[Ben Kircher]

For a Hollywood movie I think that Kingdomof Heaven did as well as history buffs can hope for. The use of chain mail, surcoats, gambesons, and proper helms (for the most part) was refreshing over Hollywoods leather obsession. One piece that I was curious about was Jeremy Irons cloak/cape. Just wondering if anyone had any information or thoughts on it’s realism or lack thereof? Thanks in advance for any responses and help on the topic.

[Eric Allen]

The cloak he's wearing is a basic full-circle with an integrated hood--a design which has been around since practically forever. Variations with bag-sleeves and/or with slits for the arms existed all throughout as well. Even the blue color is easily within what can be done with period-available dyes.

The surcoat is fine for the 13th to early 14th-century. Maybe a little early for the mid 1180s when the film is set, but if so, not by much. Perhaps the most "fantastical" thing about it is the heraldic device on the front. The gold cross potent with four crosslets on a white field is the "Cross of Jerusalem", and was the emblem of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. By wearing the device, Tiberias (Jeremy Iron's character) and all the serjeants behind him could be considered to be claiming to BE the Kingdom. That was a stylistic choice on behalf of the filmmakers to make it immediately apparent which side each soldier and character was on.

In my opinion, from a costumes standpoint, Kingdom of Heaven, though not perfect, is better than most. Tunics tend to be too short and everyone is wearing trousers instead of chausses, and the helmets are all ill-fitting. But, all-in-all, the costuming is not bad and at the broad scale looks more or less right. *edit*: Except for Orlando Bloom's character. He's consistently the least "accurately-dressed" character on screen with his super-short shirts and modern-looking trousers.