Continued from 1C 

      After declaring to myself that I would give in and go for it all, I only had to find someone talented enough to build my dream. I considered a number of armourers  across North America and Great Britain. After an exhaustive search, I finally decided to commission my new harness through Éric Dubé of Armurerie du Duché in Quebec, Canada.  It was a difficult decision based on quality of previous armours in relation to the prices listed.  I received several quotes from other sources who promised great things, but I was not as impressed by their efforts on authentic reproductions.  Some of the factors to consider are whether or not the pieces–especially helmets–are raised from a a single piece of metal or are welded together.  The skill level required is significantly higher and thus is reflected in the price.
     Then, in November 2006, there was no going no turnig back.  I took the plunge and sent Éric the initial deposit in order to save a place in his queue.  The next step was to find the particular suit of armour that I wanted duplicated or at least modeled after. In the end, I decided that if I was going to spend the money for a high-quality piece, it might as well be one that is completely unique.
     I selected the harness worn in the funeral effigy of Richard Beauchamp, the 13th Earl of Warwick.  It is one of the more remarkable and unique suits of armour that I have ever seen.  The photograph below is of his effigy in Saint Mary’s Church in Warwickshire. Pay special attention to the ubiquitous channels down the breastplate and plackart. Though many armourers have tried in vain to duplicate the harness depicted in the effigy, I have ever only seen one that seemed to capture its full essence. That one noteworthy reproduction is currently on display at the Royal Armouries museum in Leeds, England.

Éric Dubé studies photos of the Warwick effigy. 2007

     Sometime during the summer of 2000, I began a project that would grow beyond all of my wildest expectations. The previous summer I had finally received my long awaited Italian harness from Illusion Armoring. When it arrived I was struck by a sudden realization of a startling fact that I had never considered before. I had absolutely no idea how armour was to be worn. Sure I had seen countless movies and read inumerable books about knights and Medieval soldiers, but it had never crossed my mind that there was anything to it. I guess I just assumed that I had a predisposition to wearing a 60 pound metal shell. I knew nothing about arming doublets or what a point was. I spent several months scouring the Internet for obscure resources, both historical and contemporary. It was exhaustive but I was driven.
     During that year I pored over every possible Web page that I could find even remotely related to Medieval arms and armour. Unfortunately, the global power of Google had not yet materialized. Searches were most often finding a primary source and then following all of the recommended hyperlinks that were provided. More often than not, I was deeply disappointed to find only pieces of armour scattered on someone's floor or piled on a shelf.
     Then, in 2000, I decided that I would create my own resource site. I would take all of that arcana that I had uncovered and compile it into one location. I would build a full color, graphic depiction of exactly how a man would arm himself in the 15th century. This was before the advent of the digital age, so I used my 35mm camera and took over 90 photographs with my 35mm of the various stages of donning armour. I tried to capture all of the intricasies of donning a suit of armour from the first buckle to the last arming point. In the end, I compiled three full pages of images and descriptive text. I called it My Arming Pages and it became the precursor to my broader site, Draccyning's Keep.
     It seemed like over night the Arming Pages were able to reach a global audience. I had guestbook entries and inquisitory emails from as far away as New Zealand. The brief brush with minor celebrity status utterly amazed me. I had no idea how people found it as I was only linked to a hand full of sites, but find it they did. I came across mentions of it referenced in other sites by both armourer and hobbyist and continued to regularly field questions by email. It did not take long for the luster to fade and the site's errors to become glaringly obvious. I still had no helmet nor sword nor mail standard. My mail skirt was too large and the voiders were not stitched correctly. I purposed myself to acquire the missing accoutrements and redesign the entire project. But, as is the case so often, life happened.
     Time has finally come full circle. After waiting for over eight years, I finally commissioned a bold new harness, a custom longsword and more period arming clothes. In the near future I intend to create a new gallery of images that will show in vivid detail how a 15th century man-at-arms would have been encased in armour cap á pie (head to toe). In the mean time, you will find a temporary place holder on page four with more than a dozen photographs of the harness in various stages of being donned. The Warwick diagram on the next page may prove useful in recognizing the nomenclature used.