[Anthony Clipsom]

So far, we have wrapped ourselves in English and Scottish matters. It seems to me that there are plenty of other examples from across Europe out there for comparison. Urban regulations from Italy, Germany and the Low Countries certainly exist, though rarely published in English. Doubtless our multi-national forum can come up with examples.

As an example, I have this summary of the Gotland Militia in 1361

By this, sword or axe, shield and iron hat seems a minimum of the folkvapen that a resident adult man was compelled to own. In some landskap the folkvapen were reinforced with other weapons such as spear and bow or with armour as muza, brynia, panzer or Plata. Panzar is probably protection for the upper part of the body made of textile, leather or mail. The standard number of arrows when bows are called for seems to be three dozen. To own folkvapen was both an obligation and a right.


This is from Thomas Neijman The Gotlandic Rural Militia p.48 and is a summary of a more detailed exploration

[Graham Shearlaw]

A second source of armour is royal/state/town armourys.
In 1399 Richard II’s expedition to Ireland takes 500 mail shirt with it.
And it far from a one of event, the accounts of the privy wardrobe show a contently shifting stock pile.