Gallery - Ironskin

What are these15th-century mail bands? These wedg

What are these15th-century mail bands?

These wedge riveted latten rings could have been the hem on a late medieval mail shirt. That means they would mark the edge at the bottom, neck or the end of the sleeves. The material is some kind of copper alloy like brass or bronze.

The item was found within a shipwreck in St. Ekön, Syd Saxemara, Sweden. There were 646 other items. Together with them it is clear date it to 14th-century. I'm wondering wheter there were traces of iron rings found with the copper alloy rings. It could be that the iron rings corroded entirely while the copper alloy rings survived.

This Inventory-Nr. 28315 presented on kulturhotell_se. Picture by Morgan Olsson from Blekinge Museum. @blekingemuseum @kalmarlansmuseum

Find of interlocked gilded rings This is a fragme

Find of interlocked gilded rings

This is a fragment of a larger chain-link object found near York, UK. It could be dated from 1400 to 1900. It's also hard to tell how the rings are closed. They look like welded rings to me.

These rings were once gilded. A small trace remains on the left side. Long before galvanization there was another method to gild metals in fire. Here is the recipe. Don't do it at home. It's dangerous and unhealthy:

Take small grains of gold and heat them to red hot. Then throw it into previously heated mercury/quicksilver. The mercury will begin to smoke and absorb the gold. Stir the mixture until the gold is solved in mercury. When it's cooled, squeeze it through thin leather and a butter like mixture remains.This mixture is called amalgam. In the end you apply the amalgam onto the metal that you want to gild. Next you heat it until the mercury evaporizes and a layer of gold remains. After that you can do treatments with wax and chemicals to improve the color.

This was once a widespread specialized craft. Yet the mercury vapours are highly toxic. Hence it is replaced by electroplating today.

Picture by the portable Antiquities Scheme on their website finds_org_uk. This is FindID 193569.

#firegilded #firegilding #washgilding #gilding #goldonmetal #amalgam

Mail aventail with a mark: When we see marks on m

Mail aventail with a mark:

When we see marks on mail in many times it is from an arsenal - not from the workshop. This is the case with this 15th- to 16th-century helmet with aventail. It was made in the Caucasus area of Shirvan, where Iran is today. The Turkish had taken it during the Ottoman conquest of the area. Later they attached this lead seal as they added the helmet to the Ottoman arsenal. Also western arms and armour arsenal marked their inventory.

Pictures and info from the online-collection of the Metropolitan Museum New York. This is Accession Number 50.87.

A primitive pump drill This ancient method of dri

A primitive pump drill

This ancient method of drilling dates back to before Christ. The weight at the bottom plays an important part to save the rotation energy while the handle is about to change direction. On the tip I put a metal rod that I forged and sanded to a fork with three tips. The tip in the middle keeps the rod centered. The tips at the side have a sharp edge to cut circles. The material that I'm drilling on is an antler.

I knew that pump drills could in theory be a possible method for medieval mail makers. For some time I was considering whether this would be a suitable solution to make rivet holes into chainmail rings. Now I'm very convinced that punching/drifting is much more practical. I made this drill to make decorative circles into medieval bone items like dices, knives and buckles.

Construction & pictures by Ironskin

#pumpdrill #primitivetechnology #medievaltechnology #bonedrill #antlercarving #knochenbohrer #geweihkunst #knochenplatte #bushcraftdrill #primitivedrill #medievaldrill #primitivetools #medievaltools #antlerart #bushcrafttool #ancienttechniques #ancientdrill

Roman soldier 175 AD from a northern province. Th

Roman soldier 175 AD from a northern province.

The clothes are adapted to the climate. Instead of a Gladius there is a Spatha and the shield is smaller than a regular Scutum. Regarding the chainmail the Roman rings tended to be very small as far as we know today.

If you are interested in Roman reenactment I highly recommend you to check out @germania_inferior from the Netherlands. They do a great job bringing the time back alive and share very detailed info in their posts.

Pictures by Roland Zh. as photographed during a show of Legio XV from Pram, Austria.

Timeline of Knights Part(2/2) 1190: Pavel Aleksey

Timeline of Knights Part(2/2)

1190: Pavel Alekseychik
1200: Matteo Culasso
1235: Arthur alias Thibault IV De Champagne

These are the earlier knights. The selection is mainly based on the period and wheter I had already asked for their permission. That said, there are so many more passionate reenactors that I can highly recommend to have a look at. In no particular order: @yannick.koch @comunes_dimicatores @theholy_knight @bernard_de_moreuil @tobiasbleckert @krak_crusade_reenactment @strahovnjik_ @alteri.leandro @recrevlad @petrus_apiarius @knyghterrant @teutonic77 @innokentiyordin

Im afraid that I have forgotten some people. Please help me out and tag them in the comments. You are also welcome to raise a hand and tag yourself if you do knights reenactment and want to be seen.

#highmedieval #medievallivinghistory #livinghistory #kreuzritter #storiaviva #medievaltimes #rittersleut #medievalarmor #chainmailcoif #12thcentury #crusader #withouthorses #kiteshield #рыцарь #caballarius #ritterspiele #hochmittelalter #knightly #ritterlich

Indian Mail Vest with 4.5mm rings This is a vest

Indian Mail Vest with 4.5mm rings

This is a vest of very small butted rings. The diamond shape pattern in the mail is made of gold plated rings. In Indian culture this pattern is said to resemble the dark waters of the Jamna river and the muddy water of the Ganges river. The fabric collar is probably a later addition.

This was sold at an auction by Mandarin Mansion Antiques. Pictures an info from their website mandarinmanison_com.

German Mail shirt with mark from Nuremberg This 1

German Mail shirt with mark from Nuremberg

This 15th/16th century mail shirt was presented by Christie's Auction House back in 2008. It changed the owner for 8,750 £. The short sleeved hauberk is described as reaching over the upper tights on the front but only to the base of the tights on the back.

There is a brass headed rivet cast in the center of the chest. It shows the coat of arms of the city of Nuremberg. The miniscule inscription is "Nuremberg Statt" - City of Nuremberg.

For further reading they mention a book in German from 1929: Walther Rose: "Behördliche Beschau-, Sarwürcher- und Eigentümer- Marken auf Okzidentalischen Maschenpanzern" Has anyone access to it? I would like to read it and tell you more about it's content.

Picture by Christies_com. This was Lot54 on 21 May 2008. You can also find Christies on Instagram: @christiesinc

#christies #christiesauction #nuremberg #madeinnuremberg #madeingermany #mailshirt #chainmail #guildmark #guild #makersmark #ownersmark #arsenalmark #brasscast #15thcentury #16thcentury #mailarmor #Ringpanzer #Kettenhemd #cottademalha #Кольчуга #mailarmor #armsandarmor #antiquitäten #antiquity #antiquities

Candidate for a 13th-century skullcap vs. depictio

Candidate for a 13th-century skullcap vs. depiction vs. reconstruction

Although not further described or dated by the museum, this helmet fragment from the Netherlands could be a high-medieval cervelliere. Such iron skull caps were used to protect the head in combination with layers of mail and linen. Most depictions - like the Morgan Bible 638/11v - show skull caps worn under mail coifs. This example however has remains of mail on the inside. It is partly sticking to a layer of leather - perhaps the lining of the helmet?

This is Inventory number: e 1941/2.1-3 from the Rijksmuseum Van Oudheden, in the Netherlands. www_rmo_nl You also find them here: @rijksmuseumvanoudheden

PS: I think the parts on the outside of the helmet are also organic like leather or linen. Maybe it is from a bag or other items that the helmet was located next to.

Fully Laced Mail Chausses It's a thing that we do

Fully Laced Mail Chausses

It's a thing that we don't get to see that often amongst reenactors. Yes it does take time to put them on, but in case of doubt they fit better and weigh less than fully enclosed tube-like mail chausses.

I have the impression that these laced chausses were popular earlier than the tube-like mail chausses. There are also artworks showing knights with only their left foot clad in mail. That is the side were you - while fighting from horseback - would expect most danger.

Picture by One lucky guy on Flicker. That's his actual nick name.

Knight in the year 1256 This is @yannick.koch fro

Knight in the year 1256

This is @yannick.koch from @terra_rubea in his 6mm full hauberk with a beautiful red silk tabard on top. The helmet is inspired by a statue from the city-gate of Ghent, Belgium. The picture of the statue is from @roelipilami shared on his flicker account. The mail and helmet were build by no-one else then the legend himself, Isak Krogh @housefullofnerds. Overall Yannick put together a very rounded and outstanding representation in my opinion! What do you think?

For those of you who are new here and interested in this kind of reenactment: There is a Facebook-Group "XIII century European Armour" moderated by Yannick. Recently I took a lot of inspiration from the excellent discussions there. I'm sure most of you veterans already know it.

#Hogemiddeleeuwen #pothelm #crusaderhelmet #13thcenturyfashion #maillehauberk #tabard #middeleeuwen #ridderslag #edelen #nobleknight #knightarmor #chainmailhauberk #knightinarmour #topfhelm #modernknight #medievalbelgique #belgiummedieval

Armored Sassanid Horse Archer Both the Sassanid E

Armored Sassanid Horse Archer

Both the Sassanid Empire and the Byzantine Empire were using highly trained armored horse archers the Iberian war from 526 to 532 CE. These mobile troops would shoot their arrows into an enemy to break up their formation from a distance. Such units were riding over the battlefields of Callinicum when the Byzantine forces could push back their enemy to modern Syria.

Does it also make you think of the old game mount-and-blade warband?

Picture from byzantinemilitary_blogspot_com.

Horrible haircut and acceptable mail tailoring: T

Horrible haircut and acceptable mail tailoring:

Thank you to the people who recently encouraged me to show more of the stuff I make. This is a mail bevor that I made from 6mm rings. It's tailored for a customer, thus it's a little too wide on my head. I added linen suspension straps for practical reasons. You don't see them in the originals from the Philadelphia Museum of Art or the Met. The backside is pulled tight by a linen lace running zigzag. That alone allows this close fit around the chin. Otherwise the head would never fit through the small circumference of the neck. It turned out that the 6mm rings are way too small for the lace so I added 9mm rings just for that. Fashion guides recommend to wear it with a #sallet. ;)

Mail hidden inside the plates... Imagine you go t

Mail hidden inside the plates...

Imagine you go to an auction and buy what is said to be a 19th-Century Gothic Armor Set. Then you buy it and discover the treasure hanging hidden inside the plates: a mail vest that appears to be much older. This is exactly what has happened to @monster_fish_taxidermy from the Netherlands.

The mail consits of riveted ring mixed with solid rings. It's strange how the vest is shaped - with rows running down the torso. I imagine it was cut out of an earlier mail-shirt and reconnected as shown in the drawing. The mail material could be much older. What do you think?

It even turned out that the gauntlets could be older as well. Are they 15/16th century? What are your general guess on age and provenance?

Thank you @monster_fish_taxidermy for sending me pictures and discussing this. Cool acccount by the way!

Update: Thanks to @nicholaschecksfield we are now convinced that this was a pair of mail chausses - not sleeves. In Indian culture there were chausses like that.

13th century mail horsearmor Early mail horsarmor

13th century mail horsearmor

Early mail horsarmor is something we (only) know from depictions like this marvelous English manuscript. It looks as if there is a pattern in the mail that was laid in there with latten rings. Or is the pattern just painted onto textile fabric that was above or under the mail? What did the medieval artist know that we don't?

I find this absolutely intriguing. Even though I don't have a horse myself, I dream of making such a patterned horsearmor for someone who has.

This is from the "Romance of Alexander" alias Manuscript O.9.34, Folio 7v from St. Albans, England. Holding Institution is Cambridge University Library.

Effigy of a knight 1430-1493 This is showing Jank

Effigy of a knight 1430-1493

This is showing Janko Alberti from the cathedral of Split in Croatia. He was commander in battles against the Turks and was made a knight by Venetian authorities. We see beautifully detailed mail and plate parts chiseled into what I believe is alabaster or marble. Who can tell?

Thank you @poema_incudis who went there, took the pictures and helped me with the post.

Does it look real? You might know that I'm sellin

Does it look real?

You might know that I'm selling these chainmail patterned shirts and hoodies on Etsy and on my website. Some of you wanted to know how well the cuffs fit. I'm quite happy with the result as it's neither too tight not too loose.

The pattern itself is a mesh of handmade riveted flat rings on a background that can be skin or linen fabric. In fact it was skin.

What other clothes would look cool in chainmail pattern? What do you think of it?

A comparison of mail bevors: From the Metmuseum,

A comparison of mail bevors:

From the Metmuseum, the Churburg Collection, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and my creation. They are all dated 15th to 16th century - except for the last which is of course 21st century. The museum pieces left me wondering how this is fixed in position. I decided to use a supension of linen straps. Yet is it CoVid-proof?

Armor from the Moro people, Philippines This body

Armor from the Moro people, Philippines

This body armor has 30 plates connected by large chainmail rings. There are also smaller rings around arms and lower mid-section. The decorative elements are engraved silver panels in floral shapes. The armor is from the Philippines second largest island Mindanao. It dates to the 19th century - a time when such armor was long out of fashion in Europe. There are similar objects with metal chainmail but plates made of flat coconut panels.

This is Sale 7959 respectively Lot 402 from the Auction House Christies. The price realised was 51.650 British pounds. Pictures are from their website christies_com.

#mindanaoheritage #islandarmor #phillipineshistory #christiesauction #asianarmor #islamicart #islamicarmor #moroculture #moroheritage #50kpounds #islamicarms #phillipinesart #maillearmor #coconutarmor #islamicworldart #barong

Knight in the year 1190 This is Pavel Alekseychik

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