Courageous" medieval forged sword

The sword - a weapon of combat, a symbol of power and justice, an object of pageantry - is the most representative object of the Middle Ages, both in terms of its omnipresence and the imprint it has left on history and the imagination. No other secular production from this period has aroused so much interest and fascination. Closely associated with the knight, for whom it is the weapon par excellence, it possesses an element of personification. Its relationship with its owner is indestructible. It accompanies the knight in life and follows him to the grave, symbolizes temporal and spiritual power, and is the material expression of justice. A real object with multiple uses, the sword is also a mythical object. Its permanence in modern times is reflected in its many survivals. The exhibition presented at the Musée de Cluny and, for the part devoted to the XVIᵗʰ century, at the Musée d'Ecouen, aims to address all aspects of the sword, from the Middle Ages to the present day, in its most concrete materiality as well as in its symbolic and mythical aspects. Swords form a significant part of the exhibits (70 swords). However, many themes are evoked by works of other kinds (manuscripts, engravings, paintings, objets d'art, photographs, stained glass).
Release date: May 5, 2011

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