A unique exhibition of armor has opened in the Vitebsk Town Hall

The exhibition of armor and weaponry of the 16th-17th centuries "Black Riders" from the collection of Sergey Nurmatov, opening at the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore, is of great interest to lovers of military history and the history of weapons. Visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the era of the most fearless and desperate warriors of the European armies of the 16th-17th centuries – the "black devils" – cuirassiers, pikemen, etc.

It features exact replicas of the armor worn by warriors of Western European countries during the transition from medieval knightly militias to mass regular armies. The 16th-17th centuries were a time of flourishing military art in Western Europe. The feudal knightly cavalry was replaced by a regular army consisting of three main branches of troops: infantry, cavalry, and artillery. Firearms became the basis of their armament – muskets for infantry, pistols for cavalry. Artillery became an important means of warfare. Stable military units and formations (company, battalion, squadron, battery, regiment) emerged.

The process of standardization of both offensive and defensive weaponry was underway.

Defensive armor continued to play a significant role in this era, especially in heavy cavalry – among cuirassiers and reiters in Western Europe, and "winged" or armored hussars in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, unlike medieval knightly armor, which was heavy and cumbersome, the armor of the 16th-17th centuries had qualitatively changed. The basis of the armor became the cuirass – a component of defensive armament that covered a person's torso. Italian and German armor were particularly popular.

In addition to the cuirass, the armor included segmented thigh guards reaching the knees, knee guards, plate protection for the elbows (vambraces), arms (gauntlets), a gorget, and a helmet. The most popular type of helmet was the burgonet with a visor and cheek guards.

The exhibition features cuirassier, reiter, and tournament armor, made after the образцу of German and Italian armor of the 16th-17th centuries.

The shield remained an important element of defensive armament. In the late 15th - early 16th centuries, small round shields with a central part extended forward like a spike became widely used in Europe. Among them, Western European knightly Renaissance shields – rondaches – can be distinguished. Such shields are also presented in the exhibition.

Horse armor, which protected the warhorse, has also survived from knightly times. It consisted of a plate muzzle, breastplate, and crupper armor for horse protection. Horse browbands and headpieces are presented at the exhibition.

The heavy cavalry of Europe was armed with pistols (1-2 for cuirassiers and "winged" hussars, 3-5 for reiters) and various cold weapons. Along with firearms, infantrymen – pikemen – were also armed with cold weapons. The exhibition features a variety of striking and bladed weapons of the 16th-17th centuries: rapier, sword, spear, mace, dagger, шестопер (a type of mace), чекан (a type of axe), halberd, saber.

Thus, the exhibition provides an overview of the development of armor and weaponry in Western Europe in the 16th-17th centuries and contributes to a deeper understanding of this topic.

Sergey Nurmatov is one of the few armor masters in the CIS, the creator of unique armor sets, for example, the armor of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, King of Spain Charles V. There are only two sets of these in the world. One, the original, is in Madrid, the second, an exact copy, is owned by Sergey Nurmatov.

Any visitor to the exhibition can immerse themselves in the past, try on armor, and also take a souvenir photo.

The exhibition will be held at the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore (Rathaus building, Lenin St., 36) from July 17 to September 2015. Contact phone number – 36-05-87.