Viking Leather lamellar Armour; lamellar Cuirass; Leather Armor; Viking Armor

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Lamellar armour ( klivanion) consists of a large number of leather, horn or metal plates (‘lames’), typically rectangular or with slightly rounded corners, frequently around 1½” x 3½” (though different sized lames could be used in different parts of the same armour), laced together with leather thonging. Lames should be laced together first as rows, overlapping horizontally in both directions from the centre of the chest to the middle of the spine. The rows should then be assembled so that they overlap upwards (i.e. start from the top, with the second row on top of the one above it) and should be continuous (i.e. no distinction between body, skirt and sleeves). A distinctive feature of Roman lamellar in the eleventh and twelfth centuries was that the vertical fastening used a single rivet. With ear flaps and a broad flap brim that was reversible in winter, the helmet was an ideal piece of armor. Helmets for the less well-off Mongol troops were often constructed of leather. Contemporary Accounts The Yuan warrior’s helmet and armor from the time of the Mongol conquest of Japan. Image: Wikimedia. See also a photo of the same set of armour (in the center). Dated late 15th century. The description: "5. A soft type of armour which bears the name of the kuyak, also with a kuyak helmet (15th century)". Tang dynasty (618–907) [ edit ] Tang soldier in cord and plaque armour Tang shield warriors wearing cord and plaque An armoured cavalryman asking for direction, from a painting by Yan Lide, the brother of Yan Liben, 7th c. Cavalry of the Guiyi Circuit

A picture really does save a thousand words, especially with something as complicated as lamellar armour! Undergarment clothing with long, broad sleeves was worn under the outer coat. Genghis Khan (1158–1227) oversaw the widespread use of strong silk for this undergarment. Hatanga degel– a robe made of soft materials that could be enhanced with elements like mirror armor, pauldrons, etc. The alternative pronunciations are hatangu or hatanga degel.

Rondel for self-sewing

Close up view of Japanese (samurai) hon kozane, lamellar armour constructed with small individual scales/lamellae known as kozane. Felt and leather boots rounded out the Mongolian armor. However bulky they were, they were comfortable and broad enough to fit trousers inside before they were laced firmly.

Wagner, Donald B. (2008), Science and Civilization in China Volume 5-11: Ferrous Metallurgy, Cambridge University Press Armour made up of leather, horn or metal segments forming a protective layer was relatively common in the East, especially among the tribes of the steppe. Metal lames were frequently used in the Roman East as they offered the best quality protection, although leather could be hardened by boiling or waxing to provide considerable protection without adding much weight. The Qin calculated fines for more severe crimes in terms of one or two coats of armour, lower crimes in terms of shields, and the lowest in terms of coins. [15] Qin soldiers sometimes threw off their armour in a kind of berserk rage and engaged in fanatical charges. [16] Qin armour usually used rectangular lamellae with dimensions of 7.5cm x 8.5cm and 10.5cm x 7.8cm. Dimensions of lamellae used for charioteer armour varies between the upper body, lower body, and arms. Lamellae on the upper body were 7cm x 6cm, the lower body 9cm x 6.5cm, and arms 4–7.5cm x 4cm. Lamellae on cavalrymen were 8cm x 5.7cm. [17] A complete set of Qin armour, judging by the finds in the Terracotta Army consisted of 250 to 612 pieces in total, not including the helmet. [18]There is no evidence for lamellar armour in western Europe after the seventh century. Lamellar armour was used by the steppe tribes of Russia, Siberia and Central Asia, and (through their influence) the Byzantine empire. Partial plate armour in the form of a cuirass sewn together with fabric is mentioned in the Wubei Yaolue, 1638. Called quantiejia (complete metal armour), the text describes the usage of 100 catties of Fujian iron, 4–5 piculs of northern coal, and over 10 piculs of southern coal in the creation process of the plates. After finishing the plates, they were lacquered and linked together using cotton and woolen ropes. A full set of quantiejia weighed around 34.4 catties. One Ming catty was around 590 grams, making a full set of quantiejia around 20kg in weight. It's not known how common plate armour was during the Ming dynasty, and no other source mentions it. There are no records of mail and plate used together from Chinese records but the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty does mention the dismissal of an official for failing to supervise the production of "Chinese mail-and-plate armour" in the 15th century. Less known examples were present in Asia from Iran to Mongolia, including Central Asia. Laminar armour from animal skins has also been traditionally made and worn in the Arctic areas of what are now Siberia, Alaska and Canada.

A brigandine was commonly worn over a gambeson and mail shirt and it was not long before this form of protection was commonly used by soldiers ranging in rank from archers to knights. It was most commonly used by men-at-arms. These wore brigandines, along with plate armour arm and leg protection, as well as a helmet. Even with the gambeson and the mail shirt, a wearer was not as well-protected as when wearing a complete harness of plate armour, but the brigandine was less expensive and also gave the soldier a greater degree of mobility and flexibility. A brigandine was also simple enough in design for a soldier to make and repair his own armour without needing the services of an armourer.

Lamellar Armour History

As with maille hauberks, the length of lamellar armour varied. Cavalry typically used a straightforward ‘cuirass’ covering the torso, leaving the arms uncovered, and generally not extending below the belt. By the twelfth century, infantry lamellar often included a ‘skirt’ of inverted lames covering the groin and extending to mid-thigh or knee-length. Similarly inverted lamellar sections often provided elbow-length sleeves.

The Jurchens had a reputation for making high quality armour and weapons. [74] Both metal and quilted armour were worn by Jurchens. The Jurchen army was organized into units of a thousand and a hundred. Every hundred was composed of two fifty men social and economic units called punian. Each punian was supposed to have 20 men equipped with armour and lances or halberds. These 20 men formed a standard two rank five deep battle formation while the others formed three ranks of archers. [75] Lorge, Peter (2015), The Reunification of China: Peace through War under the Song Dynasty, Cambridge University PressDuring the Song dynasty (960–1279) it became fashionable to create warts on pieces of armour to imitate cold forged steel, a product typically produced by non-Han people in modern Qinghai. Warts created from cold work were actually spots of higher carbon in the original steel, thus aesthetic warts on non-cold forged steel served no purpose. According to Shen Kuo, armour constructed of cold forged steel was impenetrable to arrows shot at a distance of 50 paces. Even if the arrow happened to hit a drill hole, the arrowhead was the one which was ruined. [69] However crossbows were still prized for their ability to penetrate heavy armour. [70] Scale and lamellar reinforcement were the dominant types of armor for the Mongols. A typical Mongolian armor weighed approximately 22 lb (10 kg) in total. Hardened leather and iron were fastened together on a fabric substrate (often silk) and worn over the coat. After being boiled to soften it, the leather was coated with pitch to make it watertight. Chain Mail At the beginning of the Sengoku period Japanese armour typically had two versions – expensive and inexpensive. The difference was that expensive versions were made from hundreds or even thousands of individual leather and or iron scales laced together into armor strips (lamellar), this was a very time-consuming process. [4] The two most common types of scales which made up the Japanese lamellar armors were hon kozane which were constructed from narrow or small scales, and hon iyozane which were constructed from wider scales. Note that the riveted lamellar used by Byzantine regulars was a distinctive form. The lamellar popular among steppe tribes and the Turkish military elites of the Islamic world was generally wholly laced together.