[Mark Griffin]

My company is doing work in the north of England to do with the anniversary of the Battle of Flodden and as I didn't want to do the 'my grandad wore this at Bosworth but I've got a different helmet with a new feather in it' thing I decided that I needed a decent representation of armour based on extant examples from 'local' sources. Toby Capwell advised me that Per Lillelund Jensen had a liking for the period and had made many examples and to cut a long story short, here you go.

Per has done a great job which I'm really pleased with and i can't wait to see it. Unfortunately i won't see it before it gets used by my staff but I'll be wearing it at Hampton Court Palace for the August Bank Holiday 'Mars and Venus' joust

[Mark Griffin]

Another view. Its got lovely lines. So lovely that when Per blacked it with linseed he decided that the shape was lost somewhat so re-polished it to this nice matte finish, good choice i think.

[Lafayette C Curtis]

A very nice no-nonsense badass look. Somehow I'm getting the "polo shirt and body armour" vibe of a modern PMC operator from this one.

[Mark Griffin]

If I knew what the heck you were talking about........ :-)

PMC?

[Jeffrey Hildebrandt]

Nice commission, Mark!

A real munition armour reproduction, rather than a shabby version of knightly armour excused as munition armour... I hope the market for this sort expands, because I am aching to make more of it, too.

Will it be accompanied by a helmet?

-Hildebrandt

[Mark Griffin]

One of my many mantras (along with 'I wouldn't scratch that if I were you...') is 'its better to make good copies of bad armour than make bad copies of good armour' which i repeat ad nauseum to many people.

Of course this isn't 'bad' its just low grade and 'mass produced'. But even munition armourers were made by craftsmen who knew what they were doing and had a real skill with the eyes to go with it. Its a lovely example of the type, getting very keen to play with it.

Unfortunately my budget stopped at a helmet to match. That would have cost as much as the cuirass and arms, a decent bellows faced or simple flat faced one similar to the examples in the Wallace would have been great but no money for the first and don't care much for the 2nd!

I'm have a simple skull to go with it, although i do have my eyes on a nice late English open faced fluted sallet with Rondels.....

[Charles B.]

[Jeffrey Hildebrandt]

[Mark Griffin]

yes, just looked at that.

No doubt if I had one for a while I'd maybe grow attached but apart from its obvious excellent functionality I'm not keen on the look. Probably would fit really well with the harness though...

[Peter Johnsson]

Per´s work is outstanding and I am very happy to see this example of his work. Great theme and wonderful execution.
An honor to both maker and owner!

[Mark Griffin]

Thanks for the positive comments. Its feeling a bit unreal about it as its the first time I've ever had any armour made without many fittings or much in the way of input. It was pretty much 'here is some money, make me something early 16th cent, i trust you...'

As it was a more general fit i simply took some measurements here and emailed them to Per.Looks like it will work but strange not to have hung about a workshop for a few days whilst calipers have been all over me!

[Dan Howard]

Proper munitons armour. About time. Good job.

[Matthew P. Adams]

I love this. It looks light and maneuverable. I bet it would be perfect for HEMA.

[Kai Lawson]

This is really neat looking armor--it's nice to see something other than the commonly reproduced copies of more expensive full and half harnesses. I second the badass look comment as well