The Armour Archive

OK, Mac inspired me.

This one has troubled me for a while. On the statue of St. Maurice from Magdeburg Cathedral (generally dated to c. 1250, though it could be later) there are a couple of paired lines I am trying to understand.



There are paired lines which run around the armscye and continue along the upper edge of the back flaps. There is a similar paired set of lines on the lower edge of the flaps in the back, and along the side where the wrapping flaps are apparently joined to the front. (Green arrows) It seems obvious to me these represent hems and seams. Then there is a set of paired lines descending obliquely from the edge of the coif. (red arrow) On the left side of the effigy, these clearly retain traces of a reddish-brown paint. They are matched with a pair on the back which I previously presumed were the straps holding the pair of plates wrapping-flaps up to some sort of ring, as seen on some of the Wisby examples. Next I wondered if these aren't tie-downs for the coif. Extant lacing was discovered in a similar location on the Tofta coif. A miniature showing a similar tie running under the arm from the coif front square flap.
http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4195/13151/ Unfortunately, the two straps on the back run from coif to beneath the CoP flaps, while the front ones seem to end at a side seam or the red stripe on the plates. Can anyone else come up with an alternate explanation for these diagonal paired lines on the front of St. Maurices plates? Does it make any sense that these would be another seam?

Ernst,
In this pic, it looks like those diagonal lines continue vertically along the mail. We also have a funny line running up over his left shoulder.
I think we need better pics before we can draw any conclusions.


Mac

To me it looks like some fancy tailoring to stop the leather from bulging at the sides of the chest? Notice when the shoulder is cut straght you get the bulging: http://www.hoashantverk.se/hantverk/hoa ... index.html

I think the problem is the surcoat that erroneously show the rivets of the coat of plates underneath, otherwise I must assume that the coat of plates had this apron thingy permanently attached.

I might describe this beast as a "reinforced cuirie" with some apron extensions. And that Saint Maurice isn't wearing a surcoat at all -- but what's underneath the surcoat.

The appearance of it calls heavy-ounce leather to mind for me. The edges show it as with an appreciable, 9-12 ounce, thickness (9/64" to 3/16", for our friends from Sweden and other countries both SI and well supplied with cowhide. And pocket calculators to convert from fractional-inch to millimeters.) It doesn't look like the kind of thing done in stone carving to lend strength against breaking -- it looks like the intent is to represent a thick, smooth material.

A cuirie is understood to be a stout leather vest, over the hauberk, covering the vitals. Heavy leather would be protective, slightly flexible; it was popular enough that something of its name and form come down to us -- and guaranteed somebody would want to tote something harder, maybe after having to ride a whole campaign with some ribs busted in the first battle by somebody's lance that didn't quite kill. So, he might think, what to do? Oh, heck, get some iron plates of medium size, rivet 'em in -- a worthwhile upgrade to one's harness and smack-dab in the easiest part of the harness to modify. It might be he had the castle or town smith do 'em up in-house.

Such measures might have been much availing under all those surcoats they wore -- but we'll never know without Doctor Who. We can't see through the fabric.

The peculiar form of the coif may have been a weight-saving measure -- this has extensive mail hanging well down to front and back, but nothing on the shoulders as reinforcement or anything. There's already at least 9oz leather going over them with the hauberk. Why at that date they were not simply using a coif integral with the hauberk... or weren't they? Are there two coifs of mail here, one over the other?

Mac wrote:Ernst,
In this pic, it looks like those diagonal lines continue vertically along the mail. We also have a funny line running up over his left shoulder.
I think we need better pics before we can draw any conclusions.

Try this one.

Len Parker wrote:To me it looks like some fancy tailoring to stop the leather from bulging at the sides of the chest? Notice when the shoulder is cut straght you get the bulging: http://www.hoashantverk.se/hantverk/hoa ... index.html

An interesting observation, Len. How do you think these lines compare with the inverted-V in the middle of the reinforced surcoat on the Danish St. Maurice panel from Løgumkloster?
http://www.christianiconography.info/Wi ... loster.jpg

Looks like a similar idea.

Another potential candidate showing the breast should be pieced, and not cut tabard-style.