HIST 223 Medieval Europe: History Illuminated: My Visit to the Royal Armoury, Leeds, England

Sometimes it's hard to get medieval in Springfield, MO. One of the perks of attending an international conference is the ability to get medieval in these European towns. While presenting a paper at the Leeds Medieval Congress in July 2015, I was able to tour the Royal Armoury in Leeds, England. Leeds is a city from the industrial age-with shipping canals and shopping districts--but inside the armoury there was a chance to really get to know the arms, armor and weaponry from the Middle Ages.

The Leeds armory had several curators who brought out weapons from the Middle Ages for us to touch (notice the gloves in the photo below). Those few medievalists there got quite giddy--which is an interesting phenomenon. Did the sense of danger fuel the metabolism and energy of medieval knights too? As a surprise we were treated to a lecture on a leather saddle, one of the earliest surviving saddles from the Middle Ages (see below). We also watched a live poleax demonstration with plenty of tips for your next poleax event. You can watch what I viewed at the Medieval Congress here, Poleax Demonstration (Small note: at the International Medieval Congress, scholars present academic papers--we don't just sit around and watch poleax demonstrations!). I presented on monasteries in twelfth-century Germany, and Dr. Blunk presented on tournaments in French literature.

So how can you see medieval artifacts? I recommend a visit to the Kansas City Art Museum for the great knight on horseback on display (also on a poster in my office, so stop by) or the St. Louis Art Museum, for the arms and armor special collection. But Cleveland, OH, has the best arms museum in the US. Take a look at the back of Newman to see what museums in the United States offer good medieval artifacts for your next travel adventure.

Click here for the arms collection: http://www.slam.org/collections/armsandarmor.php

For the KC knight: http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g44535-d104332-i60400869-Nelson_Atkins_Museum_of_Art-Kansas_City_Missouri.html

Drs Shelley Wolbrink and Cathy Blunk represent Drury by holding a halberd and bayonet
with the famous oil painting of the meeting of King Henry VIII and the King of France.
Such lavish displays of wealth by these kings impersonating medieval knights would have bunched up
Bernard of Clairvaux's monastic garb.
Above the halberd still used by the Swiss Guard in Rome today.

An amazing helmet--stylistic! But from the 1500s. A true gem.
Love those spectacles and ram's horns.

Full plate armor from the Late Middle Ages at museum. Look at those gauntlets (hand sleeves).
Think about how Newman talks about knights like military soldiers today--the armor is heavy,
but you are a professional who was trained to wear this.