The Armour Archive

Ernst

If the museum is correct, here's an example.

http://www.flg.es/ficha.asp?ID=7927

Of course hats come in many styles.

So if a "birrete de acero" is acceptae for a "chapel de fer"...

http://www.flg.es/ficha.asp?ID=2608

Ernst

Another often reproduced image of an early visor is from Ms. Add. 10294, fo.81v, a French Arthurian manuscript of c. 1316. (The fellow with the blue ailettes has the helmet in question.)

http://www.imagesonline.bl.uk/britishli ... 5945_1.jpg

Ernst

It may be that what you're seeing as rivets, I'm seeing as breaths. Anyway, the use of reinforcing plates was certainly known by the opening of the 14th century, if that is what this Codex Manesse image shows.

http://www.tempora-nostra.de/manesse/img/065a.jpg

Ernst

chef, I found a fairly good drawing of the Valence figure on Google Image under the alternate "Aylmer" de Valence. Unfortunately, it only shows a mail coif over a pillow. Since these tombs tend to have quite a canopy of gothic architecture and usually a substantial base, it's possible a helmet might...

Ernst

chef, Do I understand correctly that early visored bascinets are also included in the search? If so, there are some commonly depicted examples from the Manesse, Vie de St. Denis, one of the Norwegian stave churches, etc. If anyone else wants to take the time to look at the KA 20 examples, I'm curiou...

Ernst

The top register of this miniature from the Holkham Story Bible also has some interesting examples. m There's also an almost perfect matched pair to be found in two books of 1325-6. The Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux, ff.15v 'Arrest of Christ' (best online scan I could find) has a true "miniature". m Whil...

Ernst

I have spent some time considering early sclae gauntlets, and I'm sure some searches here, at 75 Years, and even at Firestryker will probably bring up my general thoughts. The Vie de St. Denis, presented in 1317 has a number of examples. A B&W copy of fo.129r is readily available in Osprey's MAA 231...

Ernst

There are a number of peculiar plates, whether reinforcing bevors or visors, in the Spieghel Historial of Jacob van Maerlant of c. 1325-35. (Shelfmark KA 20)

http://www.kb.nl/kb/manuscripts/search/index.html

Folio 34r and most of the panoramic battle scenes seem to show them.

Ernst

Charles ffoulkes goes on at length about cleaning mail in barrels with sand and vinegar. (The Armourer and His Craft, pp. 78ff.) It seems the stanard method for polishing the insides of barrels for beer, cider, or ale, was to roll them around with vinegar (spoiled cider or wine) mixed with sand and ...

Ernst

Nathan's caveat concerning restoration work weighs heavily on my mind, as a few Google searches for St. Austremoine reveal the abbey church to have been "restored" in the 1830s. Relying on a possibly 19th century carving for evidence of 11th century gambesons is asking for problems. The translation ...

Ernst

Glen, I think the interpretation of art is difficult and often open to interpretation. I think inventory records and other literary evidence combined with the visual arts make it less likely that these garments are gambesons, aketons, etc. and more likely that they represent gored and draped tunics....

Ernst

Certainly the paint is restored. Has the capital been restored as well? My first impression might be that these are folds of the tunic worn beneath the hauberk.

Ernst

Good news guys! The original text give us the solution. Infact "Panno loricae" means exactly "Armor made with cloth (or with rags)". It's quite clear that it is a padded garment. But isn't the text from Gerald of Wales dated to 1188, one year after the English assize lists such armors as an alterna...

Ernst

My wife's SCA arms were based on an heraldic gown she made. First submission sailed clean through. My first submission was held by the local herald. It wouldn't have passed, but was based on sable, a cross formy or. I liked the easy contrast of black and gold. After a new herald spent some consultin...

Ernst

As it is quite commonly accepted that padded garments were generally worn post-hastings I am looking for period sources talking about the manufacture and appearance of the padded armour of the time. Can anyone help me in my search? I don't know that the wearing of padded armors under mail as early ...

Ernst

If I'm not mistaken, Matthew of Paris is generally given credit for illustrating "Lives of the Offas". As early thirteenth century illustators go, he's pretty good.

Ernst

They get dispensed with when the other guys don't have any grounding for appreciating your artistry (can't understand the words you're chanting) and don't particularly give a dang about your martial glory, which is what these rituals basically showcase. I don't know. Sometimes a culture's own tradi...

Ernst

Yeah, been there done that myself. My best guess to answer your questiion is no. When mufflers are shown thrown off the hand, no padded mitten remains on the hand, and the mail is often shown with the inside of the mitten exposed, which reveals a "mail" pattern, rather than a "padded linen" pattern....

Ernst

Although extending to the Fourth Crusade, the ProvenÃ§al troubador Bertran de Born (c.1140-1215) does mention "helms of color" in his song celebrating warfare, "Be.m plai lo temps de pascor". Unfortunately, no details on how the color was affixed are given. Paint applied directly or painted cloth gl...

Ernst

For the early 13th century, the only hand protection is mail mufflers (mittens) attached to the hauberk sleeves. No separate gauntlets of any kind appear until the latter part of the century. If it's for SCA combat, why not go with a basket hilt? The rattan doesn't look accurate anyway, but the armo...

Ernst

I recently discovered the wealth of images from the Museo LÃ¡ÂºÂ¡ro Galdiano... m Alas, some of the items in this museum seem to be 19th century forgeries... I noticed that seems to be the case on "complete" harnesses, but less so on individual arms like the ear daggers or cinquedeas. Then again, e...

Ernst

Some of the Dominican finds from Concepcion de la Vega came back to Florida. On the armor side there's an image of a rather large mail fragment, reportedly of latten, but the majolica ware is nicer IMHO.

www.flmnh.ufl.edu/histarch/

Ernst

Albrecht von Arnsperg wrote:The Osprey book German Medieval Armies has a pic of an early 14th century German knight wearing a greathelm with quite large wings. Anybody know the source?

Yes. It's another Manesse image.
http://www.tempora-nostra.de/manesse/img/053.jpg

Ernst

Dan is correct concerning the terminology, and even H.R. Robinson confessed to such when assuming the name for the construction. However, the construction of scales woven into mail was used in Rome, and is (by whatever name) an historical armor. That said, the historical armor uses a riveted bronze ...

Ernst

Here's a chanfron and three arÃ§on plates. The saddle reinforcements look like the decorative pattern would be easily transferred.

http://www.flg.es/ficha.asp?ID=7269
http://www.flg.es/ficha.asp?ID=7318
http://www.flg.es/ficha.asp?ID=7319
http://www.flg.es/ficha.asp?ID=7320

Ernst

I recently discovered the wealth of images from the Museo LÃ¡zaro Galdiano. You can follow the link and enter "armas" in the search box. Google Image brings up about twenty pages of jpg's w/o the information. m Here's a low quality Spanish war hat, a wonderful German sallet, and the armored biretta ...

Ernst

There is an image of a Castillian Knight on the painted leather ceiling in the Alhambra. He's got a bascinet and front-buttoned jupon over his blackened plate, IIRC. Perhaps a Google search will turn up an online version.

Ernst

The account of the hidalgo from Elvas (Yelves) is available online.

http://www.siu.edu/~anthro/muller/Elvas.htm

Portuguese sword guards also seem distinct.

http://www.arscives.com/bladesign/discoverieswords.htm

http://www.arscives.com/cejunior/portarmour/005.htm

Ernst

The Met does have a photography and slide department which deals with obtaining images. Dr. Nickel is indeed helpful, even in retirement. (As an aside, he may have been affected by Hurricane Wilma, as he now resides in Marco Island, FL.) In my experience, he always goes the extra step in sharing inf...

Ernst

Spanish Arms and Armour: Being a Historical and Descriptive Account of the Royal Armoury of Madrid, Albert F. Calvert, John Lane Company, New York, NY 1907. There's probably something more recent, but LSU at least had a copy of the old text at the Middleton. Not that everything in Spain is Spanish m...

Ernst

Hi all, I'm doing some research on a halberd from Arkansas. I have found an image of a similar style halberd in an old Aldus Books children's encyclopedia volume which credits the Clements with the image rights. Unfortunately, Aldus didn't give any other information on source, the Clements doesn't r...

Ernst

Left alone, the galvanized wire will turn a dark gray. Most medieval sources refer to mail as being bright or gleaming, since keeping-up one's equipment was considered a sign of character.

Ernst

Early 14th c. Codex Manesse arms of Heinrich von Stretlingin:

http://www.tempora-nostra.de/manesse/img/030.jpg

And perhaps this example as well:

http://www.tempora-nostra.de/manesse/img/059.jpg

Ernst

I well remember the thread on the R&A board. I believe the kolbenturnier helms which survive are only dated 30 or 40 years after the Fiori illustration, and might serve as a possible basis for reconstruction. I would suggest a visor plate to attach to the pivots and grill. The grill would possibly b...

Ernst

There's the English Rothschild Canticle example of c. 1300 (MS 404, folio 134r) at the Beinecke Library at Yale:

http://130.132.81.124/MEDRENMSS/size3/D0010/1011771.jpg

Re: 11th/12th Century Gambessons

Clements Library, U. of Michigan