So, I apologize if this has some sort of obvious answer, but while sitting in class today and daydreaming about kits, I had a little thought. Presumably, fabric or leather covered armours (such as a brigandine or coat of plates) would be damaged in battle, and the shell would on occasion be torn or cut through or the like. I was just wondering if we know about how they would repair this? I wouldn't think that someone wealthy enough to have such armour would want it to look shabby and patched or stitched up, but it seems like it would be a lot of work to redo the piece with a new covering.

It IS a lot of work but the wearer wouldn't care. He'd give it to a servant and wouldn't think about it again till it was presented to him fully repaired.

I would imagine that for the soldiers who did not have servants, they'd either repair it in the field themselves with a few stitches of waxed linnen thread, or they'd hand it over to an armourer or possibly their wife to have it repaired. But I would imagine that a few quick stitches would fix such minor injury.

Like a lot of old and worn out military equipment, it may have been scrapped and replaced. The fabric covering could be the greater part of the expense (along with the nails which might be worth digging out for the metal) in a noble's armor, so if it was damaged, it lost value quickly.

http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/3919/1/Thom_Ri..._final.pdf

Quote:

In 1353 the Tower armoury contained 144 pairs of plates, in total, one riveted with silver rivets on red velvet, 18 covered in velvet, the rest with a variety of unspecified coverings. In the period of the same account, 1353–60, 156 more pairs of plates were made by the king’s armourer, John of London, and other workmen within the Tower, at a total cost of £230. Thirty were covered in velvet and other silk cloths (samaka and tartaryn) of various colours with gilt rivets holding in the plates, at a price of 40s., while 114 were less expensively covered in white or black fustian at 26s. 8d, and twelve pairs were covered very cheaply with a double layer of hemp, and had white (metal) rivets, at 13s. 4d each. ------------ Et in clxj paribus platorum factorum ex precepto et ordinatione domini nostri Regis per Johannem de London’ vallettum et armurariorum ipsius domini Regis et alios diversos operarios et armurarios secum operantes infra Turrim London’ per vices infra tempus huius compoti, unde xxx paria cooperta de velvetto et panno samaka et tartaryn diversis coloribus cum clavatura deaurata capientes pro quolibet pari pro omnibus misis et expensis per ipsos inde apportis ex certa conventione cum eisdem facta et pro maiori commodo Regis xl s., et cxiiij paria cooperta de fustiano nigro et albo capientes pro quolibet pari pro omnibus misis et expendis per ipsius inde apportis ut superius xxvj s. viij d. et xij paria cooperta de canabo duplicata cum clavatura alba capientes pro quolibet pari pro omnibus misis et expensis per ipsos inde apportis ut superius xiij s. iiij d.,

Here is a Japanese armor showing several repairs to the inner cloth lining made during its working life.
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