Hello my friends!

After both of my old hardened steel gauntlets have been destroyed at last weekends HMB-tournament in Montbazon, I am now in the progress to get new ones.

As my harness is going to evolve in a very typical german harness around 1410, I decided to get those very nice demi-mittens you see in the art of the time, which resemble the gauntlets from the Churburg S 18 armour.

Here some effigies to show what I mean:

1. Johann von Wertheim, 1407, Wertheim, Baden-Württemberg
www.bildindex.de/bilder/mi09071c18a.jpg

2. Kunz von Haberkorn, 1421, Würzburg (now in Munich), Bayern
http://www.bildindex.de/bilder/mi02308g13a.jpg

3. Friedrich von Sachsenhausen, 1411, Koblenz, Rheinland-Pfalz
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roelipilami/8592...2432104851

My and my armour maker's problem in the moment is the construction of the finger protection.
There are several possible solutions we have evidence of:

1. Mail fingers:

1.a Konrad IV. von Kirchberg, 1417, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg
http://www.bildindex.de/bilder/mi03192b06a.jpg

1.b Soldiers at the Holy Sepulchre, Frankfurt am Main, Hessen:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roelipilami/8988...432104851/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roelipilami/8988...2432104851


2. Composite construction of scales rivrivetedder leather:

2.a Churburg S 18 Gauntlets:
https://plus.google.com/photos/115962623729091930300/albums/5433752780145165409/5433759245126095314?banner=pwa&pid=5433759245126095314&oid=115962623729091930300

2.b Dammo Knebel von Katzenelnbogen, +1401, Oppenheim, Rheinland-Pfalz
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roelipilami/8621.../lightbox/


3. Scale construction:

3.a A Painting from Arnstadt, Thüringen, 1430
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roelipilami/2138...3145061815

3.b Friedrich von Sachsenhausen, 1411, Koblenz, Rheinland-Pfalz
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roelipilami/8592.../lightbox/


4. Four-part plate construction with one joint cap:

4.a Painting in Neustift im Stubaital, 1404, Sudtirolo, Italy
http://armourinart.com/111/149/

4.b Fresco from Ptujska Gora, 1420, Slowenia
http://armourinart.com/138/199/

4.c Fresco from Stams, 1426, Austria:
http://armourinart.com/139/201/


As I need those gauntlets to participate in a very hard full contact sport, where the hands are legitimate targets, I really need good protection. So I would definitely not use the historically popular mail-finger solution! I also have not enough trust in the two scale construction methods.
This leaves me with the articulated plates solution. But I need more and more clear images of more gauntlets of that time and preferably from Germany. Maybe you also have pictures of different articulation methods with plate?
I hope you can provide me with more of that images and maybe some insights into your experience with the different solutions for fingerprotection under heavy duty, especially the compcompositestruction, I wonder how well that works, too!

Thanks in advance,

Till

Hi Till,

Firstly; apologies for the thread necromancy.
However, nice research! I've been looking at something similar myself. I'm sure you already purchased some gauntlets, but in case you haven't, there are a few English examples of effigies with hourglass gauntlets having extended knuckle plates which partially cover the fingers;

http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/4300/4347/armor_1.htm Sir John de St. Quintin, 1397
http://effigiesandbrasses.com/1572/1603/ South Kelsey Knight, 1410

Hopefully these are useful to you, though I'm aware that you are looking for something from Germany.

Hi Killian,

thank you so much for coming back here to share the information. Thread-necromancy is never the issue, especially if interesting information is shared!
And it is very interesting to see this type of gauntlet in England, these are the first specimens I am made aware of. The gauntlets of John St. Quintin show a four part finger construction and the other effigy of South Kelsy probably shows a five part finger constrction.
I have discussed this topic with my armourer intensively and descided to have a pair made after the effigy of Albert von Kirchberg (Thuringia, Germany, ca. 1410):
http://effigiesandbrasses.com/media/effigiesa..._r5414.jpg

I was after very good hand protection and as you see, the elongated plate reaches nearly the fingertips.

I am still looking for more insights about the different stiles of finger construction. I was recently made aware of another style of finger construction with only three parts:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Vv7uCudJLaY/TKd8FITCalI/AAAAAAAABMU/wIV9r2Kw6Og/w640-h480-no/Zdj.2529.jpg

I cannot find a clear evidence for this construction method in the late 14th/early 15th century, though. I guess it emerges in the later 15th century.