As popular as the Cleveland Museum of Art's Armor Court has been since the museum opened its doors in 1916, one would think that at some point there would have been an exhibit specific to arms and armor.

But no, at least not until now.

Today through June 1 the CMA is finally gratifying those among us who (a) can't get enough of steel suits and the lethal can openers arrayed against them; or (b) look upon the days of knights and steeds with romantic longing.

Arms and Armor from Imperial Austria is the first major exhibition at the CMA to deal with the subject, bringing to Northeast Ohio extraordinary examples of homeland security circa the 16th century in the Austrian Habsburg empire.

This show also leads up to the reopening of the CMA's Armor Court and American Galleries on the upper level of the original 1916 building on June 29.

Organized by Stephen N. Fliegel, CMA curator of medieval art, this show gathers more than 200 outstanding examples of the armorer's craft from the provincial arsenal, the Landeszeughaus in Graz, in the southern Austrian region of Styria.

This is one of the few armories still in existence, still housed in its original building with its original inventory intact: 30,000 items of armor and weapons, sufficient to outfit a 5,000-man army.

In the galleries set aside on the CMA's second floor for this exhibit, visitors can immerse themselves in the arcana of armored combat, circa 1600-1700.

Here we will find something called a ''great garniture,'' which if it was tableware would probably be your grandmother's silver service.

The Great Garniture is a matched set of armor, identically decorated, for both knight and steed, for all the possible battle situations a well-armored knight was likely to find. The one in this exhibit consists of field armor, to which numerous custom-made parts were added, permitting adaptation for use in multiple combat and sporting roles.

There's also something called a Thrusting Sword that, according to the label, was characterized by incredibly sharp edges and a super-sharp point. This sword, however, is quite pitted and corroded, lacking its wood and leather protective parts around the tang to create the pommel, the hilt and the guard. This, according to representatives of the Landeszeughaus museum, came into the collection from an archeological site and had suffered centuries of corrosion. So, not sharp.

The CMA, true to its tradition of placing art in context, is presenting alongside the armor paintings, sculpture and decorative arts objects that define the culture from which these objects emerged, providing greater understanding of their purpose and function.

Among the support material in the exhibit are the oil paintings Allegorical Painting of Emperor Charles V as Ruler of the World (ca. 1604) by Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640); and Hunting Near Hartenfels Castle (ca. 1540) by Lucas Cranach the Elder; and the etching Knight, Death, and the Devil (sheet, 1513) by Albrecht Durer.

Fliegel pointed out that both the ''Knight'' in the Durer etching as well as the show's knight on horseback were wearing Maximilian-style armor, made up of some 200 plates of steel.

During the Renaissance, armor protected its wearer during combat, but it also conferred social status. There was armor for battle, armor for the tournament and parade armor, with elaborateness and ornamentation increasing as its wearer progressed from fighting to feasting.

Indeed, some armor could qualify as moving sculpture, exquisitely decorated with gilding, painting, heat coloration, etching and inlay.

Armor and weapons display a wide variety of designs and motifs that add artistic dimensions to their roles. These designs are now recognized for their artistic value and establish arms and armor as an important branch of European decorative arts of the time.

Fliegel said the armor in this display represents the peak of the art, the last hurrah for the knight on horseback, reaching its apex in this part of the Austrian Habsburg empire during its epic battle against the Turks.

The name Styria comes from the German term, Steiermark, or border defense region. From the 10th through the 16th centuries, this part of Austria, along with several other lands, formed a protective belt stretching from the Baltic to the Adriatic, protecting against attacks from the East.

Topography played a key role in Styria's development. To the north the Alps form a natural barrier, but to the east, the foothills drop off to a plain in what is now essentially Hungary and northeastern Yugoslavia.

Through this area of little natural protection, aggressive horse cultures from the steppes of Eurasia mounted invasion after invasion. Against these hordes, Styria acted as bulwark and front line, becoming known as the ''land of a thousand fortresses.'' Its duty was to prevent invaders from penetrating into the Alpine region, protecting the southern flank of Vienna and the Danube valley, which forms the main passageway into central Europe.

In some years it had more success than others. In 1529, the Ottoman Turks mounted their first major attack on the Austrian Habsburg monarchy, attempting to conquer Vienna.

In 1532, another attack on Vienna with 60,000 troops in the main army was held up by the 800 defenders of Koeszeg, a small fort in western Hungary, which fought a desperate battle. The invading troops were stopped until winter was close and the Habsburg Empire had assembled a force of 80,000 at Vienna. On learning this, the Ottoman troops returned home through Styria, laying waste to the region.

The most powerful Ottoman ruler, Suleyman the Magnificent, (reigned 1520-1566) led his armies into Habsburg lands, but could not take Vienna. He did, however, capture most of Hungary and Transylvania. The Ottomans ruled these lands near Styria for more than 150 years.

Styria belonged to the Habsburgs from 1282 on, and became part of the consolidated base from which the Habsburgs built their future position as the most powerful dynasty in Europe, eventually holding the office of emperor of the entire German nation.

Habsburg Emperor Maximilian I built up a modern armaments industry and saw to it that a sufficient supply of weapons was stored in the newly constructed arsenals.

It fell to Maximilian's successor, Ferdinand I, to refortify Styria in the wake of devastation left as the Turks turned southward. Fortresses, forts and watchtowers were built along the frontier, provided with artillery and settled with refugees from the Ottoman areas of Serbia and Bosnia, who received privileges in return for military service.

The Landeszeughaus in Graz became increasingly important as the central arsenal of these estates. In 1629 the armory inventory recorded 85,000 pieces, a fourfold increase in less than 75 years. Between 1642 and 1644, Antonio Solario (d.1672) erected a new armory, connecting it directly to the palace.

During the second half of the 16th century, Styrian forces were divided into infantry and cavalry, and each bore specialized equipment.

Three types of soldiers fought on foot:

• Harquebusiers, who wore a marksman's helmet and carried a wheel-lock gun.

• Musketeers, who wore no protective armor, but fought with a wheel-lock or matchlock musket that had to be fired from a rest because of its weight.

• Pikemen, known as Knechte or later Pikeniere, who fought with long pikes and protected the musketeers while they reloaded. Pikemen wore a burgonet (a light, open helmet), a collar, a breastplate with tassets (dangling steel plates between the breastplate and the top of the thigh armor) and a backplate.

The cavalry also consisted of three types:

• Harquebusier-riders, who combined maneuverability with fire power. These riders, equipped with pistols, wore a helmet and a bulletproof cuirass (vest) with mail sleeves.

• Hussars fought with sabers and estocs (thrusting swords), well-suited for surprise raids and reconnaissance, and were more lightly armed with a helmet, a laminated cuirass and a mail shirt.

• Cuirassiers, or heavy cavalry, who wore complete armor, which included the close helmet and cuirass, arm defenses and leg armor that extended at least to the knee, were armed with a cavalry sword and pistols.

Lancers were on the wane, as their form of fighting demanded much practice, and could only be used in open battle, where the momentum of their attack could penetrate opponents' ranks.

All these variations in armaments used in the Ottoman wars of the 16th and 17th centuries can still be uniquely studied at the Landeszeughaus, and now, to a more limited degree, at the CMA.

The exhibit begins with the costly etched garb of noblemen and ends with the plainer fare of the pikemen. Also included is a campaign tent of the period and furniture.

To put this exhibit in further context, might I suggest a book? The one I have in mind is a relatively thin tome by the celebrated Spanish author Arturo Perez-Reverte called Sun over Breda. It concerns the Spanish Wars in Flanders during this same period, and on a certain level could be compared to All Quiet on the Western Front.

More importantly, however, it makes clear that, paintings by the likes of Rubens and Velazquez notwithstanding, most of the fighting in these wars was done by the lowly footsoldier. The kings, archdukes and princes pictured in the celebratory paintings raised not one finger in battle, but did step in to take credit when the histories were set down.