Armor Shaun Gaffney

Contents Introduction and Bylaws Interpretive Clothing Scottish Culture History Music and Dance Military Life Language Bibliography, Sources and Library Materials

The following has been excerpted from an article by Shaun Gaffney, “Everything you wanted to know about armor, and much more.”  The complete article is kept in the Clann Library and is available on request. As our society portrays a military organization, and understanding of armor may prove useful to those who wish to portray a soldier. The military of the British Isles was something of a hodge-podge as the kings of Scotland and England kept small standing guards, and the retainers and nobles were expected to equip and field the soldiers of their armies.  As a result, a wide variety of armor appear on the battle fields of the 15th and 16th  centuries.  As our “soldiers” draw their “origins” from the British Isles, this essay will examine the subject mater with a Scottish and English perspective. The early part of the 16tth century saw unique developments concernin armor and its use.  As England and Scotland were removed from the areas where many of the military developments were occurring, both realms responded in a unique fashion.  First, both kingdoms had to contend with the fact that they lacked manufactures to produce armor.  Second, both England and Scotland were relatively rich kingdoms and nobles from both realms could afford to purchase modern suits of armor from the continent and as a result developments did reach Britain slowly and in small numbers.  Third, the 16th century saw armor become accessible to the common soldier. As both Scotland and England lacked credible armorers, men-at-arms had to take a number of diverse methods to cope with the drastic shortage of modern armor of the time.  Those not blessed with deep purses usually inherited their armor from the fathers and had it adjusted to fit them.  Armor from previous periods were used well into the 16th century.  This can be seen in the brass rubbing from this period in which many lesser lords and knighs are illustrated wearing armor from earlier periods.  In response to the shortage of armorers, Henry VIII brought several armorers from the Netherlands and Germant and started and armory at Greenwich.  However, production of “Greenwich” armor was so limited that Henry could only equip those men-at-arms in his personal household. The reigns of Henry VIII and James IV coincided with a growing use of armor by humble infantrymen.  In this area at least, both managed to keep abrest of continental developments.  Canvas jacks lined with metal plates, mail shirts, Brigandines and jazerans (these last made with many small separate plates covered with cloth or leather), had long been used by both armies.  Henry VIII’s army excelled in the use of specialized infantry plate armor.  This type of armor is commonly referred to in English sources as “almain rivet.”  It consisted of breast and back plates, usually with tassets and a gorget.  Tassets were splints for protecting the arms and legs, although it was common to find these missing from armor as the were generally of lighter construction and the first to fall into disrepair.  Almain rivet seems to have been of generally lower quality.  Of the several I have examined, most show extreme wear, and many accounts tell of their poor durability.  This poor quality was reflected in the price: in 1542 the price of the best almain rivet was 7s 6d, whereas a suit of demi-lance armor cost 45s, nearly six times as much.  Henry VIII bought over ten thousand suits during a three year period in the early 1500s.  Rich nobles also purchased it to equip their retinues--the Earl of Northumberland provided his men with 500 suits.  Scotland had close ties to the Hanseatic League on the continent, and no doubt much armor to Stuart armories through them. By the 17th century, the end of the Clann’s period of focus, two factors appeared which radically affected the development of armor.  One was a great improvement in the power and effectiveness of firearms.  The other was a change in cavalry tactics, favoring lightly-armed, swift-moving bands of skirmishers.  More powerful bullets required thicker armor; fast cavalry skirmishing called for lighter riders on lighter, faster horses.  Thus armor moved in the direction of thick, strong breastplates and helmets, increased flexibility through the use of sliding lames in places of solid plate, and the eventual elimination of arm and leg defences. Blair, Claude.  European Armor.  NY 1959. Grancsay, S.V.  Arms and Armor.  NY 1964. Stone, George C.  A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and use of Arms and Armor.  NY 1961.