Boris,

Amazing work sir! Looks like you just got our of your DeLorean.

RPM

A bit fantasy but here it is anyway. At this year's Ren Fest with my favorite witch (man,it is terrible seeing myself get older every year)...at least there is a raven involved...and an iron throne!!!

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And a GIGANTIC wooden throne...

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So, some months ago i posted an update of my homemade milanese inspired 15th century harness mounted on an iron dummy, but some people asked for a pic of me in it. The harness is entirely made by me in my workshop, except the sallet and bevor, those were bought. It's battle ready, being 1.5mm thick mild steel all around, except the knee and elbow cups wich are 2mm thick, the breastplate which is 4.5mm thick (being three plates of 1.5mm on top of each other) and the helmet is 2.5mm.

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About a year ago I was feeling pleased with myself for finishing off my 13th C kit. Then I got back into riding, so naturally I had to make a period saddle and caparison. Not wearing my chausses here. Sword and kettlehat from Manning imperial, everything else home made.

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Tjarand, I love your kits. :) where did you get the brigandine (coat of plates)?

Looks great Ed! I don't know how you'd do all that mail work. Mittens look great. Do you know if 13th century warriors ever wore a gambeson, but then also mail mittens, or does it seem like simply a hauberk and mail mittens instead? Horse looks great as well. A fine looking steed, cover and saddle. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Jon,
I've not seen separate hand protection from the mid 13th C. There are plenty of hauberks with integral mitts, and gambesons with integral mitts, but in the absence of these bare hands are normally shown. I'm not saying separate gauntlets in this period didn't exist, just that I've not seen it. Might be worth a question in a dedicated thread.

There's a great article on a project to reproduce a gambeson here https://www.citedantan.org/site/index.php/fiches-pratiques/13-costume-militaire/68-gambison

I'd always thought some of the figures in the Mac Bible looked to have a sleeveless gambeson type vest over the top of a normal sleeved gambeson, but the separate sleeves of the garment reproduced in the link above give a convincing alternative explanation. If I weren't so busy in the 14th C maybe I'd have a go at making one.

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I have not seen instances of mail gloves being worn with gambesons and sans hauberk/shirt. If you think about it, having mail mittens on their own does not make a lot of sense. If you can afford to buy something, it’s better to have some sort of body armour, and hence you would purchase a gambeson—if you want hand protection, get a gambeson that covers the hands. A fighter’s hands are potentially an easy target to hit, but this is mitigated a lot if you use a shield to cover your hands as you strike. Likewise, if your choice is between mail mittens or a helmet, a helmet is a clear winner.

I guess what I am saying is that the hands are not vulnerable enough to warrant extra protection above and beyond what you could afford for a gambeson, shield and helmet. Although it’s certainly not impossible, I would be surprised if it was common for footmen to have mail mittens and a gambeson. It would be better to save the same money to put towards some other form of more essential protection, whether a mail shirt or early coat-of-plates, rather than placing extra armour on the hands.

Ed, do you have any more pics of that kit with the chauses etc?? I'm working on something very similar right now for my ca 1300 kit. Yours is awesome! What do you wear under the mail? Just a tunic or is there some very light padding?

Hi joshua,

I don't have any pics of the chausses on. I might be able to get some tonight. They still need a bit of tailoring, and I'm still not quite happy with my suspension method.

I recently did some revisions on my aketon and hauberk. I ditched my old aketon, which was more along the lines of the typical reenactor overly heavy, bulky, restrictive garment, and made a new light weight version. Two layers of cotton batting sandwiched between two layers of linen. The sleeves are quite tailored. I also did some tailoring of the mail, which shaved about 5kg off the weight, and being closer fitting gives better weight distribution. The result is far more comfortable and lighter to wear, and gives far better range of motion. The chausses will get the same treatment.

ed.

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Ed, nice kit. Can you tell me more about your saddle? Your stirrup seems a bit short.

Ed, with that armour and those colours you're actually doing a spot on interpretation of a Norwegian noble or other member of the royal retinue between the 1180's and through the 1200's. Me like!

Ed, I don't know who's better dressed....you, or the horse. :lol: Your kit is absolutely fabulous! THAT is historically perfect, down to the letter. I'm jealous!...............McM

thanks guys, Mark-I think my favorite part of the kit is the ginormous baggy underpants. I don't think it would be decent to post a picture here, so here's the source material, which they look just like.

Peter, I've actually just been doing a bit of work on my saddle. The horse (Stella) is fairly young and has bulked up quite a bit in the shoulders so I've had to do some modifications to the tree. As her shoulders bulked up the saddle started 'bridging' (ie, resting on the front and back, and not in the middle as it should). So I had to insert some more material in this area. Although it looks a bit unsightly in the pictures it does serve to illustrate the construction quite well. Under the saddle I use an inch thick felt pad.

The bars of the tree are made from some structural ply I had lying around, carved on the underside to match the contours of Stella's back. And on the top my match my backside. The high pommel and cantle are made the same way I make not-entirely-historic shields: A couple of layers of 7mm ply, glue in between, and curved around a barrel using ratchet ties until the glue sets. I've used a western style rigging system. This is more to do with the practicality of allowing compatibility with my existing selection of girths than historical accuracy. Over the top of this basic structure is a leather cover that just slots over it all and laces into place. Lots of period illustrations show lacing like this. I'm working on a 14th C kit now, so when that's done I'll likely get onto another saddle using more accurate materials based on my learnings from this one. I need to get some period stirrups too.

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Well, Ed....I believe I'll just stick with my Hanes and Fruit-o-the-Looms. :lol: Saddle looks great!.......McM

Hello everyone! I have skimmed the entire thread here and I have seen some of the most creative and stylish kits ever. I couldn't help but post mine to add to the mix. The helmet is in my profile pic and please excuse the backgrounds :).

I also had a couple of questions for you experienced folks out there. First question is about a good arming garment for hot weather use to tie the leg harness and arm harnesses to that won't cause heat stroke like a full blown gambison. I currently have to use a belt under my chainmail to attach my leg pieces to and i run my arm pieces through my chainmail as well. This is very uncomfortable and I wanted to know if you all had any suggestions? Second question is about any reenactment/renn faires that are big in the washington area? Thanks in advance for the help!

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I suggest a vest like porpoint to point the leg harness to. You wear this under whatever aketon or other padded garment under your mail or breast plate. You can see great videos of undergarments and armour in general on YouTube by Knyght Errant.
He also has a thread on this website in the spotlight topics about 'arming clothes', and Nice kit! :D