Virtual Conversation: The Armored Tournament

In the knightly sports of joust, melee, and foot combat, tournament armor was designed to make its wearer nearly invincible. Jonathan Tavares, associate curator of Applied Arts of Europe, joins Kevin Vititoe, senior industrial designer at Priority Designs, for a discussion of some of the finest examples of tournament armor in the Art Institute’s collection. Together, they’ll explore the many aspects of tournament armor, from its colorful context and history to the relationship between armor and contemporary protective sports equipment.