The Armour Archive

chef de chambre

The sleeping gaurds armoured surcoat, and this fresco, are clearly depicting two different things. If you insist that the metal decorations are rivets supporting plates, then the 'coat of plates' is clearly different. The attatchment point for the swords chain precludes the possibility of an arrange...

chef de chambre

The shoulder pieces of the "top plate" may be seperate, with the chest plate cut away uder the arm. Once more, I sincerely doubt this is a coat of plates depicted - see where the attatchment for the sword ends up in Steves drawing. It is, I think, much more likely to be a small breastplate...

chef de chambre

The Henry V saddle is most appropriate for the first 3rd of the century. Saddles change in form across the century.

chef de chambre

Chef, as I understand things, breastplates weren't in use by 1317, or at least not by a foreign mercenary. I know of the German CoP/ breastplate with chains, although I don't know when it is dated. I think the lowest set of rivets was for a set of plates to protect the hips and upper legs since the...

chef de chambre

You'd have to ask a Catholic (or look it up ) to be sure, but I'd bet on Stations of the Cross. I'm an Anglican Catholic, and the Stations of the Cross are part of our liturgical culture. I can say with some confidence that those are not the Stations of the Cross. I reiterate my belief that they're...

chef de chambre

For the cloth below the hemline ok. But in the closeups one could imagine that ther might be something sqaureish underneath. Have a look at how the section is coloured how the lighting and "shadow" is set. You are suggesting a level of realisim and detail/perspective that did not exist in...

chef de chambre

Look close, there are both. Down a bit from the greenery.

The 'stems and leaves' may just be randomly plucked vegitation, or it could be a referance for the viewer to the fellow owning a vinyard.

chef de chambre

THe chain for the sword and its positioning absolutely precludes any sort of square plate arrangement as is being toyed with here. As Thordman suggests, it would have to consist of long rectangular SHAPED horizontal plates (not flat) , overlapped like normal brigandine work. It also could be that th...

chef de chambre

I got volunenteered to help with the local high school musical This year it's Fiddler on the Roof. Most of the prop list is pretty easy but the cart is being a bit more of a chalange then the rest of it. Any good places to start? A pony cart as used in 'Fiddler', to deliver the milk is a very strai...

chef de chambre

That 'cluster of stuff' is a monastic or Fransiscan rosarie, the various bumps in the cords take the place of beads in more worldy varients of rosaries, the skull is a memento mori, which is a reminder to the user of the rosarie, and in this case, the viewer of the painting, that we are all mortal, ...

chef de chambre

In the book, it was the dolphins.

chef de chambre

Hi, I've seen examples of fabric covered helmets from the 15th/early 16th centuries. Anybody aware of the practice continuing into the later 16th-17th centuries? Any ideas on the kinds of fabric used? There are several mid to late 16th century burgonets extant, which are covered in velvet, and have...

chef de chambre

There is lots of documentation for softwood being used in Northern European furniture. Penelope Eams book is full of lists of furniture with descriptions of the materials they were made of. The softer woods just did not survive as well through the years, and the sampling of extant specimens is a tin...

chef de chambre

That is true.

At least they weren't made out of hornbeam...

chef de chambre

If they could do it, then might not we? Do we have _ANY_ reason to believe they weren't working with wet, fairly fresh felled wood at the time? All three extant examples in the series I modeled mine on are from the Southern Low Countries or Northern France (urban), made between 1450-1500. The odds ...

chef de chambre

I think he is doing this as a hand tool only project...... Admirable, and I fully understand the motive. But the oak he has was likely cut and dried to it's current state using modern machinery. To go full-period to get the full asethetic and appreciation for craft feel, he probably should/would ha...

chef de chambre

No shame in cheating on rough dimensioning of the lumber with a planer or resaw on a band-saw - you can clean any marks up by handplane afterwards. Likewise, I might suggest as a labor-saver with hogging out all of the material in the lid that you could use a drill (preferably a drill press) with a...

chef de chambre

Bob, Do you have a friend with a band saw or a power plane? Power tools won't help you with the lid, but you could use them to reduce your flat pieces to a more realistic thickness in a few minutes work. Mac I had a friend with both, and a drill press with a mortising bit set up, but he had to move...

chef de chambre

Quick question - If you remove excess thickness from the outside of the box, and the inside of the lid, wouldn't the lid then be too big for the box? Cat Yes. I built the box to be dimensionally true to the MET example I had the measure for (externally) I allowed 1/4" exess in every dimension ...

chef de chambre

I believe the word is trennel , "tree-nail". Exactly so. The person I have been working with various projects on over the Summer and Fall, had a job for a good while as a post and beam builder. The dowels used for trennals on buldings are typically white oak, and they are octagonal. They ...

chef de chambre

I am refering to coats of plates and brigandines in your specific example. I badly quoted your post because I was in a hurry. My point was, coats of plates and brigandiens are not interchangable, they are different terms for different types of armour, wirth an overlap of being contemporary to one an...

chef de chambre

Hi Mac While we might do it as the Medieval craftsman, three of four factors limit me, and place constraints on me. 1. Tools and materials. I am banging this out on a workbench using a clamp (large, wood) to hold the project, and my tools are handsaws, a hand plane and a couple of different straight...

chef de chambre

Dan Howard - At what point do the plates become small enough to be classed as scale armour? chef de chambre - I don't think it is so much size of plates, as to wether they are sewn to a foundation under them, as opposed to the foundation going over them and having a decorative cover. Exposed plates...

chef de chambre

Chef, It looks to me like your wood is between 3 and 4 times a thick as it should be. Remember also, that the leather is going to make it even thicker. Mac The hand plane will be seeing some work. Regardless, I am making it a bit thicker than it would be, because I am not daring enough to make it a...

chef de chambre

OK, scratch one armoured woman from the list of those documentable.

chef de chambre

I am going to take a different tack. We know such things existed, because we have references from that era in documents mentioning them. That is also how we know coats of plates existed as early as 1250, we haven't found them in an archaeological context that early, but we have reference to them in ...

chef de chambre

not exactly but close. From what ive seen it doesnt have overlapping plates There is no such animal historically. The plates were made to overlap for a reason. Not trying to drag you down here, but it really pains me to see a whole new farbisim created before my eyes, regarding a type of armour I h...

chef de chambre

Actually, I believe it (Monte) is in a bastard patois of Medieval latin, catalan, and Italian - not any sort of refined Latin. Otherwise, it would have been easy to translate.

chef de chambre

I don't think it is so much size of plates, as to wether they are sewn to a foundation under them, as opposed to the foundation going over them and having a decorative cover.

Exposed plates would equate to scale armour, covered plates would equate to brigandine work.

chef de chambre

To Lorenz's commentary, I will only add that the idea originally presented is very much in the aspect of projecting present-day values onto the past.

chef de chambre

There is no such thing as an 'open faced brigandine', outside of a bad Hollywood costume in an otherwise entertaining movie.

chef de chambre

Hi All, I've been looking for a long time for a latten candlestick for my kit/office, such as those seen in images of 15th century Flemish masters such as Campin, m Eyke, m and van der Weyden, and as seen in extant examples from links on Karens site in collections such as here m and here m and here ...

chef de chambre

Hi All, I am in process of coordinating a project for a leather covered, iron bound coffer, with me making the wood core, Cat doing the leather cover, and Clay making the ironwork for the project and installing it. Here is a link to the type of coffer we are seeking to make m and a photo of another ...

chef de chambre

If there were any, they would no doubt have been forgeries. I have never seen any other segmented breastplate like the 13 put forward as genuine or new finds, and if there had been one, it would have been big news in the armour world.

That collection had its share of good and bad items

chef de chambre

THe staples and pins you see are for the lance rest, not the helmet. At this point in the 15th century it would most commonly strap down, as mentioned, as would a great bascinet.

Re: any tips or patterns for cart desings?

Re: Fabric covered helmets

15th century latten candlestick

15th century coffer project (new)