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.

Sources: A Depiction of an Italian Arming Doublet, c1435-45, Tobias E. Capwell. MS 55 Hastings manuscript.