Greetings,
I am interested in this kind of arm harness, enclosed in the elbow-pit (a place where forearm and the bicep meet).



Obviously these are made for a maximillian armour, but I was wondering if any like these were made before, like say, in the 15th century?

Thanks!

PS are there any modern armoursmiths that have reproduced these?

As far as I know, that is a purely 16th century thing. One of Henry VIII's harness' had similar inside-the-elbow lames.

yeah I already knew about that Henry the Fat's armour, but that was not really my question.
Are there any armoursmiths today that know how to make functional arm harness like that?

definately cant help there, check the usual armourers maybe?

Did a bit of research myself actually, Eysenkleider from Germany and Millenium Fabri Armorum from Italy had already made some in the past. Thanks anyway :)

Hi all. :)

Same type of the armor(fully enclosed arm) is displayed in Metropolitan Museum.
But I don't know know the detailed things... :(
So I have some questions. :?: :?: :?:

[ Linked Image ]

* What is written on this board?
* What is this (overlapping plates form) called by the technical term?

thanks :)

hmmm, you know, pointing out that the back of the knee is not "articulated" like the inside of the elbow does seem a little strange. Do you think it's for better comfort or related to riding? i'd imagine that being your leg is against the flank of the horse that maybe there's no relevance for the need of armour there.

and to raise another question about fully enclosed articulation, i wonder if it restricts the body. restriction in comparison to non-articulated inner joints. the fact that this articulation is found on armour of the period illustrates that it is functional, but it seems to be like an extra accessory. (like getting a chrome grill for your truck)

There was a great website that explained in depth how this was done, but unfortunately it is down now and the only way it can be accessed now is via the 'Wayback Machine'.

http://web.archive.org/web/20100803051110/htt...ession.htm

Most of the photos are thoroughly shot; you may have to surf several different pages on Wayback Machine's files to get them.

Quite regrettable, honestly. The best way to get information on this may be to contact Carmel Emanuel Abela, the armourer, but I'm not sure any of this works anymore considering it's down.

My partial answer about the back of the knee is that the cuisse does not wrap all the way around the leg, and therefore doesn't give an upper support for the articulation to attach to. Without that support, it will just sag.

I can make a few guesses as to why the cuisse does not wrap around; one would be, as stated above, comfort while riding. Another would be simply value for effort. The inside of the elbows and front of the upper arms are relatively exposed in combat, whereas the backs of the legs are usually away from an oncoming threat.

Hi all :)

Scott Woodruff wrote:

Quote:

As far as I know, that is a purely 16th century thing. One of Henry VIII's harness' had similar inside-the-elbow lames.

William P wrote:

Quote:

not just the arm.... that armour enclosed EVERYTHING.

So "the back of knee...(3rd photo)" photo is to compare the difference of Henry VIII's armor.
But file size has become big... Then I cut "Henry VIII's armor(4th photo)" photo.

[ Linked Image ]

Daniel Wallace wrote:

Quote:

hmmm, you know, pointing out that the back of the knee is not "articulated" like the inside of the elbow does seem a little strange. Do you think it's for better comfort or related to riding? i'd imagine that being your leg is against the flank of the horse that maybe there's no relevance for the need of armour there.

Craig Shackleton wrote:

Quote:

I can make a few guesses as to why the cuisse does not wrap around; one would be, as stated above, comfort while riding. Another would be simply value for effort. The inside of the elbows and front of the upper arms are relatively exposed in combat, whereas the backs of the legs are usually away from an oncoming threat.

I have asked a similar question. :)
Historical Arms Talk > about the back of knee of the plate armour
http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p...ht=#189239

James Anderson III wrote:

Quote:

This is called "compression articulation".

Thanks! :)

The Henry VIII armour with lames in the elbow and knee shown in some of the photos was made for the field of Cloth of Gold tournament. Made specifically for that purpose, not for war. Comfort and mobility in this case was second to excessive safety for royalty. Possibly some armours with this inside lamellar was still used for war but I think this is the original purpose of it.

Ironically Henry VIII:s form fitting armour was failed by the marshals (possibly because it had no plate skirt on it) and he had to get a new one done to their specs virtually overnight to be allowed to participate. Supposedly the armour was much later the model for the early space suits. If these used compression lames I don't know. I've only ever seen a more modern suit cut up to show the cross section and that didn't seem to have any, just rubber and insulation layers.

There are some interesting pictures in this thread on the ArmourArchive:

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/viewto...henry+VIII

They are a recreation but there are some good views of both the inside and outside in different stages of articulation.