Royal armor in the Renaissance was far more than protective equipment for the battlefield. Most often worn at court ceremonies and in parades, pageants, and jousting tournaments, it proclaimed the rulers' strength and power. Elaborately decorated with imagery drawn from history, mythology, or the Bible, armor symbolically presented emperors and kings as the new Caesar, the equal of Hercules and other ancient heroes, the defender of the faith, or the model of chivalry. Etched or engraved images of saints or the Virgin and Child asserted that the rulers enjoyed divine protection. Much more costly than portraits by the leading painters of the day, suits of royal armor are dazzling works of wearable sculpture that affirmed their owners' right to govern.
Desiderius Helmschmid, German, documented 1513–1579, Equestrian Armor of Emperor Charles V, Augsburg, c. 1535–1540 (lance, 16th-19th century) etched, embossed, and gilt steel, brass, leather, fabric (lance: steel and wood), Patrimonio Nacional, Real Armería, Madrid
