Arma ofensiva et defensiva

The objective of this book is to present arms and armour in the collection of the Old Czech History Department of the National Museum. The work covers the period roughly between 800–1900 AD. The book is organized into Introduction and five chapters: I. Cold Weapons, II. Armour and Its Parts, III. Pavises, IV. Crossbows and Balestras, V. Firearms. Individual chapters present some of the important objects in the Museum’s holdings: medieval firearms, medieval swords, early medieval helmets and pavises from 15th century. The examples of arms and armour selected for the book are top-class objects, comparable to arms in holdings of leading museums and in other collections both in Europe and outside Europe.