The Armour Archive

Egfroth

I take it you are putting a piece on the back that protects the back of your neck. Is this based on a historical example, or is it for SCA combat, or simply something you want to do because you like the idea? As far as I recall, few spangenhelms had these rear extensions. However, the best way I kno...

Egfroth

The late 6th century AD Strategikon of Byzantine Emperor Maurice describes the testudo or foulkon , as exactly the same formation, so it continued after the "classical" Roman period by several centuries. ------------------ Egfroth "I can hear the word money from a distance of fifty miles, if the win...

Egfroth

Your best bet with these is to look more at the Primary Source pictures in the main text than the coloured reconstruction drawings, and form your own conclusions. Your guess may be as good as that of the artists. What particular period are you interested in? There are many people on this forum with ...

Egfroth

You could also have a look at my site at http://www.geocities.com/egfroth1/ScaleArmour.html for a few archaeological examples. ------------------ Egfroth "I can hear the word money from a distance of fifty miles, if the wind's in the right direction" Major Dennis Bloodnok, Queen's Forty-Third Desert...

Egfroth

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Sirmarc: . . thanks for the nice comment on my first attempt...coming from you makes me feel like maybe this helm project isn't a waste of time after all.... Sirmarc</f...

Egfroth

Yes it's certainly very pretty, but I have to point out that it's actually Anglo-Saxon, and dates to about 45 years before the first recorded Viking raid. However, I guess the Norseness of the helmet wanted wasn't in question, just how to make one. Ioxonymous, what kind (date and region) of spangenh...

Egfroth

For a first attempt, that is impressive. I look forward to your further products. ------------------ Egfroth "I can hear the word money from a distance of fifty miles, if the wind's in the right direction" Major Dennis Bloodnok, Queen's Forty-Third Deserters (retd.) see my webpage at www.geocities.c...

Egfroth

You might also like to have a look at my own page on making a spangenhelm, at http://www.geocities.com/egfroth1/HbkSpangen.html ------------------ Egfroth "I can hear the word money from a distance of fifty miles, if the wind's in the right direction" Major Dennis Bloodnok, Queen's Forty-Third Deser...

Egfroth

Oh, Hal - you're such a show-pony . . . ------------------ Egfroth "I can hear the word money from a distance of fifty miles, if the wind's in the right direction" Major Dennis Bloodnok, Queen's Forty-Third Deserters (retd.) see my webpage at www.geocities.com/egfrothos [This message has been edited...

Egfroth

I think it is as simple as the fact that exaggerated points on shos were a fashion of the time, which got extended to armour (as did many other fashions, like peasecod doublets in the 16th century) ------------------ Egfroth "I can hear the word money from a distance of fifty miles, if the wind's in...

Egfroth

Though the |Frakish shields have the solid bar/handle, all the Byzanine illustrations I've seen that show the back of a round shield have a similar "grip: sytem to the one above - with two straps, usually held in the one hand. Though it seems this would not make for a very firm grip, it is what is s...

Egfroth

Frankish shields have an interesting iron reinforcement/handgrip basically in the shape of a bar with a sort of fleur de lys pattern at each end. If you had to describe it heraldically, it'd be something like "a pale flory". The "fleurs" are very basic - more just three bits of iron strip diverging ...

Egfroth

Yes, that's certainly a possibility. There are plenty of these around. When i was in Turkey, I was told they could be bought in the markets, but I never saw one. Plenty in museums, though. The construction method seems VERY labour-intensive, but I suppose it was worth it if it saved your life. I und...

Egfroth

The simple answer is "no". There seem to be just about no fragments around, and none of these seem to be of convex/conical round shields (which, by the way, are also seen in Anglo-Saxon and Frankish sources). We are left with conjecture as to how they were made: wickerwork? Plywood? Barrel staves? A...

Egfroth

May I suggest you look here to get an idea of the kind of look you should be after. This is the re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings that took place in 2000, and some things are not appropriate for the main Viking period - you'd have to drop the kite shield in favour of a round shield with a centr...

Egfroth

Halvgrim, I have a photo of the Cologne helmet. I'll scan it and send it to you. Very interesting construction method, but what is pressbleck? ------------------ Egfroth "I can hear the word money from a distance of fifty miles, if the wind's in the right direction" Major Dennis Bloodnok, Queen's Fo...

Egfroth

In Oz, NZ and the UK, there are no visor requirements, though nasals are recommended. Hell, in the UK some people fight without helmets. (Not my cup of tea, but their rules are different - head shots are forbidden). Visor requirements are likely to be a matter of the style of fighting. No face shots...

Egfroth

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by JohnBlack: No hammers or backspikes, got it. I grew up on D&D, so I'm still learning what is authentic and what isn't. I like the style of the bearded axe, looks a little b...

Egfroth

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Russ Mitchell: (I'm swamped and playing hooky for just a wee bit: yes, Anna, I can read this, though I'd need my dictionary. It's a beautiful work.) Egfroth, I don't have time ...

Egfroth

OK - if you look at the first folio, the artistic style is 14th century, as are the clothes. Folio 21v's armour is suggestive of the first half of the 14th century - schynbalds rather than full greaves, but mostly mail, ailettes (late 13th/early 14th). The round-topped kettle-hats say 1st half of th...

Egfroth

LAM -uh-luh. BTW, the way that word is spelt, it means a single plate. More than one plate is lamellae , and the armour is called lamellar (ie lamellar armour - armour made of lamellae). The word is linked in meaning to "laminate" ------------------ Egfroth "I can hear the word money from a distanc...

Egfroth

Actually, it depends. In the Viking and pre-Viking period, they were attached through holes in the rim of the helmet. The Valsgarde 8 helmet and the Coppergate helmet both have aventails attached this way, and the Gjermundbu helmet has a few remaining rings from an aventail through holes in the rim....

Egfroth

An interesting piece of information which I came across recently refers to the afct that after the Act of Union in the early 18th century, the Scots realised how POOR they had been before union with England. I mean DIRT poor! And that was the merchant class in the lowlands. Heaven only knows how the...

Egfroth

Does it have to be SCA legal? I've put plans for a simple spangenhelm up at http://www.geocities.com/egfroth1/HbkSpangen.html or if you want to make a Byzantine one from a spun helmet shell, you could use the pattern at http://www.geocities.com/egfroth1/SimpleSpunDomHelm.html - it doesn't need any d...

Egfroth

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Will Knight: If I remember right, Egfroth, the Taborites were whiped out, but the other faction, (I forget the name) made piece with the Empire...I think. -Will<H...

Egfroth

I'd say the sabatons were made of scale. Not terribly common, but this was a period of considerable experimentation, and scale gauntlets are known about, plus there is at least one picture extant of scale greaves.

Egfroth

Guillaume, "Victorian" is a term used by people raised in the English-speaking tradition to refer to the reign of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) of England. Used by mediaevalists as something of a term of abuse, particularly when coupled with the word "reproduction". In this period, the middle ages beco...

Egfroth

Hussites - followers of the protestant Jan Hus; basically early-mid 15th century Bohemia. Very effective, mainly lower/middle class troops, invented things lkt the fortified battle wagon, with guns mounted on it. Finally wiped out by the Catholic lords f the area, but gave them a very hard time for ...

Egfroth

The Stuttgart Psalter shows one as early as 820AD (if it is a helmet)and they appear in pictures from Western Europe (mainly France) in the 11th century, but of course it's one of those "givens" that they didn't start getting used till the mid-late 12th century). In that century they are shown over ...

Egfroth

Tolkien also fought for his spelling of "dwarves" as an alternative to "dwarfs". He said the plural ought to have been "dwarrows" if the dwarf had been as much of our everyday life down the centuries as, say, the sheep. As it is, he spelt the plural the way he did partly out of a feeling of rightnes...

Egfroth

Go with steel. Definitely. It's the only way to really get the feel of how a proper weapon works in the hand. And don't worry about weight. A properly made steel swor weighs no more than 3 pounds. If you want advice on which might be most suited to you, check out the Netsword site, and/or Swordforum...

Egfroth

I don't think there's much doubt that the things on the shoulder are a kind of pauldron. I've seen reconstructions in both leather and metal, and both seem to work well. I'm sure everybody knows how I feel about Osprey, but their Byzantine Armies 886-1118 book has another primary source example on p...

Egfroth

I hope you don't think this is faithful to the books, by the way. Tolkien specifically refers to the Rohirrim as wearing "bright mail", which is different from scale armour - very. However, it depends on what you want it for. As a Tolkien nerd, I tend to pick holes in the movie's rendition of my fav...

Egfroth

As I recall, Edge & Paddock's "Arms and Armour of the Mediaeval Knight" has a photo of a mail "standard" (collar) in which the mail at the collar is quite obviously of a tighter weave than normal mail. I think i's in the chapter on the 15th century. ------------------ Egfroth "I can hear the word mo...

Egfroth

I've been able to trace variants of the military fork back as far as the middle of the 12th century. Have a look at the first and fourth pictures here . They appear to be a weapon of the licentious soldiery rather than the knightly class, but they were certainly used. ------------------ Egfroth "I c...