SCA: Creating a unique "Dark Age" kit
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SCA: Creating a unique "Dark Age" kit
Hello folks,
I've been having battle after battle in my mind over how I'm going to pull off a dark age kit and retain the uniqueness I'm after... I've seen a WHOLE LOT of Dark Age impressions done in the SCA, and so many seem good.
I need advice as to how I can stand out in the crowd. What particular group of people from what century/decade should I focus on that grabs attention as being unique from most impressions? What kind of unique equipment would accompany this idea?
I'd like to minimize the amount of anachnonisms to helm/gauntlet related things, and have hidden armour wherever necessary.
Thanks!
-Gregory-
I've been having battle after battle in my mind over how I'm going to pull off a dark age kit and retain the uniqueness I'm after... I've seen a WHOLE LOT of Dark Age impressions done in the SCA, and so many seem good.
I need advice as to how I can stand out in the crowd. What particular group of people from what century/decade should I focus on that grabs attention as being unique from most impressions? What kind of unique equipment would accompany this idea?
I'd like to minimize the amount of anachnonisms to helm/gauntlet related things, and have hidden armour wherever necessary.
Thanks!
-Gregory-
- Oswyn_de_Wulferton
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Most of what I have seen, being a pretty normal portryal with some well selected bling, really would be pretty unique. Take a really good LH portrayal, see what needs to be added to make it SCA legal, and do it. Get some low-profile stuff. It is pretty easy to get knees/elbows that will fit under tunics, so if you are pretty confident in your defense, and have a decently high tolerance for pain, you will be fine.
Westerners, we have forgotten our origins. We speak all the diverse languages of the country in turn. Indeed the man who was poor at home attains opulence here; he who had no more than a few deiners, finds himself master of a fourtune.
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Dark Ages... I'm not sure why I used the term in the first place, considering I don't like it. Let's say 600-1100 AD, here. Sutton Hoo's awesome, but I don't think I could afford to do the portrayal justice.
Oswyn, I'm a new fighter, so I'll get elbows, knees, cuisses and vambraces, but plan on hiding them all. I want it to have as much of a LH feel to it as possible. My main debate is whether to use demi-gauntlets with cup hilts for my weapons or clamshells with more accurate weapons. I'm leaning towards the latter, for axe and spear fighting, but suggestions on that would be nice.
Thanks!
-Gregory-
Oswyn, I'm a new fighter, so I'll get elbows, knees, cuisses and vambraces, but plan on hiding them all. I want it to have as much of a LH feel to it as possible. My main debate is whether to use demi-gauntlets with cup hilts for my weapons or clamshells with more accurate weapons. I'm leaning towards the latter, for axe and spear fighting, but suggestions on that would be nice.
Thanks!
-Gregory-
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Nice idea. See http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=46376
Or perhaps a 6th century Lombard? Something like the pictures below, both in lamellar armour with curved edges (the Agilulf ones might even have "S"-shaped edges!) and plumed helmets.
For a bit of history of the early Lombards, see http://www.fernweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/mf/lombards.htm
Or perhaps a 6th century Lombard? Something like the pictures below, both in lamellar armour with curved edges (the Agilulf ones might even have "S"-shaped edges!) and plumed helmets.
For a bit of history of the early Lombards, see http://www.fernweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/mf/lombards.htm
- Attachments
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- 6th century Lombardic or Byzantine plate. Castelvecchio Museum, Verona. Plumed spangenhelm with cheekguards, lamellar with short sleeves and side-split extension covering thighs
- Lombard armour detail2.JPG (69.53 KiB) Viewed 395 times
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- Close-up of the Agilulf plate. Detail is bad, but you can see lamellar, shields, spears, plumed spangenhelms (or lamellar helms?) maybe with cheek guards
- AgilulfDetail.jpg (80.26 KiB) Viewed 911 times
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- Decorative plate from the helmet of 6th century Lombard King Agilulf
- Agilulf2.JPG (62.93 KiB) Viewed 911 times
Egfroth
It's not really armour if you haven't bled on it.
It's not really armour if you haven't bled on it.
Dude...Egyptian...I'd love to see that! A well done portrayal of somethign along the lines of Tuts armor or something... yeah a lot earlier than Dark Ages, but you're into that bronze age stuff aren't you?
Lord Alexander Clarke, Righteous Brother of the Priory of St. Colin the Dude, The Bear of Hadchester, Squire to Sir Cedric of Thanet
~Chivalry unpaired with Valor is a meal to starve a mans soul~
~Chivalry unpaired with Valor is a meal to starve a mans soul~
I can just see that image from the browpiece, redrawn and acid etched into a thick piece of brass or bronze, and mounted to an appropriately styled SCA helmet. Freakin cool! I'd like to see somebody like Brand Lancaster take a crack at it---maybe do the bottom half of the visor like a real face (as he has recently done on a viking helmet).Egfroth wrote:...like the pictures below..
Avars, Magyars, Carolingians, Lombards, Slavs, Pagan Saxons, Livonians, etc. Knotwolf is the place to go for early period helms. Otto does good work too.
There are tons of Dark Age peoples to choose from that get precious little representation in the SCA. Personally when I get my scale shirt I'm going to develop a Carolingian impression just for the heck of it. Ok, really because I'm an armor whore.
There are tons of Dark Age peoples to choose from that get precious little representation in the SCA. Personally when I get my scale shirt I'm going to develop a Carolingian impression just for the heck of it. Ok, really because I'm an armor whore.
Martel le Hardi
black for the darkness of the path
red for a fiery passion
white for the blinding illumination
--------------------------------------
Ursus, verily thou rocketh.
black for the darkness of the path
red for a fiery passion
white for the blinding illumination
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Ursus, verily thou rocketh.
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Hmmm. Sounds like a lot of good ideas, folks.
Before I jump the gun and say I'd take one over another, let me offer up some further explanation of what I plan on "getting" out of the kit.
- A round shield, large in diameter with a central boss.
- A helmet that has cheekplates and a back portion integrated historically, if at all possible. This way I can minimize the inaccuracies.
- A simple tunic, possibly of two colors?
- Slim pants w/winingas.
- A mail shirt.
And... That's about it. I'd like to limit the decoration to any buckles, belt plaques, etc. I want a simple helmet and for my shield to be pretty simple as well, with maybe a couple of colors on it. I want to present a warrior who's not poor, but definitely not the head of any warband, etc. Someone who'd be considered "well-to-do."
As far as influence goes, I suppose something more Eastern European would be nice. I am half Yugoslavian, and when I let my facial hair grow out, I'm certainly not too clean looking like Westerners. So, that might be more appropriate!
So, from there... Again. Thanks for the suggestions, thus far.
-Gregory-
Before I jump the gun and say I'd take one over another, let me offer up some further explanation of what I plan on "getting" out of the kit.
- A round shield, large in diameter with a central boss.
- A helmet that has cheekplates and a back portion integrated historically, if at all possible. This way I can minimize the inaccuracies.
- A simple tunic, possibly of two colors?
- Slim pants w/winingas.
- A mail shirt.
And... That's about it. I'd like to limit the decoration to any buckles, belt plaques, etc. I want a simple helmet and for my shield to be pretty simple as well, with maybe a couple of colors on it. I want to present a warrior who's not poor, but definitely not the head of any warband, etc. Someone who'd be considered "well-to-do."
As far as influence goes, I suppose something more Eastern European would be nice. I am half Yugoslavian, and when I let my facial hair grow out, I'm certainly not too clean looking like Westerners. So, that might be more appropriate!
So, from there... Again. Thanks for the suggestions, thus far.
-Gregory-
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I can give you some guidance if you go with Magyar or the like. One quickie option that I don't see done (and was) is to make a lamellar aventail, and lace the sections you want to be rigid rigidly, and the sections you want to move loosely. And with some pilot holes you can go right over a cheap helm with it, I bet....
That would be spiff, there is a Euro group that does awesome Frankish stuff but I have never heard of a good SCA version.Mord wrote:Merovingian Frankish.
These guys are awesome, few flaws but they have the most pimp helms ever: http://www.ulfhednar.com
That helm is one of mine & belongs to Sir Mihangle of Calontir, not one of my squires but an excellent fellow anyway. I'll see if I can track down a pic of his rig.B. Amos wrote:The guy who wears this helmet has the best carolingian kit that I have ever seen. I think he use to be one of sir richards sqires. I wonder if anyone has a pic of the full kit.
- InsaneIrish
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Here you go Richard. You beat me to it. I was looking for an image when you posted.
http://www.baronyofvatavia.org/gallery/ ... c0c5c32a4c
http://www.baronyofvatavia.org/gallery/ ... c0c5c32a4c
http://www.baronyofvatavia.org/gallery/ ... c0c5c32a4c
http://www.baronyofvatavia.org/gallery/ ... c0c5c32a4c
Insane Irish
Quote: "Nissan Maxima"
(on Pennsic) I know that movie. It is the 13th warrior. A bunch of guys in armour that doesn't match itself or anybody elses, go on a trip and argue and get drunk and get laid and then fight Tuchux.
Quote: "Nissan Maxima"
(on Pennsic) I know that movie. It is the 13th warrior. A bunch of guys in armour that doesn't match itself or anybody elses, go on a trip and argue and get drunk and get laid and then fight Tuchux.
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Hey guys, thanks for the great ideas.
I'm still having trouble, but for some reason Frankish doesn't catch my fancy. Sir Mihangle looks good, but definitely doesn't cover up as much as he can to make the outfit look more period-correct. If anything, I'm going to strive to do what I can to look as true to the selected persona as possible when on and off the field. Because of financial reasons, I'm assuming I'll have to start by looking like a rather "poor" warrior to start.
The 7th century Vendel culture has really caught my attention due to the great detail on their arms and armour. The problem is that I couldn't afford the detail! So, that's a problem... The release of HE's recent line of "Dark Age" clothing, including primarily their labelled Viking outfit, has prompted me to use these clothes as the base of my outfit. I own an entire outfit from HE, and love the quality and the look that their work achieves.
So, maybe I'll get that stuff and we'll figure out what I can do, from there.
Thanks again, guys.
-Gregory-
I'm still having trouble, but for some reason Frankish doesn't catch my fancy. Sir Mihangle looks good, but definitely doesn't cover up as much as he can to make the outfit look more period-correct. If anything, I'm going to strive to do what I can to look as true to the selected persona as possible when on and off the field. Because of financial reasons, I'm assuming I'll have to start by looking like a rather "poor" warrior to start.
The 7th century Vendel culture has really caught my attention due to the great detail on their arms and armour. The problem is that I couldn't afford the detail! So, that's a problem... The release of HE's recent line of "Dark Age" clothing, including primarily their labelled Viking outfit, has prompted me to use these clothes as the base of my outfit. I own an entire outfit from HE, and love the quality and the look that their work achieves.
So, maybe I'll get that stuff and we'll figure out what I can do, from there.
Thanks again, guys.
-Gregory-