Main > The Armoury
Pointing for maille?
Sir Matthew:
I can agree with everything stated so far. I don't wear much maille, doing a period where that was largely obsolete and relegated to periferal areas of battle, but many of these points hold true for plate and also my brigandine. Practice will make perfect with putting on the armor. IT WILL NOT COME OVERNIGHT. I can not stress that enough. When I first got my splinted legs, I would have fits getting them on and adjusted right. It took me ALOT of practice to get it down to where I was able to put them on and adjust them correctly to wear comfortably. Not wearing them much for the last year means then when I do now, it once again takes me some time to get them on and adjusted right. I can not don my peascod breast and back myself without immense difficulty due to it's design. If I do get it on myself, it is nearly impossible for me to adjust myself. This is just the way this armor is. Fortunately, the other armor wearing members of my reenacting unit understand because they all have similiar problems and we help each other out. Often we adjust and fix issues without being told, we can spot problems with each others armor before the wearer even figures out what the problem is ;D . I can easily get my breast and back off myself, though. My brigandine is a cinch to get into myself, and just as easy to get off. It took my some time to figure out how to wiggle into my gambeson myself, since I need to pre-tie it closed before putting it on as I ties closed on the sides and my arms/hands simply don't bend in a way that would allow me to tie it after donning. That minor flaw will be corrected in the next version I make, since I do not always have my lovely wife with me to act as my squire. It certainly does make it easier if you have assistance, but most issues can be overcome yourself, it's just a matter of figuring it out and practicing until it becomes routine. Working out will likely help with armor weight and tiring, but nothing can be a substitute for wearing the armor. The weight will tire you, but so will the way the armor moves on you and the way you move in it. This can only be overcome by practice wearing the armor. Remember, if your armor fits you correctly and you are wearing it correctly, you should be able to do most anything in armor you can do out of it, common sense applies here. Driving in armor may not work, although I can, as well as certain other modern activities which armor was never invinsioned for. As I've said before, I wear my armor regularly in the off season to stay used to it. I wear armor every weekend day for 3 months of the year and have done so for about 5 years now. Proper conditioning is MANDATORY or you will pay a high price in body wear. Wearing proper supportive and comfortable shoes will also greatly help reduce body fatigue. My freind Kyle learned this the hard way. Proper padding with a buff coat, arming jacket, gambeson or other under armor padding will help cushion weight and reduce fatigue. Also remember to keep hydrated and when not fighting or when you at a faire, slow down. Life in the past was a bit slower, when wearing armor remember it's not a race to get everywhere. Slow your walking pace and stride and you will reduce your fatigue level. Avoiding the sun will also help with heat issues, to a point. Last, when wearing armor you will get dirty. All I can tell you is to deal with it. I don't really care if I get dirty when in kit, dirt is CPH and that is my goal. You're kit is coming along very nicely Sir Uhlrich, stick with it and you'll be a fine example of a historical Knight.
Joshua Santana:
--- Quote ---I can agree with everything stated so far. I don't wear much maille, doing a period where that was largely obsolete and relegated to periferal areas of battle, but many of these points hold true for plate and also my brigandine. Practice will make perfect with putting on the armor. IT WILL NOT COME OVERNIGHT. I can not stress that enough.
--- End quote ---
I agree with Sir Matthew.
--- Quote ---This is just the way this armor is. Fortunately, the other armor wearing members of my reenacting unit understand because they all have similiar problems and we help each other out. Often we adjust and fix issues without being told, we can spot problems with each others armor before the wearer even figures out what the problem is ;D . I can easily get my breast and back off myself, though. My brigandine is a cinch to get into myself, and just as easy to get off. It took my some time to figure out how to wiggle into my gambeson myself, since I need to pre-tie it closed before putting it on as I ties closed on the sides and my arms/hands simply don't bend in a way that would allow me to tie it after donning. That minor flaw will be corrected in the next version I make, since I do not always have my lovely wife with me to act as my squire. It certainly does make it easier if you have assistance, but most issues can be overcome yourself, it's just a matter of figuring it out and practicing until it becomes routine. Working out will likely help with armor weight and tiring, but nothing can be a substitute for wearing the armor. The weight will tire you, but so will the way the armor moves on you and the way you move in it. This can only be overcome by practice wearing the armor. Remember, if your armor fits you correctly and you are wearing it correctly, you should be able to do most anything in armor you can do out of it, common sense applies here. Driving in armor may not work, although I can, as well as certain other modern activities which armor was never invinsioned for. As I've said before, I wear my armor regularly in the off season to stay used to it. I wear armor every weekend day for 3 months of the year and have done so for about 5 years now. Proper conditioning is MANDATORY or you will pay a high price in body wear. Wearing proper supportive and comfortable shoes will also greatly help reduce body fatigue. My freind Kyle learned this the hard way. Proper padding with a buff coat, arming jacket, gambeson or other under armor padding will help cushion weight and reduce fatigue. Also remember to keep hydrated and when not fighting or when you at a faire, slow down. Life in the past was a bit slower, when wearing armor remember it's not a race to get everywhere. Slow your walking pace and stride and you will reduce your fatigue level. Avoiding the sun will also help with heat issues, to a point. Last, when wearing armor you will get dirty. All I can tell you is to deal with it. I don't really care if I get dirty when in kit, dirt is CPH and that is my goal. You're kit is coming along very nicely Sir Uhlrich, stick with it and you'll be a fine example of a historical Knight.
--- End quote ---
Yes, Sir Matthew speaks the truth here. For me when I get my full 16th Century Kit, I will be training in and out of the Kit itself for physical conditioning and for training the body to move with the armor instead of against it. Like workout regiments and diets, this will not work overnight, I will be certainly sore and nearly useless like an old dog but that won't stop me from continuing my training. Practice makes perfect progress, I will also be practicing putting on and off the Kit, now I am thankful that the Kit itself is half-armor (just the helmet, arm harness, gauntlets, and Breast & Back Plates) which helps to a degree with the exception of the straps & buckles which require practice.
This entire discussion on practicing wearing armor reminds me of how we Knights must practice our Chivalry and our Beliefs, we are not Knights nor are we chivalrous overnight. It is a gradual process of practice, practice after success, practice after making a mistake (we are human) and practicing getting back to where you were before you made that mistake. Nothing is ever easy, it would be easier to abandon Honor, Courtesy, Nobility or Courage when you are standing with the choice of sticking by your beliefs or by the Code or neglecting them in favor of mere pleasures that don't last in the long run. We have got to keep on practicing our Chivalry and it is a lifelong practice with no end date.
Sir William:
--- Quote from: Joshua Santana on 2012-05-25, 02:13:15 ---This entire discussion on practicing wearing armor reminds me of how we Knights must practice our Chivalry and our Beliefs, we are not Knights nor are we chivalrous overnight. It is a gradual process of practice, practice after success, practice after making a mistake (we are human) and practicing getting back to where you were before you made that mistake. Nothing is ever easy, it would be easier to abandon Honor, Courtesy, Nobility or Courage when you are standing with the choice of sticking by your beliefs or by the Code or neglecting them in favor of mere pleasures that don't last in the long run. We have got to keep on practicing our Chivalry and it is a lifelong practice with no end date.
--- End quote ---
That was well said, Sir Joshua- well said indeed. Nothing worth having or experiencing in this life will come easy; oh sure, some thing or other may come easily to you but by and far anything else worth having, achieving or experiencing will only be done so successfully by the desire to have it and the drive to make it happen.
Keep in mind that in the past, boys were taken, usually around the age of 7 or 8 to begin squiring for a knight- this consisted of but was not limited to: cleaning and polishing the knight's armor, waiting on his pleasure when he sat at meat or received guests, setting up his tent, his bedroll, saddling and unsaddling his horses, brushing their coats, picking out stones caught in their hooves- a glorified butler, if you will. All this in addition to training in combat- learning swordplay, spearplay, horsemanship- and you had to be good, because not every squire became a knight. Chances are, you would be blooded before you turned 16, if you proved yourself in battle you may get your spurs but you'd still serve your lord unless and until you decided to go on your own and be a knight-errant and find adventure where it would find you. Life was hard, it was at times cut short rather brutally and in some ways more complex than our own as we live a life of comparative luxury- these boys and men would've slept in a barn, or on the floor or on a pallet depending on where they were; they were required to eat only after their knight had eaten, sleep only when allowed, but ready to wake at a moment's notice; lice was a commonplace thing, bathing was largely optional, a hot bath was reserved for the gentry, commoners made do with cold water, usually rivers or streams as they were to hand, general medicine was herbs, incantations and bleeding and the average life expectancy was roughly half of ours- it was a tough world to live in. Whereas we all have running water, electricity, heat, the internet, we don't go hungry, we know no real hardship compared to them, we all have cars, access to money for the most part and while most of us are serious about our calling, it really is more of a hobby for us. With that said- how into it are you? Ask yourself that, and when you have your answer, you know what you have to do.
Joshua Santana:
--- Quote ---That was well said, Sir Joshua- well said indeed. Nothing worth having or experiencing in this life will come easy; oh sure, some thing or other may come easily to you but by and far anything else worth having, achieving or experiencing will only be done so successfully by the desire to have it and the drive to make it happen.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote ---Keep in mind that in the past, boys were taken, usually around the age of 7 or 8 to begin squiring for a knight- this consisted of but was not limited to: cleaning and polishing the knight's armor, waiting on his pleasure when he sat at meat or received guests, setting up his tent, his bedroll, saddling and unsaddling his horses, brushing their coats, picking out stones caught in their hooves- a glorified butler, if you will. All this in addition to training in combat- learning swordplay, spearplay, horsemanship- and you had to be good, because not every squire became a knight. Chances are, you would be blooded before you turned 16, if you proved yourself in battle you may get your spurs but you'd still serve your lord unless and until you decided to go on your own and be a knight-errant and find adventure where it would find you. Life was hard, it was at times cut short rather brutally and in some ways more complex than our own as we live a life of comparative luxury- these boys and men would've slept in a barn, or on the floor or on a pallet depending on where they were; they were required to eat only after their knight had eaten, sleep only when allowed, but ready to wake at a moment's notice; lice was a commonplace thing, bathing was largely optional, a hot bath was reserved for the gentry, commoners made do with cold water, usually rivers or streams as they were to hand, general medicine was herbs, incantations and bleeding and the average life expectancy was roughly half of ours- it was a tough world to live in. Whereas we all have running water, electricity, heat, the internet, we don't go hungry, we know no real hardship compared to them, we all have cars, access to money for the most part and while most of us are serious about our calling, it really is more of a hobby for us. With that said- how into it are you? Ask yourself that, and when you have your answer, you know what you have to do.
--- End quote ---
Yes I agree, we also must take into consideration how physically active they were. I mean they walked, ran, and walked longer than we are today. We sit most of the time during the course of the day (sitting in front of the computer typing on this forum, driving to work, sitting down on the couch) where as back in the Middle Ages and Renaissance you didn't have that sitting luxury (except within a university where you had to sit). With this in mind, can we imitate as best we can the physical hardiness they had, nope, I don't think so. I believe this is true with any warrior culture, physical fitness and hardiness is a must. But we got to keep it in true perspective with our daily schedule. Combining working out with armor on (or maile on), with sword practice, weaponry practice (spear, poleaxe, or other weapons) and doing the same outside of armor and do not forget running, jogging and throwing stones (large stones) as weight training, that should be more than enough to get started becoming physically fit.
Sir William:
Lifting a heavy hauberk and putting it on and shrugging back out of it, rinse and repeat. You'll work muscles you may not have known you had and you'll feel the strain but the burn is GOOD.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version