The Armour Archive

chef de chambre

Hi Sir Rhys & all, Briefly, they built a shed because he could not wear his harness being ill, and they did not want him killed since he had produced no heir. Now for the item I am actually replying to. You are thinking of the Scottish Archers of the Guard of Charles VII painted by Foquet. While the...

chef de chambre

Hi Sir Rhys, Calm down, You see insult where none was intended. I merely point out that the attitude portrayed by many of the 'chivalry' toward various projectile weapons and their users is a-historical in many cases. They may not have used them in tourneys, but they used the hell out of them in war...

chef de chambre

Hi Sir Rhys, You see French and Flemish men-at-arms weilding glaives. These are hafted to the shorter length of a pollaxe, and often sport a protective rondel. One assumes they are used simply as a variation on the theme of a pollaxe, but they have a distinctly different head. ------------------ Bob...

chef de chambre

Sir Rhys, As a point of historic fact, Phillip the Bold and other Valois dukes of Burgundy belonged to the shooting guild of Ghent (the Brotherhood of St. George), and on occassion took delight in participating in their competitions. That said, those were shooting competitions (wildly popular, these...

chef de chambre

Hi Jacob, The fluted swirled kettlehat is more like $300, with the shipping charges, the bank fee for the wire transfer (the only way to pay him is an international money order, or a international wire transfer of funds - he doesn't take credit cards, pay-pal or the like), and the normal fluctuation...

chef de chambre

Hi Morvan, Just a note - the reason it was never worn was it was made for a specific tourney. The host of the tourney changed the rules at the last minute, requiring a tonlet harness - and theus the suit was not used. His massive weight gain was more than a decade from that point in his career. Hate...

chef de chambre

No Problemo,

You were working off memory, as was I, and none of us are perfect!

------------------
Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi Cheval, Last I checked, there has been no proof for the theory of forge welding on bascinets and their visors. The Litton Bascinet in the RA was given a surface examination, but there was no conclusive evidence for the theory. They had talked about some more exhaustive tests at some future point,...

chef de chambre

Sir Rhys, ! If I tried that I'd be just like the folks I laugh at, running around a gym floor in t-shirts with wasters! You can't learn anything that way. That is a rather dismissive and arrogant attitude, the very sort of attitude that people despise Joh...

chef de chambre

Hi Sir Rhys, You will find Meyer & Sutor agreeing with Ringneck, and they are 100 years later. I know a powerful blow can be landed without stepping, that said, I think the stepping is required by the nature of the fight, and also explains why it is not so suicidal. In the opinion of most of the peo...

chef de chambre

Hi Syr Rhys, Here is a list of battle post 1364 fought primarily by mounted men at arms, in which they were a decisive factor. Note, it is only a partial list - by no means exhaustive, and spread across the 15th century to give a good sampling. I think it validates my previous posts regarding the to...

chef de chambre

Hi Cheval,

I would modify that by saying "the best armour", or more likely "the complete panoply of the man at arms" is proof against archery. This seems to be what the historical documentation reveals, and it would encourage complete suits of armour of whatever era.

------------------
Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi Sir Rhys, Here, I have one point of (friendly)contention. Actually, for the majority of the middle ages the majority of knights fought battles on *foot* (even when they were still riding in tournament, but that has no relevance because there weren't any archer...

chef de chambre

Hi Sir Rhys, Sorry, that is why the internet is such a lousy communication mode. I was interjecting a point, and not disagreeing with your interpretation in the first post. It would have come off better ahd we been sitting around a table. In point of fact, I hadn't even cracked either Rector or my P...

chef de chambre

Cheval, A point you miss. The reason the bow was ineffective earlier, and became effective later for a span, is not the power of the bow. The answer lies in how the bow is tactically applied on the battlefield. While the Welsh had some successes, do to terrain & tactics with the bow used individuall...

chef de chambre

Hi Sir Rhys, You aren't one of those people who doesn't believe in parrying, are you? I would have thought, from the apparent research you've done, that you'd be beyond that misconception. Not at all. That said, the intent of German swordsmanship seems to ...

chef de chambre

Hi Sir Rhys, Actually, all the "weak" attacks are usually false edge attacks, which are used in Meyer to deliver a faster attack to gain the initiative and control the fight - which seems to be even at this late date what blossfechten is all about. The emphasis is always on stiking your opponent - n...

chef de chambre

Hi Jean,

My guess would be between $400 - $500, as it is used and dented, albeit the wear is light.

------------------
Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi Kyle,

Unless the metal mas rolled edges and a curved surface, and is hardend, the test would have little bearing on the topic.

------------------
Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi All, You can see from Reverend Georges illustration why historically, women who for whatever circumstance found themselves temporarily bearing arms could stuff themselves into mens armour. Joan of Arc or the Countess of Brittany, to give two real examples, could be stuffed with reasonable comfort...

chef de chambre

Historically, from "how a man schalle be armed...", it was thick hemp twine, well waxed and "pointed as points". Going from iconographic evidence, they were used in varying thicknesses (ones to hod a crinet to a chamfron, or point a jousting shield to a breastplate could be quite thick - thicker tha...

chef de chambre

Hi Aiden, The "chivalric" display would give the defenders their pretty, heraldic shields. Speculating about art only gives you - well, speculation. What tells you the nitty-gritty of how armies were equiped and fought are those boring, musty, muster rolls, and inventories of equipment bought, ordin...

chef de chambre

Hi Guys,

Glad to be of help. It's an excellent book - probably the best ever in that price range, and it includes a good deal of technical data.

Enjoy your books!

------------------
Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi Horsefriend,

Go to www.higgins.org and order it from the museum store. It is the standard retail price, but the profit will help support the museum rather than Amazon's bottom line.

------------------
Bob R.

chef de chambre

"The Medieval Armour of Rhodes" (Karcheski & Richardson) shows a number of bits of harness with working life repairs.

------------------
Bob R.

chef de chambre

Hi Michael, The St. Mary's Sallet in Coventry originally had a hollow gilt brass tube set on the top, made to look like the stem of an apple. with a couple of little 'roots' on either side of the bowl. Teeny-tiney - it'd just about hold one feather. There is a Flemish St. George with a plume holder ...

chef de chambre

Hi all, Oops, you are correct of course Zannetto. I don't own a copy of the Churburg yet, so I have to work off faulty memory. Am eagerly awaiting my copy of Mantova. So he finally finished the fugley helm? I know he finished Jeff Johnsons, I bet Tom Ball is a pleased as punch. Have you by chance go...

chef de chambre

Hi Wade & all, Just to add some information. I believe the "crest holder" photographed in the Churburg is actually a banderole post for the top of the helmet - a la the Master of W.A. engravings, the Burgundian ordinances requirement for officers (The Churburg was located in a part of the old Duchy ...

chef de chambre

Hi Otto, I think what you are describing is a evolutionary form known as a "close armet" (similar to the Wenceslaus armet), which is almost a different catagory, certainly a different subset of helmet. Most of the helmets with bellows visors I have seen are "close sallets", or close helmets rather t...

chef de chambre

Hi Almaric, The Armet, or elmetto is first seen at the end of the first decade of the 15th century. It is in essence a entirely Italian design, but became popular amongst the men-at-arms of a number of differing regions outside of Italy over the course of the century, and continued in use even along...

chef de chambre

Hi Bascot & all, There really is no magic formula to patterning the plates. In each example we have underway, we are copying an extant piece. The first thing that is required (after picking your model and getting as many photos as possible of it) is to make the foundation garment and cover to fit yo...

chef de chambre

Hi All Sir Rhys is dead right regarding how a harness must be fastened to function correctly. Historic Entewrprises used to list them, which is where I got mine. For any one to function correctly, it must be custom fitted to you. Without a godd fit, there will be no good result. The same can be said...

chef de chambre

Hi All, I can think of at least 20+ extant examples, covering 1400 - 1500. In the early years, they were certainly intended for military use. As late as Diebold Schilling's Chronicle of Berne (1470's -80's), combat troops are depicted as wearing them - one was captured at Grandson or Morat by the Sw...

chef de chambre

Hi Bascot, I'll let you know more tomorrow evening, as we are patterning out the plates for this one tomorrow. Our previous example (and one of the next two following my first one) was based on one in Vienna, which is a little different. I wasn't involved in pattering the plates on the first one (al...

chef de chambre

Hi All, Lost Scott is on the mark. Unless you are all a similar size and shape, a 'kit' won't work for you. On the other hand, if several of you are of Bascots size & shape, and you want in - I don't see why it wouldn't work. That brigandine is nearly identical to the one I am making, and it is more...