Although there are numerous examples of knights being armed in period illustrations, almost no written descriptions have survived. One notable exception is the 15th-century English treatise commonly known as "How a man schall be armyd" found in the Hastings MS. Written about 1450, it describes step-by-step how a knight would be dressed in armour before fighting in a judicial duel. The following is a transcription of the passage [Hastings MS folio 122b] in its original Middle English: He schal have noo schirte up on him but a dowbelet of ffustean ...
Considering the fact that an overwhelming number of armours displayed in museums are "composed," meaning they have assembled from various pieces, not always even from the same regions or general time period, how good are they really for use as a basis for reproducing a "historical" harness? Late-19th and early-20th century collectors such as Bashford Dean, who founded the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department Arms and Armor, seem to have been less concerned about the provenance of pieces than modern curators are today.
Among practitioners of historical reenactment, there seems to be a never-ending experimentation involved with wearing maille under armour. The wearer's tastes evolve; their style of armour changes; the rules governing simulated combat are updated; issues such as comfort or weight become more important with age and experience. Perhaps it is entirely a modern phenomenon, as the majority of the aforementioned are somewhat trivial, while self-preservation on the battlefield was likely the most important consideration of the medieval ...
It started innocently enough. I bought a nice riveted mail standard, or collar, made from 6mm blackened mild steel rings from Mark Hale at Cap-a-pie. It came without a liner or method of closure. I commissioned a hinge clasp designed by Josh Davis of Davis Reproductions, based on period artwork and surviving examples, and stitched my own lining from a couple layers of linen and topped it with red leather. However, it still needed something to set it apart, so I decided to add a couple rows of brass rings. It was a very ...
I was invited by Steve Hemphill to participate in Lysts on the Lake 2019 located in the "Village of Castleton" on the beautiful shores of Lake Austin. Produced by a'Plaisance, Ltd., Lysts on the Lake is billed as the largest competitive jousting tournament in the world, hosting more than a dozen competitors each year. The "Lone Star Open Joust" is also one of the few events open to any equestrian who meet the qualifications. The tournament consists of three mounted events: le Chasse, or "the hunt"; Melée a'Cheval, or "combat on horse"; and Joust a'Plaisance, or ...
What kind of armour would an English man-at-arms have worn about the time of the first battle of St. Albans in 1455? While question may sound simple and straight forward, the answer took more than 3 years to fully realize. The greatest obstacle was the fact that almost no armour of verifiably English manufacture has survived from the fifteenth century. Who better to ask than the foremost experts on the subject: Dr. Tobias Capwell, curator of arms and armour at the Wallace Collection? Dr. Capwell has spent years studying ...