He Was How Big?!

Today my wife, son, and I, went to the Tower of London. We wandered round the Bloody Tower, saw the Crown Jewels - which contrived to be both breathtaking and underwhelming - some Irish Guards marching hup and dahn the squayah, Beefeaters, Ravens and the Henry VIII Dressed to Kill exhibition in the White Tower.

The Henry VIII exhibition was small, but worth the entry price by itself! It was fascinating to see his personal armours, the intricate engraving of his horse armours, the massiveness of the lance (they're HUGE, far bigger, heavier, and imposing than I'd thought), and artifacts from the Mary Rose.

By far the single most interesting thing, however, was John of Gaunt's armour. He was 6' 9" tall and, being a knight, built like a brick outdoor toilet. I came up to his shoulders, or thereabouts, and I would've been tall for the Tudor period at 5' 10"!

I tell you, the armour, towering above me, even static and in a glass case, was intimidating. Filled with a big man carrying an even bigger weapon would have made it terrifying.