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Author Topic: Will 2014 be the year of the Black Knight of the Order of the Marshal?  (Read 11379 times)

Sir Edward

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Since the legs are one of the harder parts to get right, I think you picked a great place to start.
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Sir Wolf

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:) got any pics of what your going for?

Sir Gerard de Rodes

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Very nice Sir James  ;)
What period harness are you going for when it`s complete??

I always fancied a blackened "Black Prince" harness accentuated with brass etc.

G.
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Sir James A

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:) got any pics of what your going for?

Very nice Sir James  ;)
What period harness are you going for when it`s complete??

I always fancied a blackened "Black Prince" harness accentuated with brass etc.

G.

G, thank you. I do fancy the black and brass myself, and have a pending order with Allan for a harness just like the one in my profile, but blackened with brass rivets. I may add some brass trim to it depending on what Allan feels up to doing. I may also take my 14th century harness with the engraved brass trim, disassemble it, and send it to Allan for blackening. Should look really spiff blackened with the brass bits!

These legs are perfect for the 1450 Italian style armor illustrated by Graham Turner in the Osprey book "English Medieval Knight 1400-1500" on page E (which is after page 32). However, since I have a set of those on order with Smiling Orc Amory, I decided not to duplicate that harness twice. It's going to be a while before I get that harness finished, for financial reasons (I've only bought the legs in the last 10 months, of which part was a barter and not cash). That's more of what I'm not doing with these legs, so perhaps I should answer what I *am* doing? :)

I've got two possibilities in mind. Osprey "English Medieval Knight 1400-1500, page G". The legs are very similar, except the demi-greave shape (it's curved in the book, mine are straight cut). The rest of the harness as pictured in the book is haubergeon, half-sleeved brigandine, "common" style arms with a slightly larger fan matching the legs, a mail standard, a sallet, and mitten gauntlets. I am thinking arms of that same style but with integral spaulders and a sleeveless brigandine (or possibly coat of plates). The sallet would be great for renn-fest days since it's an open-face style. I may skip gauntlets and wear simple gloves, I don't get along well with mittens - armored or otherwise.

Over the brig/coat I'd be wearing a surcoat, of which I haven't decided yet. I'm floating between a simple black surcoat with a single white lion, or a white surcoat with black lion (opposite of my heraldry, and a bit of "alter ego" to the "white" armor). With the surcoat, if the weather is oppressive, I can skimp on the haubergeon and/or brig/coat of plates. I may also do a simple breastplate without backplate over the haubergeon, since I'll have the surcoat on over it. Sort of up in the air with all that.

The other possibility is another Osprey, "Henry V and the Conquest of France 1416-53, page 16". It's the effigy of Thomas, Duke of Clarence. He's wearing similar, if not identical, armor to the one mentioned above. He seems to have a surcoat over it; same style leg harness, arm harness, and gauntlets. The picture is from his feet looking upwards, so there's no good view of the upper arms / shoulders area. I haven't found any other decent pictures of that effigy, so I'm going to call it a "1420" decade harness.
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Sir William

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I read the title and thought to myself, I'm being called out.  LOL

Love the legs, Sir James...can't wait to see the rest of the harness.
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