Where do you guys learn all this stuff? -- myArmoury.com

Harold R.

Lately I've been thinking about beginning to peice together a kit.
I haven't decided exactly where I want to start but I'm thinking about an English archer circa 1350 or so.
Where do I even begin learning about this stuff?
I'd like to make some of it myself (gambeson or jack, maille if / where appropriate) but I'll definitely need to buy things like a helmet. I figure if I'm going to go to the trouble of making / buying stuff, I should make an effort to make it as authentic as possible.

Any suggestions on some good books I should check out?

Thanks

Doug Lester · Posted: Fri 26 Dec, 2008 8:26 am Post subject:

You could click on "Books" on the brown bar above. Topics under "Features" might also be useful. Please don't feel that I'm trying to talk down to you; it took me for ever to learn to navigate this site.

James Aldrich · Posted: Fri 26 Dec, 2008 9:53 am Post subject:

A reasonable starting point is the Osprey Warrior Series #11 English Longbowman 1330-1515. People will always find something to criticize about the Osprey books but that should only spur your further research.

Keep your bowstrings dry.

JSA

Andres M. Chesini Remic · Posted: Fri 26 Dec, 2008 11:03 am Post subject:

Osprey books are an easy solution for starting.- With time you'll start finding some innacuracies on them, and eventually you'll find yourself purchasing archeology books (Many of them listed on this very forum, as doug said before).-

I'd say: Pic something you like from osprey books, then go to the bibliography section, and see where they took that from. (Sometimes, they put together stuff from different ages and locations. ) Then go to a library and ask for those books, and search the internet for images of the original archeological findings and locations.

Harold R. · Posted: Fri 26 Dec, 2008 12:43 pm Post subject:

M. Eversberg II · Posted: Sat 27 Dec, 2008 2:28 am Post subject:

I'll ditto books. Also take a look at period art (IN CONTEXT), other peoples kits, and ask lots of questions. Lots, and lots of questions.

M.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Sat 27 Dec, 2008 11:31 am Post subject:

Get a copy of The Great Warbow. It's full of great information as well as contemporary illustrations of longbowmen.

Harold R. · Posted: Thu 01 Jan, 2009 2:47 am Post subject:

Gordon Clark · Posted: Thu 01 Jan, 2009 9:33 am Post subject:

A very nice 14th century resource is 1381: The Peel Affinity. La Belle Compagnie is a 14th century reenactment group here in No VA and MD, and they put a huge amount of work into this. I was at one of the photo shoots, so my family and I are in a couple of the pictures. It was fun...

Gordon

Gereg Jones Muller · Posted: Mon 05 Jan, 2009 4:20 pm Post subject:

I highly recommend _Longbow: A Social and Military History_ by Robert Hardy. Like the author of the Osprey book that was mentioned here, he is (or was) an ardent longbowman himself, and he offers a loving survey of the weapon's rise and fall. (Hardy can be seen loosing a bow rather nicely with Glenda Jackson in "Elizabeth R", where he plays Leicester.)

Harold R. · Posted: Mon 05 Jan, 2009 4:57 pm Post subject:

Thanks. I ordered a couple books from amazon yesterday, one of which was The Great Warbow. I even got it in hardcover. Big Grin

I considered the one you mentioned but I only had forty bucks to spend so I had to pass on it.

Gereg Jones Muller · Posted: Mon 05 Jan, 2009 5:56 pm Post subject:

That title's a new one on me, as of this thread. I'm looking forward to getting a look at it.