In which I join the 14th century mafia...

[Josh W]

So I am biting the bullet and assembling a c.1390-1410 harness because there is nobody around here to play c.1450-1490 with me.

Here are the results of my efforts so far:







Obviously, it still needs work.

Soon to come for this kit:

1) new legharness, the knees for which are on order, and the cuisses and greaves for which are waiting in my basement.

2) fingers for gauntlets

3) plaque belt--already in the works

4) better polish

[Halberds]

'Tis looking mighty fine so far.
Thanks for the pics.

[Russ Mitchell]

Ah, you're being Italian! Sweet! You're a *little* late for my frame, but I can adjust some and be your scrappy Hungarian mercenary.

[Swete]

Very Awesome! I love the look of transitional kits!

[Pietro di Trento]

Looking good, glad you finally saw the light. I really like the arms, are they new?

[Hrolfr]

Now the true test.

Can you cartwheel in this kit?

btw, be careful, the pigface visor sticks in the ground

[white mountain armoury]

Looks great Josh, all your efforts do.
I think the leather band for the mail and vervelles is really wide and the helm looks like it sits high, but I think its a nice kit

[Benedek]

What is it about the Cult of the 14th?

Josh, years ago you swore you could never do it, guess you can be turned.


Next I'll have you doing Turkish, maille, plates, maille, sabres, maille and spiffy campstuffs.

[RandallMoffett]

No the 14th century is where people aspire to. All the rest of the periods are just steps to it.

Nice work Josh. Did you do all this yourself? Looks real good.

RPM

[Baron Alcyoneus]

What is it about the Cult of the 14th?

You can be a knight in shining armor with less expense and skill in armoring than for 15th&16thC.

[Steve S.]

Awesome kit. This is one of my favorite looks. I wish I did not have a gut so I could do it!

Steve

[wcallen]

What is it about the Cult of the 14th?

You can be a knight in shining armor with less expense and skill in armoring than for 15th&16thC.

Yes... or to rephrase a bit the late 14th to early 15th is the easiest period to do reasonably well where the result looks like a knight in shining armour to people who haven't studied extensively.

It is also the last period where the common knightly armour would actually be worn with a shield, so the common SCA sword and board can look reasonably correct.

It is also a period where you can reasonably do armour without full pauldrons and where the armour can be a little more "pieces" which makes it easier to get something that works the way many SCA fighters want to fight and still be reasonably authentic.

Anyway, back to the suit. The arms look very nice. The mail makes it all go together so much better. New legs will make it a lot more correct, but not that many people will know the difference. Finish them off anyway and move over to them.

And add a nice close fitting fabric cover to get the right look on the body.

Wade

[Josh W]

No the 14th century is where people aspire to. All the rest of the periods are just steps to it.

Not at all. This is my "slumming it with my poor cousins" kit.

My putting together this kit represents a step backwards for me, I feel. This is me giving in to the reality that nobody else in the area is going to be able to put together a decent c.1450-1490 kit to play with me. I still much prefer my later, heavier Mantova-style harness, and I feel terrible for setting it aside to do this, but it's this or don't play at all.

But my heart still belongs to the c.1450-1490 period, and this new kit will always take a backseat to my other one. This one is to be my day-to-day "beater" kit. I have a tenth as much invested in it, and I don't mind tearing it up.

Nice work Josh. Did you do all this yourself? Looks real good.

RPM

I didn't make all of it; some of it is my own work, some of it was purchased new, and some of it was assembled from pieces and unfinished bits I had laying around. The breastplate is my own work, helped along by Trevor and his nice English Wheel. The gauntlets and the yet-unseen new legharness are my work as well, but the knees and elbows are new, and the vambraces are temporarily stolen off of my other suit until I finish the new pair I started for this kit. The bascinet is a slightly modded GDFB helm, and the mail is from Kult of Athena.

Now the true test.

Can you cartwheel in this kit?

Hell yeah I can! This kit weighs 52 pounds; my Mantova kit weighs twenty pounds more when fully-loaded (and is far more topheavy) and I can turn a cartwheel in it with little trouble.

[Baron Alcyoneus]

No the 14th century is where people aspire to. All the rest of the periods are just steps to it.

Not at all. This is my "slumming it with my poor cousins" kit.

That he inherited from his grandpa.

[Wolf]

sweet

[Steve S.]

What is it about the Cult of the 14th?

It's about as sophisticated a harness as most SCA budgets can support.

Steve

[RandallMoffett]

Steve,

Seems earlier period would be cheaper if you need a mail hauberk anyways to make it work for a knight. That said non knightly harness would be far cheaper in any period to do well as you just need clothes and a spear.

Josh,

Yeah sometimes it is hard. I have done a few periods outside of 14th for the same reason, though to me I love history so I enjoyed it a great deal.

I used an English wheel for faulds and such but never a breastplate. Sounds like a useful tool though. Though I have done one with a power hammer, which was awesome! Sounds like you have some fun projects. I plan on redoing my splints for my vambraces and greaves again and doing some plate ones as well. Welcome to the 14th. Have fun.

RPM

[Vitus von Atzinger]

You look great!!!

[RoaK]

Awsome kit... please don't polish it up too much.

[Ironbadger]

Heh-
I have a gut problem myself, but my eventual fix is a brig or corazina to cover the gap....
In the end, I may just do two harnesses- one 14C and one 15C so I can wear a plackart for comfort when I'm feeling a bit too lazy for a maximum authenticity effort.

-Badger-

Awesome kit. This is one of my favorite looks. I wish I did not have a gut so I could do it!

Steve

[Ironbadger]

By the way, Josh-

If thats a GDFB pigface, what is your head size, and what size is the helm?

I've been debating getting one, but theres no good info I have found on their stock sizing.

I don't want to spend the money on a helm I would just put on the shelf if it fits like crap.
(I'm a 22 inch head and I wear glasses...Not sure what that does to my size choices.)

-Badger-

[Andreas Korff]

Looks great!

What are you wearing under your hauberk if I may ask?