I Want to be an 11th century Norman Knight

[Mike W.]

Based on the success of Sir William's "I Want To Be a 13th Century English Knight", I've decided to attempt my own post.

I want to portray a typical Norman Knight that would have appeared at the Battle of Hastings. I've created a list of the items I believe I need, though being new to this hobby, I was hoping someone could guide me where to buy affordable and mostly authentic items.

Here's what I've gotten so far:
Soft Kit:
Under Tunic
Braies
Red Tunic
Black Hoses
Tan Winingas
Gambeson
Shoes
Coif
Belt

Hard Kit:
Round wire riveted rings with alternate flat rings hauberk
Round wire riveted rings with alternate flat rings coif (will probably try to integrate this with hauberk)
Olmutz style spangenhelm
Type Xa Sword
Scabbard with integrated belt
Tear Drop Shield
Spurs
Spear with Pennon
Axe
Utility/Eating Knife

Is there anything that I'm missing? Does anyone recommend a certain vendor? (I was looking at Kult of Athena, Historic Enterprises, and Allbeststuff mostly).

[Sir Edward]

Wow, that sounds pretty complete already. I think you might want to post some pictures before the forum crowd gets ugly.

[Sir Patrick]

How handy are you? A Norman kite shield is pretty easy to make and will save you $ for the rest of your kit. Heres the directions I used to make mine:
http://yeoldegaffers.com/project_shieldpress.asp

[Mike W.]

I used those directions already to make a kite shield with great success. Though I did take a few short cuts. I used a canvas covering, modern domed carriage bolts, and staples instead of rawhide.

[Mike W.]

When my next paycheck comes in on friday, I think I'll get started buying some of the soft kit. I want to hold out before I get hard kit items just to make sure I'm getting the right stuff.

[Don Jorge]

Wow, that sounds pretty complete already. I think you might want to post some pictures before the forum crowd gets ugly.

THIS...where are my dang on pictures!

[Mike W.]

Wow, that sounds pretty complete already. I think you might want to post some pictures before the forum crowd gets ugly.

THIS...where are my dang on pictures!

I don't have pics cause I don't have the kit yet! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything before crossing stuff off the shopping list.

[Mike W.]

Also, I noticed that helms in the bayeux tapestry are depicted in multiple colors, where as the maille is depicted in grey, thus leading me to believe that helms were painted. Anyone have any thoughts?

[Ian]

They probably were painted or decorated in someway, there's decent amount of artistic evidence.  Here's a manuscript from the very early 12th century (1109-1111).  Although here the maille is all different colors too, but not quite as distinct as the helmets.

 

[Sir Douglas]

When my next paycheck comes in on friday, I think I'll get started buying some of the soft kit. I want to hold out before I get hard kit items just to make sure I'm getting the right stuff.

Yeah, that's a good way to go. It's always best to get what goes under your armor before getting the armor itself. That helps ensure that everything fits properly, since measurement for armor are usually taken over your arming garments.

Also, I noticed that helms in the bayeux tapestry are depicted in multiple colors, where as the maille is depicted in grey, thus leading me to believe that helms were painted. Anyone have any thoughts?

Painted helms was definitely not unusual during the run of the medieval period. Whether or not that practice ran as far back as the Norman Conquest, though, I can't say for sure.

[Sir Patrick]

Doesn't James Barker sport a painted Norman helm on his profile pic here (or over at My Armoury)? Blue and white stripes if I recall.

[Sir James A]

Hard Kit:
Round wire riveted rings with alternate flat rings hauberk
Round wire riveted rings with alternate flat rings coif (will probably try to integrate this with hauberk)
Olmutz style spangenhelm
Type Xa Sword
Scabbard with integrated belt
Tear Drop Shield
Spurs
Spear with Pennon
Axe
Utility/Eating Knife

Is there anything that I'm missing? Does anyone recommend a certain vendor? (I was looking at Kult of Athena, Historic Enterprises, and Allbeststuff mostly).

Mail: IceFalcon.com or KultOfAthena.com - I have personal experience with both and been happy with both. Heard good things about AllBestStuff but no personal experience with them.

Type Xa Sword: Albion-Swords.com if you want high tier, or MuseumReplicas.com if you want a serviceable sword that isn't just for wall-hanging. Personal experience with both, and also swords through KultOfAthena too.

Scabbard w/Belt: Would normally say CrusaderMonk.com, but he is not taking any orders for a while due to deployment. DBK scabbards are highly regarded, but expensive and around a year long wait time... some of the swords from MuseumReplicas.com will actually come with a decent scabbard/belt combo (functional but not living history grade), such as http://museumreplicas.com/p-1902-the-accolade-sword-of-the-knights-templar.aspx

Spurs: Raymond's Quiet Press, or possibly KultOfAthena. I forget where I bought my second pair, first was from RQP but had some issues. Others haven't.

Spear and Axe: Arms & Armor for upper tier, or Museum Replicas / Kult of Athena for serviceable

Eating knife: Quite a few places depending exactly what you want. I got a set from MedievalCollectibles but it's a generic medieval set and not specific to them, multiple places had it, but they had it in stock and the best price

[Mike W.]

So I was thinking of getting most of the soft kit from Historic Enterprises, the gambeson and helm from KoA, spurs from Quiet Press, and the maille from allbeststuff. I'd love Icefalcon maille, but I can actually afford allbeststuff. I already have an Albion Senlac. I'll make the shield and attempt the scabbard (I have the materials so might as well). I'll put off the spear and axe just so I can re-allocate the funds to more necessary purchases. As for the knife, I've only found one at Historic Enterprises. I also want a pouch for my modern essentials, but haven't found one authentic to the 11th century.

[Ian]

My unsolicited opinion on scabbards:

Crusader monk can't make the appropriate type of scabbard anyway (integrated sword belts), and his are very ahistorical, so it's a non-issue if you're looking for a historical scabbard.

DBK stuff is very nice, not my cup of tea for a medieval aesthetic (his stuff looks way more American Southwest to me than medieval), but his skill in leather is pure artistry, but a year wait is too much for me.

Christian Fletcher has a much quicker turn around time and is a big step up from Crusader Monk, but not quite as nice as DBK.  However, CF uses a lot of modern hardware.

The only 'production scabbard' guy I know of that makes real medieval 'looking' scabbards is Todstuff in the UK.  Leo Todeschini really nails the medieval aesthetic.  His stuff is a pretty penny though, and would require overseas shipping. 

I think Jeff Hildebrandt at Royal Oak is going to start dabbling in scabbard-making, and without ever seeing one by him I'm willing to bet he nails it...

I've basically left you with no clear choice for a scabbard, but if I had to pick out of those, I would go for Christian Fletcher for turn around time, very nice work, and if you get an integrated sword belt with thongs, then there's no hardware anyway, so it would appear very historic.

**I just saw you said you'd like to attempt the scabbard yourself... that's probably the best choice.  If you've got patience and take it slow, you'll get exactly what you want**

[Ian]

This is a good read on the Normans:

http://www.albion-swords.com/articles/norman.htm