The Armour Archive

Monks, that is.

I'm putting together a Second Crusades Era SCA heavy kit, and I want to know what to wear. I'm tempted by the notion of just wearing a monk's robe & cord belt as I've seen done many times, and that fits part of the point of me putting this kit together, which is to have a lightweight kit of hidden armour. This isn't really my area of knowledge, though.

My questions are:

1. Is that at all accurate, historically? Did they ever actually do that, or did they always fight in the armor, cotes & maille of the Templars, Hospitillars and other orders?

2. If the thought of fighting in a monk's robe isn't total Hollywood hokum, what length would you recommend? I know they'd normally be ankle/floor length, but I see them cropped shorter, I assume so that the location of your knees can easily be seen.

3. If it is utter hogwash, what could I go with instead that wouldn't be cringe-worthy and yet still lend itself to allowing me to conceal my ugly plastic armour?

Thanks in advance for the schooling.

I wear my monks robes for non-martial activities and wear a "crusader" style tabard on the field. There are some folks who use robes on the field though.

Adam

I'd really like to wear my robes to fight in, but again, I don't want to look like a completely ignorant pud.

The hospitlars wore robes until given special dispensation in 1248 for when they were in armour. I have also read about fighting/robber monks.

Edward

You could always go with a long-cut surcoat over a long-sleeved tunic. That would cover all the armor, then just pop on a kettle helm and period shoes.

Brother Amos, in Atlantia, has a warrior-monk persona; he fights in a monk's robe, and wears a helm incorporating a chapel de fer, with a maille drape suggesting a coif (over the sides of the helm) and cloth covers over his gauntlets. As for the rest of his armour, I'm really not sure because it's hidden by the robe.

Seaan has a couple of glaring things going on here, but the general idea could be used to meet your needs.
http://www.stcolin.com/breathren/Seaan.php