A Knights' supply of water -- myArmoury.com

Christopher VaughnStrever · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 5:55 am Post subject: A Knights' supply of water

I have done some searching and did not come up with too much. Though I was wondering how knights would have carried a personal supply of water with them while waiting to attack an enemy or while traveling to the battlefield.

The reason I ask is that I would like to acquire something of the sort. I sweat alot in full gear and need to keep a supply of water with me to replenish myself and I really dislike having a plastic bottle of water in my hands or on my belt while armoured.

What are some soulutions you all have found for this? Is there any suppliers to buy from? And/or Would a plain pouch with a wooden cork be authentic enough?

Thanks for the help

Chris Arrington · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 6:31 am Post subject:

There are several guys over on armourarchive.org in the classifieds section that make and sell some attractive leather water bottles on occaison.

Now how historical they are, I don't know. But they are certainly much better than the old plastic water jug. Happy

Ian Hutchison · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 6:37 am Post subject:

They may have used water skins, something like:

http://dogonlanguages.org/photos/040_02_large...pew_JH.JPG

or

Reinier van Noort · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 6:42 am Post subject:

I can't help it. I have to ask. Is that the front or the back they drink from? Eek!

Herbert Schmidt · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 7:18 am Post subject:

The front...

And usually I guess that a knight had at least some sort of servant with him who was responsible for this. Also I don't think that he had a water supply on his body. He would go back to camp get some drink or use any nearby water (well, stream, or supply from villagers or peasants).

Herbert

Bjorn Hagstrom · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 7:58 am Post subject:

I'll check in with more info later, but from the top of my head leather waterbottles was found on the Mary Rose and I have seen depictions of them on 15th centur artwork (hunting scenes)

As a previous poster mentioned, water was most probably not carried on the person, but with the baggage/servant/pack-animal. For training or battle, do everyone a favor and bring a 90l barrel and a ladle. Make shure to brand it "ye olde Gaatorayde.. Wink

Jean Thibodeau · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 8:21 am Post subject: Re: A Knights' supply of water

Bjorn Hagstrom · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 10:13 am Post subject:

As promised earlier:

Mary Rose bottle. I really like this one and on my todo-list for this summer

In artwork:

Steven H · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 10:20 am Post subject:

Michael B. · Industry Professional

I help make the ones, at times, that are for sale on the Mercenary's Tailor website. We seal the bottles with brewers pitch. Melt it, then pour it in, swish it around. The pitch leaves no taste in whatever you put in, water, soda, I've put hot coffee in one of mine. They also last for a long time, had mine for three years traveling all over the US and still have no problems with it. Based our design on the Mary Rose one.

Sean Flynt · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 10:53 am Post subject:

I thought wine and beer were preferred to water in all circumstances (when available). Assuming wine would always be available to high-status individuals, would they have drunk that even during the course of a battle? Given the potential for contaminated water, especially on campaign in a foreign land, wine and beer would seem the best fluid options for those who could afford them. I can imagine barrels of wine in the baggage train, tapped as needed and taken to the front by servants.

Bjorn Hagstrom · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 11:17 am Post subject:

Douglas S · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 12:00 pm Post subject:

Actually, we have used a 50-50 mix of pitch and wax to good effect.

http://www.geocities.com/baldurstrand/bottle/waterbottle.html

Chris Arrington · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 12:23 pm Post subject:

I found a nice website of a renactor who describes how he made his step by step.

http://www.havenonline.com/moas/northstar/vol2no2/Costrel.htm

He also mentions that Panther Primitives carry many for the Revolutionary\Civil War Renactors that are pretty close in design and style to medieval ones.

Zach Gordon · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 2:07 pm Post subject:

I bought one at a ren. fair once that I could use for SCA and stuff where accuaracy was second to function. It was a hard plastic bottle shaped like the Mary Rose one and then covered in thin leather. In appearance it looked pretty Medieval, but it kept your water tasting pretty good. Im sure someone could find em online I think they cost like $30.
Z

M. Eversberg II · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 8:33 pm Post subject:

Bjorn Hagstrom · Posted: Fri 27 Mar, 2009 11:11 pm Post subject:

Gabriele A. Pini · Posted: Sat 28 Mar, 2009 1:18 am Post subject:

We know that medieval wine was very different from today, more like must than today wine, with a very low grade of alcohol in it. It was paart of the transformation from roman's and greek's wine (which was very dense, like honey, and was therefore diluited with water) to modern wine.

Melitta Weiss Adamson in hers "Food in Medieval Times" (Greenwood, 2004) say that were used a large quantity of fruits juices (wine is no more than grape'ss juice fermented, as is cider) for keep the excess of production.

Also, I don't know if it was do in medieval times, but my great-aunt would prepare a mixture of wine, coffee, tea and other liquids for the workers in the field, to avoid dehydratation and drunkness. I know, naturally, that there wasn't coffee or tea in the first medieval age, but if some farmers of the Valtellina know that alcohol isn't the best diet to do a straight groove with the plow, probably the knight's would know too (or suffer from a terminal disease called "natural selection").