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Apr 27, 2020

Pricked Spur

1200s

Spain, 13th century

Steel

Overall: 19 x 8.4 cm (7 1/2 x 3 5/16 in.)

Weight: 80 g (2.82 oz.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1953

Location

210A Armor Court

Did you know?

Before they were made of metal, the earliest spurs were probably thorns that were attached to the back of the heel.

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

Thill; Vienna

?-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, J7 archive.org

Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. cat. no. 74, 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, fig. 1, cat. no. 30

Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 79, 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/1916.1953|year=1200s|access-date=22 March 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Pricked Spur

Pricked Spur

Spain, 13th century

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