The Armour Archive

Hello All,

Well we hit London yesterday and toured the Tower of London first off, after learning how mass transit via the tube works. Today was the Wallace Musuem! My first time, and man is it worth it. Not sure ut was a good idea to buy a £165, 15 pound book at the beginning of our trip though.

Tomorrow it's off to Leeds, tee hee!

Anybody got ideas for the Paris leg of our trip? Can't find any information for "the" armour museum for Paris.....

More later.

Cheers, Roderick.

The 'armor museum' in Paris is at Les Invalides. Right now it is under renovation and only the cream of the collection is on display in two small rooms, but it is well worth seeing. Photos are permitted. Bookstore is 50% Napoleonic, 50% WWII.

There's a little armor in the Louvre: ancient stuff in the Roman gallery, some Negroli stuff in a Rennaissance gallery, and a late 14th royal kettle hat in the basement. Photos are permitted. Nice bookstore.

Our policy is that if we see a worthwhile book while travelling we buy it. We have not yet regretted any book purchase we've made, only the ones we didn't make.

Clare

Don't miss the Cluny!

The Musee National du Moyen Age/ The Cluny Museum is where the unicorn tapestries reside- and other wonderful medieval artifacts- but no armor.
http://www.musee-moyenage.fr/ang/index.html

It is centrally located in Medieval Paris.

Roderick,

Knowing your time period, I also recommend you see Saint Chappelle in Paris... It is wonderful to see a church at the peak of Gothic extravagance.

Saint Chappelle was built for Louis IX, finished in 1248.

Everyone sees the Notre Dame, but for medievalists, this is a must see.

(Burning with jealousy... )

You lucky so-and-so.

I hope you take lots of photos and post them here when you get back.

Leeds you say, i'm a 20min drive from leeds Make sure to check out the craft court and the armourers workshop.

Oops, I forgot... there is some armor in the Cluny. There's just one case but it includes a side pivot bascinet, a sallet, a barbute, a curious bascinet visor (displayed upside down), 2 pieces of brigandine and some 14th c mail. Of course there's lots of other wonderful stuff in the Cluny, but you were asking specifically about armor. Photos are permitted. The bookstore is small but very good.

Clare

If you're still in the UK, do make a point of having something with "clotted cream". I think it's also called "Devonshire cream". Yum.

Made it into Paris today. Was struck with how much France looks like Illinios and some parts of Kansas. Well ok, the houses are all brick with terra cotta roofs and the water towers are odd looking, but other than that.... The train trip under the channel was fast and quit enjoyable with a good bottle of bougolais (sp).

Walked up to the Sacre Coeur tonight in the rain with Gretchen and had the best ham and cheese crepes. Beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower.

Tomorrow, the musuems!

roderick

Roderick
Please shoot all the pics you can of transitional (1250-1430) Armour. I am always looking of anything new. Paris photos would be greatly helpful for the research for my book. (not to publish, just to study.) Please let me know if you get any.

Talbot

Rod,

Call me when you get back stateside.

If you see the figure from Dijon I use for our logo, you know the one, (I heard it had been moved to the Cluny) See if you can get any side pictures that might add to our grasp on what he is wearing.

Enjoy Europe, and have a bottle of halbtrocken Moseltal wine for me, that's the thing I have missed the most!

Johannes-- Are you talking about the St.George from the Retable of the Crucifixion in Dijon? It's in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon.

However in poking around to get the URLs I found that there's an exhibit on the Burgundian court at the Cleveland Museum of Art opening the 24th to which the Dijon museum is loaning some things. I have no idea if the St. George panel will on loan but would consider a road trip if it is. Maybe some archivers around Cleveland could give a report?

Clare

Tracy Justus wrote:However in poking around to get the URLs I found that there's an exhibit on the Burgundian court at the Cleveland Museum of Art opening the 24th to which the Dijon museum is loaning some things. I have no idea if the St. George panel will on loan but would consider a road trip if it is. Maybe some archivers around Cleveland could give a report?

Clare

I'm hoping to hit that exhibit on the way back to Wisconsin for Christmas. The exhibit is currently in Dijon, which is where a lovely piece out of the Walter's in Baltimore is at.

Reviews would be most welcome!

Tracy,

That's the one, I had been told it was moved to the Cluny, good to know it hasn't. Planning to make a weekend trip up to the CMA for this exhibit, have always enjoyed going there.

Last day in Paris. 9am it is off to the catacombs then the museè de armie at the hotel de inveladies, and finally a stratigic assault on specific galleries at the Louvre.

Johaness - Will call. Don't remeber seeing the statue, but Gretchen does. Did not get many pictures as my camera battery died. Multiple cuss zords in several languages! I did pick up the catalouge and will see if it's in there. Oh, and the wine? Will do

Talbot - Thats my interest as well, so hopfully (batteries willing) you can have access to any and all.

Oh, yeah: The Sainte Chepelle........ damn, just damn.

Roderick

Roderick,

Ok, just for that, I am coming to Kansas and I am not gonna tell you....

Giles

Roderick wrote:
Oh, yeah: The Sainte Chepelle........ damn, just damn.

Roderick

Oh, I loved St. Chapelle. The windows, and the fact that they had it repainted I thought was lovely.

I've heard rumour of a cathedral in Germany where the facade is laser lit to look like the paint colors would have been originally. Does anybody know of this?

Roderick wrote:Talbot - Thats my interest as well, so hopfully (batteries willing) you can have access to any and all.

Thank you, my friend

Talbot

Talbot, how's that book coming? I've been very interested in it since I heard the rumors.

Roderick, please, i beg you, do not allow only Talbot to view what are assuredly to be among the most fascinating photographs that many of us have seen. I humbly request that you make a small portion of the photographic record you are creating available to the rest of the Archive contributors and visitors in whatever fashion may suit you.

With sincere regards and best wishes,

Matthew

Once again back on fertile kansas soil. The trip all in all was very good. Once the pictures are sorted out I'll post them or more likely get my wife (i'm a ludite really) to make them available.

Did make it to the Musee de Armie in Paris, why didn't anyone tell me that they have a "onion top" bascinet?

Tons of work to catch up on so please be patient.

Roderick

Oh sure... Blame us for not telling you about the onion top...

Next time, try telling us you are coming to Europe..... and we will be happy to tell you where to go! (pun intended)

Oops, I forgot... there is some armor in the Cluny. There's just one case but it includes a side pivot bascinet, a sallet, a barbute, a curious bascinet visor (displayed upside down),

Holy crap- that was upside down?! Now I have to go back and re-draw it standing on my head! Seriously, this give me a whole new perspective on that piece, which was my favorite artifact from my trip this past May. Tracy, are there any good photos of it published anywhere? I got some blurry dark shots on my digital but didn't use flash for fear of incurring the guards' Gallic wrath.

Klaus

Charlotte:
"I've heard rumour of a cathedral in Germany where the facade is laser lit to look like the paint colors would have been originally. Does anybody know of this? "

I don't now of that one, but at times they light the Nuremberg city hall to look like Durer's original design for the decorations.

http://www.blauenacht.nuernberg.de/duer ... rungen.htm

(small picture halfway down on the right)

And the cathedral-size C14 church next door has a lot of it's internal painting intact. Leaves, flowers, spirals of pin and green... it looks like a candy store.

Rodrick, you know you are welcome in Nürnberg. Of course we only have the German National Museum, the Imperial Castle of the Holy Roman Empire and Europe's biggest surviving medieval fortifications, so it's hardly worth the trip.

Cheers

Of course he times it so he and Gretchen come back a week before Jeff and I go.

It would have been fun to hang out in the UK with them. *sigh* Maybe next year.

Gwen

Black Swan Designs wrote:Of course he times it so he and Gretchen come back a week before Jeff and I go.

It would have been fun to hang out in the UK with them. *sigh* Maybe next year.

Gwen

So, at the beginning of the year, we should all post our vacation schedules and coordinate. Aren't you and Jeff coming back about a week before Jeff J and I go?

Bella's sick again, so we've had to pull the plug on our trip.

Major, MAJOR bummer. I don't know which is worse- cancelling the trip or having my horse try to die on me twice in 3 days.

Gwen