[Anthony Clipsom]

I think we should be cautious about calling this a broigne. I am not clear a definite period defininition of a a broigne exists. The word is is a relative of Middle English brinnie, meaning a mail shirt.. The modern (ish) definition used by 19th century antiquarians was a leather or cloth garment to which metal plates or rings were sewn. So perhaps this would fit in the general category of broignes, perhaps not.

Incidentally, thanks for the Viollet le Duc illustrations. The man was a superb illustrator. But less solid on the history at times

[Len Parker]

Close-up: https://warfare.ueuo.com/12/France-Vezelay-Narthex_Tympanum_Lintel-right-dt-lg.htm

[Len Parker]

The Irish have luirigh tredhualach: https://www.jstor.org/stable/30007369

You can see the sculpture matches the fragments: https://myArmoury.com/talk/files/myarmory_pic_to_post_426.jpg

Some latticework on what I think is a Celtic saddle above the arch:
https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/the-triumphal-arch-of-orange-is-characteristic-of-roman-news-photo/610694696?adppopup=true

[Dan Howard]

[Anthony Clipsom]

Interestingly, Bayeux Tapestry fever has thrown up this article

https://www.medievalists.net/2026/09/the-broigne-what-armour-do-you-see-in-the-bayeux-tapestry/

It's based on an academic piece which is cited at the end. Personally, I think I will stick with the interpretation that the Bayeux Tapestry shows stylised mail armour.

[Dan Howard]

[Bartek Strojek]

The argument about mail being rigid and easily folding into a bundle doesn't hold all that well either, we know that there were weaves of mail that weren't very flexible.

Same with argument about mail being hard to take off from fallen wearer - "Perceval" by Chretien de Troyes is pretty famous poem, and there's a passage there about mail being hard to remove if someone has no idea how to do it.