The Armour Archive

chef de chambre

Is there an easy source to compare prices back then to prices now? Like a calculator I can plug the price and year into, and it tells me what that equals in today's money? For instance, 25 Florins in 1383 = ??? in 2011 Dollars? The short and long answer is no and no. Nevermind inflation, the compar...

chef de chambre

OK, Monks were generally cloistered, which means they didbn't get out and about from the cloisters excepting in special circumstances, and the VAST majority would never have fought, as a monk (although some wopuld have been ex-soldiers who gave up the life). Mendicant orders come about in the late 1...

chef de chambre

Also don't forget to consider thje political situation. Armour values would fluctuate with demand, onset of war drove up prices of horses and arms and armour. An outbreak of peace could have the reverse effect. Look to Dantini getting his brother to buy up used items cheap, during a treaty, and then...

chef de chambre

One thing you must keep in mind when looking at inventories, especially post-mortem inventories, is that the items are 'used', and do not neccessarily reflect the cost of new. A more complete picture is gotten looking at household purchases, alongside inventories. In the Howard books, we even have a...

chef de chambre

Visors of that sort show up on English monuments as early as the 1340's, maybe earlier. Such visors show up on early sallets in the low countries as late as the 1460's. The pendant gorget plate or bevor pins the helmet itself somewhere between 1390-1420, from what I have seen of late 14th - early 1...

chef de chambre

Guthrie, Cast iron shot goes back a bit further than that. The Mary Rose had cast iron shot on board in 1545, and Biringuccio tells us how to do it in Pirotechnia, which was published posthumously in 1540. He thinks of them as a "new" invention from around 1495. Mac As I recall, cast iron...

chef de chambre

Yep, those are pattens.

chef de chambre

Believe it or not, thsi was covered in a History Channel program, including the testing of a reconstruction of the triplex breastplate against a musket, I believe. This info is a few years old.

chef de chambre

Unfortunately not. The 3 late 14th/early 15th century examples I am aware of - the bascinet posted, the Polish(?) crown (presumed for bascinet), and the Charles V gilt copper kettlehat (I know, not a bascinet, but with a similar bowl, and from around the same time) are either seperate crowns, or emb...

chef de chambre

One will note the crown on Charles V bascinet is not extant - that is patination on the bascinet itself , the crown dissapeared during the French revolution. There is a crown for a bascinet found in Eastern Europe, I cannot remember if the bascinet was extant or just the crown. The thing pinned toge...

chef de chambre

There is every reason to believe they will leave it where it lies, and do an archaeological survey. Naval archaeology has gone away from raising and preserving wrecks, to the mainstream thinking they are best kept underwater and in context. Not to mention, projects like Vasa and Mary Rose are hideou...

chef de chambre

Here is a link to a very dated speculative reconstruction from 1909 m You will note a couple of different details likely very correct, and will be interesting to see as the ship is gone over, less than 100 significant broadside guns, a tall foc'sle, as well as the carrack-like hull reenforcing. She ...

chef de chambre

That will be a significantly different type of ship than the Vasa, more like a carrack. Most of its guns will be much lighter than people think - like the Great Harry, or one of the earlier Tudor ships - not at all like a 17th or 18th century double-decker. Swivels and 'murdering pieces' would be co...

chef de chambre

Yeah, a full range would begin and end in Italy - very late 14th century, then commonly seen around Europe circa 1440, fading out in the 1480's, but sticking around Italy right into the Italian wars, at least the early ones up to Francis I. A lot of T slots were cut away to open faces jobs late in l...

chef de chambre

You know, they did start casting iron in mid 15th century Northern Europe, and we have a couple of cast object, including cannon barrels, extant to illustrate the point. In example is a circa 1440 devotional St. George in the MFA Bostom (or it might be the MET, it has been a while since I looked at ...

chef de chambre

The answer is most probably socio-economic, involving the capabilities of local craftsmen, the expense of raw materials, and the level of demand vs. the battlefield threats faced. Thatm and the basic knowledge of the type, which dissapeared from use, worn out, discarded, and buried long before. You ...

chef de chambre

Rigid plate proptects better than an articulated plate - a bascinet or a sallet is going to help resist trauma from a blow - so long as it is not penetrated - better than a hinged cheek piece will. A cuirasse absorbs energy and makes the wearer feel less trauma than a brigandine, which is itelf supe...

chef de chambre

You know what assuming did...

chef de chambre

They were very specifically used by bodyguards to Italian noblemen in the mid 16th century, and they may be very specific to Venice, or the Republic. How to carry a lantern, a sword, and a shield all the time - you have 4-6 fellows around you armed with this sort of thing, in addition to a half-doze...

chef de chambre

I thought Europe stopped in Swabia...

chef de chambre

http://www.tforum.info/forum/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=30406 You can see how thick this is at the edge in the lower center. It is far too thick to be covered steel, and is uniform in appearance, like thick leather. If I can remember to find it, I have a picture of an icon with St Ge...

chef de chambre

Metal generally gets recycled, and worn out leather gets tossed. Just like today. And from another topic... m While this is true, the service life of leather items could be quite long. Saddles, which saw a heck of a lot more wear than a vambrace is likely to ever see, could see 30 years or more of ...

chef de chambre

The question would be to whom (which location) did the ship carrying the chest belong? Where it was found does not indicate which port the ship was out of, it could be a hanseatic leauge ship, it could be Dutch, Danish, Swedish, etc. Also, if it is intended for a shipboard application, it could be a...

chef de chambre

There are other artistic depictions, and even a few surviving examples in the 16thC. Where is there ar survivng example of a 'splinted' defence of thje 16th century? To the best of my knowledge, this is the sole exant example we are examining here. There are cuirbolli horse cruppers and chamfrons, ...

chef de chambre

This style was depicted much later than this find. I've looked at the pictures of this piece many times, and it is nice to find physical evidence of the construction. m Edited to give good link. Yes, but it is depicted on a military St. (George), who is dressed entirely in a form of a late medieval...

chef de chambre

It isn't uncommon at all to see images of people wearing cannons of the vambrace, with a haubergeon, and some plate defense over the haubergeon. It is actually quite common in 15th century art. No spauldiers are normally seen, although sometimes you see a sleeve poking out from undeer a pauldron in ...

chef de chambre

They aren't very common at all in art past mid 14th century, and of course none survive

chef de chambre

It isn't a large image to start out with, it is a miniature in the Gruthuyse Froissart, held by the BNF. They used to have all the miniatures from it online, in reasonably high resolution on their "Age of Charles V" online exhibit - it was down when last I tried to visit it.

chef de chambre

Linens could be quite fine and sheer.

Looking at the first link, I see fairly standard European dress, indicating tunics and overgowns.

chef de chambre

...Or almonds. Candied almonds would count as such a notion, I should think.

chef de chambre

It is an alternative possibility. More than any other time in Western European history, the late 13th-last quarter of the 14th century was a time of experimentation in materials used in armour manufacture. ETA, some substantial shapes could be moulded in curibolli and gesso, and at least one Italian...

chef de chambre

Basically, the lack of surface incidents of Late Medieval anti-Jewish violence in England is entirely due to the 13th century expulsion of its Jews, rather than any better sensibility on the populations part than anywhere else in Europe.

chef de chambre

I'm very skeptical of the ethnic arguments, here. The DNA testing they did is very trendy, and I'm confident that the skeletons are related to each other, but how do you test someone's DNA to show that they're Jewish? There are a lot of assumptions that go into that conclusion, including the troubl...

chef de chambre

The question is, what are such spauldiers made of?

We don't have any real evidence of repousee metalwork in armour for this era, and it is likely that they are cuirbolli as anything else, prior to 1350.

chef de chambre

It isn't finished, if you mean the one being worked on. It could be the skull of a burgonet, or a close helmet, depending on how it was finished. A lot of German burgonets of that time frame had faceted skulls.

Re: Armour costs

Re: Monks

Re: Armour costs

Re: Armour costs

Re: Visor accuracy - 1390s

Re: Earliest Cast Iron Pots?

Re: 15thC shoes - don't shoot me

Re: Triplex construction of breastplate

Re: Coronets on Hounskull/Pigface Bascinets

Re: Coronets on Hounskull/Pigface Bascinets

Re: 'New Vasa' shipwreck found on Baltic seabed

Re: 'New Vasa' shipwreck found on Baltic seabed

Re: 'New Vasa' shipwreck found on Baltic seabed

Re: GDFB Celeta

Re: Medieval Fry Pan

Re: Why Did Cheek Pieces and Neck Guards Go Away?

Re: Why Did Cheek Pieces and Neck Guards Go Away?

Re: I don't even know what to think about this...

Re: I don't even know what to think about this...

Re: A 12th Century double-bladed battle axe? Really?

Re: Paintings Of Leather Armour

Re: In 1937 Fishermen found Leather Armour in Chest

Re: In 1937 Fishermen found Leather Armour in Chest

Re: In 1937 Fishermen found Leather Armour in Chest

Re: In 1937 Fishermen found Leather Armour in Chest

Re: Mail over plate in the 14th century?

Re: Late Visored Great Helms

Re: The execution of Robert Tresilian

Re: El Libro de Axedrez, Dados, et Tablas

Re: "Wine and spices" in Froissart

Re: Repousse Lion Armour

Re: Ethnic cleansing: 12-13C Norwich

Re: Ethnic cleansing: 12-13C Norwich

Re: Repousse Lion Armour

Re: What kind of hat is this? 1535, German