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Chivalry meant different things to different people. Before 1150 it was just stuff the nobility did. At about 1150 a new chivalry appeared (in England) to do with a romantic ideal (but still only...

I've tried several sizes and types but my favorites are 16"/40cm diameter made from 3/8"/10mm ply with a normal shield boss. The grip is designed so that it is level with the timber, not a couple of...

The commons can force a bill through, even though the Lords rejects it, if it was included in their election manifesto. The commons might be able to do this will a bill that was not in their...

I had a play over the weekend with a selection of quarrels, a cheap and nasty modern 150lb crossbow (don't know how powerful but estimate at 40-50ftlb or 55-70 joules) and some linen. 16 layers of...

Thankyou for doing these tests. They are very good. Please can you tell me what the weight of the padding was (overall per square foot or yard) for the 10, 20 and 30 layers. This gives an indication...

I mostly used some really heavy linen I got off one of the UK re-enactment suppliers. Pretty dense standard weave, a bit like the cloth they used to make deck chairs out of (complete with stripes)....

Dan

That is weird, we found the opposite. It might depend upon lots of factors- closeness and type of weave, fabric type, profile and sharpness of arrow head, weight and speed of arrow....

Some...

A couple of points that I would like to throw in to the discussion

I don't think that the majority of people would have been wearing plate even in the 15th/16th century. Some plate over a jack or...

This maker was discussed online by UK re-enactors last month:

http://livinghistory.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9738&highlight=barnett

There are better sword makers in the UK.

I used the same method that Chris Dobson developed (I think he has published it somewhere). Water+ Glue then bake.

Boiling just makes brittle leather.

Thanks for the link to the Roman Army...

It was 2 layers stuck together so they were touching but impregnated in the hardening process.

I wouldn't expect normal leather to stand up to arrows; nor would wax hardened leather (the wax just...

Since you ask:

Was it a bodkin point, broadhead or a modern field point(designed not to penetrate very far in targets)? How heavy was the shaft/head? Modern field point (the type with the weird...

“Companion to Medieval Arms and Armour” has a section on leather armour and a couple of pictures of lamellar leather in it.

¼” of hardened leather stops the quarrel from a modern crossbow. I tried...

More Myths:

Roman Gladiuses (Gladioli?:-) )were the best type of sword ever made.
Get 2 people. Give both of them wooden swords- one with a 30" blade and the other with a 20" Gladius. Ask which...

My first post in this forum

A few years ago there was an article in the UK magazine Newscientist about dinosaur teeth and their cutting ability. It said that a sharp smooth edge has 3 properties...