The Armour Archive

Hugeus

It appears the link has moved when google photos updated. Here's the new link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/M3r3TErqL45DLXKy9

Hugeus

Back again once more to post some pics from my 2013 trip. These are of the altarpiece of the saints and the martyrs housed in the Musee des Beaux-Arts, Dijon. Commanded by the monastery of Champol in 1390, the altarpiece was made in Flanders: Carving done in Dendermonde (in Belgium) in 1391 by Jacqu...

Hugeus

Here's a 14thC men's purse which I finished recently as a present for my brother. I'ts a composite of 3 extant purses. It's entirely hand sewn using historic tools & techniques, and at some stage when I find time I'll do a scan of the patterns and release a how-to PDF for it. https://lh3.googleuserc...

Hugeus

The book with referencing which I bought from the cathedral is "The Silver Altar of Saint James in the Cathedral of Pistoia" by S. Ferrali, published by the Cathedral (no publication date is provided). All the pics I've posted so far are from the Left side of the altar (when facing toward the altar)...

Hugeus

I've got some info on the artists and construction dates written down at home. I'm currently 1000km from home at a 14thC hastilude for the weekend, but will post dates and artist info here when I get home in a few days time.

Hugeus

Hi Guys, I've just posted a handful of the pics I took of the Pistoia silver altar online, from my recent trip around Europe. I was given permission to take as many photos as I liked, so I tried to get as many angles as possible. This is only a selection of the set of photos I took, and I'll upload ...

Hugeus

My contribution for the moment - more pics of the Pistoia altarpiece. I've just posted a handful of the pics I took of the Pistoia silver altar online, from my recent trip where I was given permission to take as many photos as I liked. I tried to get as many angles as possible, and I'll upload a few...

Hugeus

In case anyone had any doubts, based on my recent closeup study of the silver alter in Pistoia Cathedral, I can confirm and provide photos to show that all of the exposed breastplates with fauld are depicted without backplates in every instance. There are also similar depictions of breastplates with...

Hugeus

For those interested, I've just posted a handful of the pics I took of the Pistoia silver altar online, from my recent trip where I was given permission to take as many photos as I liked. I tried to get as many angles as possible, and choose a few more from the set to upload when time permits. Pleas...

Hugeus

I've put up a bunch of the photos that I took on the Sunday afternoon at this link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/hugh.mcdon ... directlink

I'll directly link some of them when time permits, as there are a few crackers among them.

Hugeus

Lucian - my helmet was made by a local armourer, Adam McKay. It's actually about to be replaced with a much nicer hardened & tempered spring steel bascinet made by Luke Binks (Red Hart Reproductions). I'll post pics of the new one shortly - it's just having the liner finished up and awaiting the mai...

Hugeus

My mail (I'm in the white with red chevron cotised & three rondels) is tailored tightly under the armpits, none of us use points for the armpits of our mail. The mail is tailored so that I can move freely, but it is firm all over. The method was to make the body a firm tube from base of ribs to abou...

Hugeus

My crest is finished!

Here's a pic of it, just picked up this evening. It's solid spruce, with a brim covered in cloth (I think the core of the brim is leather?)

: Hugh's Crest; Crest_01_for-net.JPG (64.1 KiB) Viewed 328 times

Hugeus

Looking good! Here is a pic of my new arm harness from Red Hart Reproductions. It was finished yesterday, and if postage is all good, will arrive today-tomorrow. I am very excited! - time to try it on and see whether I can get away with my old arming cote or have to build a slim-fitting one with tig...

Hugeus

Thanks very much - email sent to sort out details of custom plaques.

Cheers,
Hugh

Hugeus

Those look great - do you happen to do any plaques that are slightly larger in your existing range of molds? I'm looking to get something like the plaque belt in this pic to go with my new harness (which is largely based on this effigy): http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheepdog_rex/4817324211/sizes/l/i...

Hugeus

I just found the British Library collection of manuscripts online with an awesome search function - unlike last time I saw it, this time there's full referencing and high resolution scans of each one. Yay! Here is a link to the simple search function. I found great 14thC resources by searching in th...

Hugeus

Hi Mac, Thanks for the prompt reply - very informative stuff! The configuration which we used was concocted by myself and Luke Binks after staring at a bunch of english effigies. It does make sense that a single hinge would allow the whole thing to open even with the lobe over the ankle. On Fulke Pe...

Hugeus

I agree about the surcoat. I tried having it simply well fit but to get it as fit as the art of the period shows you cannot get it on.... I actually tried once all my armour was on and got the surcoat stuck nice and good on so it had to be removed with a seam ripper as I had pulled it on so tightly...

Hugeus

Hugeus, I think you have your greaves on the wrong legs. TYPICALLY they bucked on the inside... Although many greaves buckle on the inside of the leg, the english style greaves popular from around 1370-1410 (possibly later - that's ahead of my period of interest) cannot buckle on the inside of the ...

Hugeus

Hi Guys, Having used a number of different visors on my bascinets with varying size of ocularia on each (mainly a close fitting klappvisor with 7mm ocularium, houndskull visor with 5mm ocularium), I have become curious about the ocularium size on those remaining extant bascinet visors from the 14thC...

Hugeus

Fast forward to today, and I've actually used some of these stamps. Here are a couple of pics of a girdle, tooled with the 'S' stamp (which I finally finished!) - it has about 125 stamps on it, and the stamp is still going fine. Australian hardwoods win! Sadly the fancy fleur de lys stamp only laste...

Hugeus

This is my current kit and new spring steel legs. The legs are hardened spring steel, all made from single raised pieces, with brass trim (courtesy of Red Hart Reproductions). In a few more weeks the rest of the harness will be finished, and I'll post more pics when it's all done. The main thing I w...

Hugeus

Only 5 weeks to go, I can't wait to get up there for the Pas! Two weeks ago I had the first fights in my new spring steel leg harness now that the brass trim is finished. The rest of the harness will be completed in time to be worn in the Pas. Here are a few pics of the shiny new legs in action - mo...

Hugeus

I'm not sure it's that simple. Coin dies underwent a dramatic rise in fineness and complexity starting around 1300. They quickly come to a point where a significant portion of the work is impossible without magnification. Parallel to this change was the development of large, custom punches that, in...

Hugeus

There are a bunch of tooling stamp designs in the Museum of London 'Dress Accessories' book in the section on leather girdle stamped decorations, and in the Museum of London 'Knives and Scabbards' book, under the section sheath decoration. Here are the full details of each book: Dress Accessories, c...

Hugeus

Another Fleur de Lys stamp that I knocked out after dinner. This one is smaller than the other, and ended up being less detailed because I couldn't find a small enough tool among my gear. This was entirely carved using a small bladed awl (seen in one of the pics below). http://lh6.ggpht.com/_XlQ5QOP...

Hugeus

My girlfriend just pointed out a very strange visual effect with one of my pictures: The light source was actually on the left of me when I took the photo - the shadow is a result of the stamped depression in the leather. But - if you look it at with fresh eyes (as she did), it's easy to picture the...

Hugeus

I had considered using magnification, but wanted to do everything as historically accurate as possible. Thus far I'm not convinced that magnification would have been used in the 14thC by someone making tooling stamps. I understand that glass lenses were around, but I conjecture that they would have ...

Hugeus

Cheers. I've been finding it's partly about having a steady hand, but also about being able to see the work. My only help so far in that department has been to use an old toothbrush to sweep out the carving while working on it. If anyone has any tips for how to do this better, I'd be much obliged as...

Hugeus

Hi Guys, I got inspired by an image of a guy in europe who had made a leather tooling stamp very simply from a block of hard wood. Yesterday and today I spent a few hours trying a bit myself, and here are the results. I've tried to include a picture of my stamping next to the original where possible...

Hugeus

I asked this question a year or two ago when constructing my new arm harness, and ended up going with a two-part design consisting of: - Lower canons similar to those found in the Churburg armoury, which ties to the pourpoint/mail about half way up the upper arm - Long spaulders that reach to just a...

Hugeus

My 2c - I've seen line drawings of effigies like this one before used to justify leather cuisse with integral knee, with the only evidence being the line drawing of a degraded Effigy. I'm not saying that's the case in this discussion but would point out that I am dubious in using line drawings of ef...

Hugeus

more attached

Hugeus

please see attached.

Re: Pistoia Silver Altar - Recent Photos

Photos of Dijon Altarpiece - 1391-1399

Re: Non-Laurels Only! Please post your work!

Re: Pistoia Silver Altar - Recent Photos

Re: Pistoia Silver Altar - Recent Photos

Pistoia Silver Altar - Recent Photos

Re: To wear a hauberk under plate or not, that is the questi

Re: 1390s effigies: what's under the jupon?

Re: Lordly armour

Re: Pas d'Armes of St Michael's Abbey

Re: Pas d'Armes of St Michael's Abbey

Re: Pas d'Armes of St Michael's Abbey

Re: Pas d'Armes of St Michael's Abbey

Re: Pas d'Armes of St Michael's Abbey

Re: Plaque belts for sale.

Re: Plaque belts for sale.

Re: Online maunscripts?

Re: Show me some great kits 14th century mafia

Re: Show me some great kits 14th century mafia

Re: Show me some great kits 14th century mafia

Height of ocularia (aka eye slot) on extant bascinets?

Re: Leather Tooling Stamps

Re: Show me some great kits 14th century mafia

Re: Pas d'Armes of St Michael's Abbey

Leather Tooling Stamps