The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Pricked Spur

Pricked Spur

1200s
steel
Overall: 11.1 x 7.7 cm (4 3/8 x 3 1/16 in.)
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.
  • ?-1916
    Frank Gair Macomber; Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • 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
  • 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).
    Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
  • {{cite web|title=Pricked Spur|url=false|author=|year=1200s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1611