The Armour Archive

Black Swan Designs

For any English or western continental (Lowlands, France, Burgundy) portrayal the "acorn" style of hat is a good place to start. They can be worn alone or in conjunction with another hat such as a chaperone. The chaperone is either worn over the acorn (the donor in Petrus Christus' "St Eligius" is w...

Black Swan Designs

When I read Lothar's post I though "What on earth provoked that??", so I read his messages through several times. I've been following this, and I wonder if the nerve to this debate has finally been reached. Lothar seems to be deathly afraid that too much historical accuracy will make the SCA go unde...

Black Swan Designs

Run by and have a PiÃƒÂ±a Colada Korg. Free people limbo better than people in hennins.

Gwen

Black Swan Designs

Tim said I have a pair of hosen made of day-glo patterned lycra spandex Bring it on baby! I'm already ordering the PiÃƒÂ±a Coladas and warming up Jimmy Buffet! Come by and get "lei-d" I'm actually leaning toward Hawaiian because I think I look better in palm trees rather than flamingoes.... I wonder...

Black Swan Designs

Tim, I think your musings are answered in this snip from another thread: The SCA 'law' concerning garb and equipment is that you make an effort to look or present yourself in a medieval way You don't need to go out and outfit yourself in High Middle Ages 14th century German or French outfits for the...

Black Swan Designs

Yeah, I was mislead too.

Jeff LOVES that show and has been begging them (via the TV screen of course

) to make an "armour bike". I thought they had and we had missed it.

Gwen

Black Swan Designs

Ah, thanks JW, I wondered if it was Norris, or if there was another well-loved costuming book from the 30's by someone named "Norton" that I had missed.

Don't forget Braun & Schneider- that's where I cut my costuming teeth!

Gwen

Black Swan Designs

You might also want to check here before you make any decisions:

Chivalry Sports: http://www.renstore.com/

Sofi's Stitches: http://www.medievalclothes.com/

Gwen

Black Swan Designs

I remember that event! It was the first time I met you, and I remember being very impressed that you were the Mayor of London. I remember it very clearly, as it was the first time I had ever met anyone who was trying to be a real historical person, and I was impressed as all get out. Clothes weren't...

Black Swan Designs

the best thing about the SCA is that it has room for EVERYBODY. I don't think this is really true. There's not much room for authenticity types there. Jeff and I were invited to leave the SCA because "you're too authentic for the group. There's no place for you here, you need to find another group ...

Black Swan Designs

Hi Giles- I don't think I follow you. "Ethical problems" as in an NFL player using steroids or "ethical problem" such as not allowing a guy in a wheelchair to be the kicker for the team? Truth be told I didn't really intend to get deeply embroiled in this debate. I read the other thread (whew!) and ...

Black Swan Designs

Dear heavens, if it is somehow "unethical" to make up silly clubs with their own rules, the NFL is in trouble. And the NFL, and the NBA. And the Shriners, and the Masons. Oh, and the Rotary too. And the National Organization of Women, and the Nature Conservancy, and the National Costumer's Associati...

Black Swan Designs

Emails from you are always a cause for celebration, love.

Gwen

Black Swan Designs

grimmy darling- I was referring to the allegory of March which was the original subject of this thread, not the man in the baby suit. There are articles of clothing in St. Ursula that I accept as literal, and some I don't. Want to compare notes? I wish I could be as sure of things as you are- can I ...

Black Swan Designs

Has anyone considered that the painting is an allegory, and as such the garments may not be real at all?

It looks to me alot like Botticelli's Primavera (c. 1482)- would anyone argue that the garments worn by the nymphs are real garments?

http://www.kidcrosswords.com/kidreader/ ... mavera.htm

Just a thought.

Gwen

Black Swan Designs

I think Joram van Essen makes them as well. You might want to email and ask him. I know he did one for Tancred (?) last year.

From his profile:
email: joramvanessen@yahoo.com
website: http://www.medievalproductions.nl/

Gwen

Black Swan Designs

What is "Norton" that everyone is regretting?

Gwen

Black Swan Designs

Must be a guy novel- I'm liking the memoirs of Jehan de Haynin much more than I remember liking Tirant lo Blanc. Maybe because I read TlB and the Decameron at about the same time, and the Decameron is much earthier.

Gwen

Black Swan Designs

We just got these in yesterday and since they are such a brass plated PITA to make I thought some of you might be interested in them - Lace Chapes Lace Chapes, package of 12 #SL-LC01 Conical copper alloy "chapes" to cover the feasings on your points for ease in threading through eyelets. "Feasings" ...

Black Swan Designs

We just got these in yesterday and since they are such a brass plated PITA to make I thought some of you might be interested - Lace Chapes Lace Chapes, package of 12 #SL-LC01 Conical copper alloy "chapes" to cover the feasings on your points for ease in threading through eyelets. "Feasings" are the ...

Black Swan Designs

Let me jump on this before someone else does..... Red Company was pretty good at one time but like the White Company is no more, so that's not even an option. If you want to do 15th C. in the US, you could look for other 15th C. groups who are active- -Company of the Wolf Argent -Grey's Retinue -Men...

Black Swan Designs

And what wasnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t lost to zealots during the Reformation suffered serious losses during the war, when England was having the Ã‚Â©Ã‚Â®@Ã‚Â¶bombed out of it. Sometimes photos that appear in books published at the end of the 1800Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s thru the teens are all that remain of art, armour, building...

Black Swan Designs

Yes, but RenÃƒÂ© is French, and he's looking for English sources. That having been said, specifically English clothing sources are few and far between. The English seemed to be pretty far behind the curve art-wise, so there isn't a wealth of sources to look at like there are for Continental styles. ...

Black Swan Designs

Regarding the maille, Stacy said- Aren't here a couple guys with ties to GDFB on the AA? Perhaps they can tell us. 12th post in, Stephen Brown, owner of Get Dressed for Battle replies: ----------- Well spotted, most of the maille was riveted aluminum with a grey colour developed and supplied by GDFB...

Black Swan Designs

Charles the Bold issued orders forbidding looting... but he is the author of the sacking and destruction of Dinant and Liege Couldn't it be argued that Liege was begging for a pretty harsh smackdown by the time the serious looting started? I mean Charles started the campaign by simply taking the to...

Black Swan Designs

Don't let the fact that they're published in another language put you off. Remember the thing you're looking for is going to be a drawing and just about anyone can learn what "15th C" looks like in German or Dutch. There are online translators that can help, and failing that, dictionaries and schola...

Black Swan Designs

Hooks and eyes begin showing up in unstratified archaeological deposits dating to the 11th and 12th C., so they're old technology by the 15th C. FWIW, the hook/eye closure at the collar of Nicdemus' gown is pretty clear in 2 of my art books. You might want to check a few other art books for a hi-res...

Black Swan Designs

Hi Richard- I did make the pattern specially for your daughter, but Francena has pointed out that now that I have the pattern shouldn't I consider making more?.... I have requests for kid's clothes all the time, so we're kicking around the idea of doing a small line of basic clothes for kids. We'll ...

Black Swan Designs

A hook/eye closure can be seen in the fur at the neck of the figure immediately to the right of the cross in van der Weyden's "Deposition". A hook/eye closure can be seen at the neck of the doublet worn by the court jester Gonella in a portrait by Jean Fouquet dated 1445. There is a full page detail...

Black Swan Designs

Hurray! I love happy endings! James, Francena will call you today to sort out your questions. It seemed better for her to talk to you than do a long email. FYI, I just brought in a truckload of washable wools, so look for chausses in the following colours in the next couple of weeks: Burgundy Forest...

Black Swan Designs

Spufford may be a brilliant economist, but he is painfully, egregiously, hilariously uninformed on clothing and/or costume history. Within 10 minutes of my receipt of the book I found half-a-dozen statements that made me -howl-, they were so far off the mark of any clothing/textile historian whose o...

Black Swan Designs

Howdy all- Just a note to let you know the latest issue of the HE Journal is available online. This issue contains a feature article on the Sword of Honour jousts, music review and medieval recipe, and historical information you may find interesting- Access the journal here: Historic Enterprises Jou...

Black Swan Designs

Howdy all- Just a note to let you know the latest issue of the HE Journal is available online. This issue contains a feature article on the Sword of Honour jousts, music review, recipe, etc. Access the journal here: Historic Enterprises Journal, May, 2005 Our thanks to Jenn Reed for putting it toget...

Black Swan Designs

Hi Strongbow- What Jeff has described is exactly the method I was referring to. Elizabeth Birbari discusses the technique and gives examples from Italian paintings in "Dress in Italian Painting, 1460-1500" (Birbari, W&J Mackay Limited, UK, 1975, ISBN 0-7195 2423 7, pg. 87) Blanche Payne gives an exa...

Black Swan Designs

I'm unfamiliar with the thread you're referencing, but this is from my correspondence with Dave on this issue: first my design was only to address one specific style of the mid-C15th gown ... others definitely existed and there is what I would describe as a fairly classic Burgundian change in c.1470...

Lace Chapes (x-post)

Lace Chapes (x-post)

Historic Enterprises Journal, May 2005

Historic Enterprises Journal Volume I, Issue II