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Source Description
The brigandine is a light, vest-like body defense popular with both knights and infantry from the 1400s through about 1550. It is constructed of multiple small plates attached to a cloth covering. Finer examples, like this one, are faced in velvet or fabric made of gold thread. The lightweight brigandine provided protection from the weather, and was extremely flexible.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
102584
label
Body Guard (Brigandine)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
102584
contentType
object
title
Body Guard (Brigandine)
description
The brigandine is a light, vest-like body defense popular with both knights and infantry from the 1400s through about 1550. It is constructed of multiple small plates attached to a cloth covering. Finer examples, like this one, are faced in velvet or fabric made of gold thread. The lightweight brigandine provided protection from the weather, and was extremely flexible.
date
c. 1500–1525
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79502223
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 56.5 x 47.6 cm (22 1/4 x 18 3/4 in.)
cul
Italy (?), early 16th Century
accession
1921.125
Source extras
tec
linen; gold velvet; steel; brass
tombstone
Body Guard (Brigandine), c. 1500–1525. Italy (?), early 16th Century. Linen; gold velvet; steel; brass ; overall: 56.5 x 47.6 cm (22 1/4 x 18 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1921.1250
collection
MED - Arms & Armor
didYouKnow
This vest only weighs about five and a half pounds, considerably lighter than plate armor.
citations
citation
American Art Association. <em>An Important Collection of Ancient Arms and Armor. </em>1921.
page_number
cat. no. 236
citation
Gilchrist, Helen Ives. <em>A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923</em>. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 66, C14; Reproduced: Plate XIV, C14
citation
Gilchrist, Helen Ives. <em>Handbook of the Severance Collection of Arms and Armor.</em> Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1948.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 22
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N.<em> Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
page_number
cat. no. 39, p. 164
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N.<em> Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
cat. no. 15, p. 183
citation
Dobson, Chris. <em>Beaten Black and Blue: The Myth of the Medieval Knight in Shining Armour</em>. Sant'Albano Stura, Italy: Chris Dobson, 2023.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 62, fig. 64
citation
Dobson, Christopher. <em>Alla Tedesca? :</em> <em>Italian ‘Gothic’ Armour and the Export Trade</em>. Sant’Albano Stura, Italy: Christopher Dobson, 2024.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 109, fig. 110
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:32:15.761000
sourceId
102584
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Arms & Armor
med
linen; gold velvet; steel; brass
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
8f8dd1eee9d7a0e4