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Historical Accuracy of a 14th plate gorget?
Das Bill:
--- Quote from: madmanpsu on 2009-11-06, 01:55:50 ---I think I tend to agree completely with Sir Brian's last statement of historical accuracy, unless you can actually say you were there via some means of time travel, it is impossible to say for sure 100% that an item is period accurate or not. I have put alot of effort into my Elizabethan soldier kit, and have recieved many compliments on it from people who are familiar with the period, but I would never say that it is 100% accurate. The best I would say is that it is as accurate as I can find in source material and discussions with other reenactors. As for where Tim got his info, I can not say and would hate to speculate, though I do know that he does alot of SCA work.
--- End quote ---
I'm in agreement that very little can be said to be 100% certain. That's true in one's own lifetime, let alone something hundreds of years ago. :) Having said that, there are still degrees of accuracy. Just because something *could* have existed, doesn't mean it did. All of the material to make an atom bomb have always existed, but there's obviously no evidence of atom bombs being made in the 14th century, and it'd be pretty ludicrous to assume this. That's an extreme angle, but my point is that just because people *could* have done something, doesn't mean it occurred to them to do so.
Getting back to my point: If you want something because you like it, then do it. I have no problems with that. But if we're going to say something was done historically, then there should be proof of that. If there proof is vague, then we should be honest that we're making a guess based on lack of evidence. Otherwise we're lying to ourselves as much as other people.
I'm no historically accuracy Nazi, and I don't do living history. But I have to confess that one of my pet peeves is when speculation is stated as fact. :) After all, I hated when people spread rumors in middle school about hearsay that was based on anything, so why should history be any different? ;)
Sir Brian:
--- Quote from: Das Bill on 2009-11-06, 18:13:18 ---
Getting back to my point: If you want something because you like it, then do it. I have no problems with that. But if we're going to say something was done historically, then there should be proof of that. If there proof is vague, then we should be honest that we're making a guess based on lack of evidence. Otherwise we're lying to ourselves as much as other people.
I'm no historically accuracy Nazi, and I don't do living history. But I have to confess that one of my pet peeves is when speculation is stated as fact. :) After all, I hated when people spread rumors in middle school about hearsay that was based on anything, so why should history be any different? ;)
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This is really good because I can fully see we are all essentially debating the merits of a two-headed coin insofar as both sides being right but not absolutely correct! I also share your pet peeve of when speculation is stated as fact and I’ve heard far too much of it in everything from the theory of evolution to who really shot JFK. :)
It is unfortunate that there is so little genuine physical evidence left of the middle ages. Obscure documents, crude paintings and effigies are pretty much all we have left from that period and they all leave too much of a variance for “embellishment”, of course this doesn’t make me a historical accuracy libertarian either! ;)
Sir Edward:
Yeah, that's why I make a point of understanding and being honest about the flaws in my kit. I've gone for a certain visual style, but the mail isn't accurate, nor is the leather, boots, hose, spaulders, etc.
We all have to make certain compromises based on comfort, cost, and availability, as the quest for perfection can certainly send you to the poor house, or the mad house, or both. :)
Sir Robert:
Sir Brian
I like your plate gorget, I would not worry about it being period- as we are ripping apart the ideas of "period" armor in another thread, basically no one can really say what was period or not- at least in a basic sense. There were truly astonishing, highly artistic, and finely grafted- almost gothic, helms and armor made in Damascus around 1050 and there are well crafted moorish harness and helmets dating from that time to well after. The point is- it could have been made, and the possibility of your segemented plate gorget being used somewhere in any given time is almost a certainty. Mybe you like the fit, maybe you like older ways, or maybe it was gained on a trip -an adnavement on what was avilible elsewhere. Maybe you had gotton or were nearly injured in the neck or seen many fellows cut down by a deflected blow this way, and decided you wanted to protect yourself. Armor tended to be a bit of personal preferences, a bit of wealth, a bit of experience, and a bit of happenstance.
Sir Blackwolf:
Milords,
Another consideration in regards to a gorget is, are you fighting in your harness? I wear a hardened leather gorget under my maile coif under my great helm and it has saved my neck (literally) on several occasions. In short, if you are fighting in it, the gorget is one item that one can disregard "historical authenticity" in my opinion.
I am at your service,
Sir Blackwolf
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