Costume & Stuff from the English Civil War
or Honest Plain-Dealing Cavalier by John Vernon printed in 1644. Not sure how many cavalry units were equipped with armour like these guys. I suspect this is the ideal rather than the norm, but nice (I assume, not being an expert) horse furniture.
Looks like two Cuirassiers, whose armour completely covered their bodies. Hideously expensive (especially as you had to have very strong horses!) there was only one extant unit at the start of the English Civil War and that was the Parliamentarian unit under Sir Arthur Haselrigg whose cuirassiers were known as the London lobsters. They fought at Edgehill but the armour fell increasingly out of use in favour of the lighter and cheaper harquebusier’s buff coat, back and breast armour, and lobster pot helmet.
(great blog, by the way!)
