Hi everybody,

I haven't posted here in a while, but I have a few questions that I couldn't find clear answers to.

How common were (mail, or any other material) skirts/skirting as a separate piece of armor? I mean not as part of a haubergeon or hauberk, but something separated. I've seen some examples in 15th century Milanese armor, but what else was there? Was it widespread? When did it start/stop?

If you guys could post examples of armor that has this skirting in it, I'd be very grateful.

I think you stop seeing them later in the 16th century. Wearing a mail skirt instead of a full habuergeon was probably a thing around Agincourt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jse_b3wbpUo

The man representing 1415 is wearing a mail skirt.

Chinese brigandines (ting chia / dingjia) had separate skirts. E.g., see http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Qing_military_uniforms.JPG (which might be fake brigandines, but still show the skirts).

On other Asian armours, skirts were usually attached to the body armour. Can't think of any examples of American or African separate armour skirts.

Separate legging are more common.

They date back to the Bronze Age. The Nuzi tablets call them dutiwa.

Separate mail skirts known as paunces appear in early 14th century England to be worn with pairs of plate. The 9th century Stuttgart Psalter shows separate skirts of scale.

http://manuscriptminiatures.com/4868/13164/
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