Armour

The main type of body armour in Anglo-Saxon times was mail. The term 'chainmail' not being coined until the 1700's. Mail of the period was made by cutting thin strips of iron from a piece of sheet, or drawing iron wire through a draw-plate, and winding this around a cylindrical former. It was then cut off with a chisel to form the links. The links would then be compressed so that the ends overlapped.

Typically half of the links were then welded shut in the forge. The other half had the ends of each link were flattened and then had holes punched in them. As the mailshirt was assembled a punched ring was linked to four of the welded rings, a rivet was put through the holes to close the link. This rivet seems to have been a simple triangle cut from a strip of similar flattened wire. It was then cut at slight angles to make 'arrow headed' or triangular shaped rivets. Alternatively, the whole shirt could have been made entirely made with riveted rings. Finally the whole mailshirt was likely to have been 'oil tempered' to make it stronger and give some degree of rust-proofing.

The early mailshirts seem to have reached to just below the waist and have short sleeves ( there is no evidence for sleeveless mailshirts like those known from the Iron Age ). These short mailshirts seem to have been referred to as a byrnie and are sometimes shown with a vandyked lower edge.

The mailshirt became longer towards the eleventh century until it reached the knees or just below with sleeves to the elbow. These long mailshirts, often with an integral hood, were split to the groin at the front and back to enable riding and could well have taken a year to make. The term hauberk, often used to describe these long mail-coats, is actually derived from the Old English word 'healsbeorg' which was in fact a mail hood ( what is now called a coif ). It was not until later that hood and shirt together were known by this name. However, the term 'healsbeorg' is a little confusing if it does indeed mean mail hood, as will dealt with below.

Mail worn on its own would stop the cutting edge of most weapons, but did not stop the crushing and effects of the impact. So some kind of padding would have been worn under the mail. These padded garments, now known as gambesons, were made by sewing fleeces, raw wool or layers of woollen cloth between two layers of linen, felt or leather. Later period garments were even stuffed with dry grass. Gambesons were probably very thick and offered very good protection against the impact from the type of weapons used in the period.

Gambesons were we suspect, usually worn under mail ( perhaps even attached to it ) and would tend to be a similar outline to the mailshirt, although it is possible they could have been worn on their own by poorer warriors. No gambesons have ever been found, but modern practice in re-enactment shows the validity of such things. The Romans are documented wearing padding under their mailshirts which consisted of two layers of linen either side of a felt inner. This may well be the garment referred to as a Thoracomachus. Mailshirts also have a tendency to pull your tunic to pieces and stain the cloth, something which a liner such as a gambeson or leather between would prevent.

Mail coifs, or 'healsbeorgs', ( if the Saxon terminology is correct ) were worn from the ninth century and tended to cover the top and back of the head, the cheeks, chin, neck and perhaps some of the shoulders. Again coifs are mentioned but have never been found, so we can only guess as to their original shape.

The manuscripts begin to pick up the use of mail covering the back of the neck, and by the beginning of the tenth century these had become quite common amongst the professional warriors. By the eleventh century the coif has become integrated with the hauberk becoming a true hood. However, this coming and going of the coif may be simply a mix up in the interpretation of the mail both illustrated and recorded. The reasoning for this is that the appearance of the coif in particular can be documented in the 11th and 12th centuries accurately. This may mean that earlier interpretations are in fact aventails. Another aspect to this is that the style of warfare changed quite a bit in the 12th century necessitating the double layer of mail over the shoulders. Therefore perhaps what we took for coifs that we can see on the Bayeux tapestry for example, are men in hooded hauberks - some with ventails and others without.

The 'ventail' section of mail on or near the chest folds up over the neck and chin, and hooked into position over the lower face. This is probably the best explanation for the shapes found on the knights armour in the Bayeux tapestry.

The opposite number to the ventail is the 'aventail', which is a skirt of mail attached to the back of a helmet. A perfect example of such a thing was excavated in York. Now known as the Coppergate Helmet, it was discovered at the base of a well and was remarkably in very good condition. The mail aventail was secured to the rim of the helm and to a pair of ear or cheek flaps.

The ventail wasn't universal, but seems to have been sensible protection for a horseman, as most of the attacks he would receive would come up from below. Padded arming caps would be probably worn under the coif and may also have been worn on their own. The coif as a head covering is shown on figures from Byzantine mosaics, interestingly enough worn by both males and females. How widely elsewhere the wearing of them as normal headgear is unknown until the Middle Ages.

Limb Armour

Limb armour was far rarer than body or head armour. It is possible that a few kings and greater nobleman may have worn some form of greaves; a sensible defence as the legs were unguarded by the earlier round shields and contemporary accounts often mention men having their legs chopped off. No greaves have ever been found in Britain and illustrations of them are very rare. One illustration is dated to the late ninth century and shows a Dane and two companions with thin ( metal? ) plates attached to the front of their hose and reaching from knee to instep. An example at the beginning of the eleventh century covers also the foot.

By the eleventh century a few of the wealthier warriors are shown with mail chausses or leggings although these too are quite rare. Also in the eleventh century a few wealthy warriors are shown with tight fitting full length mail sleeves under the sleeves of their hauberks. It is also possible that a few warriors may have worn leather vambraces, or have used leather bindings similar to 'puttees' to protect their forearms. At this time lamellar and scale armours were known, and used in the Middle-east, but they do not seem to have reached Western Europe until after the First Crusade.