hello all.

I'm working on researching, and gathering reference for a graphic novel I may be illustrating (not writing) in the near future about the Mongol invasion of Europe, Rus in particular.

I've gotten some books out, but I'm going into this with little-to-no knowledge of the subject matter, and there is obviously a ton to learn.

I have gotten the impression that there is a wealth of extremely knowledgeable people on this board about such things,

I was wondering if any of you out there might point me towards some books, films, or websites that you can recommend, anything with pictures or illustrations is best (to see how armour, weapons are worn, etc)

I appreciate your time. thanks.

This isn't exactly what you're asking for, but I'm recommending a great novel about the Mongol invasion of Russia and Eastern Europe, Until the Sun Falls, by Cecelia Holland. It was written 40 years ago, but it's still in print - you can buy it new or used at Amazon. No illustrations (except for some very odd cover art on the new reprint), but it will give you some great mind images that may inspire you. It's also a fun read.

Edited because I mispelled the author's name

These guys make nice repro mongolian bows and their gallery offers some images of the armour etc. as well - it might be especially useful to know that mongols didn't use their fingers to draw a bow, but had a special thumb hook for that purpose.

Also, the shape of the bow is very distinctive and should not be confused with, for example, with the Hungarian bow (the site below has photos of them all and explains the differences very well.

http://www.sevenmeadowsarchery.com/images.ihtml

Roger Hooper- I will definitely check that book out and also recommend it to the writer, thanks

Marko Susimetsa - This kind of stuff is immensely useful to me, thank you.

thanks guys, this kind of stuff is extremely helpful

To supplement the sevenmeadows site I would add Grozer - it is a site of manufacturer of bows mainly focused on hungarian style but have some mongol stuff in (see pictures). Mileage can vary, but I also found Gyula of turul.pl to be knowledgable about the subject. There is also polish site czambulik.pl, focused on nomad archery, there is a gallery of zekiers (thumbrings) from around the world there .
Lajos Kassai is one important name when comes to horsearchery, though again - hungarian and his technique is a mix of east and west, old and modern, still might be worth a look.
While most modern reenactors focus on archers, one need to remember that mongol armies have a strong core of heavy cavalry, that were succesfully used to break european heavy horse (at least in case of battle of Legnica (Liegnitz) - April 9, 1241)
Word of advice - check and doublecheck, as most nomad stuff floating around is either Hungarian, Turkish or Chinese.

Tibetan and Mongol armour are pretty similar. Check out the Metropolitan Museum of Art's publication, Warriors of the Himalayas.

Lukasz Papaj - thanks for the websites and advice. very helpful

James Arlen Gillaspie & Timo Nieminen - I will deffinetly check those books out, they sound excellent


thanks a ton guys.

if anyone has anything in regards to medieval rus and their clothing, armour and weapons I would also appreciate that... but you've all been more than helpful and I thank you.

Osprey books are usually a good source of basic information and can sometimes be a useful starting point (as long as you remember to keep a pinch of salt within reach):
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/Armies-...1855328488

thank you guys, you've been extraordinarily helpful, I will go about trying to acquire all the resources you have recommended. You've all been a huge help.

thanks again.