Picture © Richard Moss / Culture24
Review: Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill, Tower of London, until January 17 2010.
As befits a man of his stature and fame, the Tower of London's new exhibition exploring the world of Henry VIII is full of impactful objects, fearsome weaponry and some of the brashest yet finest pieces of armour you are ever likely to see - not to mention an unfeasibly large armoured codpiece.
Celebrating the 500th anniversary of the great King's accession to the throne in 1509, Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill delivers that all-important and often rare element to any successful museum exhibition – fascinating objects that grab the attention and tell a story.
Ranging over three floors, it brings together the largest number of original weapons, armour and pieces of military equipment associated with Henry VIII seen by anyone since the time of Elizabeth I, and is also the first time the White Tower has staged a single exhibition of such scale.
Picture © Richard Moss / Culture24
From the elegant, flared, early silver engraved armour of the athletic young Henry through to the enigmatic and colossal Wilton Anime armour of the obese and ageing King, the exhibition tells a very big story of Henry and his court using some stunning star items.
These include an exquisitely-decorated, silvered and engraved full suit of armour dating to 1515, an extraordinary Horned Helmet presented to King Henry by the Emperor Maximilian (1511 and 1514) and the King's Burgundian Bard horse armour (1511 – 15).
Staring at these impressive pieces, some of which are mounted on equally impressive steeds, you get a real sense of the man who once owned and used them. By the exhibition's end, with its procession of escalatingly large suits of armour with Tudor rose liveries, you're enveloped by the man and his world.
As well as Henry the warrior statesman, the exhibition touches on the sporting exploits of the younger, more athletic Henry, and the curators have managed to secure the world's oldest (Tudor) football, displayed with the only two sporting guns known to have survived from Henry's personal armoury.
Picture © Richard Moss / Culture24
The impressive selection of personal weapons includes a fearsome combination gun and mace called a "holy water sprinkler". Perfectly bridging medieval and renaissance technologies, the terrifying weapon is filled with three gun barrels around a formidable top spike.
By the 18th century a story had emerged of the King carrying it while patrolling London with his henchmen. Such is the mythological muscle of Henry VIII.
Elsewhere, sabres with their quillons etched with designs by Holbein jostle next to a procession of lances, spears, bows, arrows, shields and muskets.
Beyond his personal arsenal the weapons ordered by the King for his troops from his armoury at Greenwich reveal a man with a passion for new military technologies - he spent vast sums equipping his armed forces with the very latest arms and armour.
Ballock dagger and hilts from the Mary Rose. Picture © Richard Moss / Culture24
Combination guns and maces seem to have been a particular favourite, with an array of innovations from weapons bristling with spikes to innovative gun shields made of wood, iron and steel plate, guns protruding from their bosses.
The inventory of 1547 lists 35 of these innovative shields at Westminster Palace, as well as examples excavated from the Mary Rose which suggest they were used profusely on Henry's warships.
More than 4,000 people on board lost their lives when the Mary Rose, Henry's most famous warship, sunk in 1545 and a small selection of artefacts reveal a glimpse of the haul recovered from the Solent seabed when the ship was raised in 1982.
Among them are a series of appropriately named "Ballock" dagger hilts. Common throughout the Middle Ages and named for their resemblance of the hilt to the male genitalia, they made for an ideal thrusting weapon.
Further Mary Rose artefacts include recovered arrows and a simple lice comb - pieces that ground the exhibition, offering a window into the lives of ordinary people of the Tudor period and providing a lever against which to really appreciate the bombast of Henry and his court.
Picture © Richard Moss / Culture24
But it is the suits of armour - beautifully displayed and backed by discreet and intelligently used interactives and film footage - which grab the attention. The foot combat armour includes some remarkable survivals, including a suit that weighed in at 42.7kg (94lb) created for Henry to wear in combat at the great tournament against the French courts in 1520.
A Flemish set dating from 1515 is the earliest of Henry's surviving armours and shows the athletic physique of the young King, just six years into his reign.
The vast Wilton armour of 1540 which closes the exhibition presents a similarly formidable front, but as you stare, it is evident how time has taken its toll, and even the skill of the armourers can't hide the King's frailness and obesity.
That said it sports one of the biggest armoured codpieces you are likely to see - a perhaps justifiable act of self-aggrandisement for the old King of six wives.
Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill is a compelling experience that highlights the power of museum objects and, with its solidity of form, the armour on display here means you're are close as you can get to looking at the man. Combine that with the location and you have one of the most persuasive exhibitions of the year.
To celebrate the anniversary of ‘history heavyweight’ Henry VIII, HISTORY have lined up some great programmes which delve beneath the well known stories and uncover the secret world of Henry’s life.
Below you can see clips from Inside the Body of Henry VIII, which reveals the impact the King’s lifestyle had on his health – and ultimately the history of England – including some of the bizarre and gruesome treatments he endured.
The year long celebration of Henry VIII at Hampton Court Palace and the exhibition at the Tower of London have been supported with films developed in partnership with HISTORY. See the HISTORY website for more details and to take advantage of a special offer for Historic Royal Palaces membership.
