Knights at the Melee!

Henry Tries on a Helmet

The boys had the week off school, so on Monday we took tram #1 to Delft to see the new exhibit on Tournaments at the Army museum (www.legermuseum.nl).  The whole museum is full of fascinating things like swords, pikes, helmets, shields, bluderbusses, canon and guns.   We could try on a medieval knight’s helmet and a sixteenth-century soldier’s helmet.  They were both made out of metal and very heavy.

But the best part was the special events about knights.  First there was a children’s tournament.  About 50 kids put on knight’s tunics and helmets (plastic this time). 

Crusader Brothers

  Out in the courtyard they got bouncy horses and foam swords.  Then it was time for the melee! 

Animals (velcroed on to the helmets) were flying everywhere.  Before the end Henry had several bigger knights on the run. 

Waiting for the Melee to Begin

After the melee we saw the exhibits on the 80 Years War and the shift to guns, then went to see two knights demonstrate how they put on their armor and how they fight with pikes, swords and something with a complicated Dutch name that had claws and spikes on a long pole.  They broke two pikes!   William was right up front and could see sparks flying when they fought with the swords.   The boys got to hold one of the swords after the demonstration and report that it was heavy.

The museum goes up to the present day, so we also saw plenty of tanks.  There was even a small artillery carriage pulled by two dogs from WWI.

With Ridder Bart