The Armour Archive

chef de chambre

Hi All, Some of the nicest people I know are in the SCA. In my experience that has turned out to be a cautionary tale, it wasn't a case of people intentionaly being jerks, or going out of their way to be rude to me that kept me from becoming a member. It was a complete lack of interest on any member...

chef de chambre

Hi Magmaforge, The strapping is unique as far as I can tell, probably a Swabian thing. The drawing is not detailed enough to make a conclusive statement regarding them. As to the side tassets and cullet plate, they are de rigure for mid 15th century Italian harness, it is just that they are usually ...

chef de chambre

Hi Torvald, If you are reffering to Sinrics pattern, it is a padded jack - not a gambeson. It is definitely a different thing, being cut on the lines of a 15th century doublet. The body would need to be longer, the peplum isn't, and the sleeves would be tataly different. 15th century descriptions of...

chef de chambre

Hi Edmund,

I am not a textiles person. I think 'longcloth' and 'shortcloth' are probably refering to the knap of a wool. I was pretty certain that Sendal is a silk.

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Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi Magmaforge, It is intended to be worn over my arming doublet, as any regular part of may harness is. Historicaly, they would for military use be worn over some padded foundation garmet, but unlikely over a textile armour unto itself like a jack (for self explanatory reasons when you have seen and...

chef de chambre

Hi Hugh, I have a list somewhere of about 20 or more different sections of plates and fragments we were allowed to measure with a micrometer from the reserve collection of the Higgins (mostly from Chalsis, but some from other sources), they ranged from 1440 - 1480, were mostly Italian in attribution...

chef de chambre

Hi Magmaforge, Since it is made of High Carbon steel that has been tempered, there is no reason it should not see action. It will definitely be used in reenactment combat, and it might be in rebated steel tourneys. Once I finish this one, my next project will be one specificaly designed to be worn w...

chef de chambre

Hi Darkman, Greyholt is correct in his assessment - if you are refering to the garde braces which are a reenforce to the pauldron. They usually attatch with staple and pin, although I am not sure how to interpret the pyramid headed aspect of these, but I am fairly certain that they are a decorative ...

chef de chambre

Hi Greyholt, From inventory accounts and letters, and importation records the majority of harness imported into England during the most of the Lancaster - York family dispute was Italian export, and Flemish in origin. German armour doesn't appear in large quantities until almost the end of the era, ...

chef de chambre

Hi Rhys, <font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">The most successful LH groups seem to focus on a single year, and I think this is the best approach</font> Not neccessarily. The White Company (the original (UK) portrays Edward IV's household over a 10 year span, "The Company of Saynte George (the origi...

chef de chambre

Hi TB, Well, we have our handbook, and what we do is trot out a bunch of good examples of equipment, and show them similar items in period artwork, and extant examples. Because we have the handbook with minimum standards, we really don't have too much trouble. As we get people needing bits of equipm...

chef de chambre

Hi Cheval, Good for you. After all, your purpose is not just to teach people to be 'hot sticks', but to teach them to be little knights - like an eagle teaching a fledgling to fly. IUt ios the whole package that is important - not only prowess, but equaly behaviour and appearance. Too bad I'm not in...

chef de chambre

Hi Bran, You are absolutely correct, there isn't a one of us doing it 100% correct. I am sadly aware of all the flaws in my kit - my goal is to improve them, but I will be doing so to the day I die, and it still won't be 100%. I'm glad Frau Hirsch and others have posted these links, because they sho...

chef de chambre

Hi Deacon - Not only the early stuff, but throughout the period, even quality suits of armour were made unhardened. This was sometimes due to the armourer being unaware that the carbon content of the ore being used was too low to recieve any benefit from the process, sometimes due to the process hav...

chef de chambre

Hi Darkman, I'll have to take a close look at the lames again before I make response on that front, but to the neck protection. The effigy is wearing a mail standard, which is a collar, with a very small fring of mail that follows onto the shoulder. In the effigy, I believe you will note that the ma...

chef de chambre

Progress update, All the plates that have been heat treated at this point have been tinned. Sinric made a large tinning pot with it's own heating element that has sped the process up rapidly. He also discovered that brushing flux onto the piece immediately following tinning made for a much more even...

chef de chambre

The small minded exist everywhere and in every group. Our group has a handbook explaining the standards that we give out to potential recruits, and we help people in a friendly way. I think as you grow in knowledge, you often find people like the farb who confronted you (this time in proper usage) p...

chef de chambre

Hi Olaf, I will gladly take the proffered olive branch and chalk this all up to a misunderstanding. I posted this original post, and I believe it is a valid thing to do, as it is an explanation of how I ended up not being in the Society, although I tried to join on three seperate occassions . I post...

chef de chambre

Hi Olaf, I didn't "deliberatly misinterpret" your post, I responded as to how I read the post, and it seemed to me you were trying to refute my experience. The way I interpreted it was the way your post came across to me - perhaps your post could have been worded better to be clearer to the reader. ...

chef de chambre

Hi Peder, Yep, it is - a full two page spread, pgs 182 & 183. The fellow in question is at the right edge center of pg 182. Looking at it now, you can't see his limbs, but as almost every other mounted attendant has limb armour, I'd be surprised if he didn't, but you can clearly see his green brigan...

chef de chambre

Hi Otto,

A pavillion covers the required range.

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Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi All again, I dd not mean for this thread to become a 'bash the SCA thread' (so please don't let it devolve into one), it is merely an explanation of how a person so interested in Medieval history came to not be a member of the Society. Olaf, for a fellow not trying to 'discount anyones stories', ...

chef de chambre

Hi Ryan, Africans turn up in 15th century paintings - both Northern European and Italian - sometimes in the oddest places. The one thing is they are always depicted in European costume - conformity to societal norms was a clarion call of, and hallmark of the Middle Ages. You adapted to the culture y...

chef de chambre

Hi All, First off let me explain that this thread is not intended to be inflamatory, it is intended to be explanitory. In reading other threads on other Forums on the Archive, I have seen a perception by some that some of the threads recently posted on this forum are in antipathy to the SCA. In some...

chef de chambre

....Should be in Arms & Armour of the Medieval Knight, by Edge & Paddock.

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Bob R.

chef de chambre

.....But we made our own resources. The only one we 'stumbled' across was H.E., all the rest was us going out and doing it. Wishing improvement does not make it so. Unfortunately, in point of fact, most people who have been mentioned on this thread who are most sorely in need of improvement - do not...

chef de chambre

Hi All, <font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Wolf Argent and Red Company are very fortunate in many respects. They have individuals with the resources to maintain their standards. </font> It depends on what you mean by 'resources'. No one in Wolfe Argent (or Red Company for that matter) is "rich" by...

chef de chambre

Hi Cet, My apologies for offending you. I spend a fair ammount of my free time attempting to bring rational discussion to debunk a variety of myths, and the Myth of the overwhelming superiority of Japanese swords, swordsmanship, and the cutting capabilities of them is perhaps the biggest and ugliest...

chef de chambre

Hi Anoob, Sallets first appear toward the end of the first quarter of the 14th century, and seem to have been commonplace by 1440 (a plethora of mentions of them in documents). No, they are not really contemporary with 'splinted' limb harness, as this seems to have gone out of usage in the 1380's at...

chef de chambre

Hi All, I've seen this article - two minor points, Firstly he put a 6" gash into it - he did not split it, and this using all his skill and force upon an inanimate object. People I have heard who had seen the test said that they doubted a wearer would have been killed wearing it (unless from whiplas...

chef de chambre

Hi Murdock, May I make some suggestions? In order to actually do LH, you need a narrow focus, with all of the group members "personas" belonging together in place and time. Invariably, all reenactment groups doing a military portrayal are reenacting a single unit. Given your choice of the Hundred Ye...

chef de chambre

Hi Winterfel, Not to be contentious, but I would love to see you point out examples of bad kit in the Red Company galleries. If you can at all, it is most likely due to backgroud players at the occassional Rennfaire they do wandering into the photograph. They have a strictly enfoprced minimum standa...

chef de chambre

Hi Morgan, I didn't even mention Scotland in my post. If you are refering to the nation-state commentary, that is directed toward Valois Burgundy. Since I married into a very Scottish, and very Southern family, I have a dash of Scots blood myself, and I even do a '45 Jacobite impression, I'd be unli...

chef de chambre

.....Yeah, Wolfe Argent is too. Discretionary income is a funny thing. I have an iron law of hobbies and discretionary income - any hobby you are in will eat it up, regardless of size of D. income. Joe the lower middle class guy and Bill gates are going to spend the same proportions of dicretionary ...

chef de chambre

Hi Tim, Nope, There seems to be a lot of evidence for the hity-toity - at least in the 15th century, to have such embellishments added to their armour. In the Grande Equestre of the Toisson d'Or the artists went to a great deal of trouble to depict such embelishments (although refined and not garish...

How I ended up not being in the SCA