Armorer
An armorer was a blacksmith who specialized in the manufacture of plate armor . The craft of the armorer, the so-called armoring, can only be traced back to the first half of the 14th century at the earliest. The platters were organized in platters' guilds, whose guild regulations regulated the manufacture and sale of armaments. If an apprentice armorer wanted to become a master, he had to hand over the armor he had forged to the masters of the guild for assessment.
The armorer did most of the armorsmithing on the cooled metal. Skilled armourers were able to forge a full helmet from a single sheet of metal . Armourers were also able to dye armor , by creating a bluish hue by briefly cooling the heated armor or reheating it to a lower temperature ( tempering ). A darker tint and rust protection could also be achieved by heating with linseed oil , the black dyeing .
The art of armorer reached its peak around the year 1500. Armorer were metal artists who skillfully handled the difficult-to-work material. Famous platters were produced by the Helmschmid and Seusenhofer families.
At the end of the 16th century the art of armorer declined. The armor became simpler, until it was finally completely out of use in the 17th century.
There have been platters in Germany again since the 20th century. Since there is no longer an apprenticeship as a plumber, modern plumber either come from other areas of metal design (e.g. blacksmiths ) or have acquired their knowledge themselves. You work according to historical templates, whereby modern tools can be used.
The interested parties come mainly from the areas of exhibition fighting , reenactment and LARP .
Major armourers
- Konrad Seusenhofer
- Michael Witz the Younger
- Lorenz Helmschmied
- Jörg Treytz
- Anton Pfeffenhauser
- Kunz (Konrad) Lochner
- Eliseus Libaerts
- Giovanni Paolo Negroli
- Hans Horburger
- Anton Horburger
- Sebastian Katzmair
- Stefan Rormoser
- Wolfgang Premier the Younger
- Jakob Schnatz
