What clockwork figure did Leonardo da Vinci design in 1495 for a Milanese court display?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a mechanical knight in 1495 for a court display in Milan.

The figure was created for Ludovico Sforza, Leonardo’s patron, and was reportedly presented during celebrations at the court. Drawings discovered in Leonardo’s notebooks show a humanoid armored machine operated by cables and gears. It could potentially sit, stand, raise its arms, and move its head and jaw.

No original mechanical knight has survived, so the exact performance of the Renaissance device remains uncertain. In the 21st century, engineers and historians built reconstructions from Leonardo’s drawings, demonstrating that a working automaton could be made from the mechanisms shown.

The machine is often called Leonardo’s robot, although “robot” is a modern term. The word was not used in Leonardo’s time. The invention is better understood as an automaton: a self-moving mechanical figure designed for entertainment or display.