Tobias Capwell

Tobias Emanuel ("Toby") Capwell

Capwell's interest in

In 2012, archaeologists discovered the burial place of King Richard III of England (1452–1485), who had been killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Capwell was a member of the multidisciplinary academic team which studied the remains.^[6] In 2015, he was one of the two mounted men in full armour who escorted the king's coffin to his reburial site in Leicester Cathedral.^[7][8]

He was the Curator of Arms and Armour at the Wallace Collection, London, from 2006 to 2022.^[9] He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 2011.^[10]

Publications and media appearances

Capwell has published several books relating to his speciality. Among them is an authoritative trilogy of works, Armour of the English Knight 1400–1450 (2015), Armour of the English Knight 1450–1500 (2021), and Armour of the English Knight: Continental Armour in England 1435–1500 (2022). Reviewing the first volume in The English Historical Review, David Palliser wrote that it "...should revolutionise the study of early fifteenth-century armour, and it is one which document-based historians would neglect to their cost... [He] is that rare scholar, an internationally-renowned expert in his field, who is also a seasoned practitioner of combat in full plate armour, one who can speak with real authority on armour as a practical and functional aspect of medieval life".^[5]

He has taken part in scientific experiments designed to measure the effectiveness of the

English sculptor Henry Moore (1898-1986) was a frequent visitor to the Wallace Collection, and drew inspiration from it. In his later years, he produced several sculptures based on helmets displayed in that museum. In 2019, Capwell and Hannah Higham, in a book titled The Helmet Heads, analysed those sculptures from the perspective of the original helmets.^[12]

His television appearances have included

• Capwell, Tobias (2007). The Real Fighting Stuff: Arms and Armour at Glasgow Museums. Turner, Graham (illustrator).
  ISBN 978-0902752825
  .
• Capwell, Tobias (2010). The Pictorial History Of Knives Daggers And Bayonets. Hermes House.
  ISBN 978-0857233509
  .
• Capwell, Tobias; Edge, David (2011). Masterpieces of European Arms and Armour in the Wallace Collection. London: Trustees of the Wallace Collection.
  ISBN 978-0900785863. Apollo Magazine Book of the Year 2012.^[7]
• Capwell, Tobias (2012). The Noble Art of the Sword: Fashion and Fencing in Renaissance Europe 1520-1630. Paul Holberton.
  ISBN 978-0900785436
  .
• Capwell, Tobias (2015). Armour of the English Knight 1400–1450. London: Thomas Del Mar.
  Military History Monthly Illustrated Book of the Year 2017.^[7]
• Capwell, Tobias (2018). Arms and Armour of the Medieval Joust. Leeds:
  ISBN 978-0948092831
  .
• Capwell, Tobias; Higham, Hannah (2019). Henry Moore: The Helmet Heads.
  ISBN 978-1781300770
  .
• Capwell, Tobias (2019) [2009]. The World Encyclopedia of Knives Daggers & Bayonets: An Authoritative History and Visual Directory of Sharp-Edged Weapons and Blades from around the World. Lorenz Books.
  ISBN 978-0754834847
  .
• Capwell, Tobias (2021). Armour of the English Knight 1450–1500. London: Thomas Del Mar.
  ISBN 978-0993324635
  .
• Capwell, Tobias (2022). Armour of the English Knight: continental armour in England 1435–1500. London: Thomas Del Mar.
  ISBN 978-0993324659
  .