Mittens... or Fingers?

[d-farrell2]

I am in the process of getting some information on the sorts of gauntlets which would have gone with a harness in the style of the Churburg S-18 (first quarter 15th C, Milanese style)

I posted this question previously (and got a few answers) on the Armor Construction board (http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... hp?t=78513), but figured it may be better suited here.

Basically - I will by using these in a HES/WMA environment against steel, wood and rubber, so in addition to authenticity, I am concerned about blunt trauma.

So, since the gauntlets that are shown with the S-18 are a bit less protective than I would like, I thought using a mitten style would fit the look as well as provide some rather nice protection. However, the more I search, the more it seems the mittens were popular in the second half of the century and hourglass finger gauntlets seem to be more common in the first half.

So 2 questions came up:

does anyone know of any early 15th C examples of mittens (heck even pre-1450)?

Are there any examples of Milanese styled finger gauntlets with a more extended cuff than the typical hourglass form? (the half gaunts on the S-18 seem more extended to my eyes)

[Fire Stryker]

I can find artwork. However, I'm not an armour geek so I might be out of my element.

The Ghent Altarpiece by Van Eyck has a panel with the "Knights of Christ" and it looks like they have mitten Gauntlets with relatively high cuffs.

Jan van Eyck painting "Ghent Altarpiece", finished 1432.

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/e ... index.html

There's also one listed from "The Medieval Arms and Armour of Rhodes" on page 107 that show a mitten gauntlet from the mid-15th century.

There's also this piece from René d'Anjou which shows a combo with a high cuff.

[d-farrell2]

I might be out of my element, however the Ghent Altarpiece by Van Eyck has a panel with the "Knights of Christ" and it looks like they have mitten Gauntlets.

Jan van Eyck painting "Ghent Altarpiece", finished 1432.

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/e ... index.html

ah - yes, they link to a detail shot of the 'soldiers of christ' that makes it very clear that they are wearing mittens.

There's also one listed from "The Medieval Arms and Armour of Rhodes" on page 107 that show a mitten gauntlet from the mid-15th century.

There's also this piece from René d'Anjou.

I will have to see if I can find that reference from "The Medieval Arms and Armour of Rhodes".

I did also see the Rene d'Anjou page (in one of Chef's posts, I think) - bit of a different style, but still near mid century I guess?

[Fire Stryker]

1460 I believe

[d-farrell2]

In doing some more research, I have decided to abandon the idea of getting mittens, and instead spend more time investigating the possibilities of the brigandine half gauntlets from the S-18 (possibly with a set of removable finger bucklers for use when/if needed), as well as more hourglass style finger gauntlets.

After coming across some more information on the S-18 gaunts, I think those will be what I go with... though they seem to be of a much more rare construction than hourglass finger gauntlets.