The man in the display case

The armour in the display case is decorated with symbols. It can provide us information about who wore it in the battle of 1361.

In medieval Friesland, now the Netherlands, there was a noble family called Roorda. All the symbols on the armour are connected to the family except the two scallop shells in the middle row. The ‘pilgrim’s scallops’ could be a sign of the owner having made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Perhaps the armour belonged to one of the brothers Bavo or Schelto Roorda. We know that they lived in the 14th century, but their destinies are unknown. It is entirely possible that they were part of King Valdemar’s troops.