When it comes to weapons and armour, it's logical to associate them only with war and violence. After all, that is their primary function. Furthermore, the Middle Ages are a time ripe with accounts of battles and knights. However, it's important to remember that objects are multi-faceted with many uses and conditions that lead to their creation, and that Medieval society and culture extends far beyond its well-known military pursuits.
The Late Middle Ages and Renaissance objects gathered in this gallery consist of weapons and armour. However, they are displayed in connection with several non-military functions or aspects of Medieval European society: Traditions and Ceremonies, Interpersonal Conflict, Metallurgy and Economics, and Hunting.
To further understand how complex these objects are, consider these artefacts as historians and archaeologists do:
- How was this object used? What was its purpose?
- Did it have any secondary uses, or could it have been used in an unexpected way?
- What kind of person used this object?
- Why and how was this object made? What was it made of? Where were these materials sourced?
- What design elements are involved in this object, and what does it symbolise or represent?
By addressing many of these questions, we can challenge our assumptions and biases and think critically about why an object is the way it is. We can also develop a more holistic understanding of the object, and can learn much about not only it, but about Medieval society as a whole.
To navigate through this Gallery, click on one of the four topics to the right of this page. Should you wish to return to this screen, click on the bolded title of this Exhibit, “Beyond the Battlefield: Weapons and Armour in the Late Middle Ages” on the same menu.
To learn more about any item on each page, click on the object’s image. On these item pages, more information about the object can be found, as can a link to its page on its museum of ownership’s website, any additional sources of information used in this Gallery, and supplemental videos. To return to the topic page, click on your browser’s return button.
All links to external sources are coloured light blue.