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Desiging my kit

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Eva de Carduus Weald:
I hope I am putting this in the right place. My persona is 1356 British lady who fights like a man so, I think I know what would work but wanted to be sure. I was thinking chainmail shirt maybe with coif, plate full arms, plate gauntlets, plate full legs, and maybe plate boot coverings (this depends). Not sure if I want a helmet yet or not, that will probably be last thing I get. So I assume gambeson will be needed but what else? And does this all fit within my period? This will be a LOOOOOONG process to get all of this by the by so what order I should get it in would also be helpful. I plan to get a kit for making my own chainmail, (I know you can make your own rings and such but I don't really feel like courting eye injury or the blisters.) I could also make a chainmail leg pair but not sure if that would be good or not, I think it depends on how much of a pain in the butt the shirt is.

Sir James A:
Have a look at http://modernchivalry.org/forum/index.php/topic,3058.0.html and http://modernchivalry.org/forum/index.php/topic,3207.0.html, between those two threads it should answer half of your questions

For specific time periods, the style of plate armor varies over a few centuries, so getting the proper fashion is important. Take a look at these two sites:

effigiesandbrasses.com
manuscriptminiatures.com

You can see historical examples by time and region to narrow down what you want, and decide if you want to be extremely historically accurate, or a more loose interpretation

Eva de Carduus Weald:
Awesome thank you! I actually don't know that you can be too historically accurate because all we can really go by are paintings and tapestries. I mean heck, individual fashion would depend on what you could afford too. The extremely wealthy could ride the tide of fashion but those less wealthy generally had to use Dad or Grand-dad's armor. Just couldn't really go for more modern I suppose. Of course without knowing when exactly the changes came about you could easily say you lived in the same place that first armorsmith came up with the new design. *shrugs* depending on how close the time period is I guess you could make a reasonable argument for fashion either way. I think I had a brief look at those links but I will definitely have a closer one!

Ian:

--- Quote from: Eva de Carduus Weald on 2014-08-18, 14:50:33 ---Awesome thank you! I actually don't know that you can be too historically accurate because all we can really go by are paintings and tapestries. I mean heck, individual fashion would depend on what you could afford too. The extremely wealthy could ride the tide of fashion but those less wealthy generally had to use Dad or Grand-dad's armor. Just couldn't really go for more modern I suppose. Of course without knowing when exactly the changes came about you could easily say you lived in the same place that first armorsmith came up with the new design. *shrugs* depending on how close the time period is I guess you could make a reasonable argument for fashion either way. I think I had a brief look at those links but I will definitely have a closer one!

--- End quote ---

We actually know almost certainly what would have been worn in period.  There's no such thing as a poor knight in the 1300's.  Knights were the 1% of their time and wouldn't wear out of fashion armor if they could help it (ransom comes to mind).  Poorer folks, like people not of gentle birth might wear what they could scrounge or afford, but if they were in service to a knight or higher lord, he would outfit his retainers appropriately.

  We not only have artistic evidence like you described, but effigies.  Effigies are alabaster carvings commissioned by knights and their families to accurately represent the man in his funeral achievements.  They are meticulously carved down to the links in the maille.  That combined with a plethora of documentary evidence in inventories, and archaeological extant finds give us a very good idea what people were wearing.

Your period in particular, the mid 1300's, has some of the largest extant finds of any period.  The grave finds from the Battle of Visby give us an unprecedented level of information in armor for the early 1360s, especially for less wealthy men-at-arms.

The second link that James gave you above is a good starting point for building specifically a historically accurate kit.  My hobby is Living History, which strives to be as accurate as historical knowledge will allow.  Everything we wear down to the rivets and buttons on our kits have to be documented to period as much as is practicable.  It's an arduous undertaking, but the rewards are great when you've got a full kit.  The knowledge is definitely out there to go as historically accurate as you want, but some people don't find the tedium interesting.  So it's not that we can't be historically accurate, but that it's really just not worth the time for some people depending on what they're seeking from this hobby :)

Eva de Carduus Weald:
Ah thank you for the correction, I didn't realize that about knights being as wealthy as all that. I will have to think long and hard about what I want to do with my kit. I guess my next question then will be in the effigies, what is the short coat over the mail? I thought a tabard would be worn in this period but that doesn't look long enough to be a tabard. I also am curious as it looks like you go from that coat over chain to brestplate within just a few years. for 1356 would I want to go brestplate or coat over mail? Ultimately I mean as this will take a long time to get together.

As for how much research I want to do, I think that depends on if I am in a researching mood or a blagh sort of mood at any given time. :D

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