Stories

Royal Armouries X Windlass Swords

Royal Armouries X Windlass Swords

History brought to life Royal Armouries together with Windlass Steelcrafts have created an exciting new range of historically accurate replica swor...

Introducing the I.33 Sword

To celebrate the release of the I.33 sword, Stuart Ivinson, Librarian at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, explores the history of the treasured...

Japanese Warriors

We hold a wonderfully rich collection of Japanese warrior objects, and many of these are on show in the Oriental Gallery in the Royal Armouries Mus...

Chinese arms and armour

To celebrate the coming Chinese New Year, this month we take a look at the number of remarkable objects from our collection that demonstrate the fa...

An ode to the horse: horses in warfare

Horses have been used in warfare since ancient times up until the present day. They were used in many roles, from combat mounts to pack animals, an...

Royal Armouries special edition E11 Stormtrooper blaster

One of the most iconic objects in the Star Wars universe is the E11 Stormtrooper blaster. Originally designed and built by film armourers Bapty...

Armour in popular culture

Much of the public perception of arms and armour is coloured by popular culture, yet many museums have been slow to appreciate and preserve the won...

Did Sir Winston Churchill’s gun inspire Star Wars?

Sir Winston Churchill is more famous for defeating evil empires than giving them style tips, but a recent discovery by the Royal Armouries’ Senio...

Star Wars blasters at the Royal Armouries

The Royal Armouries is on a mission to buy a pair of iconic blasters used in the original Star Wars movies for the national collection of arms and...

The oldest known European fencing manual in existence

One of the oldest and most enigmatic treasures in the Royal Armouries archives is the Royal Armouries I.33 manuscript, a surviving example of a Fec...

The first play of Manuscript I.33

View video footage of thoughts and interpretations around the first play in I.33. I.33 is the oldest known European fencing manual in existence. I...

Original ‘Star Wars’ blasters

“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side…”Han Solo – ‘Star Wars A New Hope’ (1977) In this post, ...

Swords of ‘Middle Earth’

Four heroic swords based on weapons used in the epic ‘The Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy went on display at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds in...