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and we have a bundle of papers concerning them." The result of Herr Boeheim's investigations are to be found in his remarkable memoirs of the Milanese Armourers of the XVth and XVIth centuries, published in the Jahrbuch.

In our delight in the achievements of the armourers of Northern Italy we must not forget that in Germany and in France the craft of the armourer was making equal strides. It is not, however, until the end of the third quarter of the XVth century is reached that we are able to illustrate complete suits of these nationalities; the detached pieces alone remain to demonstrate the splendid progress made in the earlier part of the century. Could we but discover a German or a French harness of a date contemporary with that of the Tomaso da Missaglia suit in Vienna, we have little doubt that we should give it almost equal praise with that which we have bestowed on the fine examples of Milanese armour.

Fig. 239. The monogram on the capital of a column

From a house formerly in the Via degli Spadari, Milan, the home of the Missaglia

The student of armour is brought up to believe that the direct formation of a plate, its constructive protective quality, and the general subject of its decoration are factors sufficiently guiding to enable him to differentiate