The Armour Archive

Karen Larsdatter

Right now I've got one preshrunk yard of linen, minus a patch about 9.5" square. I was thinking of using it to make a prototype or two of some small linen pieces. Ah. That's ... not a lot. I originally bought it to make napkins, but then I saw some info that said the napkins were more like tab...

Karen Larsdatter

could they possibly have based it of some garment thats a transition from tunic to cottehardie? See, I don't think of there really being a transition. A tunic has no openings in the front (other than whatever's necessary to get the darned thing on over your head). A cotte -- think 'coat,' its etymo...

Karen Larsdatter

I hadn't. I had no idea the site had grown so... big , over the years. Yeah ... ... it grew some. It's a bit unwieldy, but hopefully the sitemap (and search boxes) help a little bit. Tonight, I added handkerchiefs . There's a few others that I'm working on (including a bibliography of my husband's ...

Karen Larsdatter

Make a foure-square box, of 6 or 7 inches euerie waie, and 17 or 18 inches in length, with a socket in the bottome thereof, close the sides will either with doue tails or cement, so as they take no aire, leaue in the middest of one of the sides a slit or open dore, to put in the candle, ich from th...

Karen Larsdatter

Linen is great for embroidery -- quite a lot of medieval embroidery was done on linen. The ground of the Bayeux Tapestry is linen, but the embroidery itself is in wool. Embroidery isn't too difficult to learn; perhaps you could contact someone in the Guild of Withie and Woolmongers to find someone i...

Karen Larsdatter

I don't think it's a toggle. I've collected a few other examples of this style at http://www.larsdatter.com/cloaks.htm -- see the section labelled "MANTLES" -- IIRC, the mounts on the cloak have a fitting on the back through which the chain is attached.

Karen Larsdatter

Pilgrimage has its own sort of traditional costume, which, while distinct from peasant costume, certainly isn't as snazzy as fashionable clothing of the same era. See m for links to illustrations & descriptions of pilgrim clothing, including the pilgrimage-clothing of 16th century noblemen. It's...

Karen Larsdatter

There's the Archivo Storico Araldico Italiano , and also the SocietÃ Italiana di Studi Araldici . You could ask on the heraldry section of the Villaggio Medievale forum . Heraldry in Italy recommends Insegne e Simboli, Araldica Pubblica e Privata Medievale e Moderna by Giacomo BascapÃ¨ and Marcello...

Karen Larsdatter

There were certainly foodstuffs that were made for their ability to last a long time and travel well; one such recipe is the bizcochos (hardtack-biscuits) in the 16th century Spanish Manual de mugeres : Para dos escudillas de harina, tomarÃ©is una de azÃºcar. Y a cantidad de dos libras de azÃºcar ec...

Karen Larsdatter

It does look like Hugh's hood has some gores in it, at least through the front (or maybe my monitor's screwy). Some hoods just had gores in the front (like Bocksten Bog Man , and Herjolfsnes 66 , 67 , and 70 ); some just had gores in the front & back (like Herjolfsnes 65 ). There are some exampl...

Karen Larsdatter

Would a man have worn a tablet woven belt during the 13-14c? Sure. There are examples of tablet-woven silk belts in the Museum of London (see Egan & Pritchard's Dress Accessories for photos & descriptions). I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that such belts could have been worn by me...

Karen Larsdatter

The question was a leetle on the vague side.

What do you mean by "period"?

Karen Larsdatter

Do you have a copy of the Medieval Tailor's Assistant ? It has patterns for a lot of the sorts of clothes & headwear that would be great for the 1470s. There's a style of linen coif that'd be lovely for the 1470s, but it's different from the men's style of coif -- a bit more complex. Kinda like ...

Karen Larsdatter

Christophe de Frisselle wrote:Get Smart! Enough of that fantasy.

What, so he should be talking into his turnshoe?

Karen Larsdatter

I am starting to collect figurines from Schleich ... My wife (who really doesn't get into or enjoy the whole SCA/medieval thing) really likes them. She said she thought it would be fun to build a model of a tournament list to display them. Well, y'know, they do make the jousting set with lances &am...

Karen Larsdatter

There's a lot of historical reasons for espionage and/or assassination, Ean; a lot of those reasons have more to do with loyalty to one faction or another than "desperation." Here's some resources you might want to read ... ⋅ History of Espionage , a syllabus (with reading lists...

Karen Larsdatter

FWIW, here are some pictures of a 15th century southern German weapons-chest:
http://www.bildindex.de/bilder/MI07857g09a.jpg
http://www.bildindex.de/bilder/MI07857g10a.jpg
http://www.bildindex.de/bilder/MI07857g11a.jpg

Karen Larsdatter

You have acheived a handsome effect IMO, but I am curious as to whether your "shirt" follows any historical precedents. It reminds me a lot of the shorter overgarments at m -- I'd made something similar for my husband a few years ago (in nice burgundy cotton brocade, coincedentally). For ...

Karen Larsdatter

Late 14th century, I'd expect to see peasants & beggars still wearing separate hose (either pointed onto their breeches/braies , or rolled down for work), but not necessarily any sort of fitted kirtle/doublet/pourpoint worn over top. But I'd think it'd be more likely to see hose pointed to a kir...

Karen Larsdatter

Civilian hose would be pointed, not to a shirt , but to a fitted garment worn over the shirt. (In the 14th century, Chaucer calls this garment a "kirtle" ; in the 15th, it's variously called a "pourpoint" or "doublet.") See for example this Pisanello sketch . This fitte...

Karen Larsdatter

There are a couple of illustrations like this in the Romance of Alexander (Bodley 264) but I think the one you're remembering is fol. 204r (though there's others, including fol. 83r -- the same thing but without the thatching).

Karen Larsdatter

Another piece of artwork to add to your collection: The Procession of the Youngest King (part of the Procession of the Magi fresco cycle by Benozzo Gozzoli at the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence, 1459-60); see this detail . In addition to the various depictions of St. Maurice, there's several de...

Karen Larsdatter

Chazz wrote:Any ideas on how you'd handle teaching this class?

Provide a good handout, with at least an outline of what you discussed in the class, and a list of additional resources you would recommend for students (books, websites, etc.)

Karen Larsdatter

Answers below are based largely on my hoods linkspage, m -who wore them- peasants or nobility? I'm thinking both. They seem to appear on both at various points in the 14th century. -were dags a sign of rank or social class? Not as far as I can tell. -were they ever made from fancy brocade fabrics? w...

Karen Larsdatter

I think the original saya and pellote were brocade, and made c. 1275. (There's also line drawings of the saya and pellote in Some Clothing of the Middle Ages.)

Karen Larsdatter

If you're just looking for the Museum of London's ceramics, especially their Tudor-era ceramics, go to http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/ceramics/

Karen Larsdatter

http://www.curiousfrau.com/Art_Research/shoes.htm

Karen Larsdatter

I just read on the Atlantian mailing list that Cloth and Clothing in Early Anglo-Saxon England by Penny Rogers will be available from Oxbow/David Brown this spring. That sounds like it'd be another useful source for your research. Other books that they carry that you might want to consider , at leas...

Karen Larsdatter

Maybe something like m ? You can find other styles at m too. Looking through my linkspage on musicians at m I can't find anything with a 14th century music stand. There's some later (mostly 16th century) examples of musicians looking at music-books, like The Concert (c. 1485-1495), Lady Playing a Lu...

Karen Larsdatter

http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/wsnlinks/ This site is your friend. Browse about in all the categories "By Culture" I'd especially recommend looking at the section on getelds -- m But you can also start at the Anglo-Saxon section -- m -- which will take you to most of the other Anglo-Saxon-r...

Karen Larsdatter

Check out the Medieval Farming Mailing List, as well as the Agricultural History Society and the British Agricultural History Society.

Karen Larsdatter

I'd recommend reading Courtly Culture: Literature and Society in the High Middle Ages by Joachim Bumke. It's not exclusively about German warriors, but it has a lot of information about society in Germany in & around the period you're interested in.

Karen Larsdatter

And some more answers ...
http://moas.atlantia.sca.org/wsnlinks/i ... &catid=748

Karen Larsdatter

Haven't seen any firm documentation of medieval dog carts, but here's some articles on the subject:
http://www.florilegium.org/files/TRAVEL ... s-art.html
http://hometown.aol.com/vixensmistress/ ... ofile.html

Karen Larsdatter

Some surnames at http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/german.shtml (in case you haven't already seen those)

Re: Thoughts on Glues or "Pins" for Horn Lanterns

Re: Small items you can make from linen?

Re: What kind of cloak clasp is this?

Re: Knight dressing as a peasant for pennance/pilgrimage

Re: heraldry help

Re: medieval assassins/spies

Re: Weapon and armour racks

Re: Pointing hose to a St Louis shirt?

Re: looking 4 Painting of soldier + thatched wedge hut w/doo

Re: Teaching a class.. need some help.

Re: 14th century hoods

Re: Skirt of Fernando de la Cerda

Re: "Material Culture in London in an Age of Transition

Re: Landsknecht Turn shoe

Re: What do you expect in an Anglo-Saxon (circa 900AD) camp?

Re: Music stands, and a furniture reference

Re: Viking Age agriculture

Re: 11th or 12th Century German fighting persona (SCA)

Re: dog carting in the 15th century

Re: Ick... Je ne parles pas allemand