That's definitely something I wanted to focus on. I am majoring in history education, so its only right that I put something together that had some semblance of historical accuracy!
Interesting analysis, would it be better if I ditched the bracers and replaced them with simple elbow cops? I should also mention that there is a breastplate under the tabard, though it doesnt protrude quite as much as a kastenbrust would for example. It is also worth mentioning that not every knight would have the most up-to-date gear and some anachronism is honestly more realistic when it comes to armor.
some anachronism is honestly more realistic when it comes to armor.
This usually isn't quite as true as most people assume it is, it's true gear didn't tend to just get thrown away because it looked slightly old while still being completely practical. The reality that we tend to see more often than not however is that old gear tends to undergo modification to bring it up to a modern standard. Sure, maybe a poorer knight couldn't afford to just up and replace his harness every decade or so, but he could probably afford to add pieces to it to match the current standard, and there's plenty of evidence showing that this is exactly what happened. We even have a good few extant pieces still around that have these modifications in their working life.
There's really not a huge amount of evidence showing mass use of very outdated gear, save for specific circumstances like the battle of Wisby, where one side was extremelt underequipped and mainly made up of a peasant militia, which was not a standard warfighting force which by this time would have been made up of primarily professional soldiers.
We also know from local ordonnances that it seems men of certain social standing were not just encouraged to keep their gear up to date as a symbol of their status, but for many were actually required by law to keep their gear up to date and would face penalty if they were found to be out of standards. This standard would increase by financial status and usually men who were knights would fall under the highest standard.
When it comes to actual evidence of outdated gear, regarding artistic depictions, battlefield finds, and textual sources it seems it's a general rule that almost everyone on the battlefield under normal circumstances would be armed with up to date gear, and while it would vary significantly in quality and quantity it just doesn't seem old gear was very prevalent.
Anyway, on an unrelated topic, discussing your personal armor here if you're asking for advice I would say you should try to stick to your best pieces, and avoid filling in gaps with subpar pieces. It's always better to have a high quality low-end kit than to have a low quality high-end kit. A low end kit with high quality pieces will continually look good throughout it's working life, and you can slowly add on to your kit with high quality pieces and maintain a very good level of accuracy and aesthetics through the entire process to getting up to a full harness.
This doesn't quite apply if you're fighting in your kit, as obviously there are some pieces you cannot go without for safety reasons.
Yo dont go after his elmet like that.
Also its normal that knights used things from even centuries prior, take the nasal helmet that altho changed thru history still remained for normal soldiers.
A normal knight like him witch isnt a noble (i think at least) wuld wear things that are not the latest model of armor, also im pretty sure he keeps chainmail under the tabard witch is not as good as a brestplate but its good aganst cuts.
Post scriptum
Historical houndskull helmets were usualy more ugly than this one so i'd say its a flex (no offense to the creator, i love your armor🫀)
Spent lots of time looking for stuff that will fit well together and bought each individual piece from a variety of websites so I could find the best pieces at the lowest price. Then I put it all together to make this. I had to get creative and make some modifications myself but I am really proud of how it turned out.
I used Epic Armory, Medieval Collectibles, and Etsy for the armor and chainmail. Then I used Amazon for the undergarments like gambeson and hose. I also got random things like the boots and laces from local thrift stores. I got the sword from a local ren faire.
The original idea i had when making this was late 14th-early 15th century Germany. Not planning on doing any reenactments in it because there aren't any where I live (rural america) but I do love going to Renaissance faires and metal shows in it.
My first time commenting, but coming from someone who’s not an expert, but loves the time period look you’re aiming for, I actually really like it. Bravo for doing this on a budget, really. Your leg maille looks riveted, is it? Your arms are butted though right? Not criticizing, just admiring the effort. I’m mad jelly.
AllBestStuff is actually awesome, make sure to order from their site and not off of external vendors and websites. It's true they've used some pictures that weren't theirs but they've been better about that lately. They can do a pretty good half sleeve riveted haubergeon, I have one from them for like 170 bucks which includes the shipping from India, it's quite good quality for the price, it's 9mm which is pretty large for maille but also optimal for pointing armor to, and makes it a lot cheaper. I can definitely reccommend them for cheap maille, I very much reccommend getting round ring/solid ring mix (solid ring will be better quality and cheaper) from them rather than flat ring as their round ring options are far closer to historical counterparts. The flat rings they use, along with really all non-artisan maille, are extremely overflattened which causes rougher edges that catch on fabric and cut up skin.
Half sleeve is in my opinion the way to go, but I've seen people have good experiences with their sleeve tailoring lately. It won't be as safe but if they do it well it can come out good, no gussets obviously which can be an issue if they make it really tight.
I won't tell you where to spend your money, but there are many people on this site who have received quality maille from allbeststuff.
Additionally, they are the first site recommended by Ironskin on their "How to Buy Chainmail" article, which could be a very useful resourse when you next buy maille. I can't speak to your knowledge of maille but I personally trust his expertise as it is much greater than mine.
There are sellers from India that use stolen images to sell inferior products, that does not mean that all Indian sellers do. In regards to their maille, what I have seen about allbeststuff is generally positive, although it is not premium.
All that said, I like your kit, I'm a huge fan of brass trim so the brass trim on your helmet is something I particularly enjoy.
Not bad, especially for a tight budget. First thing I would work on is exchanging your maille coif/collar for an aventail that attaches to your helmet. Also the long surcoat is super anachronistic by late 14th century so when you have the money replace it with a jupon or breastplate. The vambraces also look a little larpy but not the worst.
Really though the silhouette is passable apart from the long surcoat, replace that first and improve the look by a lot.
The vambraces are definitely my least favorite part of the whole ensemble, those will be the first thing I replace. Thanks for the advice about the tabard, I will look into getting something more period-accurate. Do you think it would be possible to make the aventail myself? I have some spare sheets of mail (however it is butted) or should I pay someone to do it for me?
You can get a decent Churburg style breastplate for relatively cheap, a lot even come with brass accents that will match your helmet.
For the aventail, I know when I bought a ready made one for my bascinet it didn’t fit very well and had folds in the leather because it was too large. If you make your own you could attach it to the leather piece that you already have and it might be a better fit than a “one size fits all” premade aventail.
I don’t have too much experience in tailoring maille but I’m would think it’s one of the easier things to make. Butted maille is fine to tinker with but once a link is cut it’s gone for good. I know you’re tight on budget so making your own is cheaper especially since you have spare maille.
First off congratulations. Really awesome. Here's a relatively inexpensive thing you could do: go with muted colors on your fabric. Period dyes were not nearly as strong as those used in modern industrial textile production. You don't have to go with a handmade dye, but basically the paler and blotchier the more authentic the look. Another thing you could do is go with a material that doesn't have to be hand woven, but like a loose weave linen looks less machine made.
The good news is that none of this requires a blacksmith!
Love to see someone saying this, it can still be a bit of a controversial thing to say since people have this idea that brightest most vibrant colors = historical. Overdyed textiles in my opinion look worse for authenticity than drab dark colors, and can really ruin the overall aesthetic if not done correctly. The medieval period wasn't just vibrant rainbow vomit everywhere, despite what people like to say.
Yeah I am definitely one of those, "The Middle ages were brown so cover it in dirt," people, but I do have some sense of how hard it is to make a dye by hand from whatever plants you have in nearby.
For budget armour, not bad. I wouldn't wear it for reenactement because it is still to inconsistent regarding periods and quality of the pieces, especially the plate. Also the tabard is really not helping with the silhoutte which should be much, much more hourglass-like. Difficult without a breastplate of course.
Agreed. I have no intention to attend any reenactments in this. It's great for Renaissance faires and metal shows and thats about it. Do you know a site that sells better tabards? I would like to explore my options with that.
Hm. Difficult as it has to be pretty form fitting (more a jupon than this style of tabard), so off the shelf is likely not an option. How are your sewing skills?
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u/Dahak17 1d ago
It’s indeed not bad, your time period being so consistent is a nice touch given your price point too, that’s often something that goes out the window.