The Armour Archive

Cet

Chef, could you recommend any sources which might suggest the style of the decoration applied to armours in the 14th and 15th century i.e whether they might have used foliate work, vernacular or latin mottos, harladic beasties etc... ?

Cet

Asbjorn usually wears a a linen shirt under his arming cote. Mine is lined with satin ( as per the piece Gwen cited above) and I most likely won't wear a shirt with it so at some point we'll be able to compare wear with As's cote. I know of at least one manuscript Ill' from the 14th century showing ...

Cet

Adam, you truely have two of the most inspirational SCa kits I've seen. One of these days I've got to get you to tell me how you find time to work on stuff for yourself

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Cet

Why do you need them to be cast?

Cet

Becasue regardless or in spite of what comes after it says "touch" which means light contact.

Cet

Inspection lines are long enough as it is. In addition to what Murdock said: KEMs need to have a clear understanding of the rules as written and make sure theyreflect actuall practice. If there is a disconect they need to see it gets fixed and the fix widely publicized, not just by word of mouth but...

Cet

To my knowldege we don't have sufficient detailed information regarding the cause of death in period battles to say one way or another. How many detailed accounts of a killing blow can you cite and what percentage of the approximate deaths in battle do they acount for?

Cet

I'd make it to order Gregory so I can do whatever size will work with your padding and coif.

Cet

I can sell you a 13ga or 12ga mild top that looks more like a bascinet from your period for $85 and it will be welded inside and out.

PM or E-mail me if your interested.

Dave

Cet

Hi Gregory, Aside from the effigy you've cited cloured bascinets appear in the Romance of Alexander ( 1338-44), ( at leat one red one and several sort of a beige), and Henry II made regulations banning the sale of bascinets covered with material. I would swear that someone once posted something here...

Cet

Hi Patrick, Solid breastplates form the 14th century are often referred to as "globose breastplates" so your terminology is OK. Breastplates from this era essentially follow the skeletal structure, with the bottom edge of the breastplate ending just about at the botom of the ribcage or a little past...

Cet

From a practicle point of view Greathelms actually provide better vision than a period visored bascinet. You can see a suprising amount through the breath holes when they are all in a plane- on the bascinet visors the breaths sit at angles to your eyes.

Plus you can put crests ona great helm!

Cet

Hi Greg, The exact cut off between bascinet and cervellier is a bit of a grey area. I think you'd be fine mounting a bretache on a bascinet provided it doesn't have the very high skulls that come into vouge during the last quarter of the 14th century and into the 15th. Off the top of my head, I'd sa...

Cet

No problem Greg. I figured the pic might help with some inspiration. If you look over Gaston's right shoulder, I'm wearing a bascinet with the bretache ( mail extension over the bargrill) that Wil is describing. I dont have the double layer of mail arount the temples though The visibility throught h...

Cet

Hi Greg, Your choices fall among a sugarloaf, conical topped great helm, bascinet, and kettlehat. I would choose one of the first two unless you have a budget for an aventail to go on the bascinet or mail to cover the lower part of the kettlehat. I think the argument that conical great helms are dan...

Cet

Since i aspire to make plate at the level of the platteners mentioned, (excepting Blankenshield) buying it would feel like throwing in the towl. Consequently my money would go to Erik Schmid for the chausses, hauberk and aventail for a mid 14th century kit. It might actually cover most of that.

Cet

Klause,

You should send this pic to Erik Schmidt in case he misses it here. The helm in question bears a resemblance to one on an effigy he's asked about on the ARS board.

Cet

I'm sorry but your pictures make no sense to me. What type of cuirass are you trying to reproduce?

Cet

Hi Owen, I can't really speak to the historical basis for the terms and why they are used, though it's an interesting question. Part of the confusion in usage is due to terms such as "commercial bronze", which are sort of trade names if you will, being conflated with the technical terms used by meta...

Cet

Nice job! I have no issuees with it as far as hitting too hard.
Have you considered staining the rattan to make it look more like wood?

Cet

Cool suggestions. There seems to be little information available in English about medieval Spain in general, which is a shame as there was all kinds of interesting things goindg on such as the orders you mention.

Cet

The MSD sheets I've got on commercial bronze show it as 1 part tin to 9 parts copper. If it is zinc, then it is brass, although there are other metals in the various types of brass. Interesting. I'm going by these: m m While from a metalurgical point of view it is certainly a brass as it has greate...

Cet

Brian,

How is your bascinet lined/paded and how far does it sit off your head around the temples and face opening?

Cet

Your family background is no issue what-so-ever nor is portraying a Hospitlar.
Neither gives you claim to an SCA title or rights to adopt the symbols of a KSCA.

Cet

Very cool. Having made scales similar to E and F in the past buying them would be attractive if the price is right. Is size info available? It will be interesting to see what they are calling bronze. I was unable to find any tin/copper bronzes in sheet form and ended up using "comercial bronze" whic...

Cet

Yield to a leg blow? Never. Unthinkable.

Why do you say this?

Cet

I've used both and for just hogging off chuncks of plate either would work well. I'd probably go with a nibbler myself as it can cut more intricate shapes which makes it more usefull for other things. I've usually found nibbled edges pretty clean myself- it probably depends on the sharpness of the t...

Cet

Same here. I'd be happy to pay costs for copying and mailing.

Cet

I have a copy of the journal Your Grace. E-mail me and I can arrange toget the info to you.

Cet Donegal
Squire to His Grace Sir Ronald Wilmot

Cet

The sources you described- brasses and effigies are prety much the best we have for the period you're looking at. To the best of my knowledge ythat are no extant bascinets from this period with a clearly English provenance. What refrences of effigies or brasses do you ahve available to you? I may be...

Cet

zero interest

Cet

e-mail Mord

Cet

I think its great idea and the draft looks good

Cet

Some simple bascinets usually called cervelliers (sp?), intended for use under great helms or by foot soldiors would been worn without visors and would not have provisions for visors. Most visored bascinets have a provision for removing the visor when not needed. Some folks believe (myself included)...

Cet

I agree with Asbjorns' suggestion . It may help to have the options we've been discussing made comparable to something that is allready being allowed by the SEM.