The Armour Archive

Ernst

3 klappvisier (folding visor) examples in the upper right, 2 of which are of the keyhole variety. Trinci Palace, Foligno, Italy, 1410-1411.

http://armourinart.com/media/armourinar ... al/517.jpg

Ernst

In BNF Francais 343, many knights wear a peculiar type of shallow visor with their centre-point bascinets. I cannot recall many other depictions of them, but Italian documents mention visors which were piccole , arrotate , not pontutte , or not grandi . How certain are we that the depictions in Fr....

Ernst

Goll's ref_arm_1528 in the RA has those wedge-like "posts" on the left side, but not the right.

Ernst

Sean, But the problem I am seeing is the tense. Very often the term is plural. Early on it is singular. That strikes me as odd. That said I have found a few later ones that are singular but plates is in most accounts I have seen more/most common. I have very limited availability in German sadly but...

Ernst

https://archive.org/details/diucrnevonheinr00trgoog PDF page 330/573, book page 273 I'm fairly certain this is Gregory's second passage: 111 Fabel unde mære Die fabelierære Begunden sâ ze hant sagen. Ouch wurden ûf den sal getragen 115 Schàchzabel unde spilbret ; Und wurden sâ zuo der sfet Gehangen ...

Ernst

Its always a good idea to check Google's OCR of old texts, because it seems to have been 'trained' on English texts in modern fonts without accents over any letters. That text uses circumflex â even if it may not have umlaut ä. Quite so, but I took the expeditious route by downloading the "Full Tex...

Ernst

There's also this stuff - 1" cotton upholstery rope or cord. https://www.onlinefabricstore.net/upholstery-piping-cord-1-inch-1-lb-.htm?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google+-+PLA+-+Shopping&utm_term=pla&utm_content=7vvP4jtBdc|pcrid|57080269693|pkw|pla|pmt|e|&gclid=CjwKEAjwqqmsBRDGy_3h...

Ernst

Most plates, dishes, pans are round (L. patina, patena, paten used at communion, etc.) but that's not a guaranteed descriptor.

Ernst

The Iron Age Tiefenau 6:1 fragment is about the right width for a collar (or a myriad of other things). There's the 6:1 breast on the Kremlin's kolchuga, Кольчуга 4469, but every new example is one more rarity.

Ernst

For comparison, The Norwegian King's Mirror / Speculum Regale / Konungs-skuggsjá , usually dated c. 1250 calls for a good breastplate to be worn under mail. English: https://archive.org/stream/kingsmirrorspecu00konuuoft/kingsmirrorspecu00konuuoft_djvu.txt Old Norse : https://books.google.com/books?i...

Ernst

That would be good to put next to the William de Barres quote which everyone knows from Blair (and from Dan's Maille: Unchained ). When you just have one source its hard to be sure about many things, but when you can put a few together ... Philippidos , Book III, Guillaume le Breton's original Lati...

Ernst

That happens because the wrist is narrower than the hand. To slide it over the hand and get a tight fit at the wrist you have to bind the mail, or split the cuff and close it with some sort of fastener. Double thickness cuffs supposedly help prevent fraying as well as adding additional weight to mak...

Ernst

So is the cross-grained, tighter mail used because the wrist was felt to be vulnerable, or is it for the same reason that cuffs and collars on dress shirts are of doubled layers?

Ernst

I has sad.

Ernst

One historic requirement gives a minimum weight of 3 pounds of stuffing. Others mention two fingers thickness of loose fill. Towels will weigh more than loose fiber, and be more compressed. You could always shred the towels to increase loft, but I wouldn't expect more than three layers of towels wou...

Ernst

Here's one for you, Tom. Photos appear to be from Medka, who has previously posted images of a mail coif from Bulgaria. This is reportedly in the Kavarna History Museum in Bulgaria, and is associated with the Battle of Varna in Novenber 1444. Like the British Museum example, it has a 6:1 weave in th...

Ernst

Any soft fluffy material can be used, but synthetics like polyester should be avoided due to their heat retention. Free or nearly free sources might include dryer lint from your local laundomat, cattails (documented historical stuffing), loose cotton (easier to find in the Deep South), kapok from ol...

Ernst

185 An dem andern morgen Vil gar unverborgen Manie belt ze velde san, Der sîn hosen schuobte an, Dar über sin schellier ; 190 Ein wambeis unde ein collier Muost er haben dar nâch: Hie mite was ime niht gâch; Sô muost ein halsperc wesen dâ bî, Dar nâch zwên knappen oder drî, 195 Die ime die coifen s...

Ernst

Perhaps? 855 Zwên helme sam ein Spiegelglas Und veste sam ein adamas. Als nû der harnasch brâht wart, Her Keiî ez niht langer spart, Er gurte den lendeniere . 860 Dar nâch wart er vil schiere In sîn îsergolzen geschuocht; Ein wambeis wart ime gesuocht Von einem buckeram blanc, Einer spannen von der ...

Ernst

Good references. An 1852 edition is available online. If you have line numbers rather than page numbers, it might be easier to locate. https://archive.org/details/diucrnevonheinr00trgoog

Ernst

Linen shell, loose cotton or tow stuffing, and a silk cover (if money isn't an issue).

Ernst

I don't know if the Lough Henney helm is "technically" a barbute, but it's got the same good vision and breathability. If you're trying to tune your persona/portrayal to your armor, there's a big difference between early 13th century crusader, 15th century Italian Renn, and Tudor Era Scots-Irish. Tr...

Ernst

Barbutes give excellent vision down the front opening as well as good ventilation. They are certainly not appropriate for the 13th century, late crusader look.

Ernst

The topic of mail changing weave directions has come up before. It seems to be common in art, like the Magdeburg St. Maurice's coif, but lately it seems I'm noticing it on cuffs. Here's a couple of examples ("almost forming a pair") from Thomas Del Mar's upcoming auction. http://www.thomasdelmar.com...

Ernst

Peter Mustonen from Finland has had good results dipping mail in very dilute citric acid (lemon juice?) with some brushing, and then using dishwashing powder (which is alkaline) to follow up. If you want to keep the verdigris patina on the copper-alloy plate, you'll have to coat it with wax or some ...

Ernst

Another miniature, from the British Library, Add MS 10294 fo.59v, dated to 1316 by an inscription, St. Omer or Tournai, France.

http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.asp ... 0294_f059v

: BL Add MS 10294 fo059v-nasal.jpg (48.13 KiB) Viewed 736 times

Ernst

There are two additional rivets on each cuff plate to rivet the plates to the base glove. I'm simply amazed at the time taken to carve the mail as interlocking rings.

Ernst

How will it act on the copper-alloy?

Ernst

English sources sometimes use "Great" bascinet, French sources "Grand". Here's an example.
https://www.academia.edu/12959348/Les_p ... i%C3%A8cle

Ernst

Some Scottish references to "plaitsleives" -

https://books.google.com/books?id=7s0mA ... es&f=false

Ernst

I confess I am developing a pet peeve. In all of the manuscript miniatures showing men wearing linen coifs, the ties are always fastened. Re-enactors seem unable to tie a knot. (OK, there is Simone Martini's slovenly musician: http://www.wga.hu/art/s/simone/3assisi/scenes/33knight.jpg ) Here is a pa...

Ernst

Great reference, Dan.

Ernst

The Marmaduke inventory also contains a listing for whalebone gauntlets, Cirotecæ de balayn xii d., a bit further down the list. I wonder if they were constructed in similar manner?

Ernst

The roundels at the ears are a giveaway for footsoldier gear. Being foot hasn't stopped the chap on Mister Green's left from wearing what looks like an armet over his chocolate brown whatsit. Except that they seem to be with other mounted men. Roundels appear on the sides of helmets besides sallets...

Ernst

One more example from the same mss.

: Cod. Bodmer 49 fo137v.jpg (84.68 KiB) Viewed 309 times

And a small copy of a non-armor miniature to get the feel of the grayscale...

: Cod. Bodmer 49 fo098r.jpg (39.38 KiB) Viewed 308 times

Re: Small Visors in the Queste del Saint Graal

Re: Small Visors in the Queste del Saint Graal

Re: Small Visors in the Queste del Saint Graal

Re: Interesting Armour Quotes from "The Crown" c. 1230

Re: Interesting Armour Quotes from "The Crown" c. 1230

Re: Interesting Armour Quotes from "The Crown" c. 1230

Re: Thinking about Gambeson

Re: Interesting Armour Quotes from "The Crown" c. 1230

Re: Discussion of extant mail standards

Re: Interesting Armour Quotes from "The Crown" c. 1230

Re: Interesting Armour Quotes from "The Crown" c. 1230

Re: Mail cuffs

Re: Mail cuffs

Re: Mail cuffs

Re: Thinking about Gambeson

Re: Discussion of extant mail standards

Re: Thinking about Gambeson

Re: Interesting Armour Quotes from "The Crown" c. 1230

Re: Interesting Armour Quotes from "The Crown" c. 1230

Re: Interesting Armour Quotes from "The Crown" c. 1230

Re: What would you use for gambeson materials...

Re: Questions about fighting in great helms

Re: Questions about fighting in great helms

Mail cuffs

Re: Cleaning an antique maille shirt of it's rust

Re: Bascinet question for 14th century scholars of the obscu

Re: Early 14th century gauntlets

Re: Cleaning an antique maille shirt of it's rust

Re: Is this armour documentable? OR Brigandines + armets

Re: Panzerarms

Coif ties

Re: Panzerarms

Re: Panzerarms

Re: Is this armour documentable? OR Brigandines + armets

Re: Is this armour documentable? OR Brigandines + armets