European Arms and Armour at the Met

okay how's this so these are swords from various periods in fact quite old ones eighth century in the 10th century long centuries 14th century Osaka you see marked improvement courting him amazing how small the handles are not like oh my hand isn't back there again like it would be tight there's the same when I forced the Irish salt they actually had to extend the handle because the handle is tiny not because I found very smaller but because you have like a good grip on it and you'd hold it like that okay so how amazing are these right these are European swords as you see there are 14th and 15th century pieces we can see how the Conscription on there that one reads the nation of al Malik Powell Ashraf bars baby may victory be the glorious mate to the victorious army in the well-guarded frontier city of Alexandria from what he acquired in the month of Muharram in the year 836 which is 14 32 the sword is one of a number that was sent as tribute to the mamluk sultan bars bay by king john ii of cyprus Jerusalem and Armenia isn't it amazing gorgeous looking piece and this is also a one-handed I don't know brought so I suppose I don't know what some no Xplode sorts but some this is a two-handed Europeans and again this one has an Arabic inscription on it my Arabic is a bit rusty but it says it comes pertaining out of it this is another donation this time a few years earlier 10 years I think some yeah and the same sort of thing with this one ugly yeah this was donated to the armory again with our description what's interesting about this one is it's a 200 sort of clearly was inside piercing you would just get a hack someone with two hands with this look really large calculates at the bottom but that's probably very visual as I searched I give you my thoughts really you've got this one as well this is again like another about 1400 this one I only know this is I'm reading the plain side I'm not showing you them yeah pretty beastly things are they this is a wholesome shield from Austria from the 15th century and you can see great detail you can see this is where the rest of the loves when they were charging at some sort of enemy presumably Saracen yeah interesting interesting shape on it evening I'm sure it's much better for deflecting Spears more not like self no expert so okay so this is a 10th century or presumably ninth atenção dream and presumably Viking sword but look at these spirits that is enormous he's absolutely huge and again these are 8th to 10th century they don't know but yeah absolutely colossal and decorated huh my swirls yeah look at that is just a beast these are Byzantine helmets from like 6th or 7th centuries details I don't know what they were like used or what their ceremonial or walking it's um they're called spankin helms paribus yeah nice I've seen worse condition than the other one it made of iron copper alloy in gold I presume I presume that makes a decorative piece rather than like parade pieces on it so who knows okay this is stuff from the high middle ages as you can see the 15th century like ultra ultra protective gear but I would not want to have to look out the helmet that is just oh god can you even imagine how claustrophobic that must be Justin looks pretty intimidating though doesn't it serious expression on the helmet there the whole collection down whoo this apparently he all comes from child kiss a Greek fortress so who knows this amazing pieces from Italy in the 15th century and again I just can't help but look at these homeless I think Dogtown claustrophobic lemon to the bed the reason that he's got a long pointy nose on this helmet is to defy their eyes cause an arrow to glance off to either side yeah I imagine there's a breastplate under there that you can't see because kind of felt monsters instead of chain and I presume he'd have some sort of metal boots you know covering every bit but I don't know isn't that amazing you probably feel pretty damn secure if you're going into battle covered like that here's more armored through child kicks because Turkish was a the news report was taken by the Turks and destroyed but apparently they'd left some Armour in there see how implies a boyfriend it's interesting how the Turks didn't want this so maybe it was custom-made for a single person who knows a cute Saint who knows because I don't and the the things of the plates around there tell us this is like a giant pavese shield I was used to form wool basically on the battlefield hashtag billable that's home yeah same the visible and to protect archers well crossbowmen presumably again Italian oh no sorry this is German tongue so yeah these have some German city probably 14th century and then you've got swords and armor which they believed to be French long swords and and a half sword very thin blade isn't it it's interesting is that like you know a soldier absolutely useless if you're wearing armor like that basically so you need a thin blade to go to get through the nukes you can't get punched in methylation two-handed sword it's just absolute beast interesting I would have just done more concussion damage because the guys that have been fully armored up unless they weren't fully armored up in which case is brutal okay so this is pretty pretty total stuff these are Spurs and stirrups from again 1514 thirteenth century you can see they're really elaborate because then we've been badges of rank this is why you have the Battle of the golden Spurs in the 14th century where these Flemish who defeated the French Knights and took a love their golden Spurs and I mean these aren't from where as far as I'm aware but this is the sort of thing but they would have been taken because these are probably valuable at least compared to what a peasant Flemish fighter would have had so these are 15 century German pieces of armor and we actually know the people who made them or at least one or two of them so this salary the helmet was made by a guy called Jo RG George I presume baseball German word I know George Wagner in 1485 somewhere between 14 8500 1492 it sounds like a long time ago between fairs any 500 years so it's not that long and it is made of steel so it's no wonder that is lasted oh yeah those are a thriving armored industry in many over Europe and then they invented guns and the market destroyed the auto industry obviously this is a style Punk called gothic armor so it's pretty pretty fab isn't it since unless good armor egg to condition blow so tightness just found an Austrian church it's a very similar style and again I just look at that I just can't even imagine how help him believe we lost them and they're so right now you have to fight someone he's also an armor good luck so these are pieces from northern Spain that would have been exported in the thriving arms and armor trade to elsewhere in Western Europe and presumably beyond Milan was actually a technological innovator they came to armour they were the ones who end up creating the most advanced tines and the beginning of the fifteenth century apparently they had perfected complete suit of plate mail while cooked mail there's just soup plate armor we've just covered the wire head-to-toe in practically impenetrable steel plates which prison meat heavy as hell but at least you I'm going to get killed or at least if you wear it is gonna be great difficulty it's easy to get the impression that with such amazing pieces from Milan that armor would have been the same everywhere obviously there's not get everywhere was we had our MapReduce all over Europe obviously and it was very rarely at the same quality so most of the things most of the people you would have faced on a battlefield that have been arms and armors pretty lien things like this probably not even this good so it certainly would have been less inferior to to the Melanie stuff saying that though this was also produced in Milan it was just not as expensive as the other stuff I presume all of these are Milanese pieces as well and you can see this is a was a sink Aida something like that this is very very fun point it goes under staggered this is kind of a short wide so like don't you know what I presume it's presume was just to give you some weight again maybe it's on the armor the causes that when they need a heavy blade just whack people they've got some great years and Falcons here the rapier isn't exactly the yeah the weak things sword it's usually made out to be now absolutely it's quite heavy and quite sturdy I mean it's got the same sort which the blade is along so let me go back there and the Falcon definitely looks like it's a mean cutting weapon that's a Sally again these are all about size during that 14 17 1500 in northern Italy again very difficult and then you've got this breastplate here which is engage an etched steel perspective yes detail this must have cost bleep this is like I imagine in like five hundred years time they'll have I don't know some celebrities Lamborghini or something in a display case and that's basically what this is there's some amazing helmets were from the 15th century with this black one last looks intimidating on the battlefield but it's interesting how they've got some these are bit stiff sticking out which you don't see for you to lift up the visor with they don't evolve the films don't they is let's be honest it doesn't look very cool yeah this is what you think I suppose when we think high medieval European are pretty standard and the interesting thing I mean some of these are from Holland some of them Fred Italy but they've all got like the armors name mark on them this I supposed to do gonna make pieces this advanced and more beautiful you would want to let people know who you were this is really interesting it's a tournement helmet I'm standing at the helm so you can see like oh if I can nail them one knees yeah you can see again anything out of this you can see how much is designed to protect the face from getting a lance directly to it this is a Flemish or Italian carracks others this one this one is significantly bigger than that once this chap must have been quite burly dude hell no this is a 16th century German pure art assets which there it's not me I present the game beautifully etched and I don't think the guy was actually a big cover like the arm will make out I think it's probably crafted that way to make advanced players and whatnot glance off to the sides but I'm afraid this is a beautiful early 16th century piece of like cavalry on my family it's fluted which is not unusual for normal Italy and the inscription reads Christ the King Cailan peace and God was made man again just a little bit detail on this and maybe kind of say to the light these these at least we said on must cost an absolute fortune in their day is the rare of its and again you can see another inscription I think it's from Luke or it says something like care and Christ went on pass through him on his way or something and just gorgeous this is a piece of early 16th century Austrian armor-plated apparently clear Italian influences given how the Italians were world leaders and Albert I know not and there are a lot of pieces that were in charge by the tails because see this is fluted on the chest to deflect in channel blows that land on it this is the side panel of horse armor called a clipper apparently quite a rare thing so that developed at the time but again is very beautiful and of course if you hit a ride on a horse you probably want to give that on the to you because then you've been covered in armor - horse gets shot this is a display of German arms armor and shields and horrible I'm just gonna do a slow walk along it this is quite a lot of it but I can't like the black armor I don't know why I feel that I belong in menacing it Sam the Toyland helmet these are shoes you can see what whole dances it's a strange helmet the guys double chin needs a visor I imagine said we could breathe easy repeat so tiring running around in all of this armor and booth really take him absolutely Eve just put on his shoulder pad our place but this is very interesting isn't it this is an album of tournaments and parades from mid 16th to 17th century very interesting it's a hundred and twelve sheet of manuscript which includes depictions of contestants are cooked various tournaments a parade preceding a lake form of Tomlin called a carousel participants in Tomlin's nooners I tell him pronounce that bachelors jousts held in Nuremberg between 1446 and 1561 this is a check for this shield so rather big piece of it it's definitely cutting most of your body very aggressive these are ceremonial parents not to be used pretty regularly a lovely detail on me was amazing how much detail goes into painting the shield this is fabulous this is a horsemen shield in C it's curved upwards that's to protect the back of the head from saber attacks and you know what's interesting about the plots on the wolf here they don't sit there and try and impress you and they just tell you about what's happening it's not like you're being told what is good and what is bad it's being told what is these were also used by Muslims these are the Islamic for some exotic helmet and Islamic she'll be they were adopted from the Hungarian economy see another smaller version is it to protect from savers which is only in the 16th century the most common weapon that they were using and goes back you can see why I mean these things look brutal and beautiful as well the sermons not only absolute gorgeous yeah you wouldn't want to get that and return source of energy now I take that back this is a Hungarian one this is and you can see that by the fact that it has Arabic it looks like a really big heavy sword and to say again leave these just look like terrifying weapons to be on the receiving end of it so what's in the middle harris 15th century crossbows just big brutish looking weapons you know this interesting about the crossbow is that there's absolutely no recoil it just you foot the hook the bottom and just goes and don't feel any recoil at all and they were so such powerful weapons you need a winch it's a winch them up it's a very elaborate one this is a hunting horn on elephants made of ivory which is worked up the name and this is a hunting spear now I don't know if you can only say I'm coming that's what the length of my four that's a huge huge spear it looks heavy as hard you can see the two some blocks that the flues to prevent it from going in too deeply so you can pull it up more easily and to keep things at arm's length its last thing you want is the ball coming out leading of the Spirit but that is just a some beastly we're so big this is the torso section like German Field of ribbon magnificently impressive in its day and in a full view port see the rest of this piece is missing for the rest of this piece I think look at this just absolutely head to toe is steel cutting loose so you maybe have a hard time getting of this guy in any way shape or form if one man tank on the battlefield isn't and obviously with hand and a half sword because why would you need a shield when you are dressed like this listen this is interesting because it shields literally fell out have started infantile fashion doesn't we just not needed to leave you with this well-fed but notice that the sword probably wasn't in such a sharp to be honest because you're gonna probably beginning otherwise and harm so you effectively need to batter them with it missile just brought line poll it's a display of sixteenth century German armor and one thing is interesting is I think as far as I'm aware the armor was generally if this nama like this was generally custom-made for a specific learner and they take the measurements it looks kind of ridiculous now but I imagine was hugely effective but then you've got this guy he must have been an absolute giant and is the mountains Allah right here this I mean look at this is a head taller than the other ones actually Colossus see this guy Kanchana baffled you know you have problems like crap like the Terminator goodnight says this guy must be good six-foot-four I mean obviously back in the day that was total iron French by quite some way this sure little guy here so this is the armor of German emperor amethyst which is tiny compared to that guys but lovingly codpiece finally the helmets been associated with the UM but it's probably not a part of the original suit but again like level of detail and very Christian which is one thing that you may well have noticed so far heavily heavily Christian if there's one thing I've learned and just standing in front of this armor is that Ferdinand the first is very slightly built man this armor would simply not fit me in any way shape or form I doubt I could get even of one of my legs into this it was a very very small man man that the first of Austria or Germany so this is the mail and plate armor of an Egyptian Sultan after the conquered by the Turks and has taken his war booty and displayed in Istanbul this is 15th centuries as contemporaneous with the German stuff I don't think it's fair to say that it's also due to like a lack of expertise Eva which I'm sure some people will think it's also to do find there's different environments you probably boil to death wearing German armor in Egypt and so they have to keep a lot lighter interesting how it's got more plates at the back of the four museums it's not a judgment it's just not selection that's yeah so this is a piece of absolute beauty the armor the combat armor and the prince-elector Christie in the first of Saxony yes absolutely gorgeous I can only imagine like how delighted he would have been when this first arrived but you wouldn't want Scott into battle with this would you because you want to damage this there's such a gorgeous piece of on the human system when he hits it and you'd be more annoyed but they damage the Oliver yes I know you're trying to kill me but good grief this armor cost more than your house absolutely stunning so these are pole arms that would have been used by his bodyguard in my goodness and you can see the helmets as well they would have all been really well armed and I tell you what these they look like wore handle weapons you know ridiculous oversized Warhammer weapons like they are absolutely colossal and they look heavy as hell well decorative as well as hassles but some yeah these things look like they would have weight the earth and they tell look like maybe they want better weapons but if the boy guards are wearing their holy you think that have to use in sometimes yeah they look they look very heavy very intimidating he's in the Moonbeam wanna be whacked with other things I think they don't Pleasant have the wheeled in a very very long but this is our of a section or sex why my Jeep in Germany and it's incredibly artistic it's absolutely gorgeous these details the whole lawsuit is obviously completely cut system and it's a work of art is what it is and there's pony who just thinks well it starts becoming artistic like this how much practical use that it actually see and again you consume the background huge pole arms which are did they're just they're massive I would hate to have to try and wheel one of these things the men who used to practice of these and using his weaponry must have been strong as anything I mean there's the precise leaf blades I just can't get over it's like suck a sword at the end of the pole obviously such a good collection things a 16th century sheared is one again very very very decorative interestingly cuts across the surface of the lines indicate the shield saw active use either in tournaments or on foot so a lot of this armor is a tournament armor as well so whether with only this release or any wouldn't use on the field is another question that's for example this piece here you see this is it's got a big metal plate here bolted on to prevent the Lance going into your heart which is probably a good thing this 16th century infantry armor answers the question of what color was armor the answer is any color they wanted to paint it the Easter paint Liana how they liked obviously this was produced in Nuremberg which at the time was a place famous for its ability to produce large quantities of plate armor relatively quickly and so they could outfit infantry in very sturdy looking suit of armor this is a it looks very good for your average infantryman probably not averaging for an elite in consumer so very very good good kids and again I thought you would you'd probably feel very safe wearing this thing you would think that you're going to be difficult to kill which would be good this is genuinely amazing as a infantry armor for an officer in the 16th century as you can tell apparently by the open face on the helmets but again the detail is from northern Italy I think of a thing sorry just staring quality and I imagine I imagine a piece of armor like this would last a lifetime I'm looking for any actual damage to it see if it was I've already used properly can see a few scuffs and birds came we're next there's a 16th century two-handed sword which is out the height is about my high as lost six foot well I said probably probably about five feet in total there's a thought for gravel center and it's got a huge cross guard their huge handles work so I'd love to have a girl with a replica of some of these weapons that are amazing here is 16th century English armor that was commissioned in Greenwich presumably they say due to the threat of the Spanish invasion and so the summer we've been commissioned for they think Sir John Scudamore there is a gentleman pensioner appointed by the Queen Elizabeth the first access they succeed the same as the Continental Army fantástico [Music] suppose me lights on thumb on this magnificent piece is probably the high watermark of English armor making begin sixteenth century made in Greenwich and absolutely stunning just look at I was married for the third Earl of Cumberland Jorge Clifford just I mean this is just it's gorgeous this would have been filled and Tony are more apparent yeah again from Greenwich and their master Armour call Jacob Hulbert saying you can see next to it is awesome which had gone on his mount and [Music] here's the sort of Tony plate that would have replaced this part here again to prevent Lance's hunting through this prison dear Tony helmet whereas all protection for the hands and he's holding the Lance and these guys had literally everything covered I just can't go to how beautiful this is another suit of armor for James scooter more you know here's a soldier and a courtier and harmony he has a portrait in his family home of him wearing this very suit so intimidating sight on the field apparently the man was an example of chivalry personified he was captured in heard the poem and song which well he was I don't know the other night unfortunately so college magnificent pieces now I'm just staggered with this collection though they have other mats Regents this just fabulous this was the field armor of King Henry the eighth I'm sure you've heard of tell you what he's he was an overweight man as you can see by the protruding belly on the thing but there's no getting around that he was a very barrel chested guy very broad shouldered pony he was a crippled leaped out at the time so why he needed fuel um I didn't really know that son yeah again another amazing piece 16th century this thing this is his actual armor they must have taken an age to get into this armor this was so difficult for the damn stuff on they say who's massively away but let's be honest that's not that fun so this is another piece of armor for Henry gate presumably in his younger to slimmer days and there's the horse on let's go at it again like this is survived less well rated it must have been an absolute work of art in its day absolutely gorgeous gorgeous Armour means he's a big champ every give it must have been rather intimidating sight from the battle there the suit itself weighs 62 pounds it's heavy but not as heavy as it might work the other armor over there was only 50 pounds this is the field armor of Henry Herbert the second Earl of Pembroke in another English piece from the sixteenth century these came again all of all these English ones I think came from the Greenwich workshops that were the Royal workshops founded by Henry eight to make amazing suits of armor like this they did a good job here it's presently lies on bum Armour I imagine the French ones had amazingly thick armor at the back of the suit haha so this is Italian armor ordered by the Duke of that sense of why MA that was made in the 16th century and was of course absolutely gorgeous Mickey I made in Milan probably fulfilled and Tony apparently all their pieces may well be missing I say little bit don't move reading what it says on the card hmm again for quite a slightly built chat yes sir I wouldn't go to fit into this hour very nice that another piece of sixteenth-century is having an armor which is obviously lovely but the more important thing I'm interested in here has looked at these poems again a huge they must must we get 10 feet long if no longer these look so heavy and a knee again I I don't know if they were only ceremonial on we looked at the blade on that and that one next to it look at that just absolutely colossal things I will actually check to see if they be used in battle or not and again very beautiful must be dark my keys so this is the armor of an Italian mercenary soldier called Belmonte he served the German employed the Pope the kings of Spain and France and the Venetian Republic the army was made when he was in Venice as a servant of the Republic probably made in Brescia I'm making Center than under Venetian control the big leaves and whatnots behind they are ceremonial used by now the world guards so not field pieces by the obviously this lovely decoration of course they're not but some I imagine that roughly the size of actual ones that were used on the field that is a very intimidating this lava is Vincenzo Luigi to Capua 16th century from Milan this is medieval harach sasame from 17th century so maybe you've not met evil the occurrences on their heavy cavalry armed with sword and pistol so it's a bit later than the other pieces and a lot lighter as well it's only 34 pounds better release it's still very beautiful it's very effective it looks like this it looks like this quite a good degree of mobility to this one doesn't the overlapping plates this is seventeenth-century cavalryman's armor which we apparently it's very well made even though it looks plain what I mean it looks very effective it's called half armor because only half of Em's armored still must been very effective this presumably would have been the sort of thing that the Aztecs would have witnessed what the Spanish wearing is they arrived in the New World although this is actually german-made not like this but something of this caliber would have been what the Spanish would have worn I imagine why we've retired anyone who got in the way so this is early 17th century curator Armour and around this time firearms are actually becoming an effective battlefield weapon and the armor is therefore had to increase the thickness of the armor so this unlike some of the early ones is rated 5060 pounds this weighed 86 pounds but it's a very nice piece but the most interesting part about this is the proof once the armor had been finished they would fire a musket or a pistol shot at the armor has proved that the armor could withstand a bullet and they'd leave it there to show people interesting so this is late seventeenth-century huh Colossus armor these were infantry kampelman sorry who carried carbines and pistols and they would run around pretty lightly armored All Things Considered they'd run around shooting people back to horse and this is contemporary sent me around Sanjaya T kind of early 2000 early 17th century early 20th century early 17th century pikemen zone from Greenwich very attractive isn't easy looks like it's kind of wearing a dress but yeah these guys have had 18 feet on pipes and this was used in the era known as Pike and shot in military development by the pikemen would stand throats and the unarmored Musketeers would fire from the rim this is a 17th century early 17th century Dutch piece of cure acid AMA GN looks very impressive 80 pounds much heavier in the medieval stuff but again it had to stop a bullet which on this beats was fired at into the gilt decoration of the back rather would have imagined it'd have been nicer to have done it slightly to the left has lots of ruin with the decoration but what are you gonna do but yeah again another very nice piece but very heavy very heavy 80 pounds and here is the final product mounted on horseback this is a German one from Nuremberg again full horse and man on we've been particularly difficult to do any real damage to this chap and his mount the armor in total of a force including the saddle was 92 pounds and the man's almost 56 pounds the leaner there are many good angles of attack on this guy on there and you can see this this would have been like this this is the end of a large industrial process to get a man on a horse in full armor onto the battlefield who'd have had dozens of people gets into this point but when he would have taken the field that would have been virtually unstoppable and he wouldn't have been alone as you can see in the mounted display of the other chaps this horse is a lot more lightly armoured this still doesn't look like something like a push ever doesn't careful these are mid 16th century so this this one's a height of heavily armored horse this horse is late 16th century when less dominant on the battlefield because firearms are starting to use the Pikes were being used water but I mean the even sees how much phenomenal protection this would have provided there's absolutely no getting into this is there this is a Swiss piece I'm just probably almost impenetrable anyway thanks for watching and I would definitely recommend coming to the Mets Museum it's in Central Park in New York and it's I mean this is just one one smallish display in the museum but I took time to record it's just there is such a fabulous collection I can't even begin to describe how much you should probably come here if you enjoyed watching this video

Channel: Ancient Recitations

Views: 67,501

Keywords: history, audiobook, text, ancient writing, book

Id: YREAHLsqW78

Length: 44min 50sec (2690 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 21 2017