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Publications
Arms and Armour of Knights
and Landsknechts in the
Netherlands Army Museum
(Wapens van ridders en
landsknechten in het
Nederlands Legermuseum)
Jan Piet Puype and Harm Stevens
Legermuseum, Korte Geer 1, 2611 CA Delft,
The Netherlands.
2010, in English and Dutch, 366 pages, 59.00 euro
The Army Museum in Delft is the only dedicated arms and
armour museum in the Netherlands and possesses a
collection of just over a hundred pieces of arms and armour
dating to the period 1100 to 1550 and these form the basis
for this new, beautifully designed and produced, catalogue.
A short introduction outlines the history of the collection
and states the methodology of the catalogue. It is divided
into six sections: helmets, armour, shields and equestrian
equipment (21); swords (19); daggers (33); polearms (27);
cannon (5); and crossbows and crossbow bolts (4). Following
a short introduction to each section, every object is
illustrated with at least one overall photograph, although
many have more showing details and marks. Every item has
a full description, with discussions and remarks,
provenance and literature sources.
Catalogues of museum collections are, for the historian,
curator, researcher, a prime source of information. All too
often though, getting information about museum collections
is not easy, though the situation is improving with the
development of internet resources and web-based
databases. A comprehensive catalogue of a museum
collection, even one as small as this, is very much to be
welcomed. The illustrations, complemented with drawings,
are of high quality and in colour.
As the authors themselves explain, the title is, perhaps,
a little controversial. In the strict sense of the words in the
title, knight and landsknechts, it is probable that many of
the objects fall outside those names. However if the name
knight is taken to include mercenaries and professional
soldiers then it is perhaps appropriate.
The authors are able to draw on their years of
experience and knowledge of Dutch history and collections
to produce this important catalogue. Although the collection
of the Army Museum in Delft is relatively small, this
catalogue is a very welcome addition to the study of arms
and armour and it should be on all serious students’
bookshelves
ISSUE 06 MAGAZINE 29