Detail of left pauldron, from the lion armour, about 1550, II.89 G. Royal Armouries, CC BY 4.0

 

A pauldron is a piece of armour designed to protect the shoulder. This one belongs to the 'Lion Armour' (II.89), a fearsome example of armour-decorating techniques. The pauldron is designed so that the wearer's arm extends out of the lion's open mouth and the lion's face is incredibly detailed. Whilst beautifully decorated, this is a fully-functioning armour and some of the pieces bear marks to suggest it may have been used on the battle or the tournament field.

 

This image is part of our Up Close online exhibition, which was made possible with funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to use digital to enable our audiences to explore our collection in new and exciting ways.