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Apr 24, 2020

Oct 22, 2010

Pricked Spur

1200s

Spain, 13th century

Steel

Overall: 11.1 x 7.7 cm (4 3/8 x 3 1/16 in.)

Weight: 40 g (1.41 oz.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1611

Location

210A Armor Court

Did you know?

A knight’s status was closely related to his horse; as a result spurs became a symbol of chivalry and could be given as a token during a knighting.

Description

The spur was an essential part of the knight's equipment. Fastened to his heels by means of straps and buckles, it was used to prod a horse into action. This example represents the oldest type recorded, the "pricked" spur, so-called because its neck terminated in a spike. The pricked spur was replaced during the Middle Ages by the "rowel" spur, with a rotating spiked wheel.

Provenance

?-1916

Frank Gair Macomber; Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1916-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Catalogue of Arms and Armour. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900. cat. #527 archive.org

Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. Mentioned: p. 233, J5 archive.org

Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. p. 53; cat. no. 73, p. 166

Louis, William Noel, and Daniel H. Weiss. The Book of Kings: Art, War and the Morgan Library's Medieval Picture Bible. Baltimore: Walters Art Museum, 2002. pp. 84, 188, cat. no. 31, fig. 1

Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. cat. no. 78, p. 186

Exhibition history

Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

The Book of Kings: Art, War and the Morgan Library's Medieval Picture Bible. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD (organizer) (October 27-December 29, 2002).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Pricked Spur|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1611|year=1200s|access-date=30 September 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Pricked Spur

Pricked Spur

Spain, 13th century

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