WARNING!
Beyond the hardware of war, the museum explores the human experience of the soldier—a theme captured in the guiding principle of "tenir" (to hold on/endure).
: In the 16th century, armor was often a courtly garment as much as a defensive one. Pieces like the polychrome armor of Charles IX mimicked the vibrant colors and patterns of contemporary textiles.
The in Paris, housed within the historic Hôtel National des Invalides , is one of the world's premier military museums, managing a collection of approximately 500,000 artifacts spanning from the Bronze Age to the modern era .