Protection, Prestige, and Power: The Design and Wear of Renaissance Armor 

In Renaissance Europe, armor commonly ranked among one’s most valuable possessions. Symptomatically, King Philip II of Spain prescribed in his last will that his tapestries and armors would henceforth belong to the Spanish crown. Unlike other works of art, such as paintings, they were never to be sold, even to pay off debts. Such high regard for armor is typical of how most Renaissance rulers and noblemen thought of their armor and those of their ancestors. This lecture by Pierre Terjanian, chief of curatorial affairs and conservation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, provides an overview of the significance of armor in Renaissance Europe and the distinct contexts in which it was worn and admired.