I´m a new member and I need help from you in my quest for good sources on the armour found in the Santa Maria delle Grazie Monastary. Were can I get it, if possible on the web, and which books, and catalouges shall I look for to get good stuff.
My goal is to have a solid foundation when I order my armour from my armourer- so I can get a good suit of armour.

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Archaeologia in the 1930's printed two articles by J Mann "An account of the armour at the Maddona del Grazzi", and "A further account...", both are available as outprints from Ken Trotman and other sources normally, and occassionaly the volumes of Archaeologia show up on ABE.

The most recent publication regarding them is Boccia's "Montova" book, which has the best pictures, but unfortunately is in Italian, and runs several hundreds of dollars. Well worth it though.

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The information on the Boccia Book is
Le armature di S. Maria delle Grazie di Curtatone di Mantova e l'armatura lombarda del '400 / Lionello Giorgio Boccia.
Busto Arsizio : Bramante, c1982.
303 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 32 cm.
There is no ISBN.

My impression is that if you want to build that type of armour yourself the Boccia book is a must. It has many pictures at angles that are essential to understaning the shape and construction of the armour. If you just want know about the armour the Mann articles are very worthwhile and certainly more readily available.

Another book that I would recommend if you wish to study and be a knowledgeable consummer of armour is Claude Blair's European armour, circa 1066 to circa 1700 . It can usually be found for ~$35-40, and is just a good basic overview of armour that has withstood the tests of time and new scholarship.

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Originally posted by George fitzHume:
[My goal is to have a solid foundation when I order my armour from my armourer- so I can get a good suit of armour. [/B]

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