The Armour Archive

What are all you guys that have armor under a tunic or gambeson using? I am about to begin construction on under armor for a 10th century Dane and I wanted to get some opinions. Thanks in advance.

Chain maille with a light gambison under it.

Do you have a pic of your gambeson, in particular?

Unfortunately, depending on your level of historical accuracy, we have very fleeting evidence for "gambesons" being worn under maille. By gambeson, I am referring to a quilted foundation garment designed to go under maille. I have heard of people wearing two or three wool tunics under maille to get the same effect, just not actually quilting them together.

I wear a gambeson roughly based off the ones in the Mac Bible, with 2 layers of canvas filled with up to 6 layers of quilters batting. The next time I make one I am planning on going with the raw cotton from futon makers or such. Underneath that, all I wear is a kidney belt, but will be switching to a low-profile leather curie or breast/backplate eventually.

In the latter periods they certainly wore quilted garments under mail. For example here is a 14th cent. illumination of the samnites surrendering their mail to the romans.


http://home.armourarchive.org/members/l ... armies.bmp

In the earlier periods however I am not aware of much hard evidence for what was worn.

I wear a leather kidney belt under my mail. it's over a wool tunic, and it works just fine.



I know somebody who, when asked what he wears under his mail, replies "virtue".

f

You have no shoulder, collar bone protection freiman ?

Just mail and woolen tunic ?

Not sure about Freiman, but all I have is really two layers of canvas. NOt much padding up there after 3-4 years of fighting, along with vertical quilting lines...

Under my mail I have a gambeson vest, roughly patterned of of a suit vest I have.



I have a piece that goes around my waist like a C belt, that pads my hips and I tie my chausses to it.



Uric

My knight wears something an awful lot like this under his mail:

http://www.skate-buys.com/toupboprad.html

along with minimal aluminum shoulders, kidney, and sternum protection.

Greetings,

I wear a lacrosse harness under my tunic.


Hjlmr inn Danski

hex pads. lots and lots of hex pads.

I wear a gambeson with one of Torvalder's kidney belts under it. A good link for gamdeson info would be http://www.whitemountainarmoury.com/pdfs/armingCoat.pdf

Thorir Gunnerson wrote:You have no shoulder, collar bone protection freiman ?

Just mail and woolen tunic ?

Other than the mail and the tunic, no, I really don't.

That doesn't mean that my shoulders and collar bones are open, however. The mail does protect, but not in the way that rigid stuff does. It's hard to describe.

f

freiman the minstrel wrote:

Thorir Gunnerson wrote:You have no shoulder, collar bone protection freiman ?

Just mail and woolen tunic ?

Other than the mail and the tunic, no, I really don't.

That doesn't mean that my shoulders and collar bones are open, however. The mail does protect, but not in the way that rigid stuff does. It's hard to describe.

f

I fought metal weapons for many years wearing only mail and gamberson, but our weapons being blunted steel swords have a different impact compared to Rattan.

Thats why I was wondering about the downward strike zone of shoulders and collar bone area, and the need for more protection.

I fought in one of Torvaldr's kidney belts for the first time last night at my regular practice and it was a blast. I have a couple of light bruises in interesting places, but I didn't walk away *damaged*.

Here's what I wore:

Kneepads
Crash Pads 2300 Hockey Shorts
Low profile elbow cop (made myself)
Forearm pad
Torvaldr's Kidney Belt
Gorget (made myself)

Over that went a pair of baggy black pants, shovel greaves, and a mongol del.

Worked pretty well. I'll try and get pictures at either the event or melee practice this weekend.[/url]