Home Page

Stefan's Florilegium

armor-books-msg



This document is also available in: text or RTF formats.

armor-books-msg - 7/30/12

 

Books about medieval armor. Reviews.

 

NOTE: See also the files: armor-msg, p-armor-msg, chainmail-msg, helmets-msg, shields-msg, swords-msg, Swords-bib, weapons-msg, coat-of-plates-msg.

 

************************************************************************

NOTICE -

 

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

 

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

 

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.

 

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.

 

Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

 

Thank you,

   Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous

                                         Stefan at florilegium.org

************************************************************************

 

From: caradoc at enet.net (John Groseclose)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Armor Question on Period

Date: Sun, 19 Mar 1995 00:47:49 -0700

 

mjohnso7 at osf1.gmu.EDU (Michael P Johnson) wrote:

>To have all o your basic armor questions answered, check your local

>library or bookstore for a book entitled The Armourer and His Craft, by

>Ffoulke. It gives a good over view of armor history, and production

>techniques. It was the first book that my teacher had me read and I

>still use it as a reference, because I'm still learning.  To answer your

>question, yes, plate and mail were worn together, from the beginning of

>the fourteenth century onward through the fifteenth century.  Visored

>helms also started appearing in the fourteenth century with the adent of

>the bascnet with the hound skull face plate.  This progressed into

>several different types of visored helms.  The sallet and armet became

>popular during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, but

>mainly in the fifteenth.  The armet progressed into the close helm.  

>Well, I could go on and on about armor.  If you have any other questions,

>let me know, and I'll answer them as best as I can.

 

Be aware of the errors that ffoulkes makes. He makes several

"observations" about banded "mail" and ring "mail" that I can find

documented nowhere but in his book. Page 47 shows several drawings of

armor "constructions" that, to the best of my research, do not exist, did

not exist, and aren't really workable.

--

John Groseclose <caradoc at enet.net>

 

 

Subject: New Armor Book / Viking Book

Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 15:02:22 -0400

From: rmhowe <magnusm at ncsu.edu>

Organization: Windmaster's Hill, Atlantia, and the GDH

To: Merryrose <atlantia at atlantia.sca.org>

 

Barnes and Noble has put out a translation of a new armor book by

a pair of Slovakians. In short this means it isn't just about

Western style armor. There are lots of other cultures as well.

It's also quite cheap for a hardback. No bibliography, no index though.

 

Armor from Ancient to Modern Times, by Petr Klucina, illustrated

by Pavol Pevny. Barnes and Noble, 1997. Printed in Slovakia by

Neoagrafia, a.s. Martin. ISBN 0-7607-0475-9, 133 pp. $15.00

 

Okay, what's in it? Very early period to 20th C., probably at least

150 hand drawn, handpainted pictures which are very clear. Covers

Western armor, Eastern armor including the Middle East, China, and

Japan. Polish, Hungarian, Persian, Iranian, Lithuanian, Rome, Scythian,

Celtic, Sumerian, Milanese, Norman, Russian, Turkish, Indian,

Circassian, Samurai, Chinese, - Many scale and laminated styles, some

shields, jousting armor, and equestrian armor.

 

Basically, you get a lot of styles you don't usually see in most

western armor books. Scholarly?, not particularly. Well illustrated?,

very much so.

 

And you get a large book covering a lot of unusual material for about

the same price as a single Osprey book.

 

If you don't have a store near you. 1-800-The-Book.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

..........................................................

Secondly, they are also selling Bertil Almgren's big book The Viking.

This is the one that has all the line drawings of damn near everything

the Vikings had or did (the one with the particularly unflattering

personal portraits). It has been on sale for some time for $20.

This is a reprint, a hardback and is quite good. If I were looking

for some artifacts like tools or furniture to reproduce, here is a

good start.

 

Magnus, not affiliated.

 

 

Date: Sun, 07 Nov 1999 21:07:32 -0500

From: Matthew House <mhouse at exploremaine.com>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Book review...

 

I just picked up a copy of "European Arms & Armor", by Charles Henry

Ashdown. I was wondering if anyone could comment on its value as a

reference?

 

 

From: jhrisoulas at aol.com (Dr JP Hrisoulas)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Book review...

Date: 08 Nov 1999 02:40:42 GMT

 

Ashdown?? On my Lord, his work is what i wouild refer to as a "standard

reference" book.....

 

Atar

Dr JP Hrisoulas

Bladesmith Metallographer Lecturer

Author: The Complete Bladesmith

The Master Bladesmith

The Pattern Welded Blade

http:www.Atar.com

 

 

From: "Janet  Davis" <castle at erie.net>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: book suggestions?

Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 02:06:19 -0500

 

As a SCA bookseller who gets feedback from her customers, my top picks would

be:

           "Medieval Swordsmanship" - This is like having a grumpy old peer

on hand - the author is opinionated and you won't always agree with his

opinions, but he knows a lot.  This is practical stuff for the heavy weapons

fighter - stances, shield positions, wraps, etc. well illustrated with

diagrams.

           "Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction" - This is just out

and it is very impressive.  It is expensive but there are hundreds of

pictures detailing armouring techniques and scholarship as well.

           "Martial Arts of Renaissance Europe" is also new and really

good, but it is most suitable for a late period type or a fencer.

           "The Armouer and His Craft" was written in 1912 but is

considered a basic classic that every armourer should have and is

inexpensive.

           "Arms and Armour" (by Frederick Wilkinson) covers a huge time

span (3000 years) and includes guns, but it has lots of pictures and is

cheap.

 

My web site is just hatching, but I do have longer reviews on a couple of

these there - www.medievalbookstore.com

 

                       Leah Janette

 

 

From: moondrgn at bga.com (Chris and Elisabeth Zakes)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: book suggestions?

Date: Thu, 16 Nov 2000 19:00:10 GMT

 

On Wed, 15 Nov 2000 10:43:12 GMT, an orbiting mind-control laser

caused "Amy Bernard" <amynjohn at worldnet.att.net> to write:

 

>Greetings fellow lords and ladies,

>With the holidays coming, I'm looking for a book detailing combat

>methods/armor design, etc. for my lord.  There's a few interesting choices

>at Amazon, but I'd like to hear from someone already having them in their

>library. I'm afraid some of the reviews at Amazon appear to have been

>written by a 12 year old!  I'd hate to spend $30-50 on something that may be

>poorly written or historically inaccurate.

 

I'm not certain this is what you're looking for, but...

 

"Arms and Armor of the Medieval Knight" by David Edge and John Miles

Paddock has *lots* of great pictures and interesting text. It even

includes a chapter on armor-making, with photos of the insides of

various pieces showing how they were built.

 

ISBN 0-517-64468-1

 

       -Tivar Moondragon

               Ansteorra

 

 

From: clevin at ripco.com (Craig Levin)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: book suggestions?

Date: 17 Nov 2000 19:19:00 GMT

Organization: Ripco Internet, Chicago

 

Amy Bernard <amynjohn at worldnet.att.net> wrote:

>With the holidays coming, I'm looking for a book detailing combat

>methods/armor design, etc. for my lord.  There's a few interesting choices

>at Amazon, but I'd like to hear from someone already having them in their

>library. I'm afraid some of the reviews at Amazon appear to have been

>written by a 12 year old!  I'd hate to spend $30-50 on something that may be

>poorly written or historically inaccurate.

 

I'd like to warn you away from John Hewitt's _Ancient Armour and

Weapons_, pub. by Bracken Press. It's a reprint of _Ancient Armour

and Weapons in Europe_, originally pub. by John Henry and James

Parker in 1855. The scholars of six generations ago are as out of

date in their knowledge of arms and armor as they are in

astrophysics. We're looking at such pseudohistorical fancies as

banded mail, for instance. If your husband doesn't have a good

grounding in the subject already, he could be misled by Hewitt.

 

In its defence, it does have some very, very interesting

reproductions of the original illustrations. As a pursuivant, I

found the seals and banners to be very useful in my field. He

often includes quotes from period sources, often in the original

Old French or Latin, which let you make your own translation-which

often lets you get a better idea of the original author's intent.

 

Pedro

--

http://pages.ripco.net/~clevin/index.html

clevin at rci.ripco.com

Craig Levin

 

 

From: Wajdi <wajdi at home.com>

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: book suggestions?

Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 04:40:43 GMT

 

I'd like to recommend TECHNIQUES OF MEDIEVAL ARMOUR REPRODUCTION,

a book by Brian Price.  It's been reviewed at:

 

http://www.tbook.com/hobbies/a/Antiques/TECHNIQUES_OF_MEDIEVAL_ARMOUR_REPRODUCTION_THE_14TH_CENTURY_1581600984.htm

http://hppublish.com/itm00573.htm

http://store.yahoo.com/spytechagency/12975.html

 

wajdi

 

 

From: Shadae OShea <shadae_oshea at msn.com>

Date: August 8, 2010 9:15:54 PM CDT

To: "bryn-gwlad at lists.ansteorra.org" <bryn-gwlad at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: [Bryn-gwlad] armor

 

Someone just sent me this lovely link.  It contains books and videos on constructing historical armor.  Thought some of you might be interested in taking a peek

 

http://talbotsfineaccessories.com/books/metalwork.html

 

 

From: Garth Groff <ggg9y at virginia.edu>

Date: February 6, 2012 11:57:25 AM CST

To: atlantia at atlantia.sca.org, isenfir at virginia.edu,  Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>

Subject: Book Review: Armor Making

 

Just received at the UVA Fine Arts Library: LA FACITA DEL BELLO, TECHNICHE DECORATIVE DELL'ACCIAIO E DEL FERRO SU ARMI E ARMATURE IN EUROPA TRA BASO MEDIOEVO DE ETA MODERNA by Giorgio Dondi (ISBN 9781407308593; our call# NK6609 .D654 2011). I have seen a lot of books that discuss the manufacture of arms and armor, but almost always from the perspective of the finished piece in a museum. This book is rare, if not unique, for actually showing period illustrations showing the actual production. To see engravings and woodcuts of craftsmen at their trade as armorers is very refreshing. There are lots of contemporary photos of preserved pieces as well, though the photos are all in black-and-white and are somewhat grainy. This book is truly a treasure to anyone interested in technique. Sadly, you need to read Italian to appreciate the whole story. There is a generous bibliography, with many titles in English, if you want to use this book as a springboard for further reading. Of side interest, the book is No. 5 in a series called "Notebooks on Military Archaeology and Architecture." The piece in hand is well worth tracking down if you are into arms making, or just love arms and armor from the middle ages and renaissance.

 

Lord Mungo Napier, That Crazy Scot

(aka Garth Groff, UVA Cataloging Dept.)

 

 

Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 13:16:31 +1100

From: "Gui" <gui at sca.org.au>

Subject: Re: [Lochac] Agincourt-era kit

To: "'The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list'"

      <lochac at lochac.sca.org>

 

Hi Oswyn,

 

I recommend "Armies of the Middle Ages Volume 1" by Ian Heath (ISBN-13:

978-0904417241). I has line drawings only, but has lots of entries for many

troop types, and from many different countries. It's a darn good browse for

newcomers searching for an armour "look". It also includes heraldry and

examples of its use, as well as brief descriptions of notable battles.

 

It is written as a wargaming guide, but it's a very good start.

 

Gui of Rowany

 

-----Original Message-----

I know a couple of newcomers here in Nyoy Zullun who seem most

interested (for now) in the clothing, armour and weapons of 1415

England and France, particularly for archers. Can any wise and kindly

person suggest to me where I should direct them for sources first?

 

Oswyn

 

 

Date: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 10:33:37 +0800

From: Columb mac Diarmata <columb.mac.diarmata at gmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Lochac] Agincourt-era kit

To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"

      <lochac at lochac.sca.org>

 

On Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 9:45 AM, Carl Layton <laytoncarl at yahoo.co.nz> wrote:

<<< I know a couple of newcomers here in Nyoy Zullun who seem most interested

(for now) in the clothing, armour and weapons of 1415 England and France,

particularly for archers. Can any wise and kindly person suggest to me where

I should direct them for sources first? >>>

 

This thread ("I Wanna be an English archer of the hundred years war")

on the AA might be of some interest:

 

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=43802

 

Columb

 

 

Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:42:18 +1000

From: chris Bowman <groo42 at gmail.com>

Subject: Re: [Lochac] Williams, "The Knight and the blast furnace"

To: "The Shambles: the SCA Lochac mailing list"

      <lochac at lochac.sca.org>

 

Hi Anton,

Emporium book is selling it if you really want a copy, only about $400

 

http://www.emporiumbooks.com.au/book/the-knight-and-the-blast-furnace-a-history-of-metallurgy-of-armour-in-the-middle-ages-the-early-modern-period.do

 

Groo

 

On 16 June 2011 09:38, Ian Whitchurch <ian.whitchurch at gmail.com> wrote:

<<< Has anyone either got or read this book, or do I need to make a trek

to Polit to read it :)

 

Anton de Stoc

At Rowany

XVI jun, g+s II

 

Author Williams, Alan (Alan R.)

Title   The knight and the blast furnace : a history of the metallurgy

of armour in the Middle Ages & the early modern period / by Alan

Williams

Published Boston : Brill, 2003

Series History of warfare, 1385-7827 ; v. 12

 

Location        Call number     Volume  Status

HANCOCK large book      TN703 .W55 2003

 

PS I know about the google books extract >>>

 

<the end>



Formatting copyright © Mark S. Harris (THLord Stefan li Rous).
All other copyrights are property of the original article and message authors.

Comments to the Editor: stefan at florilegium.org