Main > The Armoury
Armstreet new harness
Sir James A:
--- Quote from: Ian on 2014-01-26, 19:45:00 ---As far as materials go, mild steel and spring steels are acceptable. Stainless steel and aluminum should be avoided.
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Small note on this, I believe stainless mail is generally accepted if it isn't eye-piercingly bright. My mail is all stainless with a blackened coating, and I believe at least Robert the Templar and possible Terrence's was as well. One of the participants had a full stainless steel plate harness; I saw him near the jousters but didn't catch the joust itself, so I'm not sure if he was jousting. I'd call stainless plate the exception, rather than rule - avoid it if you can.
Aluminum seems to be completely out, as it should be. :)
Some things will inevitably come "close" but not "replica". Many people will base their armor off of period effigies or artwork. The harness I'm wearing in my avatar picture is what I wore at DoK in 2012, except I wore a plate gorget instead of mail standard, and had a fauld (darn voiders were out for tailoring and never got done - I felt naked).
Mine is very similar to a harness picture in one of the Eyewitness books; exceptions being primarily my sabatons should be rounded instead of pointed, the greaves/sabatons were a single piece, gauntlet should have a secondary knuckle/forefinger plate, and if I remember right the peascod cuirass has no faulds. I mention that because it's important to stay as close to original source as you can.
BUT - and this is a key but - the harness in that book that mine is similar to, as *many* harnesses in museums and such are, is a composite. That means it is pieces from similar areas and similar styles and similar times that are put together to look like a full suit of armor, although it wasn't all made for the same person or by the same person or even at the same armorer.
Ian:
--- Quote from: James Anderson III on 2014-01-28, 00:08:09 ---Small note on this, I believe stainless mail is generally accepted if it isn't eye-piercingly bright. My mail is all stainless with a blackened coating, and I believe at least Robert the Templar and possible Terrence's was as well.
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True! My maille is mostly stainless and is blackened like yours as well James.
Sir Edward:
--- Quote from: Ian on 2014-01-28, 00:35:37 ---
--- Quote from: James Anderson III on 2014-01-28, 00:08:09 ---Small note on this, I believe stainless mail is generally accepted if it isn't eye-piercingly bright. My mail is all stainless with a blackened coating, and I believe at least Robert the Templar and possible Terrence's was as well.
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True! My maille is mostly stainless and is blackened like yours as well James.
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Yes, same with mine as well. I love the fact that it's available in an appearance that doesn't stand out as stainless.
Sir James A:
--- Quote from: Gareyth on 2014-01-26, 16:25:09 ---I have to say one of the characteristics that is tempting me if I were ever to get a second harness (I can hear Sir James whispering in my ear) as I'm getting older (and lazier) would be if it were a bit easier on the maintenance side. LOL
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How did I miss this?? I'm willing to forgive that you don't have a second harness when you start on your third harness. Who says I'm unreasonable? :D
Sir Martyn:
--- Quote from: Ian on 2014-01-26, 19:45:00 ---
--- Quote from: Gareyth on 2014-01-26, 16:25:09 ---So, coming back to DoK and similar events, how strict are the requirements on armor, etc to participate? Is everything required to be exact recreations of established historical patterns, or (like in my case) are harnesses that may mix/combine elements from different periods generally disallowed, and their wearers tarred and feathered?
Understand may be hard to answer since you've not seen my armor in person, just trying to get a feel for the borders.
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OK. You've asked two questions here, so I will address them in turn.
1. Does the form of the armor at Days of Knights need to be an exact recreation of existing known historical patterns?
No. It does not need to be a slavish reproduction of a proof-positive documentable piece of existing armor. It should not have any fantasy elements though. It should function like real armor, and appear like real armor. Although you don't need to be able to point to a particular manuscript or museum find to document your armor, you shouldn't have any armor that didn't exist in period. For example, there's no such thing as splinted torso protection, or plate gorgets from the 12th century. If you have to say "it's possible they may have had something like this, even though there's no proof" consider whatever it is you're saying that about, unacceptable for use. That's an invalid and illogical way to justify something, and does not pass muster. Now if you have sabatons that don't match the exact piece housed in Chartres Cathedral as made for Charles VI when he was Dauphin of France in the 14th century, that's fine, as long as your sabatons function, they look the part, are made from appropriate materials, and are appropriate for the time period you're portraying. As far as materials go, mild steel and spring steels are acceptable. Stainless steel and aluminum should be avoided.
2. Is it ok at DoK to mix/combine elements from different periods?
No. This is not ok. Everything on your harness should be cohesive and give the appropriate impression of whatever it is you're trying to depict within a reasonable span of time. Reasonable span of time is open for discussion, but a 14th century bascinet with a late 15th century plate harness is very much inappropriate. Things should probably be kept to within a couple decades of each other. Things that are within a couple decades of each other but clearly were never worn together in period would also not be appropriate. This extends to things from varying regions. For example, a highly fluted German gothic harness of the late 15th century wouldn't really have an Italian Armet for a helmet even though these two objects coexisted on the battlefield.
The reason for this is because the goal of Days of Knights is to educate the public on the realities of the Middle Ages as they were. If we start to bend what would have been and what might have been and go beyond the realm of what we know to have been, we begin to perpetuate the myths and fantasy that currently plague the modern public's understanding of the Medieval Era.
One of these myths in particular is that modern folks think of the Middle Ages as one cohesive period of time. They don't grasp that it spanned roughly 450 years from 1066 to the Renaissance at turn of the 16th century. To put this in perspective, Richard III died at Bosworth in 1485, about 500 years ago. William the Conqueror died in 1087, about 400 years before Richard III. To Richard III, William the Conqueror was just as archaic as Richard III is to us! So because of this we don't want to give the public the impression that styles of armor separated in time by 100 or more years would ever have appeared together on the battlefield, because it's just as misinformative and ridiculous as us trying to sell to the public that the modern military uses the same equipment as the soldiers of the Spanish American War.
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As a general rule of thumb, strive for as accurate as possible. If something is clearly not accurate you should be in a position to explain to the public why it's not accurate and why you made the concession you did so as not to give the impression that what you're wearing is correct to the period if it is not. That being said, it's not about finding what you can get away with. It's about giving it your best shot at authenticity, but allowing for a few inevitable places where we all fall short, while simultaneously not being false to the public.
Here are the 'official' standards from the DoK website. They are a guideline:
http://daysofknightsfrankfort.com/html/standards.html
Everything I've said above also applies to soft kit, not just armor.
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Thanks, Ian - that's a lot to chew on. I do understand the need to set boundaries and to strive for authenticity especially for what is intended to be primarily an educational event.
That said - and I admit you're obviously much more knowledgeable than I - seems to me folks could also keep in mind that surviving examples are not exhaustive, and there are certainly precedents for what appears to be fantasy-inspired or decorative armor pieces, even if worn only ceremonially or intended mostly for display, especially in later periods.
Well, if I'm run out on a rail I guess you can't say I wasn't warned :)
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