IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

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IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by Robert of Canterbury »

And a splendid aspiration it is too..
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Post by Mike F »

On the 24th of October 1415 King Henry the Fifth, leading less than 6,000 men, was engaged by 40-50,000 French men-at-arms. Henry (due to circumstances best discussed elsewhere) achieved victory, killing 10,000 men while losing only around 300 of his own. The English still speak of this victory today, and, while fictionalized, The Bard wrote the play Henry V which is based upon this battle.

And now you want to join them.

Why you fight:

King Henry the Fifth's motives for invading France may have stemmed from the fact that he was decended from the third son of Edward III, and the Earls of March were decended from a second son (although through the female line). This eventually becomes the basis of the House of York's claims to the throne. However, even beyond the desire to secure himself in his position, Henry claimed that he was also the Kinf of France, and as such was simply returning to retake what the French held for him.

Of course, it's possible that such a war was intended to hold England together with a common enemy, or perhaps it was a simple desire to conquer. For the foot soldier, it didn't matter.

The soldiers were hired and paid for their duties, but had to provide their own equipment.



With what you fight:

The English didn't use warhorses at Agincourt (excepting the Dukes, the King, etc.) as such harnesses of the time were geared for foot combat. (This covers the Men-At-Arms, as the Hundred Years War archers have already been covered on this board.) The weapons of the time included axes, poleaxes, swords, and rondel daggers. (Note: I have no period maces or warhammers for reference. If you have any information, please send it along)

The majority of the combat during Agincourt was based around throwing opponents to the ground and dispatching them or simply allowing them to drown in the mud. As uncommon as this may seem, it's a common tactic of the time, mentioned in a number of fighting manuals. The plate armor of the time required a thrust into a lightly armored joint or unarmored area (such as a face with a raised visor) thus making this a highly effective technique.

Harnesses tended to be symmetrical with a predisposition towards ground combat. Case greaves and cuisses with rear protection were very common , and shoulder armor was designed to not restrict movement needed for foot combat.



How you fight:

Current research dictates that mass weapons, polearms and longswords (usually halfsworded) were prefered, due to their ability to defeat a harness. The Flos Duellatorum (1410) shows a few techniques, many of which are halfswording techniques, techniques to throw the opponent to the ground, or ways to open the visor and strike.

The AEMMA points out, quite correctly, that these techniques are dangerous with steel (or aluminum, or any other metal) weapons, due to their primary use being to defeat the armor in use to protect the modern practitioners. If you decide to use any of these techniques, please be careful and safe.

The SCA's thrusting tip regulations makes thrusting with swords and daggers much safer, but grappling is currently against regulations. (Halfswording is now allowed, Hurrah! Ed RoC)

For LARP/Boffer fighting, thrusting is inherently dangerous due to PVC pipe's lack of flexibility and a general lack of padding on the tip. Please use caution.



What you need to look at:

For references to harnesses you can look at period manuals (like the Flos Duellatorum, see below), illuminations, and effigies.

Some effigies are located here: http://www.gothiceye.com/pictures.asp?c ... &offset=72

A partial list of effigies (existant, not neccesarally on that site) of casualties of this campaign are:
Sir Edmund Thorpe (1417)
John Peryent (esquire, 1415)
Lord Thomas of Camoys (1419)




References of the Flos Duellatorum has resources at:
http://www.varmouries.com/wildrose/fiore/fiore.html
http://www.varmouries.com/wildrose/fiore/section6.html - Armored combat

http://www.thearma.org/essays/armoredlongsword.html - ARMA interprenation, along with photos of people in the guards




Of course, if anyone has anything to add, I'd appreciate it.

I hope you enjoy this period as much as I do, and I hope I helped you learn more about it.






*Casualties, hiring practices, and Henry's lineage from The Hundred Years War by Desmond Seward (ISBN 0-689-10919-9)

*Armor trends based off of an Armour Research Society interview with Dr. Tobias Capwell

Prepared for the Armour Archive (http://www.armourarchive.org) and subject to update and addition by myself or the Archive. Please do not copy except for personal use.

Edited 8/12/2012 for BB3 formatting. Text is unchanged.
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Post by Mike F »

I've recently expanded my view to cover a soft kit as well, and one thread in particular on the Archive has a tremendous amount of information regarding soft kids from c1400.

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... +15th+garb
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Post by James B. »

Here is my vision of a 1415 outfit; doublet pattern and houp pattern shown:

Image

I hope to make it some time this year.
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Post by ManOWar »

Hi all, I was wondering were Sallet helms in use then at Agincourt? Or was it typically more bascinets? All the effigies look to have bascinet's, but I imagine this was because they would wear them under great helms etc.

Thanks!
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Post by James Arlen Gillaspie »

Sallets start showing up in the 1420's, late, IIRC, and among the French. They don't start gaining favor with the English till the 1430's, earliest.
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Post by JvR »

Mike F wrote: <b>With what you fight:</b>

The English didn't use warhorses at Agincourt (excepting the Dukes, the King, etc.) as such harnesses of the time were geared for foot combat. (This covers the Men-At-Arms, as the Hundred Years War archers have already been covered on this board.) The weapons of the time included axes, poleaxes, swords, and rondel daggers. (Note: I have no period maces or warhammers for reference. If you have any information, please send it along)

The majority of the combat during Agincourt was based around throwing opponents to the ground and dispatching them or simply allowing them to drown in the mud. As uncommon as this may seem, it's a common tactic of the time, mentioned in a number of fighting manuals. The plate armor of the time required a thrust into a lightly armored joint or unarmored area (such as a face with a raised visor) thus making this a highly effective technique.

Harnesses tended to be symmetrical with a predisposition towards ground combat. Case greaves and cuisses with rear protection were very common , and shoulder armor was designed to not restrict movement needed for foot combat.

.
Still new to all this. What is meant bu harnesses? Is that a reference for some type of armor?

And who wore what in the battle you spoke of? The English wore little but the French had much?

Still learning. thanks
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Post by RandallMoffett »

A harness is a suit of armour. It more or less can mean anything but usually people tend to use it as a full suit. A white harness means a full plate suit of armour without fabric or other covering, where the armour is somewhat independent. I suppose it is possible that the French were slightly more armoured as some sources mention a full hauberk under the suit but I am not sure if the English were not arrayed the same.

It is not that the English wore vastly different armour really, especially in coverage perhaps, but that they did not have to tramp over a muddy field under heavy arrow-fire before engaging a fresh enemy. It is hard to pull an attack off successfully. It is tiring on foot and you have to work hard to maintain uniformity in the line etc.

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Post by Bertus Brokamp »

James B. wrote:Here is my vision of a 1415 outfit; doublet pattern and houp pattern shown:

Image

I hope to make it some time this year.
A nice vision James. But I think you should shorten the doublet, make it end at groin height instead of halfway the upper legs. This will make walking probably easier, but more importantly, it will make horseriding (your upper class medieval mode of transportation) póssible.
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Post by James B. »

Bertus

Like the kirtles of the 14th century I plan to leave a slit in the side. The Devonshire Hunting Tapestry shows a man's doublet of this length and it is dated 5-10 years later (1420-25)
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by Michael B »

Time to resurrect this one for the lead-up to Agincourt 2015? :)

Anyone have links to photos of reproduction harnesses from the period? It seems to fall into a bit of a gap between the more popular mid-late 14th century and mid-late 15th century periods.

There are plenty of effigies, at least.

Cheers
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by Buster »

Michael B wrote:Time to resurrect this one for the lead-up to Agincourt 2015? :)

Anyone have links to photos of reproduction harnesses from the period? It seems to fall into a bit of a gap between the more popular mid-late 14th century and mid-late 15th century periods.

There are plenty of effigies, at least.

Cheers
Michael B
I know one of the professional armouers on this site did a good reconstruction of a Agincourt-era English armour, but I forget his name.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by Griffith Dragonlake »

Once I lose another 30lbs and keep it off, I'll be ordering up a French cap-a-pie maybe Agincourt maybe Joan of Arc.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by RandallMoffett »

Buster,

I know James G. and Jeff W. have both done exceptional harnesses from this period. I know there are a dozen or so that likely have or could easily if they wanted like Jeff H. or Ralph but I have not seen them if they have.

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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by MJBlazek »

I want to be this guy Image

English armour from the time of the battle of Agincourt, showing the latest style of great bascinet, with plate defences for the throat and neck rather than the mail aventail of the 14th century bascinet. While offering greater protection, the great bascinet restricted any movement of the head, and both styles would be seen on the battlefields of the early 15th century.


The armour is primarily based on the tomb effigy of Ralph Greene, at Lowick church, Northamptonshire (died 1417), and the very similar effigy of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford.


The surcoat displays the heraldry of Thomas Montagu, Earl of Salisbury.


pencil drawing by Graham Turner.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by Michael B »

There are some photos of a 1415 kit on this thread: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=154860
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by Habib »

MJBlazek wrote:I want to be this guy Image

English armour from the time of the battle of Agincourt, showing the latest style of great bascinet, with plate defences for the throat and neck rather than the mail aventail of the 14th century bascinet. While offering greater protection, the great bascinet restricted any movement of the head, and both styles would be seen on the battlefields of the early 15th century.


The armour is primarily based on the tomb effigy of Ralph Greene, at Lowick church, Northamptonshire (died 1417), and the very similar effigy of John de Vere, Earl of Oxford.


The surcoat displays the heraldry of Thomas Montagu, Earl of Salisbury.


pencil drawing by Graham Turner.
This may be a stupid question but what kind of torso protection is he wearing? From the drawing it looks to be as if it's metal covered in some sort of fabric with what appears to be maille underneath.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by James B. »

La Belle doing 1415; no images of the armor on in this case but some images of it on the tables:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 181&type=3

http://s728.photobucket.com/albums/ww28 ... TA%202012/
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by Karl_von_Odenwald »

Hi everyone I'm new to the site.

This is an armor I saw during a recent visit to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (I definitely would recommend it to anyone interested in armors). This particular piece was restored in the 1920s, and is a composite of armors taken mostly from Chalcis with the purpose of producing a full armor worn about 1400, a period which I am very interested in and also a period that, unfortunately, no full armors survive.

[img] https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos- ... 2044_n.jpg [img]

Some of the features are the early form of brigandine with two large breast halves and brass borders on the exposed plates. Bears some resemblance to your concept art with some a few exceptions. But I thought seeing an actual armor would be helpful. I have a couple of closeups if you want to see more.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by MJBlazek »

hi Karl, It's a great suit isn't it? unfortunetly you know why it is not seen as a constructive source for research purposes.
There is no evidence anywhere that those pieces went together in that fashion.
Which is a pity because it is an awesome suit.
I have nearly 30 pictures of it I took myself when i was at the Met this summer.

The peices on thier own are great, but we just don't know what they went with.

Now would I berate or kick around somone who stepped onto the SCA field wearing a kit styled after this one. No, because it really does look better than 99% of what is already on the field (and there are a number of people who already do wear somethign styled after this kit). But I wouldn't steer them towards this suit for research puposes. We just don't know what was added, what was altered, and what is missing.
Which is hard.
Because it is the closest thing we have to a compete suit from that time period.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by MJBlazek »

It is not totally out of line to think that suit would work together. It is very similare to a number of effegies from that time period.
I just shy way from it becuase the museum itself states that it is an extrapolation.

I would say look at the primary sources we have: Effegies, and Manuscripts.

Here is the one for Ralph Grenne (1417) http://effigiesandbrasses.com/static/mo ... _r3203.jpg
And here is on from 1415
http://effigiesandbrasses.com/static/mo ... _r3229.jpg

The biggest thing I have noticed on effegies is that around the 1410-1416 time frame you start to see a lot less of the full aventails on the helms and a lot more of the plated throat defense of a Great Bascinet.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by MJBlazek »

597 years ago tomorrow.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by Paladin74 »

Anyone getting setup for Agincourt 2015? I hope to make it there myself.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by MJBlazek »

Man I wish... that would be epic
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by James B. »

Paladin74 wrote:Anyone getting setup for Agincourt 2015? I hope to make it there myself.
A number of La Belle folks are talking about it including myself.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by RandallMoffett »

Sounds like a good project..... I was hoping to ha ve the extra cash to make it back to Europe but that is unlikely. Might have to do something more local.

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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by MJBlazek »

Am I correct in reading that this is scheduled for July and not October?
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by Dougale MacAlestyr »

There's two parts to the event. So yes, you are correct on both parts. July and Oct.

The shoot is in July. A bunch of my chaps are planning on hitting that.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by MJBlazek »

Bumping this.
I have a few things that are slowly coming together, I might be able to get some pictures in the next few weeks.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by Micheall de Faifax »

Gonna necrorez this thread, but I've bounced around a lot on what I would like to portray on here. I finally made my mind up....after being on staff duty (24hr duty) for the second time this month. Final answer is right here
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by James B. »

I created a page with some arming doublets on my website: http://www.historiclife.com/Essays/Earl ... blets.html

Here is a page about gowns from that era. I will need to update it soon as I have found many many more manuscripts since then: http://www.historiclife.com/Essays/Houppelands.htm

Also I made that gown from above recently. My wife and daughter are wearing matching gowns:

Image
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by RandallMoffett »

Very nice James! You all look great.

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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by MJBlazek »

Here is my take on James's illustration.Image

Things I'm not 100% happy with. The person who made it for me did not do the standing collar, or the pleated front. They also did not do a front closure on it.
If I really wanted to take the time I suppose all of those issues could be fixed.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by MJBlazek »

I WILL THIS THREAD TO LIFE.


I have recently, finally decided that I need to focus on this much more than I have been.
I had been trying to put together a suit that *could* have been used at Agincourt, but was trying to straddle both the 14 and 15th centuries.

I am focusing primarily on the Ralph Grenne effigy ttp://effigiesandbrasses.com/static/mo ... _r3203.jpg

I like the pictures, but have issue with the illustrations. I am concerned that the elbows and knees do not actually have the rondells on them as depicted in the illustrations.

Thoughts?

I am also thinking to model my helmet off of the work James Gillespie has done, but am lost as to what the visor should look like. As James states his is stolen off of a 16th century helmet.

I look forward to discussing this more.
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Re: IWTB an English Man-at-Arms at Agincourt

Post by rkt739 »

MJBlazek wrote:I am focusing primarily on the Ralph Grenne effigy ttp://effigiesandbrasses.com/static/mo ... _r3203.jpg
I think this might be the link you meant: http://effigiesandbrasses.com/media/eff ... _r2352.jpg
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