Tobias Capwell

The Renaissance is best known as an age of artists – Michelangelo, da Vinci, Titian and Holbein – but it is also the age of the noble patrons who challenged their painters and sculptors to create great art. These patrons were knights, military leaders and jousters. They played a central role in the story of another great Renaissance story, that of the armourer. Here, Tobias Capwell continues his history of jousting seen through surviving artefacts in the collection of the Royal Armouries. He reveals how the jousts and tournaments of the Renaissance transported knightly combat into a kind of performance art, with demonstrations of aristocratic skill and nerve, of superhuman strength and superlative horsemanship – and of cutting-edge equipment.

Since sharpened tools emerged almost one million years ago, edged weapons have played an incredible role in the shaping of human history. This beautifully presented volume traces the history of daggers, knives and bayonets through to the 21st century. The directory features more than 350 examples, from ancient Egyptian flint knives to the rondel and ballock daggers of medieval Europe, and from 17th-century plug bayonets and the Highland dirk to the classic commando knives of World War II. It explores the development of daggers, fighting knives and bayonets from their origins in the Stone Age through to the latest utilitarian and creative designs. With over 700 photographs, the book is an indispensable resource for the serious collector and amateur enthusiast, and will fascinate anyone with an interest in historical weapons.

Coinciding with the major exhibition of the same name, Henry Moore: The Helmet Heads traces the footsteps of the artist through the armouries of the Wallace Collection, where he encountered ‘objects of power’ that profoundly influenced his work for the rest of his career. ‘The idea of one form inside another form may owe some of its incipient beginnings to my interest at one stage when I discovered armour. I spent many hours in the Wallace Collection, in London, looking at armour.’ - Henry Moore, 1980. Captivated by helmets in particular, Moore saw in them a fundamental form idea – an outer shell which could protect something vulnerable inside. Tobias Capwell identifies the specific helmets which inspired the artist and examines these alongside Moore’s sculptures for the very first time. The reasons for his fascination with armour and the implications it had on his art are explored by Hannah Higham and set in the context of Moore’s life and work – one punctuated by global conflicts and artistic experiment. Richly illustrated, this catalogue reveals the origins of some of Henry Moore’s most innovative works and examines in depth for the first time this largely unknown aspect of his career.

Jousting is the most iconic form of mounted combat. For more than five hundred years, the sport itself, and the chivalric culture that surrounded it, took on almost mythical qualities. Here, Tobias Capwell explains the glitz and glamour of a sport that attracted enormous popular audiences throughout the late middle ages. Though he deals almost exclusively with weapons and warriors, Capwell tells a story not of war and destruction, but of pageantry and valour. This is the story of the armour of peace. The book forms part of a series of introductions to aspects of the Royal Armouries' collection of arms and armour. Written by specialists in the field, they are packed full of fascinating information and stunning photography. Royal Armouries is the national museum of arms and armour, with sites at Leeds, the Tower of London and Fort Nelson, Hampshire.

This is a visual encyclopedia of edged weapons from around the world, including knives, daggers, bayonets, machetes and khanjars, with over 500 illustrations. This is a visual encyclopedia of over 350 edged weapons from around the world from the Stone Age to the modern day. Each specially commissioned colour photograph is clearly labelled to show the significant features of each blade plus at-a-glance specification boxes give date of manufacture, country of origin and size. This title covers some of the world's most deadly and beautiful knives, daggers and bayonets, including fighting knives from Africa, the ceremonial kris from Indonesia, the double-edged Japanese ken and the distinctively decorated Indo-Persian peshkabz. It is written by a leading arms and armoury expert, a comprehensive volume perfect for both dedicated collectors and amateur enthusiasts. Since the first sharpened tools used by early man over a million years ago, edged weapons have developed and evolved into many forms. They are now valued as collectable antiques, admired for the intricate skill and workmanship that lie behind the lavish and often beautifully coloured decoration on the blade and hilt. This comprehensive illustrated chronology takes you on a visual tour of sharp weapons throughout history: from the hand-held flints of the Stone Age, through to the survival weapons of the two world wars and the civilian knives of modern times. There are also intriguing blades from Africa and Asia, including the Japanese tanto and aikuchi, Sudanese throwing knives and Indian Katars. Presented in an accessible and easy-to-follow format there are specially-commissioned photographs of each item, clearly labelled with the blade's defining features as well as at-a-glance specification boxes detailing date, country of origin and length. Written by a leading arms and armoury expert and featuring over 350 pieces shown in more than 500 stunning pictures, this book is an indispensable resource for both the serious collector and amateur enthusiast.

Cultures from all over the world crafted fighting blades, many of them so elaborately formed and decorated that they are noted for their beauty and craftsmanship as they are for their brutal capabilities. This book traces the bloody and fascinating history of daggers, dirks and bayonets. It looks at the journey played by fighting blades in military combat from hand-held stabbing tools, to the famous Highland dirk, to the bayonets of World Wars I and II, and the 20th-century Commando knives. Weapons from around the world are described, from the Indian Katar to the Japanese Tanto. The book looks at the technical and military accomplishments leading up to the short-edged blade's present-day role as a military weapon, as well as its status as an object of modern art. This comprehensive and fully illustrated history of short-edged weapons will be an indispensable resource for both the amateur enthusiast and professional collector.