Hello, This is my first post on the forum.

I've been spending a lot of time trying to find as much information on the subject of 6th century Germanic military equipment and as many of you can imagine its proven to be quite difficult due to the apparent lack of material covering the subject on the internet.

So I was wondering if any of you guys could give me some good information or good sources on the subject of Germanic military equipment, especially on the Goths(Visi and ostro) the Lombards and the Franks.

To get the ball rolling I've read that many Germanic people at this point in time were using a Sassanid helmet type,[ Linked Image ]

Whether helmets like these were produced by the Romans or the Franks, I'm not sure, but either way its clear that the Germanic peoples were starting to adopt the various equipment that they believed to be the most effective in their campaigns, and nodoubt developed their own equipment.

Anyway, its become very apparent to me that the people on this forum know a great deal about these subjects and I would be really thankful if you could help me out by giving me some information on Germanic military equipment.

Thanks.

Welcome to the forums. :)

Try the myArmoury bookshop, for example this may be useful, click on the link:
Germanic Warrior AD 236-568

And this one looks pricey, but it's there:
Ancient Germanic Warriors

Welcome to myArmoury.com, Jack.

Jack Burns wrote:

...So I was wondering if any of you guys could give me some good information or good sources on the subject of Germanic military equipment, especially on the Goths(Visi and ostro) the Lombards and the Franks. To get the ball rolling I've read that many Germanic people at this point in time were using a Sassanid helmet type...

All that I know on the subject is what I read in Oakeshott's Archaeology of Weapons. I find this work to be a very useful general reference, and you might consider picking up a copy. In Chapter 7, entitled “The Arms of the Migration Period”:

Ewart Oakeshott wrote:

We have seen from the Sutton Hoo material that the gear of the kings of East Anglia was in nearly every respect identical with that of kings of Sweden. By the same token it is likely that Goth, Longobard and Vandal were similarly armed. But what of the Franks? ... It is clear enough that they were not nearly so well equipped....

Beyond this, Oakeshott goes on to discuss a specific helm from the grave of a Frankish chieftain, pictured in figure 54 of AOW, which looks very similar to the photo that you posted. He points out that this helm is

Quote:

… identical with those Dacian helmets of the second century so clearly shown on the base of Trajan’s Column … and remarkably similar to others which have been found in Persia, dating from the period of the Sassanian rulers. With its little plume of feathers at its apex, it was the regulation headgear of the Byzantine cavalry of the fourth to the seventh centuries.

Oakeshott goes on with his discussion of Frankish weapons and tactics for another 2 pages. I hope that this helps.

In almost every italian museum, with special regard to the North, there are remains of longobard weapons, found in burials

ex

http://www.santagiulia.info/museo_di_santa_gi.../index.htm

http://www1.popolis.it/abbazia/classico.asp?I...Sezione=12

http://www.deltin.net/2071.htm

There are no images on the italian web, the topic is confined to museum catalogs

A good start maybe some of the Osprey men at arms publications? There is one based on the Germanic warrior also another on the age of charlgmaine.
In know way a complete picture of the germainic warrior, but a good starting point. Be cautious of the colour illustrations though. A friend of mine a while back was interested in recreating a germanic wariors outfit, apparently it is very difficult to find any good sources on clothing? Though I imagine some of the northern bogfinds would come in handy for clothing styles of the period.
Yes eastern style spagenhelms do seem to be popular amongst frankish nobility of the time.

Some of the belt/baldric and sword parts are of excelent craftsmenship.

Nick

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Alamannic warrior from osprey, it's 4th century but the equipement didn't change much until the 6th century I suppose.

[ Linked Image ]

Thanks to everyone who posted a reply to my thread, the information was much appreciated =).

I think I'll end up buying those books from the myArmoury book store that seems like the most efficient way to get the information I'm after.

Just out of curiosity, in that men at arms series book about the germanic warrior, is that a Germanic adaptation of lorica segmenta?