[Robert Hinds]

I'm putting together a 15thc commoner infantry kit, but i'm lacking in period images. If anyone could post a link or picture of a WOTR footsoldier (man-at-arms, archer, billmen, militia), or any 15thc foot soldier for that matter, that would help me choose the right armour and weapons, I would really appreciate it.

I've searched the internet for such images but have not been able to find more than a couple.

Thank you in advance.

[Chuck Russell]

are you looking for originals or reenactors?

[Robert Hinds]

preferably originals, but if you've got some good pics of reenactors then those are okay too.

[Martin Fischer]

... try this:

http://tarvos.imareal.oeaw.ac.at/cgi-imareal/kleioc

Regards

Martin

[Scott Hrouda]

For a very well done book by reenactors try The Medieval Soldier: 15th Century Campaign Life Recreated in Colour Photographs. This is one of my favorite books! The pictures are stunning and the Company of Saynte George's attention to historical detail is sharp. Granted, some educated guesswork was involved in the portrayal, but the end result is definitely worth the price of admission.

[David Teague]

One of my favorite period sources, Hans Memling. The Martyrdom of St. Ursula's Companions and The Martyrdom of St. Ursula circa 1489


High res below. (just click on the plates for the large size view)

Plate 5 http://www.lib-art.com/artgallery/13888-st-ur...mling.html

Plate 6 http://www.lib-art.com/artgallery/13889-st-ur...mling.html

Cheers,

DT

[Robert Hinds]

Thank you for all your help, and david those memling plates are pretty kool, I like the amount detail in them.

[Zac Evans]

[Hendrik De Coster]

[Mark T]

Hi Robert,

Are you wanting to portray someone in the WOTR specifically, or are wanting to portray someone in the 15th C, and the WOTR seems like a good place to start? If you're going for WOTR, then that's a clear beginning point; if you're after the 15th C more broadly, then it's worth thinking through what time period and what culture, as the clothing, weapons, armour, etc will vary a lot. One option that many of us have taken is to 'reverse engineer' things and get an idea of the kind of kit you like, and then decide that you're from 'x' time in 'y' culture on the back of that ...

Anyway, there are a few really good 15th C threads here on myA - search for '15th' and you'll find them. Failing that, many threads that have posts by Ben van Koert or Aaron Schnatterly here will probably have some relevant things - their kits have inspired many of us - so use the search tool to find posts by them, and just browse promising thread names.

For living history groups, check out:

The Company of Saynt George: http://www.companie-of-st-george.ch/cms/intro.html
1476 Städtisches Aufgebot: http://www.anno1476.de/
Nürnberger Aufgebot 1474: http://www.aufgebot1474.de/index2.htm
The Guild of St Olaus: http://www.olofsgillet.org/

There's also the '15th C. Thugz! Show us your kit!' thread over at The Armour Archive: http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/viewto...ight=thugz ... while some of the examples are SCA nightmares, there are also some fantastic pics - well worth weeding through.

For historical images online , check out:

Die Hausbücher der Nürnberger Zwölfbrüderstiftungen: http://www.nuernberger-hausbuecher.de/index.php?do=page&mo=8
Gothic Eye: http://www.gothiceye.com/index.asp
Imareal, as mentioned above: http://www.imareal.oeaw.ac.at/realonline/ (do a search here on myA for instructions on how to search Imareal)
Karen Larsdatter's Medieval Material Culture Linkspages: http://larsdatter.com/index.html

For books with good images, check out:

Venus and mars: The world of the medieval housebook - still available from a few places secondhand: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults...=0&y=0
Artists and warfare in the renaissanace, J.R. Hale (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1990). The book contains 345 images from the mid-15th to mid-16th centuries, and focusses on Germanic and Italian sources, and goes into a lot of detail about the differences between each.
Die Welt der Schweitzer Bilderchroniken, Carl Pfaff is an amazing source that probably isn't as well-known as it should be.
Medieval military costume recreated in colour photographs, Gerry Embleton (Ramsbury, Crowood Press, 2000) has some good living history examples - alhtough, like Embleton's The medieval soldier, previously recommended, some of the potrayals are not accurate - however, like Scott, these are two of my favourite books, are are the best we have at this point, in print, at least.

Most of the above are German / HRE-related sources, rather than WOTR-specific. There are some WOTR threads here, too, so do a search for them. You could also check out the UK site www.livinghistory.uk

Of course, Osprey have a lot of 15th C titles, including a few WOTR ones ... some will have good historical images, while some of the illustrators' renditions are better than others.

That should keep you going for a good couple of weeks!

[Robert Hinds]

Im specifically going for WOTR commoner infantry circa. 1470'ish, and i'd like to be able to maybe cross it over whenever I feel like it to a german foot soldier from the same period, so I can use a grosse messer. But I mainly want an english kit.

What exactly would you call a foot soldier with a glaive and a back up weapon of sword and buckler or longsword, that would be lightly armed with jack chains, breast plate and sallet? I know theres archers, bill men and men-at-arms but my kit idea doesn't really fit into any of those...

Thanks for all the links it's gonna take me awhile to check them all out.

[David Teague]

[Robert Hinds]

Ahh thanks, I thought billman only applied to people who weilded bills. It's nice to know the class I want to portray now, lol.

[Zac Evans]

[Lafayette C Curtis]

[Robert Hinds]

cool, thanks for making that 100% clear to me.