The Armour Archive

carlyle

The purpose of the tournament and melee in medieval society was to train for war, correct? This is a vast oversimplification. At its core, tournament was a sport of the nobility. For some, it was even a profession. It may have mimic'd the weapons and formats of combat; but culturally, it was not vi...

carlyle

what excuse do you plan to come up with for all the mercenary troops who would surely have had no place in a friendly melee? "Mercenary" is a complex term, both medievally and in the context of the modern Play. It is, however, a stylistic choice on the part of the player. So long as they conduct th...

carlyle

Logan, Rhys, Alaric (and the many, less-vocal critics of C/A) -- Would removing the "combatant" component relieve your opposition to having people participate as archers? What I am suggesting is a "gallery" or galleries from where those who would may shoot missiles onto the field in support of their...

carlyle

So make belted fighters proof against archery. LoL!! It certainly appeals to my sense of "noblesse oblige". Unfortunately, even I have had to revise my thinking of late (thanks to the tuition of people like Rhys and Jehan de Pelham). Whereas before I might have trotted out the weary misconception t...

carlyle

Verjigorm, It is not about being elitist -- it is about being true to the spirit of the Play as far as the limit of fairness and ability allow. Your argument is a simple fallacy (reductio ad absurdum). Within the bounds of gentlemenly combat, we will always struggle with both the modern sensibility ...

carlyle

Cet -- Do you have reference to any depictions of the mail collar from the 14th? Erik and Josh -- I actually expected something -under- the aventail. Do you consider this indicative or an unusual application? Is there proof that this is plate and not something else? Ivo -- By "modern", do you mean c...

carlyle

OK, I'm going to demonstrate my ignorance here, but I am looking for iconographic evidence of the gorget as used with "typical" 14th. transitional armor. I am familiar with the "dog collar" of the 13th. C., and certainly with the full gorget that accompanies the later 15th C. white harness; but I ca...

carlyle

Call every arrow light/glancing/didn't see it ... the archers will learn to ignore you as a target... The topic has gone so far afield, but this suggestion demands further question. Is this feasible? Would the fighting community accept the idea of "non-target" participants? What if we devised a bad...

carlyle

I love to kill as a CA, but who would deny someone of my small stature this simple pleasure? Allow me to try to answer this from the perspective of one of your potential targets... For me, heavy weapons combat is not about the kill, it's about "the test". For the test to be complete, my opponents n...

carlyle

The part with a face or armpit is brought about from a 14th century or later view of armour. Maille had less of a chance of stopping an arrow than plate did... I'm going to take Oswyn's quote somewhat out of context to raise the following point. It is a fallacy that archery contemporary with mail w...

carlyle

Well...but pointing items to an underlying garment is also not unknown. Not to be too pedantic, but it is the very abundance of iconographic evidence for points on both military and civilian clothing, juxtaposed with the glaring absense of any indication of points for hanging a low slung belt, that...

carlyle

MSS: "If you're using a 6' or longer spear, the standard shield rule is waived."

Stop with the sensible suggestions, already!!

carlyle

Yes, sewn on for the day and then cut off during disrobing. I've gone round-and-round on this topic over the years, and lacking any evidence of hooks or loops -- and that sewing nobles into their garb is not unknown -- it is by far the simplest solution for a time and society that was wealthy in che...

carlyle

Jehan de Pelham wrote:I am working on a way to do it. I am pretty sure it involves ties.

Not ties, Jehan -- sewn on in place and then cut off when removed.

Just another one of those quirks that, for those of us who actually have to dress ourselves in the morning, is hard to wrap our heads around

... AoC

carlyle

ColinG wrote:I hear this idiot has put his name in the hat.

Spawn of Satan, too, from the look of it

... AoC

carlyle

To reiterate what Stonekeep said, the purpose of the strap inside the joint (elbow or knee) is to keep the relative point of articulation on the harness in line with the bend of the joint. If they get too far out of alignment, then you will be fighting the harness in every motion (and, most likely, ...

carlyle

Sarnac, you're all just a bunch of Olde Pharts. There are just as many people smiling today as then. Maybe not in the same percentage, but that's because the Stone Cynics are growing in numbers; not because Innocence and Wonder have died. I think we should consider an upper bound for participation -...

carlyle

Alcyoneus wrote:Mac Bible Horror Weapon #1. There was one in the movie Tristan & Ysult.

You saw it, too? That was so cool!!

carlyle

...if you tried to swing a sword at a target that was running away from you how would you do it? Aim for where he's going to be, not for where he is. Most of the time, I know what I hit. If I don't, and it's practice, I will ask. Part of the discipline of self-determination is to overcome the heat ...

carlyle

I started wearing sliding shorts a couple of months ago. I was only trying to replace my worn out jockstrap, but I really liked the built-in cup pocket. The thigh pads are nominal, but if all you are trying to do is take out the sting, it might be just what you're looking for. I did look at football...

carlyle

Are there any historical writings or other primary sources that confirm the modern conventional wisdom on this is wrong? Or is this your opinion only? For starters, look to the contemporary illustrations. Not one of them that I know of shows the helm lifted as described, though many depict the mome...

carlyle

me! im high brow! the nectar of my gods is good old miller lite. yummy yummy cold-assed goodness. Yes, I noticed this during my visit to your camp. I can only mourn the ill-fortune under which the brewers of your duchy must labor. Was it a bad season for barley? Have the gods been fickle with the f...

carlyle

This assumes that you read OT, Alejandro. Personally, I'm trying to wean myself off of that train wreck

... AoC

carlyle

Olafvikingr wrote:Fall down six times; stand up seven.

From "Tirant lo Blanc: "He who sits on the floor has no place to fall."

History is -inevitably- stranger than fiction... AoC

carlyle

RW wrote:Written by academics repeating a view held since the Victorian era. None of those repeating that particular myth in print have any actual practical experience in the joust.

But, but...

... that's how Count Adamar described it in "Knight's Tale". Surely -he- knew what he was talking about

...

carlyle

Thanks for the help on the wool. I may actually re-wash the remaining wool I have under brisker agitation just to full it up a bit more before cutting out the replacement tunic. It's probably worth noting that the pre-wash process I outlined above (cold, light soap, normal wash; machine dry on mediu...

carlyle

Well, here's a question for the pros, then. I usually pre-wash in cold, but dry the uncut yardage in the dryer (I rarely, if ever, dry a finished garment in the dryer). I was told many years ago that it's the combination of heat and wet that causes the most shrinkage. Washing in hot doesn't help as ...

carlyle

My arms are, for all intents and purposes, a single unit from shoulder to wrist. While they are comprised of three seperate pieces -- the spaulder and rerebrace, the elbow, and the vambrace -- the rerebrace and the vambrace are attached to the cop via laced points. The whole assembly hangs from a si...

carlyle

...it is our duty as Peers to figure out what the populace want and give it to them. In a word, no. I have had this same discussion over the years with several of my peers, from dukes on down. This seems to be a combination of particular kingdom sensibilities and the ever-present modern expectation...

carlyle

Alc, do the rules only define what is legal, or do they also encompass all that is "appropriate" (as Vitus inquires)? I ask because of the fact that regional flavor spices our fighting with unwritten "conventions" that, while legal, are considered "inappropriate". Even cup shots, though legal, are u...

carlyle

How exactly does the structure work for a double elimination tournament as far as the brackets after the first round? You've described it pretty accurately; the key to achieving this sort of symmetry is to create a "tree" that is derrived of a power of 2 (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, ...). For any num...

carlyle

if you'd ever seen Logan around babies and little kids, is they totally kick his ass... "awww... look at the sparkle in his little eyes while he steals my wallet... so precious." So what you're really saying is... .... wait for it... ... Logan likes to play with his food.

carlyle

Shall we move into cracking on the Sweeds Magnus?

Mmmm. Salt licorice...

carlyle

Just to be clear, my suggestion to ban left-handed fighters was an attempt to humorously illustrate how a well-intended SEM might act to "fix" a perceived problem (excessive instances of groin shots) through unilateral legislation. I am not actually advocating this (so long as everyone understands t...

carlyle

Murdock wrote:where did ya get the Le? ... i'm a Scot under the surcoat.

Oh, so it's "La Murdock", then?

Evidence of gorget in the 14th C.