Gambeson Patterns (was RE: [Northkeep] last night's smack dow n)

Keith Duke KDUKE at fwmurphy.com
Thu May 29 14:54:29 PDT 2003


Dairmaid (or any other helpful soul) -

Can you help a failing memory, if you please...

About the making of armor of layers of linen, soaked with lacquer, allowed
to dry and then add a layer, add lacquer, add linen.. In a progression of
loosely woven followed by tightly woven, etc., out to some ridiculous # of
layers - like 20-30+... It was proof against the swords and archery of the
time, but not spears... This is the Mesopotamian charioteer armor I was
joking about earlier...

I was thinking that there was a real surviving example from some funerary
trove somewhere in the middle east.. (Iran I think...)

Does that ring any bells?



Piotr



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