James Hester
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James Hester is a researcher based at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.
Biography
James graduated from Salem State College in Massachusetts with a BA (Hons) in Public History. While still Stateside, he began his career in museums as an educator at the Higgins Armory Museum, later going on to work as a guide at several local history museums in Salem, Massachusetts.
He moved to the UK in 2005 where he completed an MA in Medieval Studies at the University of York, during which he found his way to the Royal Armouries as a Gallery Host. He joined the Library and Archives staff as a Researcher in August of 2008.
James’ primary focus of study is medieval and early modern arms, armour and combat. He is also trained as a palaeographer and codicologist; studying manuscripts, early printed books and scribal handwriting.
He endeavours to combine examination of existing weapons and armours, intensive study of surviving works on fighting techniques, and personal experience as a practitioner of early European martial arts to try to create a clearer image of the way in which these objects were actually used.
Recent Publications:
Contributor to Henry VIII: Arms and the Man. Royal Armouries Publications, Leeds. 2009.
Real Men Read Poetry: Instructional Verse in Fourteenth-Century Fight Manuals. Presented at the 2009 International Congress on Medieval Studies and soon to appear in the Royal Armouries journal Arms and Armour. – Forthcoming.
