IB Lit and Lang Blog 5: #IBmakingart

This armor, by Jacob Halder, a master armorer in the royal workshops in Greenwich, England, was created for George Clifford, Third Earl of Cumberland, in 1586. It is steel, gold, leather, and textile, and is 69.5 in. tall and 60 lb. This armor was created for George Clifford, who was named the Queen's champion and Knight of the Garter in England. He decided to use the Tudor rose, French fleur-de-lis, and the cipher of Elizabeth (two E's back to back) to decorate his armor with. This armor is used for both field and tournament, which is why it has a detachable visor; it is detached for the parts of tournaments fought on foot. This armor is much more ornate than other knight armor found during this time period, which shows the prestige of Clifford. Because of his stature in this society, he is able to own and use this masterfully crafted armor which contains very expensive resources. Jacob Halder crafts the armor with more gold, it seems, than the other resources used, which shows how much money was spent on this one set of armor. He crafts each piece of armor, with the symbols that George Clifford wanted, symmetrically. The armor is symmetrical throughout each piece, attesting to the work and dedication was put into it. that 

This armor puts the military aspect of the civilization of this time into focus. It shows how much knighthood and combat was valued and the social status of these knights and combatants. George Clifford was a revered man, and his armor was the most beautiful and worked on armor from the royal armory in Greenwich of this time. This armor is a testament of how much money and effort was put into the knights for their leisure. Armor that functioned the same could have been made with much less expensive resources, but by having Queen Elizabeth I create armor as fine as this shows how much this type of lifestyle was valued. The Queen could have used the money and resources to improve quality of life for her subjects and lower class, but instead it was used for a single set of armor. This armor is a symbol of power, for both Clifford and Queen Elizabeth I. This armor is the most well-crafted armor from the royal armory, and therefore shows favoritism from the Queen. It also is a staple of the Queen's wealth. Clifford did not need gold armor, but was given to him by the Queen for his accomplishments. I think the armorer is also trying to give some insight on the Queen, possibly showing her unfairness when it comes to her people. She would rather give lavish gifts to the ones closest to her rather than improve upon her people's living conditions or her country in general. This also gives modern viewers an insight into the type of Queen Elizabeth I was. But, it also gives context into what was seen as art during this time period.