The Armour Archive

Norman

As I started my first post on this -- let's come to terms -- we are all just overgrown little kids playing at soldiers anything further is nit-picking The SCA is squarely within this definition - an event consists of human in-character interaction within a generic medieval scenario. I disagree. I, n...

Norman

I would consider LARPing a game, where as I would consider the SCA a sport. There are multiple sports played within the SCA - Rattan batton "fighting" Steel weapon "fencing" Archery Bocci Ball Competitive flirting Hurley (or is that "Hurling"?) But these are all played...

Norman

The difference between LARP and SCA - the self-identified LARPers I've known have both a better grasp of reality and of acting * the LARPer would get the spec for the scenario, prepare the costume to conform to requirements (and here there was a point of pride not to skimp out), prepare the charact...

Norman

I used to belong to this amazing reenactment unit. We mostly did WWII Eastern Front , but often we also did Russian Civil War, sometimes Romantic period dueling culture (all those 19th century dueling poets), and once in a while we dabled in Medieval or American West. What was realy amazing is that ...

Norman

Hal,
So you are only riveting the panels at the bottom and then holding them in place between a sandwich of upward frame bands?

Is this based on a particular find or set of finds?

Norman

Vermin wrote:A Greek god with "gothic" armour?.....(facepalm)

You mean as opposed to Perseus in ... "Mad Max" armour ?

I s'pose gotta keep those designers employed
Wouldn't do to just look at some decent historical pieces/ artwork

Norman

Giano, Please do look up the details I'm not much interested in cultish practices. If we went that way, we can probably document human sacrifices by Americans today. And I am very weary of religious propaganda (as a Jew, we are still living down wholy unfouded, yet persistant accusations of that sor...

Norman

What's realy bizzare is when SCA heralds reject names for spelling when the originals are not in a latin alphabet.
Or, on the other hand allow nonsence to pass because of a transliteration odity
(ie: A fellow documented Yoda based on an odd transliteration of Judah from a Yidish manuscript)

Norman

Keep the larger rings in the skirting
It is certainly a period thing to do

If you're making it bigger, do so in matching ring size for the area you are making bigger.

Norman

Thomas Powers wrote:The Armourer and His Craft: From the XIth to the XVIth Century (ISBN: 0486258513 / 0-486-25851-3) Charles ffoulkes

starring Liam Neeson as Ffoulkes

Norman

I bought mine oh ...bout 10 years back. The HF shear specs are supposed to be equal to the B1 Beverly shear. So you will definitely not like it if you were looking at the B2. If you were looking at the B1 As I understand, the issue with HF shear was with consistency of manufacture -- some people rec...

Norman

Mord wrote:Adam of Breman describes the pagan festival of hanging people in the sacred trees in 11th century Sweden.
Mord.

Can you point me to an online text (or PM a scan)? What is the context? Is Adam a church man talking about the evils of paganism or more of a neutral traveler?

Norman

I am wondering if any of our members have anything to fill in my knowledge on the subject -- Comparatively well known is the quite detailed description by Ibn Fadlan of the ship burial/burning of a Rus chief on the Volga where a slave woman is sacrificed to accompany him in the afterlife. You can re...

Norman

The only Spear of Destiny or the Spear of Longinus that I'm aware of (that we know what it looks like) is the one known as the Hofburg spear. This is the artifact that was in the possession of Hilter and by reports Patton. This is correct, save for the Roman nail bound by wire into the spear. ...a ...

Norman

My period is substantialy earlier but -- For 8-11 cent. East European Turks the finds seem to be linen and silk and warm coats with fur liner and linen or silk outside. There are bits of leather for hats maybe (or maybe just light-armour hats) Cotton seems to be an African fabric (Egypt and such) - ...

Norman

I have to check my copy of "Arms and Armour of the Samurai" Almost certain this is an Irish Prince with an armour he got as a diplomatic present. Late 16th early 17th there is an armour at the Royal Armouries that was given as a present to some other Brit diplomat In a similar vein, there ...

Norman

Norman, I have to say first, that I am an admirer of your sites. I apreciate the apreciation I made it based on designs from helmet plates and goldgubbe. We don't know whether they were made in leather, but on the Vendel XIV helmet plates, a coat is seen supporting an angon which has pierced its fa...

Norman

I need to get a copy of that paper that refutes the reconstruction of that find as body armour. There are a couple of guys in this kingdom (one of them a local old-timer) who wear and fight in inaccurate armour based on that old and false reconstruction, calling it a "stave-coat" and I'd ...

Norman

I also got out Quest For Fire, if you haven't seen it it's really quite a good movie Yes, that one has the most accurate medieval armour reconstructions as relevant to its storyline that I have seen any movie. I rented from the the library a book called The Armorers Craft, (can't remember the autho...

Norman

you can see some pictures from the Sutton Hoo festival in August, posted by my friend, Alain Nice, who runs Musee des temps des Barbares in Marle France: m Paul, I have two questions on that event -- or on two specific items at the event. Maybe you know the folks and can ask. 1. This fellow's leath...

Norman

I was more looking for ideas of the types of stores that might carry them. I am seeking metal rivets, not leather rivets. When I started armouring, I walked through every single hardware store in Manhattan from a little below China Town up through midtown. I found one store in Grenwich village (sam...

Norman

It could also be 19th century - which would explain why everything is one clean suit but the styling is all over the place ...and per Destichado's observation the over-straight arm defenses. I vaguely remember reading about a tournament revival in the early 19th century (I forget which English king)

Norman

I made a (sort of,) great helm out of an old filing cabinet I had lying around and want too improve and make better ones. The one I made I'm not sure of the metal thickness but it could be around 14-16ga. If it was a filing cabinet it is more likely 20 guage. To get out of SCA mode for a little. Gr...

Norman

I've always liked the Jade and other semi-precious stone mace heads
and a little less than that I like the brass ones shaped like animal heads.

But I don't think you can use any of those for SCA fighting

sorry

Norman

Derian and I could grant permission to our hypothetical son to be Derianus le Breton. But we couldn't give him permission to be Derian le Breton. But what if his name is registered as Derian Derianson le Breton? That seems to be the way real names are distinguished anyhow: William Smith William Joh...

Norman

Great helmet.
Looks cooler without the bargrill (but what can you do)

If you are looking for spiffing up suggestions,
myself, I would cut a curve at the eyes and add eyebrows.
See pic - red is aproximate place to cut, green is aprox shape of the browplate.

Norman

Normally, Armour has to fit. Making an armour that will fit anyone between 250lb and 400lb is not realy all that reasonable. And what about the guys who are under 250? Through most of my SCA-fighting interest and time-to-do-it life I was between 130 and 150 lb. But, that said -- I think your best be...

Norman

flickr is blocked by work

any possibility on putting what you want to show on another platform?

Norman

Which is an interesting point how do you stay humble and reward those who, or more to the point... pay someone to tell tales of your prowess and deeds far and wide. Pay them to sing about how humble you are. So obvious At least concerning heralds it seems that they were thought of as neutral from a...

Norman

Hey, my little bro is probably going too do scale mail, we have the vest made of leatheret and trimmed with steel studs, he was planning on attaching alluminum scales and making scale mail, ...For the scalemail we are going too use brads too fasten each one on Since White Mountain already answered ...

Norman

Sir Thorfinn wrote:Historic Lamellar?!
Oh please....
I want to use it to fight in the SCA.
CLUB fighting.
This is not about historic....
It's about what works within the rule set we have.

Norman

A friend is looking at viking... heard of viking lamellar but couldn't seem to find any primary sources. In my understanding, this depends on your definition of VIking and how tenuous you want to get. That is - 1) Russians used lamellar. If you accept that Russians are a derivative of Vikings, this...

Norman

Hi All, I have seen existing pictures of some Mongol/Turk suits, and they look like each row is tight laced, but then the row loosely hangs on the row above. And this is how you should do it if you want historic lamellar. Make horizontal strips by tightly lacing side to side. Then connect them upwa...

Norman

can anyone think of a time and place (other than 21st century SCAdian ) where a suit of lammelar like the one in the pic would have been used? m Aside from the plastic, and the wildly inacurate plates, and the wildly inacurate lacing pattern... The long coat lamellar is Mongol And, as the pictures ...

Norman

Wonder Woman!
(after experiencing some hormonal issues)

Human sacrifice in medieval Eurasia

Re: Wisby Coat of Plates rivets??

Re: Lacing Lamellar, loose or tight?