The Armour Archive

chef de chambre

Hi Joaquin, In regards to the ACW commentary - it is not hundreds of folks in at least passable attempts at civil war uniforms - it is thousands upon thousands - by the regimentr and brigade, literaly on a one to one scale. The 'farbisims' of most ACW types involve wearing peachy-keen gear they can ...

chef de chambre

Hi All, Here are two pictures of progress. The first is the right front exterior http://www.wolfeargent.com/projects/brigadine_green_1.gif Second is right front interior http://www.wolfeargent.com/projects/brigadine_green_2.gif This represents about 6 hrs of work, placing the plates correctly and th...

chef de chambre

Hi Konstantine, As to the SCA being a large pool of potential recruits for the narrowly focused groups, I do not think that is neccessarily true. <font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">. Fact of life -- you will find the people who want to do this sort of thing well among the people who want to do it ...

chef de chambre

Hi Giles, To respectfully disagree with you, I do not think Bascot was initially 'trolling'. I think he was posting pictures to show how cool reenactment looks. I also do think he was jumped upon to a degree, as it is true to my experience that some SCAdians seem to take it as a personal affront, or...

chef de chambre

Hi All, I do not believe this from the evidence I have seen. <font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Historically, armor was used for two main purposes. To protect the wearer and for ostentatious display of wealth. Some of the finest armor that survives to this day is here because it was apparently nev...

chef de chambre

Hey Joaquin - Whaddaya mean 'small'? Red Co has 30 members and 3 horses at last count, which is pretty average sized for a War of the Roses Federation company in the UK, and Wolfe Argent has 15 (if I could only get them all into an event at one time!) and three horses. Men of Warwick between 30-40, ...

chef de chambre

Yes, very much so. Not the modern Bartlett variety though.

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Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi Bascot, It is my understanding that Medieval European mail nearly always uses wedge rivets, and round ones come in sporadicaly through the Rennaisance - possibly largely through Ottoman influence in Centeral Europe. As to the unequal sleevel length, there is hardly any harness not showing signs o...

chef de chambre

Hi Ryan, If you count my ACW experience, I have been at living history for a decade now. I was fortunate enough to join a battery that was welcoming and supportive of newcomers, but was dedicated to research, recreating artifacts and experimenting, and with public presentation. In example, they regu...

chef de chambre

Hi Hal,

Yes, that is the form of some of the very early halberds the Swiss used. The eariest just look like an axe on a long pole.

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Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hey Ryan - Don't get depressed - now you see the reason I portray a gentleman and a junior officer rather than a knight. I can beievably pull off the one, while the other is beyond my grasp. Heck - you might win the lottery and be able to pull off an Earl with all the bells and whistles. There is no...

chef de chambre

Hi Ryan, My harness by Jeff Hedgecock is most emphaticaly not an infantry harness, or a 'light' harness, it is a man at armds cavalry cuirasse, readily identifiable as such by the staples on the left for holding a lance rest. It feels lighter than my old armour, as it fits me properly and the old on...

chef de chambre

Hi Gargoyle, Thje reason you can't find pictures is because 14th century Scots weren't carrying halberds, they were carrying spears and or normal axes. The Swiss more or less invented the weapon in the early 14th century, and their early halberds in no way look like halberds readily identifiable to ...

chef de chambre

Hi Ryan, Sorry for taking so long to reply. I am finaly at my home computer again, so I can address your question. You had asked about the accoutrements of an Earl of the station to wear the Beauchamp -Warwick effigy harness, and what would be appropriate. I have divided the acoutrements into catago...

chef de chambre

Dr Forgeng is currently polishing the translation, and will publish it when he is satisfied with the translation. You don't rush translations, as a rushed one quickly becomes the laughingstock of the community as the errors are realized. Do you want it good? Or do you want it now? http://www.armoura...

chef de chambre

I almost forgot to mention the whopping all leather, heart shaped shield carried by both cavalry and infantry, and the cavalry essentialy being light lancers, swords being largely in similar form to European ones.

chef de chambre

Hi Tradzman, There are a series of etchings by a German artist who was present in Spain during the last campaigns of the Reconquista, also, the Royal Armouries in Madrid has some Granadine Moor harness and swords from this era - not a lot, and mostly attributed to Boabdil (spelled that incorrectly n...

chef de chambre

Hi MG 65, Well, there aren't any 14th century German saddles extant that I am aware of, There is one @ 1400, which is on the knife edge, but it is of a form apparently common to general purpose riding saddles. The form is commonly seen in "horn saddles" - that is those elaborate parade saddles cover...

chef de chambre

Yep Wade,

Wore it for 4 hours constantly at the Higgins fair - no problemo. You arent going to snap a blow across your breastplate though, but then again, you wouldn't be doing that in the real thing.

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Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi Guys,Rhys et al, It really isn't as simple as you are making it out (the edge vs. flat parry). The question arises is it truely dead on edge on edge, or are they striking at a slight angle, etc. As has been pointed out, the vast majority of defensive solutions to attack ar by voiding - stepping o...

chef de chambre

Hi Darkman, The Low Countries are what they collectively were known as in England - Pays Bas to French Speakers. Prior to the 15th century, the Various conties of Flanders, Holland and Zeeland, Hainault, Duchies of Luxembourg, Brabant, etc. During the 15th century they were "Burgundy", welded into s...

chef de chambre

Hi MG65,

When & where? They change radicaly in form in time and place.

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Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi Wade,

Congrats on both the aquisitons & the B-day!

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Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi Jeff,

Nope - mine is the long discontinued Arms & Armour bec, customized with a rondel guard and a proper queue. The head is cast off an original.

I'll come up with a list of accoutrements in a bit.

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Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi Ryan, How can you be wearing a reproduction of an armour made for an Earl, yet not be representing "a knight or a chivalrous persona"? I think the idea of anything less than a high quality pollaxe or bec de corbyn would look very odd. It will also look odd if you are wearing an earls armour, but ...

chef de chambre

Hi Theodore, I think I am much wider read than you are giving me credit for (I am a member of De Rei Militari as well). My view of infantry combat is very current - I do not think you understand my initial post at all. The question is "What is a Seargent" - not the evolution of infantry combat. I ha...

chef de chambre

Hi Aaron,

From descriptions and paintings they were several light layers of linen with a tougher cover and a silk or satin liner - not a quilted garment like a gambeson or jack. You don't have room for that much padding under a properly tailored harness of plate.

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Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi Brodir, Traditionaly during the high middle ages, a seargent is a (normally) cavalryman not quite so well equiped as a knight, on a horse of lesser quality (a simple eques rather than a rouncey on a remunda roll, worth about 1/4 the price), or riding a rouncey when destriers first make there appe...

chef de chambre

Hi Will C., I will have to say that your guess is correct - no earlier than the late 14th century. Actually, barbutes from this date are wide-open in the face, and I have yet to see a Corinthian or proper T prior to 1440. The greathelm that Niccole mentions has been considered a fake for very good r...

chef de chambre

Hi Cunian, I well understand your position and sympathise with it. I have no problem with women playing the game (whichever it is) alongside of men, so long as in the case of reenactment they attempt to either disuise themselves as men, or act the part of a campfollower defending the camp impromptu ...

chef de chambre

Hi All Can this woman provide the primary documentation she cites to support her position? She quotes a lot of alleged examples, but does not give the primary documentation they are derived from I want to know, especially regarding the women on gun crews. Quoteing Gerry Embletons offhand remark is n...

chef de chambre

Hi Uryen,

What's your source for that assertion? The Middle English sources I have seen refer to them a 'chausses'.

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Bob R.

chef de chambre

They are commonplace to North West Europe through the last half of the 15th century.

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Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi All, Well, Edmund, I think we are dealing with a definition problem again. What Rev George has posted are properly known a chausses, and they affix to a belt or the shirt. Hosen are a later development from this for of leggings, occuring in the last quarter of the 14th century (maybe last third e...

chef de chambre

Hi Cap'n & all, Thanks for the info. I myself have a lot of black poweder artillery experience (first hoisted linstock at , but I've never bought a tube myself, nor would I consider making one. I like South Bend, but they obviously specialize in 19th century tubes. At some point I want a small tube,...

Brigandine Progress