Armour from De Ruyter's funeral procession. In 1676, De Ruyter was mortally wounded in an encounter with the French off the coast of Southern Italy, near Mount Etna. He was buried in 1677 in Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk. A man in armour led the coffin in the procession. This was an old chivalric tradition. The man is said to have collapsed under the weight of the armour at the end of his four-hour ordeal. The armour is a compilation of assorted pieces.