, often with reinforcing forehead plates.

Produced by Matthes Deutsch, an armourer active in the Bavarian city of Landshut, this Rennzeug was designed to be worn for a mock joust of war with fixed shields. A massive shield bolted to the harness protected the wearer’s torso and the lower part of his face. The date 1498 is inscribed on the backplate. In that year, John, Elector of Saxony (from 1525) and his elder brother Elector Frederick III visited Innsbruck, where Emperor Maximilian I hosted a number of festivities in their honour, including a Rennen held on 25 February. Both the court of Saxony and the Habsburgs commissioned works from Matthes Deutsch.

As all the pieces belonging to this armour are marked with three circle segments, we have recently been able to identify the matching helmet. It is decorated with the Cross of Burgundy and a fire steel, which shows that it was originally made for a Habsburg prince. Perhaps the armour was commissioned by John of Saxony as a gift for Maximilian I or for the latter’s son, Philip the Handsome.