The Armour Archive

Trevor

A King in period was attended by Great Nobles, no?

How about this: Three points for a King, and one points for a Duke or a Count? Must have at least three points worth of Nobles to continue the fight...

Would definitely change tactics. Not all of your eggs in a basket.

Trevor

Lookin' good! Only suggestions that I'd make are: 1) next armor candy to buy is greaves (front greaves would work fine) Figure on at least $200 for a shapely pair (and double that for closed greaves) 2) might want to roll the edges of the breast plate where it will meet your flesh. There will be a t...

Trevor

Aaah. I think I see the confusion. There are two rectangular bits of greenery with vertical supports present along the perimeter. Are those what you are referring to? If so, I believe those are nothing more than vine patches. The uprights would support ropes or nets that in turn suppored the vines. ...

Trevor

mattmaus wrote:Didn't Rob MacPhearson do a really nice set of carved bone period spectacles? Or if not him... someone? Anyone got a link? I don't do the glasses thing, but remember seeing this once upon a time.

They'll cost you $25 at James Townsend.

Trevor

Contrary to what you might think-glasses were used in period. In fact, there is a nice Creative Anachronist that you can order through SCA inc. that deals with this very topic. The first glasses were made to correct for far-sightedness and were used strictly for reading, and looked like a couple of ...

Trevor

Though contemporary paintings of exposed corazinnas are rare, all of the ones I have seen had narrow horizontal lames attached with numerous rivets along the fauld. I have seen/worn a piece based on the one in the Met and it didn't bend worth a damn. You sure couldn't wear it on horseback, or sit in...

Trevor

I've got a friend that is interested in a 16th century "tuck" (estoc). We know that it was used as a thrusting weapon, but was it primarily a military weapon or a civilian one?

Trevor

Sent email to SEM. This really sux. A lot of folks have collectively invested THOUSANDS of dollars on a material that was legal at the time they purchased it. It's proven to be safe and more durable than our current option. Yet-because it is possible to cheat using this method-the SEM wants to ban i...

Trevor

Anything but boots. Cavalrymen/gentlemen almost always wore greaves. Gamboised greaves were used in the 14th century, but I'm not sure if they were used earler. I can document "schynbalds" which were metal front-only greaves and mail stockings used with gamboised cuisses. I'm not sure if they were u...

Trevor

Your care and attention to detail will get you far in this hobby. This is a very clean helm-one of the cleanest I have seen, even from "professionals". You have every right to be proud of this. Keep it up!

Trevor

Silver jump, Look at early 14th century (1300-1350 AD) armor. It's probably the best type of armor to build for a beginner. The shapes are simple, and there are a wide variety of materials that were used. For someone with limited shop space and tools, there is a lot of armor in the 14th century that...

Trevor

I can document the corazinna to Italy, but I wonder is there any evidence it was used in other countries?

Trevor

Bar grills on helmets seem to become commonplace in the 15th century, for specialized purposes. Most specifically, on tournament helmets for mounted rebated swordword, or the klobturnier. The example you post shows such a helmet, although it is in a mid 15th century Calvary. Yes, it is in a bunch o...

Trevor

[quote="chef de chambre'] He is listing that he has a brigandine 'as fair as any in London' (which made some high quality brigandines, if John Howards accounts are anything to go by), and he plans to wear with it an armet, a standard, a fauld of mail, and a pair of sleeves (presumably of mail as wel...

Trevor

I'm no mail expert, but I thought that butted mail was considered to be a "patch"...

Trevor

Often the winners pillaged the bodies of the loosers for anything of value. Trading something that was damaged for something else that isn't seems logical enough to me. No? But, the leaders also got first pick of the spoils. So, if you are a peasant that went around wearing a chieftain's helmet, yo...

Trevor

Alcy, By now you should have realized that my points are well-reasoned, thoroughly thought-out and exceptionally conceived. (Sometimes they just aren't entirely clear) I'm not mixing apples and wingnuts-I'm just pointing out that armor was made to work for specific fighters-with specific jobs. For e...

Trevor

Interesting-why did it come disassembled?

Trevor

Here's a big help: make your trim thick. I'm talkingaround 14 guage-maybe more for brass. It'll give you enough oomph to where it won't get all warbly when you rivet it down, and it has enough thickness where you can sand/polish out a lot of sins. Plus, it'll reenforce the occularia. When it comes t...

Trevor

my research did not go beyond simple observation of prexisting conditions of the sca How often is this the case? It's too bad, but a lot of our gear is made to be SCA specs rather than historical ones. We have a lot of new people that look around and just copy what they see others make. Often, peop...

Trevor

I've seen a lot worse armor in movies. The fort scenes were incredibly dorky (what's with the auto flail, anyway?) but I guess my expectations are lower when it comes to the big screen. Otherwise, I absolutely LOVED the movie. I think that they portrayed Joan a little harshly, but it was fun. And in...

Trevor

Well, it's a really nice piece. I can think of a couple of extant pieces, but they don't have horn windows. It sure looks a lot like those, though.

Trevor

OTOH, Those ships masts also resemble beacons (but they really are masts). Point being, it would be possible to have beacons in your camp if you wish. There would be a ladder up to them, and you could hide a big propane rig/fire ring up there if you so chose. Not a place for guards, however. The oth...

Trevor

Some suits that you might think look good together are composites that were not worn on the field as they are put together now. You're absolutely right. THat's why I like to refer to the iconography because those show armor as it appeared at that time. I feel that people should make an attempt to d...

Trevor

So, don't try to be authentic, then? Just a waste of time, is it? Sorry, but I vehemently disagree. What you are advocating is an excuse for not educating your self. There is plenty of material available for the amateur historian to become an expert in a narrow field of study, such as medieval arms ...

Trevor

My highly subjective and personal definition of "period" is this: If a medieval guy was walking down the street and saw the item in question, he would casually glance at it and continue walking on by. It should not be so alien to him that he would stare and gawk. It needs to be from his "culture". S...

Trevor

Why does HE give it only get a 2-star authenticity rating?

Trevor

(gasp!)

Trevor

OK-so we've discussed a bit as to why most modern fantasy armors wouldn't have existed in period. Now-what would be a good basis for an original fantasy piece executed in a realistic, "period" derived fashion? I'll start. I don't know of any fantastic armor before the 15th century. The earliest I ca...

Trevor

My kit is around 60 lb.

Trevor

Chainemaille, Sure, there are weird examples of armor out there. That does not mean that your average skull helm is done in a "medieval" manner, though. There is a way to do things in a more medieval manner by closely studying contemporary art and copying their artistic style. And of course, you hav...

Trevor

I was just looking at Leonardo da Vinci's dragons last night, and I don't think they are that different than modern ones. Except for the furry one that looks like a Pekinese. Part of that has to do with the fact that Da Vinci is a Renaissance artist. His grasp of perspective, shading etc. is very "...

Trevor

There is a time and place for fantasy armor. I would argue it's in LARPs, game cons and fantasy movies. The SCA's roots are also squarely based in popular fantasy as well, so others would argue that the SCA is as much of a fantasy group as any. I can't deny that, but there is also a movement to make...

Trevor

NO idea about Italian bascinet visors at this time, but the Hastings brasses show round-topped bascinets with globose faces and various "grilled" occularia. Should offer visibility comparable to bar grills, although the breathability will be less. I would encourage you to have an interchangable viso...

Trevor

There is some references to a bear skin coat being used in scandinavia for military uses in the high middle ages. I would think that it would impart some protective ability, in addition to being warm. It was apparently used to reenforce mail armor.

English "tuck"-how used?

Re: fantasy or bar grills

Realistic "Creative Anachronism"