I am wondering if
anyone out there has any information on the way a period gambeson would be closed. Leather ties?
Buckles? Any information would be
appreciated as this is the last thing I have to complete to finish my new gambeson.
Many thanks,
~ Camric / William fitzHughe de Cambria
Message #775, February 3, 2003
To my knowledge,
gambesons were either laced closed with leather or might have ties sewn onto the gambeson
itself to be tied shut. I prefer the leather lacing for some aesthetic reasons
and some personal reasons. I suggest you choose a method that is easiest for you
to manage. I would avoid buckles though.
Hope that helps.
In Service
~ Melisent / Kim McGuire
Message #776, February 3, 2003
I have been doing some looking for you, but have yet to find a reference to a specific garment
under the mail shirt yet. I have found a
reference in Eric and Enide by Chretien de Troyes to Enide tying Eric’s greaves on with a leather thong.
I have also found a specific German reference to
a helmet held on with a snür (cord). It
would be helpful to know what the period term
for the gambeson was. I’m not getting any hits on gambeson nor acton, acketon, aqueton etc.
I know that this is not the best source for
information on armoring, but I have an
Osprey men-at-arms series called the
“Knights of Christ” that covers the Templars and Hospitallers
of the 12th century. It says that the quilted aketon “being a corruption of ‘al-Qutun’ the name of the quilted
armour worn by many Saracens for its
combination of lightness and strength”… So it seems that this is a period term, but I can’t show it was used in Europe yet. (BTW- Qutun is thought to mean cotton.) Do you have some other suggestions as to the period name for the underpadding?
I’ll keep looking – but I am thinking that
buckles are period for the 12th century,
at least for belts. It’s an interesting subject
– sorry I’m not more knowledgeable. If you are interested, I can post a list of 12th/13th century German armour
terms and we could take a look as a
group?
Katrin / Katherine Barich
Message #778, February 4, 2003
A book to check out is Techniques of Medieval Armor Production by Brian Price. We got our copy from Amazon.com. This book has a whole chapter on cloth armour, ie gambesons. While the main focus of the book is 14th century there is mention made of what went on before and after. There is also an excellent bibliography.
My gambeson closes with a series of loops that interlock with the last loop going around a leather button. I copied it from someone else and haven’t been able to find documentation. I’m really fond of this method. I once saw a closure that was similar. One side had loops but the other side had a row of small holes. Each loop went through a hole and then around the next loop. The top loop is fastened by a button.
I’d like to know what you find out about this as I’m planning on making a new gambeson soon.
Cheers,
Slaine / Mary Haselbauer
Message #781, February 5, 2003