The Armour Archive

Donal Mac Ruiseart

I saw these advertised in a Dover online catalog:

The Mediaeval Tournament

Philosophy and Civilization in the Middle Ages

One can always learn more, and if these book are reliable sources I just might buy one.

Opinions?

Donal Mac Ruiseart

I can just see it . . .

"It's OK, I'm with the band!"

THWANGGGGG

Donal Mac Ruiseart

I'm not trying to sport out - what I'm trying to do is achieve an appropriate appearance, without necessarily getting ALL the details exact. It's more to save expense than weight, but at my age I'm not looking to burden myself with extra weight, either. Sounds like some of you, at least, seem to hav...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

I can see that the skirt would be essential but the sleeves not necessarily.

Donal Mac Ruiseart

Hmmm - did Seamus yell "Kabong!" when he hit someone with it?* Once, when I was in a Royal household, Their Majesties were going to hold court at a small event in a nearby Barony. There were no weapons ready to hand with which to stand guard, but I borrowed a guitar (acoustic) from a local...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

you mean as if a crop-top . . a T-shirt coming down just to the upper chest?

Donal Mac Ruiseart

Hmmm, so if I made a CoP and had a garment under it that included a skirt/fauld and maybe sleeves . . . ?

Donal Mac Ruiseart

I had been contemplating making a CoP or brigandine to replace my one-piece leather cuirass which, while functional and not all that bad looking, has no real historical basis. But seeing all this discussion, I realise that to wear one without maille beneath is incorrect also - and I really have neit...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

At Pennsic many years past, I noticed a woman wearing what you would literally call a breastplate. Many have seen the Roman lorica musculata, the high-class body armor that mimics the shape of an idealized male chest and abdomen. This was its female counterpart, having strikingly anatomical breasts ...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

That was pretty much my plan too Donal. Thanks for drawing it up for me. Vlad, if you build something based on something I built, it will be perfect symmetry of exchange. I built my armour chest based on yours, that I saw at Marinus's Hero's Portion event last year. I guess I ought to take some pic...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

robyn wrote:I have to say that I only had one guy, which I pinched repeatedly in the face, not take my face thrusts.

I can see why he wasn't taking 'em . . . there's nothing in the Marshal's Handbook that addresses pinching.

Donal Mac Ruiseart

This is the finished product . . . almost. I still want to paint it and install some chains to keep it from opening too wide . . . that is, collapsing. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2550/3813745516_9b1fa23f89.jpg For a small gallery showing this project, have a look at my Flickr Album.

Donal Mac Ruiseart

.

Snazzy!

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Donal Mac Ruiseart

If I come across someone who has a problem with it I'll tell to go screw themselves, and keep doing my thing. Deciding to take leg blows as kills is not rude, but telling people to screw themselves is. The better way to handle such people is to be excruciatingly polite to them and continue to do as...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

Mine will have "boxes" along the bottom to contain the butt-ends of spears and pole-arms.

This is a preliminary drawing of it. The working drawing has more dimensions and such.

Donal Mac Ruiseart

Um, what are the bungees for?

Those clamp fittings are handy but they can be vicious. I almost lost a finger to one once, they can become a giant end-cutter.

I'm working on a design of my own. When I get it built I'll post it.

Donal Mac Ruiseart

Only complaint I have is that it takes so long to load . . .

Heheh, I thought I heard a dog!

Donal Mac Ruiseart

I did "clapping" push ups in my 14th century harness. I *NEVER* do clapping push ups. I can't do those in gym gear! "Can you turn cartwheels in your armour?" "No" "Ah ha . . . ." "Can't turn cartwheels out of armour, for that matter!"

Donal Mac Ruiseart

During demos, I often armour up in front of the audience, explaining the pieces as I do so, and occasionally referring to a persistent myth that I hope to debunk for them. Once I'm fully rigged, I then explain the supposition that a man in armour was so encumbered that he couldn't get up if he fell ...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

We are stuck homeside this time.

Financial exingencies preclude the perigrination.

In other words, we can't afford the trip.

Donal Mac Ruiseart

This is based on a lecture I heard a couple of times from Sir Hilary of Serendip, quondum Steward of the Society. The Sweet Spot Most of us know that a sword has a "sweet spot," an area that delivers more effective blows than the rest of the "blade." For the benefit of those who ...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

.

Someone long ago wrote:"No Irishman is truly drunk if he can grab hold of a blade of grass and not fall off the ground."

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Donal Mac Ruiseart

Ah, I get it.

I've watched that show and seen the symbol but didn't know the symbolism.

Donal Mac Ruiseart

brewer wrote:Yes, that's Earth.

Would you 'splain that, Brewer?

Donal Mac Ruiseart

Or, fretty sable; a chief wavy ermine. Now draw that on a Norman kite shield. Looks edible, doesn't it? http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/main_graphics/avatars/shield11a.gif There was a household at one of the earlier Pennsics, 6 or 7, that had that kind of blazonry. They all had some fretty combination...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

Your design, Sir Corby, it is single-edged? Sounds like a stupid question, but I'm wanting to be sure. And if it is, I'm wondering how I might be able to makd a double-edged one somehow, since my pole-arms have always been so . . .

Donal Mac Ruiseart

Aye, we heralds are generally more eager to answer questions - and come up with more on our own - than many clients are to ask them. And I agree with Konstantin - you have a knack. You've picked up on the Language of Blazon a lot faster than many. If you enjoy that sort of thing you might consider b...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

To elaborate a bit, the link above concerns a huge database of information about English medieval soldiers that has been assembled and put on line by researchers at the University of Southampton and the University of Reading. The actual data base is found at: http://www.icmacentre.ac.uk/soldier/data...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

Corby de la Flamme wrote:Before my time--was it John the Monster or Jezidiah who was the guy with the 54" chest and a history of powerlifting and martial arts?

That was Jezediah, I'm pretty sure. Don't remember the rest of his name, I don't think he ever used it.

Donal Mac Ruiseart

Damn. By the time I got here, the original topic was irrelevent. But I'll make my statement anyway. In Atlantia, we teach that the neck, insides of the elbows, and groin are legal target areas but not to be deliberately targeted. Thus, if a blow lands on one of those areas it's a legal blow, but som...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

Nice!

Are the ones on the lower poles the standards of various household members?

Donal Mac Ruiseart

You know that this tory was orignally on Onion, doncha?

Donal Mac Ruiseart

I have two full-on G63s that my wife made, plus a couple of simplified ones. I like them, they're comfortable and elegant without being fussy. The full-ons button all the way down the front but I usually only unbutton about the upper foot's worth and pull it over my head. The simplified ones only bu...

Donal Mac Ruiseart

The one thing you cannot have with that sort of thing is: One of the tinctures of the checky cannot be the same as the field tincture(s)

Donal Mac Ruiseart

If you've never tried it, fighting with just a single (single-handed) sword in a big war is fun! I saw a fleet-footed knight enter one of those 'capture the flag' battles at Pennsic armed only with a dagger. It was actually a nominal weapon because his mission was more to snag flags than to fight, ...

Is either of these books any good?

Maybe this should be a separate thread . . .

Completed

Center of Percussion - aka Sweet Spot (SCA)