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Author
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Topic: Black and white mystery
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chef de chambre
Admin & Advocatus Diaboli
Member # 4
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posted 10-09-2004 01:11 PM
    
Hi Thomas,I believe that your suspicion is correct, and that it is for a buff leather liner. Considering it's era, it is likely designed to protect the elaborately slashed clothing of the wearer, rather than addin any additional value to it's defensive worth. I have seen photographs of interiors of mid 16th century breastplates with the remains of similar liners, as well as examined in person surviving examples closer, without the liner, but with the holes. -------------------- Bob R.
Registered: May 2000 | IP: Logged
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Gordon
Member
Member # 597
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posted 10-09-2004 07:37 PM
James, Chef is on track here with the view that the holes are for attaching a liner, probably of buff leather, as he notes (though it could have been heavy linen). My own research suggests strongly that the further you get into the 16th Century, the rarer the use of arming doublets an hose was, and the more common was the use of "street clothes" while on campaign/battle. A lot probably was due to the fact that there was less need to tie on armour by points, as more of it was simply riveted/buckled together, rahter than secured by points to the body. By the late 16th and early 17th Century, there is no (to my finding) use of specific arming clothes at all (unless you want to consider the use of a buff coat a type of arming coat, but really it's more of an armour itself), and there was the corresponding need to protect those expensive "street clothes". Janet Arnold shows a possible arming doublet made of velvet from around 1560 or so, but since there is no wear at the shoulder points, it's ulikely that it was ever used as such.
That's the long way around saying that the lining of armour wasn't uncommon. However, although there are the few burgonets and the like which were fabric covered, I don't know off hand of any plate body armour that was.
Just as an interesting side note, John Tincey's Osprey book "Ironsides: English Cavalry 1588-1688" quotes a list of arms and equipment purchased for a cavalryman being sent to Ireland in 1595, with prices for the items. It states that a "paire of Curasses black with a Headpeece" was xxvj shillings, viij pennies, "a paire of sleeves of Mayle" were viij shillings, and his wheellock pistol was xxvj shillings viij pennies, while his "millian fustian Dublet" was xx shillings... pretty stiff price for a doublet. I guess an Armani doesn't sound so bad when you look at what clothes cost then. Gordon -------------------- "After God, we owe our victory to our Horses"
Registered: Apr 2004 | IP: Logged
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