Who wore gambesons?

Often used as armor unto itself or as padded under armor, the gambeson (aka aketon or arming doublet) was a vital part of a medieval soldier or knight's equipment since the X century. Miniature from a Book of Hours (c. 1380?) Despite being made of soft material, a thick enough gambeson provides excellent protection.

What was worn under a gambeson?

An arming doublet (also called aketon) worn under armour, particularly plate armour of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Europe, contains arming points for attaching plates. Fifteenth century examples may include mail goussets sewn into the elbows and armpits to protect the wearer in locations not covered by plate.

Is gambeson hot?

I've found my gambeson is the greatest heat trapper. My mail voiders and skirt have become warm to the touch under the Kansas sun, but I've found it's really not a big factor. My coat of plates also traps a great amount of heat, as a brigandine would.

What is a medieval gambeson?

Gambeson is a padded jacket – indispensable with plate armor and practical by itself. Various models of quilted body protection, shown in this section, were used by medieval knights in different historical periods. Our gambesons are made-to-measure custom models and perfect choice for reenactors and fans of history.

Do you wear mail over gambeson?

Where did the idea come from that soldiers in the 13th and early 14th centuries wore gambesons under mail as a double layer defense? All of the period artwork seems to show men wearing gambesons OR mail, not both; under mail it looks like just tunics are worn in period depictions, as in the Maciejowski Bible.

Why padded armor (gambeson) is WAY better than leather armor

Did Vikings wear gambesons?

Quilted cloth (a gambeson) is conjectured as possible options for lower-status Viking warriors, though no reference to such are known from the sagas. Such materials survive poorly in graves, and no archaeological finds have been made. Some runestones depict what appears to be armour which is likely not chain mail.

What were gambesons good for?

Often used as armor unto itself or as padded under armor, the gambeson (aka aketon or arming doublet) was a vital part of a medieval soldier or knight's equipment since the X century. Miniature from a Book of Hours (c. 1380?) Despite being made of soft material, a thick enough gambeson provides excellent protection.

What knights wore under their armor?

Under his armor, a knight wore linen undergarments and woolen hose. Over top of these, he wore a cod piece made of loose but hardened leather. A wealthier knight then would don a linen tunic; a poorer one likely wore a woolen version.

What did knights wear when not in battle?

The answer is not knighties. In later days, knights might indeed wear suits of metal plate armor, but more typically early knights would be clad in tough leather or perhaps a chain mail shirt called a hauberk (French) or byrnie (English), like their earlier Roman counterparts.

What were Gambesons made of?

Gambeson were produced with a sewing technique called quilting. Usually constructed of linen or wool, the stuffing varied, and could be for example scrap cloth or horse hair. During the 14th century, illustrations usually show buttons or laces up the front.

Who used lamellar armor?

Lamellar was used by various cultures from this time up through the 19th century. Lamellar armour is often associated with the samurai class of feudal Japan, but was commonly used in ancient and medieval China, Korea, and Mongolia.

How many layers should a gambeson have?

Layers of Gambeson's padding

If you plan to take part at the LARP event, 1-2 layers will be enough. If you wear good plate armor or brigandine, 3 layers of padding are good. If you wear just a chainmail or armor, which strength you are not so sure about, you better choose 4-6 layered gambison.

Why is it called chain mail?

One theory is that it originally derives from the Latin word macula, meaning spot or opacity (as in macula of retina). Another theory relates the word to the old French maillier, meaning to hammer (related to the modern English word malleable). In modern French, maille refers to a loop or stitch.

How did armor knights pee?

It's a myth that armor was so heavy that the knight had to be lifted on to his horse with a crane. But he did need attendants to pick him up if he fell off his horse in battle. When the fighting was over, they cleaned his armor with a mixture of sand and urine to stop it from getting rusty!

Can swords cut armor?

The edges can still be used against more lightly-armored opponents: no matter how effective a sword is against forms of armor such as brigandine and mail, no sword, no matter how sharp, can cut directly through plate armor.

What is the skirt on armor called?

Faulds are pieces of plate armour worn below a breastplate to protect the waist and hips, which began to appear in Western Europe from about 1370. They consist of overlapping horizontal lames of metal, articulated for flexibility, that form an apron-like skirt in front.

How many yards are in a gambeson?

While a stuffed gambeson can even be made mostly from scraps and waste fabric for the stuffing, with minimal 'good' fabric for the shell, a quilted layered gambeson would require about forty yards of good linen fabric, a good deal more than the four or five required for a stuffed gambeson.

What was worn over chainmail?

A surcoat or surcote is an outer garment that was commonly worn in the Middle Ages by both men and women in Western Europe. It can either refer to a coat worn over other clothes or the outermost garment itself.

How thick is a gambeson?

The gambeson fastens with five leather strings. The arm movement is greatly enhanced and the stiffness mitigated by the open underarms. Thickness 10mm, 8mm when compressed.

How heavy was a knight's armor?

An entire suit of field armor (that is, armor for battle) usually weighs between 45 and 55 lbs. (20 to 25 kg), with the helmet weighing between 4 and 8 lbs.

What was worn under leather armor?

While leather was rarely used for a full suit of armor, it was used throughout history to provide daily lightweight protection and warmth. Primarily leather armor used during battle was supplemented by metal plates attached between the layers of leather, in a style called brigandine.

What was the average height of a Viking?

"The examination of skeletons from different localities in Scandinavia reveals that the average height of the Vikings was a little less than that of today: men were about 5 ft 7-3/4 in. tall and women 5 ft 2-1/2 in.