The Armour Archive

Brian W. Rainey

Jacob, It appears that you are using the liner for the articulation? Is this the case? [img]http://filebox.vt.edu/users/jselmer/images/churburg/inside_1_sm.jpg[/img] In the original, the liner is attached by many fewer rivets than in your example and does not appear to serve as the articulation poin...

Brian W. Rainey

I have heard a few possibilities for the practice of ordering/creating effigies. 1 - Pre-death: During the lifetime, the effigy was commissioned and done up with details of the actual person in their harness or garments. 2 - At-death: There were "base models" that the maker had ready to go minus som...

Brian W. Rainey

Uhm i'm not so convinced, maybe with more picture at hand....... It look like it could work, shape and position are quite right in respect elbow's motion and arm volume... There should be a plate there. However, that is not the plate that should be on the piece. It looks to be a sad attempt at maki...

Brian W. Rainey

I find very interesting the pivoting plate that protect the inside of the elbow, i suppose it substitute the roll in the plate of the vambrace.. right? It's interesting too that there are 2holes here, maybe the armourer made a little mistake? Another question : (today is the question's day) there a...

Brian W. Rainey

Although the site merely lists the "Mystere dou jour dou jugement" as 14th century, the use of ailettes by this bascinet wearing figure could not be later than 1350. m Here we likely have a 1340s (contemporary to the Romance of Alexander) side-pivot, globose visor. I don't doubt there are more exam...

Brian W. Rainey

Dave Rylak (Cet) and I were talking about how we had yet to see one of these constructed correctly. One reason is the poor quality of photographs that have been widely published on the surviving example or difficulty in getting hold of the better quality photos. This makes the piece hard to deciphe...

Brian W. Rainey

Klaus the Red wrote:The Oakeshott elbow fan is made in the same style as this first leg, whereas the fan on the Paris arm appears to be copied (if one assumes it's modern, which I do) from this second leg.

Hehe... those are the two pics I zoned in on last night.

I will take a closer look at the hat this evening.

Brian W. Rainey

Brian, are the slots for the upper articulation rivets visible in any of your photos? It seems that the slot would have to be pretty short since the lung plate is going to collide with the lining rivet. It also seems that the sliding rivet is redundant with the articulation provided by the leather ...

Brian W. Rainey

You know what? Based on that close-up picture, I'm going to go out on a limb here and put my money on the Paris arm being either a bad composite restoration job or an outright fake. I though something similar. Hence the editing of my post. I don't think you can use the hardened as an argument, thou...

Brian W. Rainey

So are you contesting the museum datation for the arm harness ? I am- I think 1350 is too early. It closely resembles the two sets of arms at Churburg and the complete left arm from Chalcis at the Met, all of which have been dated to between 1380 and 1410, I think. (If anyone has more precise dates...

Brian W. Rainey

Bashford Dean unwittingly did a massive amount of damage with this piece and the Met continues to do so. Erik Erik, Sadly.... they have tried to (and even have for a short period of time) removed it. Only to have patrons scream at them. It is a mascot for the museum now, in all its incorrect glory.

Brian W. Rainey

In regards to the composite at the Met, looking at my notes from a visit in '03, I think: The bascinet started as standard bascinet skull and was heavily reworked (probably early 20th century) into the shape you see it now... taking on a unique, wide flair. The visor and helmet are not associated. T...

Brian W. Rainey

Not being one to copy photos from books (sorry) I did a quick trace from L'Arte Dell'Armature in Italia. This is from plate #3 in that book. I leveraged additional photos from other sources, as well as detailed color close-ups of the interior and exterior to decipher the location of lining rivets an...

Brian W. Rainey

Brian, That is interesting. So how are the sliding rivets worked into this. This is news to me. Very interested. RPM I am going to work up some kind of drawing tonight. It is really slick the way they did it. Simple and very functional, the articulation, at least. The liner is another story... it l...

Brian W. Rainey

Dave, you read my mind.... get out of my head. I just found a translation that I had done year's ago... I will post the before and translation this evening. I have the translation filed under my S13 folder... and did not note the source, though. It would be from a book I have at home (possibly the s...

Brian W. Rainey

The collection at Chicago is somewhat of an odd duck. The collection has been partially dismantled for some time now, since they started construction efforts on the new building addition. Essentially, what you see on display is for the most part the first stuff that came off the truck when it arrive...

Brian W. Rainey

Brian, have a look here: http://filebox.vt.edu/users/jselmer/churburg.htm -- and scroll down about two thirds of the page for an interior photo of the original #13. That looks to me like the piece is completely lined with leather all the way out to its short-ribs plates, with additional straps laid...

Brian W. Rainey

If I remember right the one picture of the inside is from the Churburg book and is one complete piece of leather from what I remember. I have never seen a repo made like that though. RPM I have some recent very detail pics that show what appear to be multiple pieces... but this is probably where th...

Brian W. Rainey

Some details on shipping and payment options: They are using UPS and DHL for shipping, insured with signature required. This is good. It all but eliminates the chance of your book getting lost in the post. They are working on adding international money order acceptance and wire transfer to their met...

Brian W. Rainey

RandallMoffett wrote:I will get it more finished. I may just send the list of illustrations of it looks like I will run out of time (moving in a few weeks for more grad school and first son on the way in a month), will get to it ASAP!

RPM

Congrats and CONGRATS! Two excellent accomplishments!

Brian W. Rainey

I have found continual illustrations for every decade of the 14th of side mounted visors. I don't think they ever died out. Perhaps became less popular but I don't think died out ever completely. Klappvisor is not something I have found many of though. RPM Do you know of references from 1340-70ish?...

Brian W. Rainey

I just typed a long response and lost it. Here is the short of it: Delivery is signature required. Item breaks the 3kg price mark for shipment outside of Italy and parts of Europe. I'll let you know who the carrier is shortly. I forgot to ask. They are researching other carriers, at this time. Howev...

Brian W. Rainey

There were side pivoting helmets in the late 13th and early 14th from a number of illustrations I have seen (Queen MAry Psalter, Taymouth Hours to naem two main ones with many illustrations of them). It also apears in the visored 'sugar loaf' as well. There are illustrations of men in bascinet like...

Brian W. Rainey

I think so. I'm guessing they've asked previous customers, or people they know deal in A&A books about customers to contact. They show about 10 books being available. Books not available... won't got to the printer until the 22nd of September. As per my discussion with the photographer and publishe...

Brian W. Rainey

Erik D. Schmid wrote:That's odd that this book is also on Ebay. Perhaps this is just a way to get more publicity.

Yep, it is another way they are merketing it.

Brian W. Rainey

If you are talking about the operating mechanisms (klapvisor/side pivot) then you have a significant amount of overlap. The klappvisier bascinets seem to appear early in the second half of the century, 1360 and possibly as early as 1350. There are extant examples of klappvisier bascinets dated as la...

Brian W. Rainey

The #13 is all one big chunk of hide, suitably shaped. Somebody conserving some leather or fitting the project into available pieces could as easily leave out the center under the central, rectangular plate (between the vertical rows of anchoring rivets). I've seen this go all the way down to array...

Brian W. Rainey

Does anybody have an estimate of how many pieces are in the Churburg collection? Not really. Will the book have pis of insides, connections, and all those other finicky bits that everyone says they like to see? Yep, lots and lots. More detail in these photosthan anything I have ever seen on the sub...

Brian W. Rainey

M. Eversberg II wrote:I dislike the bit around the eye slits.

The serrated edge? That is a very historical approach.

Excellent piec, Ugo. Love it when people crank out this style.

Brian W. Rainey

Bertus Brokamp wrote:I am thinking about ordering it. But not sure if I should await the review or not.

I would not wait too long. Only 2000 copies will be printed.

Brian W. Rainey

I correct myself. The absolute best published photographs of 13 decoration can be found in a book that will be available in mid-October:

http://www.hansprunner.com

Brian W. Rainey

Fixed.

Brian W. Rainey

The Armour Research Society has been working closely with publisher Hans Prunner to publicize the release of a new book: " The Churburg Armoury - Historic Armour and Arms in the Castle of Churburg" Please see our review of the book in draft format: m We have seen a draft version of the book and the ...

Brian W. Rainey

The best published photos that I am aware of the decoration on that harness or its associated items, as of this date , can probably be found in: L'Armeria Trapp di Castel Coira - The Armoury of the Castle of Churburg Armamento Difensivo Trecentesco - Museo Nazionale del Bargello (gauntlets) Good sho...

Brian W. Rainey

Plans are underway for the ARS Conference in March of '07. The following link will provide information. Currently, we have the location, dates and 3 speakers. 2007 Armour Research Society Conference - Wallace Collection Please note that this will be a 2-day conference. The format will change slightl...

Construction of 14th Century Segmented Breastplate (S13)

The Churburg Armoury - NEW BOOK!

2007 Armour Research Society Conference - Wallace Collection