theres nothing from rome to the aketons of 13thcish?. no pictures, paintings, finds, lists, descriptions, packings, sculptures, nothing
This is not a fair assertion. The Vikings, for example, did not make “pictures, paintings… lists, descriptions, packings(?-not at all sure what this refers to), sculptures” in the first place. They made very crude, highly stylized art, and rune stones. The latter do not typically have detailed inventories, let alone descriptions. There is a reason it is called the Dark Ages! As for finds, do remember that textiles rot and are very rarely found – I estimate very, very loosely a survival rate of perhaps ~.005% or even much worse, based on some very rough estimates of population in Scandinavia at the time, likely number of garments an individual had over that lifetime, and how many fragments we have found (note that this number is a S.W.A.G. and wonts for refinement, but I think is in the ballpark at least). Further, this applies only to everyday things, as opposed to a hypothesized specialty garment meant to be used by the elite of a rather small warrior class, which is a much, much smaller number than tunics, cloaks, trousers, etc., etc., etc.
Keep in mind that we barely have find evidence for mail during the entire period from c. 800-1300 A.D.!!! For that entire FIVE CENTURY span of time we have exactly four finds that I am aware of (Gjermundbu, Kungslena, Lund, and Birka, and the latter two are small fragments only). That is an INSANELY low survival rate. Helmets are almost as bad; for the Viking Age I can think of only two off hand (Gjermundbu and Tjele), though starting in the late 10th and going into the 11th century we do have several conical helmets. But after that there is another gap, with many proto-great helms, sugerloafs, etc., existing only in art, but not a single find up until the Dargen helm (last half of the 13th century). Heck, even Roman equipment, though there are many more finds, is still a tiny fraction of a percent of the hundreds of thousands that easily once existed.
For that matter, what actual finds of aketons, etc. do we have from the 13th century onwards, when most folks don’t argue against their existence? Do we even have one example? (I’m asking the question seriously – offhand I don’t know that we do).
Based on the above observations, is it really all that rational to assume that, if say a million aketons existed, even a single one may have survived? Or if some have, they have been found? Or, having been found in a highly fragmentary state, recognized for what they are? I don’t believe that at all, and nor should anyone who can understand basic math and statistics.
And even if paintings were made, remember that any sort of aketon is usually worn under the mail, and would not be depicted in the first place! In any case, the period artwork tends to be very abstract and relatively crude, and is nowhere near the same level of fidelity to life or detail of, say, a 15th century van Eyck masterpiece, and it is disingenuous to even remotely compare the two. Put another way, if the Vikings had done paintings in this style, then we likely would see this sort of detail. But they never did; indeed, they never came even close.
Finally, I have yet to see a runestone with an inventory of anything, let alone a detailed arsenal inventory… Documents of any kind from the period are very scarce, let alone arsenal inventories, to put it mildly. Though there may be some Saga references - having said that, though, I don’t recall off hand what might be out there from this source.
The point I am making is if the categories of evidence do not really exist (whether due to negligible survival rates, lack of detail quality, or something that would never have been created – I’m thinking arsenal inventories here) then it is perfectly logical and reasonable to assert that “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence”. Note and note well: this does not prove that aketons or whatever DID exist, but it DOES mean that you simply cannot assert that they DID NOT, at least not based on that observation alone, and certainly not with anything faintly resembling finality. Unless, of course, you’ve got a Time Machine tucked away somewhere that you have not disclosed...
(P.S. As an aside, it might be worthwhile endeavor to bring together all known references to padding, whether artifact, artwork, literary, or even modern experimentation, and assemble them in one place. I also need to refine my estimates for the survival rates of both clothing and Roman war gear – I have run across some figures for the latter that would be useful for comparison purposes)
