The Armour Archive

TassilosRache

Has any one in the "linen shirt underneath maille" taken "a walk" in their equippement? I can assure You that lack of at least the most basic padding (i.e. two sets of tunics, one woollen, one linen) makes You very uncomfortable after the first 5 miles into the march. Especially when You are marchin...

TassilosRache

go ca. 580 AD frankish/germanic and use the "vierfibeltracht" (= four fibula fashion). My wife was very happy with the practicality of the dress and we since use her experience as mother to support our reconstruction. http://www.die-bajuwaren.de/Kleidung3.jpg The "under"dress is slit from neck to na...

TassilosRache

I can only give information on shields in Merovingian or Frankish context, but just a few points that were raised by the discussion so far: - mass produced shields. I believe that even though masses of shields have been produced, they were not mass-produced (at least not after the demise of Roman fa...

TassilosRache

re the "frankish connections": There is evidence for connections beyond religious ties (Benedictine, etc.). Metcalfe states in "Anglo-Saxon Coin Finds" that most of the silver that was used for the AS currencies seems to have been imported from the continent, presumably from the Harz region (wool cl...

TassilosRache

There are several companies in Venice that produce fabric on very old looms to very old patterns and that charge very modern (=expensive) prices.

If You are prepared to spend several k$ on fabric for a cotta then you might look at http://luigi-bevilacqua.com/home.htm for example...

TassilosRache

There's a book called "Dress in Anglo-Saxon England (Revised and enlarged Edition)" by Gale R. Owen Crocker. I have it on order but it hasn't arrived yet. What we do when we go "camping" is not strictly a war camp (as we like to bring beds, chests, and all the luxurious items You might not find on c...

TassilosRache

That's supposed to be Freya in the second pic (hence the floral border around her "headpiece"). For the deities they used (i believe) beech and oak, whichever was available at the time. Most of their furniture they make from oak. Some of them have been carving for twenty years now and it surely shows.

TassilosRache

http://www.die-bajuwaren.de/Fotos/Koeln04I/Bilder/Thor_jpg.jpg http://www.die-bajuwaren.de/Fotos/Koeln04I/Bilder/Freya_jpg.jpg This is what our Viking friends from Cologne make when they have their annual summer Thing. In the meantime their collection of Norse Gods an Godesses has grown a bit and t...

TassilosRache

Arrived back home at 3 AM this morning, but couldn't sleep. ...Adrenalin still flooding my System... This was better than back in 2000! Arriving in the Franco-Flemish camp was amazing - almost 300 people, more than 180 Infantry, more than 30 Archers and a dozen cavalry had formed a unit and it was a...

TassilosRache

We will leave Bavaria for Hastings Thursday morning. If they let us cross the channel with all our weapons and beer, I look forward to meeting You on the field. You will find me camped with the Franco-Flemish-Kontingent in the historical encampment (Look for the red dragons of the Ivarborg, we are t...

TassilosRache

Nathan, You guys look awesome.
Isn't it great to live in "old Europe" where historical settings are all around and there is always that special occasion to make and wear funny clothes

I like it!!!

TassilosRache

Very nice work, great detail, very impressive overall look!

Thanks for sharing

TassilosRache

Matt, Blasius would indeed be a possible name for a 15th cent. German. The name is very oldfashioned now, even in Bavaria, where it used to be quite common until the middle of the 20th century. St. Blasius was bishop in Sebaste (Armenia) and died the death of a martyr in the 4th cent. AD. His saint'...

TassilosRache

Me and my wife (Bavarian ca. 580-600 AD) [img]http://www.leben-und-handwerk.de/alamannen/pics/kipfenberg/HPIM1623.JPG[/img] An essay on the reconstruction of "my tunic" inspired by some period sources can be found at: http://www.die-bajuwaren.de/Handarbei_Tunika.html (Only available in German right ...

TassilosRache

Hi Gregory, the helmet is (most likely) based on the one unearthed during a dig underneath the Dom zu KÃƒÂ¶ln (cologne cathedral). A better reconstruction can be found somewhere on http://www.ulfhednar.org , where the segments are made from white horn plates. Dating on this grave is a bit iffy, if Y...

TassilosRache

I hear You, Halvgrim, but I'm afraid that I may not be able to answer Your question completely. The pictures were taken during the "Cologne Vikings" last years summer camp. Myself, I do not portray a Viking and the chairs are not part of our furniture, but belong to our friends, the "Freie Wikinger ...

TassilosRache

Nice turnings! Are the posts along the siderails full round, or are they half-round turnings? Again.. DAMN nice. _PLEASE_ tell me you used a duplicator on the lathe.. No duplicator was used. The posts are half-round (split after turning). And to be honest - I didn't make the bed, a friend did (the ...

TassilosRache

For (very) early period, there is always the small booklet "Holzhandwerk der Alamannen" by Paulsen and ... (I forgot the name). The book should be identifiable by this. If not, PM me and I will supply ISBN, etc. The book is in German but it has many pics. It covers many of the wooden items found at ...

TassilosRache

Quivers for arrows (non-crossbow) are almost exclusive to Eastern Mounted Archers. There's at least one example of a leather-covered wooden quiver from a Merovingian/Frankish context. But this happens before 700 AD, so maybe not much help... Almost certainly influenced by Avar quivers but neverthel...

TassilosRache

Just a couple more points... The pic posted by Egfroth under "rear boss" shows a form of boss that would be outdated by the time of Karl. It is typical for the time around 600 though. There is a representation of scale armour in one Psalter (forgot which one though), where Goliath is depicted wearin...

TassilosRache

Definitely centergrip round shield (concave if possible) instead of heater! No Francisca (this has been out of use by Charlemagne's time for at least 100 years), go for a Seax or Longseax as secondary weapon. Maybe a spear or lance as primary (if You want to get away from a sword as primary). With t...

TassilosRache

Gregor(y) and Caithlinn, sorry, but my last post must have been a bit ambigous... The main part of my post is indeed about the town (not city!) of Liebau. The small reference that I made to the castle is based on some tidbit of information from another website (which I can't remember) that gives 132...

TassilosRache

Hi Gregory (or Herr Gregor!), I just googled and came up with some history bits on Liebau. Founded in 1238, first ruled by Bishop Bruno von OlmÃƒÂ¼tz (1245-1281), it went by the following names: 1238 - 1301 Lubavia 1323 Lubovia 1399 Lubow 1400 Lubaw 1456 StÃƒÂ¤dtcehn Liebau 1504 Markt Lubau 1563 Lyb...

TassilosRache

Onz, I've been planning a helmet like this for some time (my lack of metalworking skills has prevented its realisation). AFAIK, archaeology has come up with two well conserved helmets of lamellar construction and fragments of several others. The two well preserved examples (well preserved when they ...

TassilosRache

There are several finds of more or less well preserved examples of lamellar armor (or fragments thereof) all over the Ã¢â‚¬Å“FrankishÃ¢â‚¬Â

TassilosRache

Caithlinn beat me to it by a bit... But I totally agree with her translation and her comments. BTW: contrary to the thread title, the described saddle is neither Norman or Viking but Frankish, which makes quite it a bit earlier. m (click on Museums-Repliken on the upper right part of the page and se...

TassilosRache

Please rush the 6mm ID rivetted maille!!!
Please make them in alternating row also!!!
Please tell me that I will be able to afford it!!!

Have...to...breathe...

That's better!

TassilosRache

afaik the best conserved/most complete find of European lamellar (before 1100 that is) is the Niederstotzingen grave 12 one and that is definitely overlapping upwards on the torso. Recent investigations (2002 iirc) come to the result that lamellar armour in western Europe ("Frankish area") was only ...

TassilosRache

Just a short note: it is always important to define the scope of the claims You make in discussions. I.e. when we discuss lamellar armour and the direction of its overlap, then we should decide on certain criteria, like region, time, culture, etc. And btw - I know of no instance, where European Lame...

TassilosRache

2 things: 1. There are often more than one 'original versions' of certain poems. 2. A 'literary translation' must under no circumstances be confused with a 'literal translation' (just take S. Heanys' "Beowulf" and compare it to the original - nice read, but far from literal - and he won a price for ...

TassilosRache

Oh, more examples can be found on:

http://www.die-bajuwaren.de (german only - sorry)

TassilosRache

[img]http://www.oliver-schulz.de/alamannen/pics/kipfenberg/HPIM1623.JPG[/img] "Frankish" c. 580-620 The overdress is closed with (typically) 2 brooches and covers the underdress. The underdress has a very long keyhole neck which is closed in the upper third with (typically) 2 smaller brooches. When ...

TassilosRache

Well, this discussion seems to be typical for the SCA and LH-fighting community. The only reason for an argument is that we all need/want to wear some kind of armour that can be dated to a certain region/time. We need the armour to be protective enough for our style of fighting and we want to fight ...

TassilosRache

Well, it's not from the 6th cent., but I would suggest reading "the Battle of Maldon" for a flavour of early medieval battle with a pinch of chivalric Old English "overmode" (pronounced with a long "o"...).

Or You could go back to Your Beowulf, which seems to fit the timeframe a little better.

TassilosRache

To the question of different sets of lamellar: At least in the finds from the 5th-7th cent suits, we can be sure of the usage of different sizes/shapes of plates for single suits of lamellar armour. The Niederstotzingen suit has at least 4, maybe 5 differnt shapes of plates; the Kertsch armour has a...