ModernChivalry.org
Main => The Armoury => Topic started by: MacDimm on 2013-06-15, 03:51:29
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Just wanted to go ahead and show off my current kit. My goal is a Knight Hospitaller, circa aprox. 1250. Currently have a flat-topped helm, mail coif, hauberk, and not pictured are a gambeson as well as mail chausses, which still require some fitting before they'll be practical. My shield looks bulky because it is built for boffer combat, which is where I get in most of my reenacting. I plan to eventually make a wood and canvas heater to go with the kit for ren faires. I am also planning on adding a wider, sword-style belt instead of just my skinny "period belt" to go over the surcoat.
(https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/998389_731244184135_2025042205_n.jpg)
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Welcome!
I'd love to give you good advice on your kit but it's a bit to new for my area of knowledge.
Looks very good for a boffer kit. What group do you fight in?
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Thanks, I fight in Dagorhir and Belegarth primarily.
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A fellow brother knight! And a period I know quite a bit about too.
I'd say looking at the one photo I have some words of encouragement and critique:
First off, looking at your photo and avatar, I must say it is a great looking kit thus far!
My one real critique would be to hide your aventail/coif mantle. Since you have your helmet on, I don't know which one it is. But, period they had a full hauberk that had integral mail mittens and an integral mail coif. By having the mantle sticking out from your surcoat, it separates the continuity and the belief that it could be one piece.
I'm impressed with your Cross. A lot of people tend to go towards the later period Maltese Cross for earlier kits when this cross you're wearing is arguably better in the mid 13th century.
I also like how you're wearing a sleeveless surcoat. By about 1240 or so, the Pope granted the Holy Orders the ability to wear them so as not to impede their effectiveness in battle.
I also like your shield, both the color and the style choice. The picture doesn't quite show the shield right, but your avatar does. Some may argue a modified kite would be more appropriate but the traditional kite is so iconic it's hard not to go with it. Well done on the kite being acceptable for your combat rules! Too bad there isn't a way to get the shield a bit curved though, but such are the ways of the game.
I'm still trying to figure out my hands, we use live steel, and I really appreciate my hands, so I'm probably going to have to use some form of anachronism.
There are minor issues depending on how far you'd like your depth to go, but hands down, a great foundation none-the-less. A better sword belt, a woven belt underneath that as well wouldn't hurt. Maybe some Pater Noster beads hanging down as an accessory too. Also, if you're running around with a kite shield, it may be good to make a ventail of sorts for your coif if you don't already have one. I believe those started to go away when the great helms really kicked off, like the one you're wearing, so you could go either way. Also, as much as I too love that helm, I believe the brass trim is deemed "excessive in the eyes of the Lord" according to our Rules, but I may also be wrong on that as I'm still doing more research into period documents. But usually reenactors of the Holy Orders tend to stray away from the brass trim. It's a shame I know, but such is the cost of taking the Oaths. You could also work on getting your kit underneath your surcoat and mail more appropriate if you wish: aketon, gambeson, tunic, braies and hose. I'm not sure if you have those, forgive me if I'm mistaken. Your kit doesn't look quite as "poofed up" like mine when I have all the padded garments on.
Again, all of those though, are so minor in the grand scheme of things and where most people would look at you. Most people would see the helm, the black surcoat and white cross, and then wonder why the red shield :D and THAT is something to already be proud of.
Well done on your kit good Brother, well done.
If you need any help with anything I talked about, please by all means ask. I've been researching for quite a while the Knights Templar, the Crusades, and the Holy Orders in general. I may be a "rival brother," but that doesn't mean we can both help each other in looking our very best!
YIS
B. Patricius
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Thats a pretty good kit, do you have maille chausses with it? Makes me wonder if I could try doing boffer stuff with a more accurate kit, only problem I'd have is the lack of realism in those weapons handling. Is your maille tailored so the sleeves don't flap around while fighting?
You should hide your coif's avantail under the surcoat would give the illusion of having an integrated coif and would stop it from flapping around, my old coif I wore out like that and it flapping around got annoying.
If you need any help for additions to your kit I would be glad to help you make it a bit more accurate, I know where to get the good stuff and cheap thanks to the people here.
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looks killer man! any chance in the future i could get more shots of that helmet? lol
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Thanks for the words of encouragement :)
Sir Ulrich, the mail is what I would call semi-tailored. The sleeves are a much closer fit than most of the made-in-India stuff is off the shelf, so they don't slide up and down my arms while fighting. When I'm in my gambeson, it fits perfect. I do have chausses but they need some fitting and strapping before they'll be really wearable. They're my next project, along with a sword belt.
Patricius, my underkit currently consists of one-piece black leggings when off the field and standard-width drawstring trousers when on the field under armor because they are heavier duty and the knees of our garb tend to take a lot of abuse in game. I have a gambeson but I generally don't wear it while fighting because I find it unnecessary weight/heat for boffer combat. When I go to faires I'll definitely be going full kit. For hands I'm probably going to make some leather chopper-style mittens for now, to eventually be covered in maille. The helmet may be a bit gaudy for the order, but I figure if it's going to have adornments, it might as well be a cross ;) I also have a simpler spangenhelm I wear when I want to have more air/vision. This is an earlier version of my kit:
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/p206x206/541871_718101522135_315327694_n.jpg)
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Looks great! That's one of the things I like about the 12th/13th, is that it's relatively easy to get the right look. Mail, helmet, surcoat, and you're golden. :)
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bingo!!
oh and its nice to see the black represented. to many Teutonics around here lol
(http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt47/reenactthis/Man%20E%20Faces/2288968436_7efeda269a_o.jpg) (http://s596.photobucket.com/user/reenactthis/media/Man%20E%20Faces/2288968436_7efeda269a_o.jpg.html)
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Agreed. Nice kit. I tend to transition between 1187 Crusader to the mid 1400's depending on my kit & persona. My event & faire season location dictate who I become. We can always use more Hospitalliers. We have only one other on the forum to date. Most others are Templar or Teutonic. I'm SCA myself but know some Dagorhir guys. :) Not much of an LARPer as I like the feel of combat so it's real steel or rattan for me.
You need a cloak to really complete the Hospitallier look though.
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Lord Dane,
who else is portraying a Templar? I know of only one other and that's because he's on the cover of the mainpage.
I gotta agree, a half-circle cloak would really complete the look!
I also don't blame you for not wanting to wear the gambeson if you don't need to. I wear an aketon then my gambeson then my coat of plates... in Arizona heat! We're already breaking 110s regularly. Good news is it's dry though, so it doesn't "stick" so bad and the sweat can evaporate quickly. I swear, every time I take off my helmet, pull down my coif and hood, I loose about 20 degrees!
I also understand your differing pants for fighting. I actually fight in braies and hose, because they're cooler in the heat than wearing real pants under my cuisses and armor. They're all cotton, machine washable, and with as few seams as I can manage ;) haven't torn my braies yet, but I have gone through a pair of board shorts practicing :o
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Hail and welcome! Nice kit.
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I love the look of tailored maille...if I wasn't so lazy, I'd have done mine already. Nice kit, good to see the odd Hospitaller, few enough around here.
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Me for one but I only wear that kit when needed. I have one kit for each persona. One for SCA, one for my personal heritage, one for Crusader sakes, and one for the Order.
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Welcome McDimm and nice looking kit so far, you never stop wanting to add to and improve your kit.
I too used to portray a Temlar on occasion with my old 13th century group. My brother can represent an Hospitaler from 12th C to 14th C....
G.