Medieval weapons master rates 11 weapons and armor scenes from movies and TV
  • 3 years ago
Tobias Capwell is the curator of arms and armor at The Wallace Collection in London. Here, he reacts to 11 memorable scenes featuring medieval weapons and armor and rates them based on their historical accuracy.

Capwell looks at armor and weapons within fantasy franchises, such as Sauron's armor in the battle of Orodruin in "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001). He addresses how helmets in "The Mandalorian" (2019) are influenced by Greek and Corinthian styles. Using artifacts from The Wallace Collection, Capwell addresses the realism of flails and maces as seen in "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003). And he rates how realistic shields and swords are in "Vikings" (2014) and "The Last Kingdom" (2015).

Is it possible to reforge swords, as seen in "Game of Thrones" (2011)? And how difficult would it be to fight in mud in full armor, like Robert Pattinson and Timothée Chalamet do in "The King" (2019)? Does knightly combat look anything like "Excalibur" (1981), "El Cid" (1961), and "Tale of Tales" (2015)?

Tobias Capwell is an author, lecturer, broadcaster, and the curator of arms and armor at The Wallace Collection in London. He has been a horseman and martial artist since childhood, is a founding member of the modern historical jousting community, and has fought in major international tournaments all over the world. Capwell has written many books and articles on weapons, armor, tournaments, and knighthood, including "Armour of the English Knight 1400-1450," "Arms and Armour of the Medieval Joust," and "Masterpieces of European Arms and Armour in the Wallace Collection." In 2015 he had the honor of serving as one of the two fully armored knights who escorted the remains of King Richard III from the battlefield at Bosworth to their final resting place in Leicester Cathedral.

Find out more about The Wallace Collection here: https://www.wallacecollection.org/whats-on/