Early light arm harnesses (German) -- myArmoury.com

Kristjan Runarsson

Hi,
I am working on a kit for a foot solder from the Hausbuch Wolfegg - Heerzug panorama (warning, huge JPG image):

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Hausbuch_Wolfegg_51v_52r1_Heerzug.jpg

I've pretty much finished the breastplate and am working on the bevor attachment so the next task is the arm harnesses. I noticed that quite a few of the guys in the 'Heerzug' panorama are wearing somewhat archaic armour dating from the early 15th century and even the odd bassinet with aventail that looks like it belongs in the late 14th century. What interested me are the old fashioned spaulders and couters that appear in the 'Heerzug'. These are over half a century out of date by 1480-1490. Does anybody have ideas of how these things were attached? I found this otherwise excellent statue from the rather awesome Kreuztragung Christi relief that used to be in the Parish Church of St. Martin in Lorsch in Germany.

There is, however, no hint as to how this kind of 'Armzeug' was attached to the mail. Does anybody know or perhaps remember a piece of art that shows the method of attachment?

Josiah J · Posted: Sat 27 Mar, 2021 3:43 am Post subject:

My guess is that it's probably pointed to the doublet (or the like) that would be worn underneath the mail, which would help keep the armour in the proper place. Alternatively, assuming the mail is integral to the doublet underneath, instead of a separate hauberk, it could be riveted or otherwise directly attached to the mail sleeve.

Kristjan Runarsson · Posted: Sat 27 Mar, 2021 6:19 am Post subject:

Kristjan Runarsson · Posted: Sat 27 Mar, 2021 6:30 am Post subject:

One other option is that this thing could be riveted to the mail with a leather backed shingle on the inside of the mail shirt as a permanent form of 'applique' armour 'upgrade' for the mail shirt Big Grin

.

Anyway, found another image. This is clearly attached to an underlying mail shirt or doublet. I'm assuming there is a leather piece backing the lobster scale allowing it to flex. If that leather piece has tabs with holes on it that would allow the wearer to point the thing directly to the mail shirt without exposing any points on the outside of the armour that might then be cut in combat as would happen if you simply drilled a pair of holes through the plate armour and threaded the points through them. There also has to be a slit in the sleeve of the Schecke and the fabric must be tucked under the shoulder defence which would allow the wearer to take the Shecke off without it being semi-permanently attached to the mail shirt via the applique shoulder lobster armour.

Kristjan Runarsson · Posted: Sat 27 Mar, 2021 8:30 am Post subject:

Found an image of a guy wearing a slit sleeved Schecke with a shoulder slit in exactly the right place and a piece of plate armour visible underneath and he's wearing a hauberk under the Shecke. This is all starting to fit together, it even accounts for how you could have a couter on the outside of the Schecke but the attachment straps and/or points to fix the couter on the inside of the sleeve. I'm going with the couter and shoulder lobster being pointed to the mail shirt's sleeves, or the couter was pointed to the doublet if only a hauberk was worn, while the shoulder lobster applique armour was probably pointed to the hauberk/mail-shirt via the leather articulation piece on the inside of the shoulder lobster. I expect the wearer put the shirt on with the lobster already in place and didn't bother to un-point it all that often unless the shirt and the lobster were ripe for de-rusting.