I'd be very interested in knowing how we think armour was stored and transported. Wicker baskets? In bags? Oiled bags?

Any evidence at all?

Thanks in advance!

Well I don't know what stored would have been, or what particular era you are wondering about, but I know that around the time of the Norman invasion to carry maille coats around, they would just shove a stick through one sleeve and out the other and have two guys carry each coat.

Here are the Normans carrying their weapons and armor into battle.

http://rubens.anu.edu.au/htdocs/laserdisk/0214/21438.JPG

Ahh--thanks. I'm thinking late 14th-early 15th century

Check this chest

http://www.marhamchurchantiques.com/antique/e...rers-chest

Quote:

This medieval oak chest might be described as an 'armourer's chest', as it was made to store a suit of plate armour - probably parade amour. It dates to the mid fifteenth century, and measures 77 1/2" long x 31 1/4" high x 19 1/2" deep. The interior (with divider to accommodate a helm) features an original coat of vermilion red paint. This pigment (either made from the imported mineral cinnabar or from mercury sulfide) was common in late medieval wall painting, and was also used as the 'primer' for gilding because it is non-reactive and also acts as a sealant. Applied to the interior of the chest, it would have prevented the metal from oxidizing through contact with the tannic acid present in the oak. The exterior (save for the back which is dry and untouched) is covered with a now thin and heavily patinated coat of the yellow ochre paint seen on many examples of English medieval furniture - a clamp-front in the Gwynn sale (lot 7) had a very similar surface. The hinges and decorated lockplate are original. The latter was secured with two flap-type hasps - a trait that can be seen on an late fourteenth-century chest in the church of Little Waldingfield, Suffolk.The floorboard is joined to the side with 'through-tenons' - a carry-over of even earlier construction methods associated with clamp-front chests and ark. There is an ancient split in one side that is repaired with two pieces of wrought iron. The Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers, London, owns a related chest.

I think it was stored in chests. I recall seeing one or two manuscripts showing armour chests.
(Remember at the time, chests were a fairly common way of storing things.)

I've no basis for my viewpoint of what they actually *did* use for storage..but I know my hauberk has been quite happily stored for about the last 10 years in a simple oiled bag. It packs down to a fairly small, if heavy, package, and can easily be left on a shelf somewhere. I only checked it over a month or so ago, and there's no sign of any rust.

In most of the inventories from Castilla that I know the pieces are usually stored in chests (arcas, to be precise), like almost anything else, from crossbow bolts to linen.

A good depiction of another way of storing it can be seen in the Palazzo Ducale at Urbino:

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Baccio_port...feltro.jpg

Quote:

(either made from the imported mineral cinnabar or from mercury sulfide)

An healthy choice :wtf: , but the chest itself can be a nice project!

Look for a PDF of Technology and Military Policy . In the Transport section, the author has citations for armour packed in cases, tuns (barrels), and coffers. He mentions armour packed in hay or felt. For higher end armour, he cites large tunks, a coffer of cuir boilli and iron for a bascinet, and a separate case for crests. These are mostly 13-14th century.