Knight, Death, and the Devil

This image was probably inspired by the writings of Erasmus of Rotterdam who described the faithful Christian as a knight who remains on the path of virtue, aware of death but ignoring the devil. Although the poses of both horse and rider are based on Italian Renaissance models, Dürer carefully depicted the style of armor worn by the local Nurembergmounted guard. The fluted ridges and rounded forms are typical of Maximilian-style armor, while the rounded sallet helmet with bevor (throat defense) are in the older Gothic style. At this time Nuremberg was quickly becoming a leading center of armor production. A foxtail on the knight's lance was considered a good luck charm.