The Medieval collections tell the colourful story of early European art and culture from the decline of the Roman Empire to the dawn of the Renaissance (300 – about 1500).

The collection is outstanding in its range and depth, bringing together treasures of sacred and secular art from around Europe.

Highlights of the collection include an early 12th-century ewer in the form of a griffin from Germany, and an equally rare surviving English iron helmet, or sallet, that may have seen action in the Wars of the Roses (1455 – 1485).