The Armour Archive

I've been building the Endless Armet for a Man of Ultimate Patience.

It's almost complete, but I'm sort of at a loss as to how the linings were attached in period. I had assumed it would be like a close helm or a burg, with lining leathers riveted in at the neck and forehead, but when I looked, I didn't see any evidence of this on 1460-ish armets. Very early armets have holes for sewing in the lining, like a bascinet. Later examples usually have rivet holes along the neck, but I believe they are for the attachment of a maille collar? I have searched every resource I have (including Boccia's books) and have found no lining rivets at the face, and only one late example with lining rivets at the brow. Of course, there aren't many pics without the frontal reinforces in place.

Any (relatively authoritative) help?

Yes, but it will have to wait for tomorrow...I have some very good pics for you.

Wallace Collection Catalogues, European Arms and Armour Supplement, A.V.B. Norman, 1986, p.63.

A170 Close Helmet for the field, German (Augsburg), about 1590

"The helmet contains almost a complete set of the buff leather straps fitted inside the skull mentioned under No. A47 in the 1962 Catalogue and under No. A168 above. The forward ends are riveted one at each end of the face opening. They cross on top of the head where one passes through a slot cut in the other, and they are then tied to the back of the skull by means of arming-laces which emerge through one or other of the pairs of holes lined with brass washers flanking the plume-holder at the back of the neck. The choice of holes allows adjustment to be made to suit heads of different sizes. One strap has been cut off near its rear end; the other still retains its leather arming-lace."

A similar cross-strap arrangement seems to have been used in close-helmets A156 (Nuremberg c.1530), A160, A162, A164, and A165 among others. Six pair of holes in the back seems common, three pair per side.

I realize armets have a closure more like that of burgonets than of close-helms, but the lacing holes could easily be missed on the back of a 15th century armet.

This is from The Armor of Galiot de Genouilhac, by Stephen Grancsay, 1937.

[img]http://home.armourarchive.org/members/alcyon/Armet%20lining.JPG[/img]

Alcyoneus, that is an awesome picture, I wish all authors did that. Unfortunatly it's of a closed helmet instead of an armet and about 60 years too late.

Clang - I looked through my pictures and found a few that might help. I have one picture that shows the period polish that they found under the brow re-enforce. I didn't see any liner rivets but that area was very rusty, hadn't been cleaned yet, and the rivets may have been flush so that doesn't mean much. If you look at an armet skull the bottom edge is almost level and would be a perfect place to rivet the liner leathers. I think you are on the right track with that line of thinking. Also the cheek pieces would cover up the lining rivets on the side of the helmet as well. In addition there are usually two (or three?) holes right at the bottom edge of the tail of the skull. My feeling for these is that they were used to attach the lining as well. You wouldn't want to attach the mail collar there because the cheek pieces overlap it and also you wouldn't be able to open the helmet to get it on. Hope this helps.