The sword
One of the things that most represents the Middle Ages is probably the sword: a weapon of war, a symbol of power and justice and an item of pomp and ceremony; no other secular object has inspired so much interest and fascination. The Cluny Museum - the National Museum of the Middle Ages - will be hosting an important event devoted to the sword, gathering 120 works from the 5th to the 15th centuries, under the heading "The Sword. Uses, myths and symbols".
The Musée d'Ecouen will look at the evolution of this weapon during the Renaissance, with a new presentation designed to exploit this part of its collections to the full.