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Source Description
The spur was an essential part of the knight's equipment. Fastened to his heels by means of straps and buckles, it was used to prod a horse into action. This example represents the oldest type recorded, the "pricked" spur, so-called because its neck terminated in a spike. The pricked spur was replaced during the Middle Ages by the "rowel" spur, with a rotating spiked wheel.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
96243
label
Pricked Spur
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
96243
contentType
object
title
Pricked Spur
description
The spur was an essential part of the knight's equipment. Fastened to his heels by means of straps and buckles, it was used to prod a horse into action. This example represents the oldest type recorded, the "pricked" spur, so-called because its neck terminated in a spike. The pricked spur was replaced during the Middle Ages by the "rowel" spur, with a rotating spiked wheel.
date
1200s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60778174
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 19 x 8.4 cm (7 1/2 x 3 5/16 in.)
cul
Spain
accession
1916.1953
Source extras
tec
steel
tombstone
Pricked Spur, 1200s. Spain. Steel; overall: 19 x 8.4 cm (7 1/2 x 3 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1916.1953
collection
MED - Arms & Armor
didYouKnow
Before they were made of metal, the earliest spurs were probably thorns that were attached to the back of the heel.
citations
citation
<em>Catalogue of Arms and Armour.</em> [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900.
page_number
cat. #527
citation
Gilchrist, Helen Ives. <em>A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923</em>. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 233, J7
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N.<em> Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>[Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
page_number
cat. no. 74, p. 166.
citation
Louis, William Noel, and Daniel H. Weiss. <em>The Book of Kings: Art, War and the Morgan Library's Medieval Picture Bible</em>. Baltimore: Walters Art Museum, 2002.
page_number
pp. 84, 188, fig. 1, cat. no. 30
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>[Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
cat. no. 79, p. 186
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:10:57.373000
sourceId
96243
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Arms & Armor
med
steel
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
b205022804c5f91e