1459 – 1519 MAXIMILIAN I - Holy Roman Emperor (22 marzo 1459 anni – 12 gen 1519 anni)

Descrizione:

Maximilian I was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death.

He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians.

He proclaimed himself Elected Emperor in 1508 (Pope Julius II later recognized this) at Trent, thus breaking the long tradition of requiring a Papal coronation for the adoption of the Imperial title.

Maximilian had a great passion for armour, not only as equipment for battle or tournaments, but as an art form.

He prided himself on his armor designing expertise and knowledge of metallurgy. Under his patronage, "the art of the armorer blossomed like never before."

Master armorers across Europe like Lorenz Helmschmid, Konrad Seusenhofer, Franck Scroo and Daniel Hopfer (who was the first to etch on iron as part of an artistic process, using an acid wash) created custom-made armors that often served as extravagant gifts to display Maximilian's generosity and devices that would produce special effects (often initiated by the emperor himself) in tournaments.