I would suggest reading a few general books on the development of Arms and Armour. The easiest to find, and very good I might add, is Arms and Armour of the Medieval Knight, by David Edge [curiator of the Wallace collection in London] and Miles Paddock [spelling may be off on his last name]

1000-1250
We have very little evidence for any armour, let alone gauntlets. In pictural references and manuscripts we see seperate maille mittens, maille mufflers [extensions] tadded o the arms of a shirt, leather [could be hardened, but who can tell] and nothing.

1250-1350
We start to see the developement of gauntlets made of multiple plates, scales, and some renditions with just rivet heads showing. They could be whale bone, iron, leather ect. Again we don't have any actual physical examples. Cuffs also seem to be added with plates. Solid cuffs appear around the middle of the 14th century. We also still see maille mitten and earlier styles in paintings and manuscripts.

1361 Battle of Wisby [pronounced visby]
Some mention here needs to made of the gauntlets found at the site of the Battle of Wisby 1361. Fought on the isle of Gottland in the Baltic sea. A professional army of 500 caught a militia of 3000 against the walls of the town of Wisby. The professionals routed the militia and the bodies of the dead laid in the sun for 3 days and had to be buried in mass graves very quickly. A great deal of our understanding of this time periods armour comes from this site. Parts of 25 Coats of Plates [some complete], many coifs of mail, and at least a dozen gauntlets were discovered at the turn of the last century. Most armour had been stripped off, but it is thought that the gauntlets and smaller items [including a bag of coins!] were mixed in with the dirt and buried by mistake.

The gauntlets are some of the most complete and beautiful of all the finds. Most are typified by small plates riveted both under and on top of a leather foundation, and then a leather glove [all leather has disintegrated] Cuffs with long, narrow plates attached to the metecarple plates [back of hand] with a small buckle at the wrist to close the cuff. Mention also needs to be made of one important find. A seperate bell cuff, made of 2 pieces and shaped like an hourglass gauntlet cuff were found. Very strange indeed. One gauntlet had over 350 silver rivets holding the plates to the leather glove. See here for some of the drawings from the Wisby books:
http://www.isd.net/cdavis/images/wisby_gauntlet_1.gif
http://www.isd.net/cdavis/images/wisby_gauntlet_2.gif
http://www.isd.net/cdavis/images/wisby_gauntlet_3a.jpg [this one shows the simple fingers]
http://www.isd.net/cdavis/images/wisby_gauntlet_3b.gif
http://www.isd.net/cdavis/images/wisby_gauntlet_4.jpg
for more pictures of armour see http://www.isd.net/cdavis/authentic.html

1350-1410
The development of the hourglass gauntlet starts around mid-century. They could be Italian or German in development. That is still an open debate. Characterised by a solid metacarple plate with sharply flaired cuff. See http://www.isd.net/cdavis/hourglass.html for examples. The fingers are protected by a variety of methods. Maille is used, as well as plates riveted in and under leather. Small scales seems to be very popular, as well as the advanced method found at Visby. These consist of a finger tip plate, a connecting plate, a knuckle gad, another connecting plate. The connecting plates can be 1 large plate, or several smaller plates. There also exists one fully articulated finger. It's picture is in the Visby book chapter on gauntlets. I will see if I can scan it. It is similar to the Visby fingers of 4 plates, each articulated to the other.

1410-1430
Armour development now diverges with the emergening Italian and German styles. The hourglass form of gauntlet still exists, but the molding of the knuckles starts to simplify, cuffs start to straighten and lengthen, the metacarple plate starts to lengthen over the fingers. But individual fingers still seem to be the norm.

1430-1475
Mitten construction appears. Mainly in the Italian armour style. Comprised of 2 plates articulated over the fingers, metacarple plate with articulated thumb or thumb with plates riveted to leather, and a long, slightly flaired cuff. At the centrury continues, the Italian mitten gauntlet remains basically the same, although the cuff gets longer and more pointed.

German gauntle development also advances beyond the hourglass, but in the spiky, fluted style of Northern Europe. Cuffs get longer or and pointed. Fingers can either be protected by articuled plates like the Italian mitten gauntlets, but individual finger defense, both articulated and riveted to leathers, still can be found. In some cases, the cuff is discarded, and the gauntlet is connected directly to the vanbrace of the arms which is pointed [tied] to the elbow cop.

1475-1500
Individual finger gauntlets seem to drop from favor. The Italian and German forms of armour start to merge again in the Maximillian style of armour. Cuffs are shorted and fluted, but have the round, blunt shape of the Italian form. Fingers are protected by articulated mitten defense, some of 2 plates, some of more.

I hope this little article has helped answer some of your questions about gauntlet development.
-Chuck Davis

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-Chuck Davis

[ 01-10-2002: Message edited by: drakorion ]

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Knowing the Path, and Walking the Path, are not the same thing.

I have seen no hand coverings prior to c. 1170, though I seem to recall the Byzantine Kataphracts used mail mittens; however, I'm not sure how reliable that info is.

The earliest actual gauntlets I've ever seen date to early C14. Whalebone, scales, stuff like that. Hope this helps.

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Go Smiggins Holes 2010!

Egfroth