WTB - 13th Century Stuff

[royalist89]

What a fantastic link, thanks very much. Sadly I have neither the patience nor the determination to carry that out (Ironic being as I paint historical miniatures on commission!). I will try that if all else fails though definitely!

Photos of hose, shoes and greaves to follow

[Sir Vander Linde]

Hi & welcome!

Excuse my silliness, but by any chance did you family marry in to the O’Donnabin family and then wed to the heir to O’Suileabain ? Just curious, a friend of mine is a Suileabain. This is his crest.

[Ian]

Hi Dave, welcome to the forum.  How interested in historical accuracy are you?  Some of us here are basically of the mind that we try to be as historically accurate as money allows.  If historical accuracy is important to you, let us know and we can guide you in the right direction, or steer you away from things that are more movie-correct than historical.

What seems to happen to a lot of us is as we progress we discover things we purchased in the past are not historical, and then end up re-buying a lot of things, i.e. wasting lots of money.  Take advantage of the knowledge here and don't make the same mistakes we did.

For gambesons, a good 13th century gambeson can be hard to find in a historical design.  The only places I know to get off-the-rack historical gambesons are overseas.  Some of the reputable Eastern European manufacturers that do good 13th century gambesons can be found here:

Kokosh Manufacture
Matul's
Medieval Market

If those don't float you're boat, you might be looking at making one yourself, or finding someone who can.

Sir Edward has a great example of a custom 13th century gambeson done by Jessica Finley of Fuhlen Designs[url].

[royalist89]

Not sure on the Suileabain connection! my family history is a miserable and obscure one so I don't know a lot about it other than Fairey comes from clan name 'Fearie' which was anglicized. Heres photos of my kit so far.

Hi Ian, I'm all about historical accuracy, it claws at my mind to wear gear that isn't quite right. I have done a lot of re-enactment before my main start ironically was American civil war, and my oh my did it feel good to look so rough and awful in jean cloth which had been hand sewn and didn't quite fit right... these small things were what made the impression great. However there seems to be a lot more source material for these later impressions (obviously) to work from.

I'm finding for 13th century surviving examples are rare, I'm working from the maciejowski bible and other English miniatures to get an idea of what I'm aiming for and even then its all art and still open to vast amounts of interpretation. I'm a lot more relaxed now within the realms of what gear ive got, I don't mind if it hasn't been dyed with authentic medieval dyes, or if its been machine stitched, but thats as far as I'll go in terms of sacrificing authenticity.

Sorry for the rant guys!! your all extremely helpful and its nice to hear from people who have been doing it a while and have the experience on how to tackle such a task as portraying a 13th century knight.

Heres the photos of my gear so far the helmet is actually quite lovely and could also probably take a nuke to the face as its so tough just if only I was larger built!.. maille to come soon... I cannae wait!

[royalist89]

Got the gregorian chants on and chillin, heres some more photos of the kit, close up of the lions I cut out with safety scissors (its all I had available!!) and the shoes

[Ian]

If you plan to add maille chausses to your kit, I would recommend investing in a good pair of lightly padded hose in addition to the gambeson.

[Thorsteinn]

Matuls Gambesons: http://www.matuls.pl/index.php?IDP=1&Lng=en&IDKategoria=4

Armstreet: http://armstreet.com/store/gambesons-padding/
Steel Mastery: http://steel-mastery.com/en/padded-armour/gambesons

Should also be looked at.

[royalist89]

Thanks for those links!

I certainly am sir, just need like you said something to go between hose and maille,

[Sir Ulrich]

First off welcome to the forum, good to see you're starting with 13th century as I did. Second off what kind of gambeson are you looking for? I got mine custom at Badass Garb, which is at least as good as european outfitters.
Heres my teutonic knight kit, this is period for either the late 12th century or early 13th, the helm probably would of still been used in SOME parts of Germany up to the 1250s as germany tended to hold onto the old styles of armor unlike France or England.

I highly suggest a custom gambeson because if your arming clothes fit well you'll be comfortable in armor, my old gambeson wasnt comfortable under my maille and was a bit tight and hot. Though I would go for canvas as a shell if you got the dome riveted maille as taking it on and off many times might wear linen out quickly, thats the reason I switched to wedge riveted maille, also cause I like he look of it better.
Heres how mine looks and heres where I got it http://badassgarb.com/

Also Matuls is  GOOD gambeson maker, I would of gotten one there myself if it wasnt for time constraints from DoK. Padded chausses you probably will have to get custom made as I couldnt find any that would fit me off the rack for my thin stick legs.

[royalist89]

Hi Guys,

I'm selling the maciejowski helmet, don't get me wrong its a awesome helmet, I just don't have the muscle to back it up

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=161067

[Lord Dane]

Hi Guys,

I'm selling the maciejowski helmet, don't get me wrong its a awesome helmet, I just don't have the muscle to back it up

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=161067

I'm thinking a transitional flat-top helm for you based on what I see. It's simple and time-period and it might suit you much better.

[Lord Tristin]

Spend a portion of your income on beef or mutton. you need meat.  I am 5'11" 235 lbs. built like a tank and proud of it. no sense in wearing armor if you fall over wearing it!  I jest good sir. Perhaps you might think of partial plate with mail! It would suit your frame nicely and sit more comfortably.

[Lord Dane]

Spend a portion of your income on beef or mutton. you need meat.  I am 5'11" 235 lbs. built like a tank and proud of it. no sense in wearing armor if you fall over wearing it!  I jest good sir. Perhaps you might think of partial plate with mail! It would suit your frame nicely and sit more comfortably.

Already covered that joke, Lord Tristin, but we are thinking alike.

[Lord Tristin]

Clearly I posted t o slowly. tis the curse of working.

[Sir Wolf]

what about the GDFB version. its not a mac bible helm per say. but its close to the time frame. although it is 14 gauge as well