The Armour Archive

I am working on my first SCA A&S project and I am in need of Documentation on Lamellar, Bazubands and Leather covered heaters. Focusing around the Second and third crusades.

This project is for my Nephew's youth combat kit, he has a templar persona and I know that their main armor would have been chain mail but this is what HE wants.

I expect that we will be using Arabic documentation on the armor and that is perfectly acceptable.

I have had trouble finding any thing. I have some Byzantine art work to support the lamellar in the right time period and Viking leather covered shields form the 10th century, but they are round shields not heaters.

Any help that ya’ll can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I believe that no one involved in the Middle Eastern Crusades would have used Bazubands.
The earliest proto-Bazubands are to be found in the 8-10 century in the Caucas mountains and possibly the Steppes to the East.
Thence they seem to have moved to Russia (Naruchi would be the right name here) with a number of finds in 13th century sites.
I believe Persian-Mongol art starts to show them in the 15 (maybe later 14) century. I don't know when they move to "Arabia" (or if at all during the SCA period) -- they are more of a Eastern Europe /Western Asia armour.
(he could move his project scope to the Crusade against Russia - and use the movie "Alexander Nevsky" as documentation - but then his personna would have to change to a valiant defender of mother Russia rather than the wicked, baby-killing Templar)

Lamellar was used by Seljuk Turks during the Crusades. The Arabs and the Crusaders tended to stick to mail and the Coat of Plates fits in there somewhere.
(Osprey has a book called "Saracen Faris" which I suppose can be used as A&S documentation for the lamellar)

I have nothing of value regarding heaters. I am pretty sure that the Europeans were using them by the Third Crusade.

All-in-all if he realy wants a kit involving Bazubands and lamellar, he does not want to be a Templar.
He wants to be an Eastern European (a Russian or a Pecheneg, or a Polovetz ...go to "redKaganate" see link in my sig).
But he should not be going with a heater shield then -- round or "teardrop" are the way to go!

Norman
Thanks for the info.

We are planning on hiding all of the non templar armor. The templar tabards are wonderful for that. His helmet and the gambeson are the only elements that will show. I would love to have him in chain but he is to small. I am not putting chain mail on a 85 pound 11 year old it would slow him down to much, even Aluminum.

My limited research has lead me to believe like you have said, that the use of Bazubands is not documentable till the 14-15 century. It amazes me that there was not a forearm/elbow all one piece armor in use till then. The item is easy to make and protects well.

Yet you see so many on the field in the SCA attached to early period kits. Because of their low profile nature, ease of construction and protection they are very popular. I was under the assumption till recently that they were documentable to the 7th century or before. Just another reminder that the SCA is a sport (one which I greatly enjoy) and not a full Reenactment organization.

I will look in to the Swljuk Turks. Osprey books are useful for documentation and can lead you to even better sources but I was told I needed more actual period pieces, archeological or art.

More suggestions Pleas folks, I need all the help I can get.

Depends on what he wants to call a "heater". Long triangular shaped shields were fully documentable to the 13th century (not as sure of the leatehr covered part). There is probably some stuff regarding "scale" or "lamellar" on a few effigies (talking European, Byzantine had the stuff from like the 3rd or 4th century onwards). I would suggest getting Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era through ILL, and flipping through that. It will have massive amounts of sketches of various effigies, and will get you pointed further in the right direction.

Bellringer wrote:We are planning on hiding all of the non templar armor.

:shrug: You said you wanted to document it -- so I thought the interest was to in fact wear it "as it would have been"
Why would he want to be a baby-eating Crusader instead of a home-defending East European or Turk anyhow?

My limited research has lead me to believe like you have said, that the use of Bazubands is not documentable till the 14-15 century.

I did say 8th century - but in the Caucas and Western Asia

Yet you see so many on the field in the SCA attached to early period kits. Because of their low profile nature, ease of construction and protection they are very popular. I was under the assumption till recently that they were documentable to the 7th century or before.

I think some took the rationalle that a Viking brought it back from ...Armenia -- and then others assumed that this was normal Viking gear ...and from there someone else assumed it was the normal pre-coups armour ...and ...

I will look in to the Swljuk Turks.

You meant Seljuk

hey Bellringer. there are several viking/norman/saxon early period that use bazubands as low profile armor under their Tunics. Earl William (camric) is one. (not sure if thats why, but twould be a great idea)

in fact its next on my list of armor changes as i just came into some armor grade leather.

Eduin le Younghe

Eduin wrote:hey Bellringer. there are several viking/norman/saxon early period that use bazubands as low profile armor under their Tunics. Earl William (camric) is one. (not sure if thats why, but twould be a great idea)

in fact its next on my list of armor changes as i just came into some armor grade leather.

Eduin le Younghe

But that doesn't help him document the use of them, just says that people use them.

YOu will not be able to document these things together in your proposed time period.

The heater is a 13-14th century evolution of the kite sheild.

Bazubands are of Middle Eastern, perhaps Persian origin and seem to date from the very late 14th-early 15th century.

Lamellar is a mostly MIddle Eastern armour. Used by Moslem and Byzantine armies. Italo-Normans made use of it as well, also found in Russian contexts and possibly in parts of central Europe where the Turks and Byzantines fought. Mostly used before the 13th century though.

Get yourself a couple of the Osprey Books as primers and then make use of their bibliographies to go deeper.

The authors of note on the Crusades and the interaction between Europeans, Moslems and Byzantines are Timothy Dawson and David Nicolle.