3C -
Medieval |
Lonnie
Colson.com - Way more than you ever wanted to know about me |
Fall
2008 Edition |
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Armour: a look underneath |
The arming
doublet is the foundation of any 15th century man-at-arms'
plate armour. The design that I wear was developed over
eight months of testing by Gwen Norich of Black Swan Designs
culminating in a final test at the Sword of Honour Jousts at
the Royal Armouries in Leeds. It is based on the explanatory
text of the Hastings Manuscript and the portrait of Don Inigo
de Mendoza by Jorge Ingles (c. 1450) where he is depicted wearing
an arming doublet that closes in the front and at the wrist
with points and has spiral lacing in back for a secure fit.
Wrinkles can make it very uncomfortable after only a short
time from chaffing.
There are several sections of the armor that
lace directly onto the doublet using points.
It must be "strongeli boude" (strongly built)
of stout fabrics lined in linen. Arming points,
as described below, were made of "fine
twine such as that used to make strings for crossbows
tied small and pointed like points." The points
were also said to be waxed with shoe-maker's wax so that
they would not bend or break. Vulnerable areas of the
body not covered by plates--such as the armpits and inner
arms--are further protected by voiders, or gussets
of chain mail, attached directly to the doublet. |
There are a number of historical sources one can
utilize to get a contemporary glimpse of what was worn underneath
plate harness. The Hastings Manuscript [f.122b] is a collection
of ordinances on chivalry is known for its owner, Lord Hastings.
The original manuscript, written in Middle English was copied on
vellum sometime in the 15th century from an unknown original document
and contained some illuminations. Portions of it can be found with
slight variations in other manuscripts from the Norfolk region.
The Hastings manuscript was originally owned by a Sir John Astley
of whom little is known. The manuscripts pages were bound into
one thick volume that was supposedly once owned by Prince Henry,
the son of James I. It was reprinted in Archeologia 57, Vol. 1
by Harold Arthur, Viscount Dillon, Hon. M.A. Oxon, President in
1899. Here is the portion that describes the clothing that a knight
would wear under his armour:
He schal have noo schirte up on him but a dowbelet of ffustean
lynyd with satene cutte full of hoolis. The dowblet muste be
strongeli boude there the poyntis muste be sette aboute the greet
of the arme. And the b ste before and beyhnde and the gussetis
of mayle muste be sowid un to the dowbelet in the bought of the
arme. And undir the arme the armynge poyntis muste be made of
fyne twyne suche as men make stryngis for crossbowes and they
muste be trussid small and poyntid as poyntis. Also they muste
be wexid with cordeweneris coode. And than they woll neythirrecche
nor breke. Also a payre hosyn of stamyn sengill and a peyre of
shorte bulwerkis of thynne blanket to put aboute his kneys for
chawfygeof his ligherness. Also a payre of shone of thikke cordwene
and they muste be frette with smal whipcorde thre knottis up
on a corde and thre coordis muste be faste sowid un to the hele
of the shoo and fyne cordis in the mydill of the soole of the
same shoo and that there be between the frettis of the heele
and the frettis of the myddill of the shoo the space of thre
fyngris.
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Arming doublet and hose by Gwen Norwich,
Black
Swan Designs |
Here is a translations into modern
English by Brian Price:
He shall have no shirt upon him except for a doublet of
fustian lined with satin, cut full of holes. The doublet must
be strongly built; the points must be set at the break in the
arm in the front and back. To lace the gussets of mail must be
sewn onto the doublet also at the break in the arm and at the
underarm. The arming points must be made of fine twine like that
with which men make strings for crossbows. These points must
have tips for lacing. And they must be waxed with leather-workers's
[cood?], such that they will neither stretch nor break. And he
should wear a pair of hose made of worsted cloth. Around the
knees should be wrapped ' bulwarks' of thin blankets to reduce
the chafing by the leg harness. He should wear a pair of thick
shoes, provided with points sewn on the heel and in the middle
of the sole to a space of three fingers.
The arming doublet,
or pourpoint ("for
points") as it was commonly known in the 14th century, went through
very few changes as the plate armour over it evolved rather quickly
to cover the entire body. The most noticeable change was the length.
It gradually got shorter over time. As the area protected by plate
expanded, the parts of the body coverd by mail became smaller and
smaller. The hauberk, or mail shirt, gave way to the
collar, skirt and gussets under the arms. There is some arguement
whether the reference to "cut full of holes" refers to areas open
for ventillation or small holes for lacing mail and plates to the
doublet.
(Source: Chronique.com archives.) |
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| The actual
cost
of a fifteenth century suit of plate armour |
The
one quesion that invariably arises any time someone sees my
harness is "How much did you pay for your suit of armour?"
While I am not going to divulge the actual price tag that came
with it, I would like to provide you with a brief look at the
standard price of armour during the later part of the Middle
Ages, specifically the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
There
are a number of contemporary sources that may be referenced
in order to get an accurate idea of the cost of armour during
that period. The chief source of income for nobles and
gentry was through the collection of rents and taxes. Every
landowner worth his salt had at least one clerk on his payroll,
and professional clerks are, obviously, very meticulous recordkeepers.
There are extant documents that detail the amounts of rent
collected from various tennants, inventories of individual
estates and manors, and salaries of individual servants and
retainers. It is from these inventories that we get a glimpse
at the value of a suit of armour.
As all of the values cited below are shown
in pounds (£ from liber), shillings (s from solidus)
and pence (d from denarius), we should first clarify the break
down of English currency at the time. Be sure to note that
the pence or penny was worth less (240:1 £) than it is today
(100:1 £).
1 pound (£) = 20 shillings (s)
1 shilling (s) = 12 pence (d)
1 pound (£) = 240 pence (d)
The
armour owned by an unnamed knight in 1374 was listed as £16
6s 8d. The armour in the house of Thomas of Woodstock, duke
of Gloucester, in 1397 was worth £103. The value in 1441
of a suit of Milanese ready-made (munition) armour was £8
6s 8d, and a set of squire's armour was £5-£6 16s 8d. And,
in 1614, a suit of armour "gilt and graven" belonging
to the Prince of Wales was valued at the incredible sum of
£340.
So exactly how much would that
be worth today? Fortunately, antiquarians
have spent a great deal of time and energy trying to come up
with formulas to ascertain the value of the proverbial dollar
throughout history. The most simple method is to take the basic
daily wage of a common laborer and compare it to the current
minimum wage. That will give you a basic understanding of the
present day value of a Medieval price tag. More extensive formulas
have been developed that consider multiple factors such as the
price of wheat and bread as well as the wages of both skilled
and unskilled laborers. The result has shown a much more accurate
analysis of the modern day equivalent to Medieval wares.
Using such a formula, I was able to
convert Canadian dollars to the American dollar and then convert
that into the English pound using historical currency rates for
the month I made the initial deposit. I was able to determine
that I would have paid £13 6s 11d for my armour if purchased
in the year 1450. As
you can see, that is very much in line with the historic
cost of armour in extant documents.
Now consider the fact
that a suit of armour was surprisingly only a relatively
small portion of the overall cost of outfitting a knight
for battle. The greatest expenditure was to equip him with
a highly trained warhorse, which could cost as much as £80.
He would also need to be equipped with weapons such as a
sword, lance, pollaxe, and dagger for battle. He would need
a riding horse, pack horse or draft horse and wagon, tent,
attendants, retainers, and all of their supplies. In today's
dollars that would be the equivalent of hundreds of thousands
of dollars plus regular wages.
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Edward IV gold sovereign
from third quarter of the fifteenth century.
Sources: English Weapons & Warfare, 449-1660, A.V.B.
Norman and Don Pottinger, 1992 (orig. 1966). The Armourer
and His Craft From the XIth to the XVIth Century, Charles
Ffoulkes, 1988 (orig. 1912).
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Waxed
hemp cord arming points under construction.
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Medieval
arming points–
the ties that bind armour |
The
interlocking plates in a suit of armour need to be held close
to the wearer in order to allow freedom of movement. If they
are allowed to shift around and slide down or ride up, it will
not only be uncomfortable but may also hinder movement at a
critical time. For much of the 14th and 15th centuries, the
legs and arms where attached directly to the arming doublet
or pourpoint by laces called points.
As documented in the Hastings Manuscript, these points were
made of "fine
twine such as that used to make strings for crossbows
tied small and pointed like points." The points
were also said to be "wexid
with cordeweneris coode,"
or waxed with shoe-maker's wax, so that they would not
bend or break.
Some have suggested that hemp cord is the closest modern source
of the kind of twine that would have been used to make crossbow
strings. I purchased a spool of it along with a block of beeswax
from a local craft store and picked up some linseed oil as well.
Rather than buying colored twine, I chose the natural color and
dyed it with Fiebings oxblood leather dye to match my doublet.
I found the easiest way to enfuse the wax into the cord was to
heat it up with some linseed oil and drop each point into the mixture.
I waited until each cord stopped bubbling before carefully removing
it and setting it aside to cool.
I used brass chapes, or aiglets, that I obtained from Historic
Enterprises to finish them off. To ensure the chapes do not come
off with regular use, I secured them to the ends with Gorilla glue
instead of the hoof glue described in at least one contemporary
source.
In Italy, portraits of the period reveal that arming points
were more ribbon-like, being strips of textile, probably linen
or silk. They also began to appear in civilian fashion as well
as on the usual military garb. In both cases, the points were colored,
with red and white being the most common.
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15th century arming doublet with points and
voiders depicted in
a painting by the renown historical artist, Graham turner.
Sources: A Depiction of an Italian Arming Doublet, c1435-45, Tobias
E. Capwell. MS 55 Hastings manuscript. |
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| Armourer's
mark: proof that quality control is nothing new |
Charles
Ffoulkes in The Armourer and His Craft From the XIth
to the XVIth Century
(1912) stated that the mark or poinçon of the armourer "invariably
means that the piece is of good workmanship and worthy of notice."
The armourer's guild was no different than the other Medieval craft guilds. It
was very jealous of the repuation of its members. In fine suits of armour one
will find that the individual pieces that make up the harness will all be stamped
with the maker's mark and, in the case of German and Burgundian work, often
that of the town as well.
The secrets of armouring were well guarded and never written down. Even today,
there are aspects of the art that we do not fully understand. A master would
only impart his knowledge upon his apprentices. An apprentice would have to prove
his ability before being allowed to make an actual piece of armour. He would
not make an actual harness from head to toe, but instead only make one or more
individual pieces. The work would be carefully monitored by the master, who would
place his mark on it only if it met his approval. In time, he could become recognized
as a journeyman armourer. Only a select few would ever achieve the rank of master
armourer. In the major armouring regions like Milan, it seems that entire towns would
sometimes have been employed to make source material such as links for mail.
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Armourer's
mark belonging to Eric Dubé of Armurerie du Duche
Located
on
each of the individual pieces of the Warwick harness.
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Italian vambrace of an Italian armour c. 1440-45, Art
Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove, Glasgow, Inv.
(Source: Tobias Capwell)
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Additional
content under development.
Source: The Armourer and His Craft
From the XIth to the XVIth Century, Charles Ffoulkes,
1912.
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