Introduction
Arms and Armor reflect, in material and design, the advancing technology of man, the great migrations of peoples and the clashes of civilizations. Weapons are among the most commonly found objects surviving from the past: Arms in graves and hoards of armor and weaponry in hallowed spots. Some of the weapons and pieces of protective armor in the Museum's collection were used in real battles; others were used in ceremonies. There is even armor for children and for horses.

Until the 19th century, the meeting of armies had the quality of a spectacle. The display of arms was intended to inspire fear and serve as an index of power. In the pre-Christian era, weapons were assigned a magical, religious power that did not completely disappear in the Christian west.

The form of armor implies strength and aggressiveness and because of its form, suggests striking power and impregnability. Compare, for example, the 16th century European suit of Maximillian Armor with that worn by a very important 16th century Japanese Samurai in our First Floor Asian Gallery. The Japanese armor is lighter, cooler and more flexible than its European counterpart. It is made up of thousands of small scales of steel and hardened leather all laced together with leather thongs and silk braid. The elaborately contoured helmet is decorated with gilded birds. The helmet and metal mask were designed to give protection and to frighten the enemy. The Japanese swords were very sharp, deadly and beautifully made. In Japan, ceremonial swords and sword guards that protected the hand are highly valued and admired as works of art. The Museum's Samurai carries three blades.

Considerable technical ingenuity has gone into the production of weapons because of their importance in human life, hunting and war. Even among groups where common utensils and furnishings are few and relatively unspecialized, richly developed weapons are often found.

As the structural forms of arms are adapted to their function, their forms also express prevailing artistic values. This means that arms also function in harmony with the religious, political and social ideals of the time. One way an object's practical function is enhanced by artistic value is the use of surface embellishment such as etching and gilding. The addition of gold and other precious materials also significantly increases its value. For example, hilts were constructed in gold, ivory or bone; blades were damascened or inlaid and jewels adorned daggers and swords.

The Bill (Halbert) is one of the earliest weapons described in medieval warfare. It originated as an agricultural implement and was later modified for war. Battle axes were among the most widely used medieval weapons. Of all sizes, they were light weapons intended to be thrown, or in the case of heavy pole-axes, swung by both hands. Most had a single cutting edge, although double axes were used.

The arbalest, or crossbow, was a popular Medieval and early Renaissance hand projectile weapon. It appeared in southern Europe during the 12th century replacing the conventional bow, which could not send an arrow through chain mail. Several popes outlawed this weapon because it was thought that its use against Christians constituted an atrocity. The bow was first made of wood or whalebone; later models were made of metal. While the crossbow became popular among Italian City States, the French, Spanish and English adopted the Welsh longbow. Lighter than the crossbow, the longbow could be fired more rapidly and was used by the English to decimate French armies during the Hundred Year's War. Firearms eventually replaced the crossbow and the longbow.

The most common type of body armor worn by European nobles during the period from the 10th to the 13th century was chain or mesh mail. Usually a tunic or a padded garment was worn under the mail to protect the wearer from burning hot or icy cold metal. By the 11th century, a loose flowing surcoat was also worn over the mail to protect the metal from the elements. Complete plate armor was in use at the beginning of the 15th century and reached its greatest perfection during the next 100 years. At first, plate armor was plain in appearance, but towards the end of the 15th century, heavy ridges appeared on the body plates, and fluting became more common.

By the beginning of the 16th century, these changes in design resulted in the more elaborate type of armor known as the Maximillian Style. This style, named after the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian I, was used in central Europe and Italy between 1500 and 1540. The example of Maximillian armor in the Museum's collection dates from 1520-1530. The more complicated construction of plate armor included decoration by embossing, etching and fire gilding. Unfortunately, the more decorative the armor, the less effective its defensive capabilities. For this reason, as the 16th century progressed, war armor became simpler and clumsier, while parade armor became more decorative and useless. An example of parade style armor may be seen in the Armor for a Youth, which is possibly from a 19th century English workshop.

The profession of armorer developed quite early, perhaps even as early as the Neolithic period. In all civilizations, the existence of technically specialized armorers is attested directly by the high artistic level of evidence of their work. In addition to making armor (the Museum's anvil dates to 1555), armorers went into battle with knights to make on-the-spot repairs. They were actually the leading technologists of their day being expert designers and metallurgists. Many of their ideas have been used in later centuries. For example, early space suits had overlapping rings connecting helmet to collar and at other joints. This design is actually based on early models of knight armor in which separate pieces of steel plate were held together with rivets or metal pins and strapped on.

The Medieval Period is often associated with the mounted knight in armor in pursuit of a romantic quest. An example of this may be seen in the Museum murals of The Quest and Achievement of the Holy Grail. This series of lithographs depicts the fable of the Holy Grail, the sacred vessel used by the Lord at the Last Supper. Its recovery was rewarded by the attainment of the highest knightly purity. The companions of King Arthur's Round Table strove to attain perfection of knightly character so that the Grail would be revealed to them. Sir Galahad, the subject of these murals, achieved the grail.

The windows were made as a pair of memorials identified with the names of the donors and dated 1524.

Please note, paintings, objects and artists represented on the website may not be on view at all times.

Ronald C. Roth Director & CEO