People who use the word douchebag <| sep |> Part II The Armourers of KingsThe armour of kings was absolutely made by craftstman who specialized in high quality armour . Armour in general was not made by ' blacksmiths ' but by highly specialized craftsmen armourers . We know more about armourers as time goes on once armourers in some places start marking their works it becomes much easier to track masters their social standing also seems to have risen , along with that of other artists like painters and sculptors . In the later 15 th century into the 16 th century we have the example of the Helmschmied family of armourers working for the Habsburgs . This relationship extends from Lorenz Helmschmied and Emperor Frederick IV and his son Maximilian through Kolman Hemschmied and Charles V and on to Desiderius Helmschied , who serves Philip II in that king ' s minority . Once Philip takes the thrown , he snubs the Helmschmied family and their city , Augsburg , in preference for Landshut and Wolfgang Groszschedel . Over the years of their relationship , the Helmschmieds travelled to take the Emperor ' s measurements , and used Imperial favor to advance in Augsburg society Desiderius was , before his fall from grace , a very prominent man in Augsburg . The Helmschmieds were married into other artistic families including both etchers and goldsmiths which suggests that they may have worked together on armour . One of their more famous relations was Hans Burgkmair , who was making prints for Maximilian at the same time his brother in law Kolman Helmschmied was making Maximilian armour . However , unlike some other armourers the Helmschieds mostly work in their own workshops , not in a royal workshop . In Habsburg lands in the early 16 th century this workshop which outfitted Emperor Maxmilian as well as his soldiers was established and run by Hans Seusenhofer , who was paid a regular salary by the Emperor as well as given an allowance for expenses . The arrangement for the armourers that Henry VIII established at Greenwich was similar . Some other armourers , like the great armourercapitalists of the Missaglia family of Milan in the 15 th century , seem to have been more independent of their various clients , royal and not , simply becuase they sold so much armour to so many people . But for many armourers , patronage relationships were critical to keeping their business afloat . Above I already mentioned the Negroli family in Milan , who were praised for their whimsical creations in the 16 th century . Reading between the lines of various legal disputes , they seem to have been a fairly fractious family , and the wealthiest branches and members of the clan were not the artistarmourers remembered by Vasari and others , but the arms merchants who bought and sold armour and weapons by the thousands of pieces . In conclusion , armourers for kings were the best , wealthiest and highestprestige armourers in Europe .