Hello all,

First post here. I'm trying to sort out some the plausibility of a kit / persona I'm wanting to put together roughly between 1290-1310.

I've done a lot of looking at different manuscipts and effigies and at this point, I think I've got myself more confused than anything.

I love the looks of the tall flat-topped kite shields and I like the look of ailetes. At the same time, I'm fascinated by the early appearances of transitional plate in the form of poleyns, courtiers, shynbalds/demi-greaves, and armored surcoats / coats of plate. William Fitzralph's effigy is dated to what, 1320, and he's got limb plate a'plenty.

i.e. I'm trying to have my cake and eat it, too.

The ailetes are present enough during that time frame, but the kites seem to be pretty well extinct by then. Poleyns and shynbalds are starting to show up with frequency, and every once in a while an elbow courtier is shown. Would putting that all together into a single kit (don't have the hobby budget to put together multiple setups) be acceptable for 1290-1310? Or would the shield be a no-go?

Something like this spectacular sketch here (missing a helmet).

Early splinted vambraces, three-quarter-length mail sleeves, and segmented Wisby-style gauntlets are probably completely out of the question, though, right? That's another aesthetic I really like, but from what I recall, about 1330 is as early as I've seen anything like that.

To top it all off (literally), I'm looking at either a classic great helm (no sugarloaf?), cervelliere, or kettle helm, right?

For 1290-1310, a flat-topped kite shield is indeed out of date. Escutcheons (heater shields) might extend from roughly shoulder to hip, and kite-like shields could be found in use by infantry, but they wouldn't have the level of armor you want. Here's two miniatures from the Manesse Codex from c. 1305 to illustrate the point.
http://diglit.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglitData...4/026r.jpg
http://diglit.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglitData...4/043v.jpg

The couters on the elbows are around, but depictions are rare. The half-vambrace splints are really going to be tough to document. As you note, the Fitzralph effigy post-dates this period. Splinted leather is indeed decades past your cut off. Armoring the legs with poleyns and schynbalds/skinbeaux and gamboissed cuisses is more normal than seeing reinforcement on the arms over the mail.

Sugarloafs are certainly around, and are probably more common than the flat-topped great helms after 1275, at least in English and French sources.

That's a very thorough overview. Thank you!

Does the surviving documentation seem to indicate any of these forms being more prevelant in a certain location or being particularly earlier or later than the others? Or would all be more-or-less valid?

I'm going for a c. 1295-1315 Polish/Hungarian look, which would certainly have a good amount of German influence.

I've got a really big head, so buying something in-stock and off the rack won't work for me. Any armorers you could recommend? I haven't the foggiest on who is reputable and who isn't.

i'm curious on the subjectof ailettes, whats the consensus on their purpose, were they just for identification or did someof them have a protective value..?

By the way, flat topped kite shields were still in existence at least as late as 1350 AD. See, for instance, this image from Manuscript Miniatures, below. So, although they were not common, one could certainly use one for a warrior circa 1290-1310 AD, provided you wanted him to have slightly older equipment.

The information about the manuscript and its provenance can be found here: http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4040/11513/

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