The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Hauberk

Hauberk

1400s
riveted steel rings
Overall: 121.3 x 85.7 cm (47 3/4 x 33 3/4 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1543
Location: 210A Armor Court

Did You Know?

Although this hauberk weighs about 21 pounds, the even distribution of the weight makes it easy to wear.

Description

A hauberk is a mail shirt commonly extending to mid-thigh. Mail, a type of armor made from interlocking iron or steel rings, was effective at protecting the wearer from the sharp cuts of a sword, and yet was less useful against crushing impacts from blunt weapons. A hauberk would have been worn over an aketon, a padded protective garment.
  • ?-1916
    Frank Gair Macomber; Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • 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. 78, D5; Reproduced: Plate XVIII, D5 archive.org
    "Hauberk." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 11, no. 3 (March 1924): 51-70 Mentioned: P. 62-63; Reproduced: P. 65
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. cat. no. 84, p. 186
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 82, p. 166
  • Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    European Arms and Armor from the Cleveland Museum of Art (Long-term Loan). Birmingham Museum of Art (organizer) (July 1, 1993-July 1, 1995).
  • {{cite web|title=Hauberk|url=false|author=|year=1400s|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1543