The introduction of stirrups spurred the development of military equipment in Spain which, in the 11th century, gave rise to heavy, armoured cavalry whose military predominance resulted in the reaffirmation of the European nobility as the dominant social class that monopolised territorial possession, productive resources and, to a great extent, social structures and relations. The nobleman was, above all, a knight who was capable of owning and maintaining a mount and its related military equipment.
The Middle Ages saw the emergence of the so-called chivalry as a prominent component in the development of the European mentality and European thought down to the present day. Chivalry arose as an ideology linked to the European nobility and combined religious beliefs and an aesthetic and moral ideal of life endowed with a fanciful and sentimental nature that was often unreal. Swords and spurs were the knightly symbols par excellence, as reflected in the rich medieval literature.
At the end of the Middle Ages, changes in warfare were of lesser military significance owing to the bigger role of the infantry and of new weapons such as artillery. The primacy of the cavalry on the battlefield was by then a thing of the past. The shaping and enactment of this complex chivalric world required a lavish mise-en-scene through pastimes, courtly ceremonies, and triumphal entries and parades in towns and cities. Beginning in the 13th century, old-style military training was progressively transformed into games and public spectacles which by the end of the 15th century were fully regulated and closely linked to the exercises of the noble class. Therefore, these games-cum-spectacles and the grand ceremonies and public events involved the use of extremely costly arms through which the aristocracy symbolised its power and the partially lost military supremacy.
Collections of arms became the greatest material expression of the chivalric world in the late Middle Ages. Dwelling in this world on the frontier between medieval and modernity we find the Spanish emperor Charles V (1500-1558), whose collection of arms forms the core of the Royal Armoury of Madrid.
A constant transformation of courtly ideals and attitudes has continued to the 21st century. The memory of the chivalric mentality and dream is still visible today in the parade arms used by a few royal or presidential guard corps, the last material testimonies to a vital concept that somehow lives on in today’s world.
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