The Armour Archive

Norman

I am going for mamluk circa. 12-13th centuries. (Middle east/turk/mongol) My roommate is going Dacian 100-500 A.D. for his scale On to the questions: > Debating between mild steel and stainless for the lamellar. I buy the scrap stuff so its not really a pricing issue but a general looks maintenance...

Norman

Someone already mentioned " Flesh and Blood " I'll second that. And third that. For gritty mercenaries, love and the Plague - can't be beat! Andrei Rublev - an artist/monk wanders the 14th century Russian countryside (Mongol rampages, Pagan purges, comedian mutilations, artisan blindings, ...

Norman

Hey Norman, I mean there have been aholes throughout history, and we should all try not to be one of them I figure. Are you saying all knights were no good? Or just trying to focus on the ugly part? There was on another sub-forum, a discussion about the notion of "courtesie" -- and it see...

Norman

Vladimir, The LARPs I played had a far higher authenticity requirement than the SCA does. One "1001 Nights" LARP came with a garb pamphlet with extensive documentation. If a kid showed up to such a LARP with such a ludicrous mis-costume he would certainly have been judged unfavorably (thou...

Norman

Ask 99% of the world what a scimitar is and they will show you the wide bladed fantasy weapon. Ask those same people what "Persian mail" looks like and they would point you to a piece of jewelry invented within the past 20-25 years. Show a large swath of that population a breastplate and ...

Norman

People should actually try to act like the knights they pretend to be on the weekends I figure. You mean like rape the women of lower station, burn the opposition's houses and crops, murder any "infidels" they can find... I'd actualy rather they tried to act like reasonable, modern, world...

Norman

Vladimir wrote:But I doubt we would have had 3 pages of argument over ...that the term chain mail is not historically correct.

"plate mail"
nuff said

chef de chambre wrote:an explitive deleted "graphic novel"

Hey!
Some respect for a great American literary form please!

Norman

There is a grafitto from Ukraine 8 or 9th century showing a fellow with two swords in what may be a basic centered en garde position. (so you're talking Turkic -- Khazar / Alanian) However, folks who have squinted very hard swear to be seeing a shlong on him -- so he is probably nekkid and they assu...

Norman

So, to sum up - Ezrith wants a large curved cleaver type sword like the picture posted by his friend RampantWolf. Ezrith, these are quite widely available online -- quite cheaply for swords. There is no reason to get a hand-made version unless there is some special purpose that the commercial ones d...

Norman

But, I should hope that when "reenactors" or SCAdians or LARPers today play a personna from an ethnicity which is not their own, they would be careful not to play a cartoon stereotype of that other ethnicity. Otherwise, you are doing the equivalent of "black face" or "yello...

Norman

Dude, just because we on occasion talk about fantasy armour doesn't mean we're not a bunch of authenticity freaks. YOu found four threads discussing fantasy stuff. HOw many did you find with a focus on authenticity? Or did you even search for those? Dudes!!! This is like totaly irrevelant. The chil...

Norman

can you please stop quoting me? and I lose my temper alot. so please. I was kidding about the 50lb thing. and I want a scimitar, not a falchion. thank you Now I'm realy confused. Do you want something like this? http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/files/rbsh7060-scimitar_106.jpg this is a not to...

Norman

What in h**l is a Lunik? Never heard of that before. m The term is from the Russian for "moon" (luna) - contextualy it just means "Crescent shaped pendant". Its an archeologists' term not the term the original creator and user of the object probably used. it looks like the artif...

Norman

To Odd 's discussion of an expanded use of the term Scimitar to refer to the curved falchion. Sorry, I can not agree with that notion. That sword in the "near eastern" context only matches a cartoonish image of a "wicked saracen" (or Turk ...or Basurman). Now, if you are doing a ...

Norman

I'M TALKING ABOUT A FANTASY STYLE SCIMITAR! I DON'T CARE IF IT'S A FALCHION, A DAO, OR A MOTHERF**KING GLAIVE! I WANT A FANTASY STYLE SCIMITAR, END OF ARGUMENT. I was just saying that if you want a Scimitar you want an elegant, narrow, "oriental" weapon. If you want what your friend poste...

Norman

Toshido wrote:Looking for sizes and shapes of axe heads.

First looking for a suitable hand axe, something usable with one hand. Along with information about haft length and possibly head weights.

...

Have a look here
http://www.redkaganate.org/martial/weapons/axerus.shtml

Norman

Fearghus Macildubh wrote:http://www.bogpages.com/SCA-photographs/Pennsic-Wars/Pennsic-XXXVIII-Sunday/9385291_vR7j3#628477914_PAEX4-A-LB

Is it just me, or does he look like the Eagle on The Muppet Show

Norman

There are tons of modern(and semi modern) Chinese fictions written about people with fantastic martial prowess in existence.... I understand that this is equivilant to elves and dwarves and wizards of western mythology... However, myths are usually based on something right? ... But what about the m...

Norman

Point me in the right direction if I'm wrong, but weren't scimitars the eastern equivelant of axes in many respects? The broad bladed one posted earlier would certainly make it a nice weighty object to swing about. That's my point -- this is the Western misperception. What you describe is true of M...

Norman

Its kinda unfortunate but those Mongol "reenactors" do not realy match any of the period armour or manuscript armour illustrations at all well. The Russian reenactors playing Mongol are much much better Yes, look at the "Red Kaganate" site Also, unfortunately Yahoo killed my &quo...

Norman

That's not a Scimitar

This is

RampantWolf's picture is a Western European's idea of a Saracen Barbarian's monstrous weapon - actualy based more on a Western European Messer or falchion more than on any Persian model.

Norman

In its early drafts, the Iliad was the epic tale of the war rabbi Menelavsky of Berdichev led against rabbi Primchik of Helm caused when Feivel Primchik accepted a fruit from the "Three hot Shiksas" That is worth a drinking song!!! "Is this the face that launched a thousand carts And...

Norman

Very much appreciated, and I am frequently awed by your scholarship was there any idication if the shirt you posted was used as part of the treasures of the kremlin exhibition - it would explane a lot of my confusion between the two pieces. As I understand it, there are only 2 Baidanas presently in...

Norman

Yes - unfortunately I am having trouble remembering specifics and my books are still on the bottom of all the stuff that needs unpacking. Somewhere on the Eurasian Steppes between 6 and 10 century used by heavy cavalry as a complement to lamellar. And the Japanese had these - but theirs are differen...

Norman

I'm pretty sure I spotted rivets on at least two rings Here is another picture supposedly of the same shirt m I'm seeing "double" rivets (usually more of a staple) on this photo. Replying to Norman & Ernst I'm not sure one way or another - the thing that caught my eye at the met exhib...

Norman

The Baidana m They identify that as Boris Gudenovs - I saw the shirt at the Metropolitans "Treasures of the Kremlin" show. The catalogue identified it as rivited - from looking at the shirt for at least half an hour I'm convinced the links area circle and a half hammered flat, and emoboss...

Norman

Its not just the Arabs - a few references off the top of my head: 1) Spain (12 or 13 cent) The poem El Cid makes several references to knights wearing multiple coats of mail. At least one of these is in the context of the hero piercing the armour of his enemy and there it mentions (if Iremember corr...

Norman

What's the date on that coat of plates? Anything more specific than "14th to 15th century"? Did it fasten up the front? Nope, nothing more specific. Chalcis was poorly dealt with, basically, antique dealers buying up bits of harness from local finders, for resale in boutiques - not a prop...

Norman

18g steel is like tinfoil, id use 16 or better for the plates. I've seen elsewhere on this forum people suggesting 18ga for body protection. My problem is the nearby Lowe's doesn't carry the 18ga straps, and would have to special order them, so I can't get just a few to test. For lamellar or other ...

Norman

In the Kingdom of Acre (MSR - an SCA paralel in NY) folks got together and set up a place in Long Island for horses. To participate in equestrian activity you have to go, muck out the horses... realy participate and then they have equestrian activity in that location. The whole thing is a group effo...

Norman

I've never heard of a horse as being termed a "Tool of Oppression" before. Interesting! ...I suppose that insofar as just about any weapon in the arsenal of any society's upper echelons (read "Royalty" and "Aristocracy" here) is perforce a "Tool of Oppression"...

Norman

Norman, OK, point taken. Before I asked, "Which of these buckle placements is more accurate?" I should have asked, "Are the two straps in parallel accurate?" You believe the two straps in parallel is an outdated reconstruction. Why do you feel this is the case? In everything I'v...

Norman

I included the two pictures to illustrate my question about the buckle placement--I intend to make a belt that would be appropriate for my portrayal not an exact reproduction of the ones in either picture. So, let's temporarily ignore the ...placement of the pendant straps. If I use the "wrap-...

Norman

I find belt2 unpersuasive. There is no evidence I know of for the undecorated strap under the decorated one. Note how the illustrator was left with empty rings - which should probably have held the pendant straps. Likewise "belt" has issues -- it seems a very clumsy way to attach the penda...

Norman

There's a statuary head in Bamberg, reputedly of St. Maurice, showing a spangen-conical over mail where the chin strap is quite clearly going over the coif's ventail. It's "Y"-split over the ears. Actualy, I've seen a few of these - simple conical or bowl with "Y"-straps over th...

Re: Lamellar/Scale question:size,type, and gauge

Re: Howdy

Re: Hi there

Re: axe heads