Costume -- Great Britain -- History; Great Britain -- History; Great Britain -- History -- Pictorial works
Before the Hundred Years’ War had broken, out again in the reign of
Henry V.--just before Agincourt--the types of armour had completely
changed. Knights gave up the use of the camail and jupon, and were
clothed in complete armour. Additional protections were placed in
front of the armpits, as _roundles_ or _pallettes_, resembling small
shields, and fan-shaped plates were placed at the elbow joints. The
basinet was made much more globular in form, and a piece of plate
called the _gorget_ or neck-piece took the place of the camail to
connect the basinet with the body armour. The lower part of the
basinet, protecting the chin, was called the _beaver_ (“I saw young
Harry with his _beaver_ on.” H. IV., Pt. 1), and was fastened by rivets
to the upper part near the temples. The basinet now rested on the
gorget, and was so arranged that the head could be turned to right and
left.
The breastplate was of globular form, and there was a corresponding
plate over the back. From the waist to the middle of the thigh, a
series of narrow, flexible, horizontal overlapping bands or plates of
steel, called _taces_ or _tassets_, fastened to a lining of leather,
were worn.
They thus formed a kind of armoured kilt or short steel petticoat. The
sword-belt was narrow, and was worn diagonally over the taces, and the
general form of the sword remained unaltered. The misericorde continued
to be worn on the right side. The hauberk was sometimes worn under the
plate armour, for the lower edge is sometimes shown in effigies and
brasses. All the details of the above description are shown in Fig. 1.
_2nd Period_: 1430-1450. This is sometimes called the Tabard Period, as
a new variety of short surcoat called a _tabard_ was worn with short
sleeves over the armour, bearing the heraldic devices of the wearer,
emblazoned down the front and also on each sleeve.
The chief characteristic of the period with regard to the actual armour
was the system of adding strengthening or _reinforcing_ pieces of plate
to the armour.
Over the flanks on each side, depending from the taces, a small plate,
varying in shape, called a tuille, was appended. It was fastened by
strings and allowed free movement of the limbs.
The _sollerets_ or feet coverings became longer, and plates like those
on the shell of a lobster were added to the gauntlets to cover and
protect the backs of the hands.
Additional plates varying in size and form, were fixed to the elbows
and shoulders on the ordinary armour.
It is interesting to note that the right arm and shoulder were
accoutred so as to interfere as little as possible with the action when
fighting; while the left side and bridle arm were more fully protected
with additional defensive armour. Large reinforcing plates called
_pauldrons_ extended over the shoulders, sometimes being made with a
kind of standing collar to protect the neck from a direct stroke.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account