Banded mail
Banded mail is a neologism, coined in the 19th century, describing a type of composite armor formed by combining the concepts behind the Roman lorica segmentata with splint mail. Its historicity is doubtful. It has become entrenched in the popular consciousness as a result of its inclusion in the armor list for Dungeons and Dragons.
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[edit] Terminology
Confusion arises because of the wide variety of terms by which similar armors are known. Banded mail has been described as "a form of mail reinforced with bands of leather", as "overlapping horizontal strips of laminated metal sewn over a backing of normal chain mail and soft leather backing" and as "many thin sheets of metal are hammered or riveted together". The last description more closely fits splinted mail, which consists of long metal splints connected by mail/leather used for arm and leg protection. The final description of metal plates riveted to a sub-strate describe a coat of plates, jack of plates or brigandine, all of which consist of metal plates riveted to a leather or cloth fronting. Finally, armor constructed of rows of plates otplatelets sewn or laced together, without backing/fronting, would be considered "laminar". The current term for small metal plates joined together by chainmail seems to be plate mail or plated mail.
[edit] History
Although banded mail was considered real during the 19th century,[1][2] later books on history claim that banded mail arose due to a misinterpretation of medieval manuscripts and tomb effigies.[3]
While there have been some attempts at modern reconstructions of banded mai, there are no known historic examples of banded mail. Existing manuscript and effigy representation has been interpreted as covering a variety of methods for depicting chainmail.
[edit] References
- http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/65/Arten_von_Panzerhemden.jpg
- http://www.fantasy-workshop.com/faw/image-files/banded-mail-4.jpg
- http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/87/Wartburg-Ludwig_der_Eiserne.jpg
- ^ Fairholt, Frederick William (1885). Costume in England: A History of Dress to the End of the Eighteenth Century. G. Bell and Sons. p. 27. http://books.google.com/?id=scwDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=%22banded+mail%22+history.
- ^ Hewitt, John (1860). Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe: From the iron period of the northern nations to the end of the seventeenth century. John Henry and James Parker. p. 268. http://books.google.com/?id=gUW7Kz9ylKkC&pg=PA268&dq=%22banded+mail%22+history.
- ^ Blair, Claude (1959). European Armour circa IO66 to circa 1700. New York: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. pp. 35–36. http://www.13c.ru/texts/blair.pdf.
[edit] See also
- Laminar armour - a historical armour from horizontal strips of plate.
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