Of course. A lot of the armor that is on display in museums and owned by private collectors (and hence shown in books) was purely ornate and never intended to be worn into battle. After all, not setting foot on a battlefield does help improve the chances of your armor not being destroyed.
Prior to firearms, crossbows and other innovations making heavy armor redundant, it was commonplace for rich leaders who didn’t actually set foot on the battlefield to decorate their armor. Roman Emperors in particular seemed fond of looking absolutely fabulous in armor.
Ancestral armor was not really a thing in most places because generally a memorable suit of armor was part of an individual’s identity. A noble’s armor were also unlikely to fit their heirs – outside of Disney movies few families have identical measurements from generation to generation. Finally there was the issue that armor adapted as weapons did – wearing the previous generation’s armor exposed you to the current generation’s weapons.
The armor above was made for Sigismund II Augustus, the then King of Poland (who it seems probably never set foot on a battlefield) – and was one of twenty private armors owned by him at the time of his death. It would not have been unusual for a noble wearing such as suit in a parade to accessorize with a sash and/or long cape.
The important part about purely ornate armor is that it looks like armor – just with decorations that go beyond being practical. They still reflect the core armor values of the era but they’re just over decorated*, questionable accessorized and may have reductions made to facilitate their non-combat use (such as no gauntlets or arm protection if it’s for wearing to dinners and parties).
I thought we’d bring this one back as the reminder that there’s no reason that fabulous looking armor can’t be (at least semi-)practical looking armor… just with more fabulous.
Question: Is it possible to have armor that only serves as aesthetic quality versus functional quality only serve as that? Such as ceremonial armor or ancestral armor.
Of course. A lot of the armor that is on display in museums and owned by private collectors (and hence shown in books) was purely ornate and never intended to be worn into battle. After all, not setting foot on a battlefield does help improve the chances of your armor not being destroyed.
Prior to firearms, crossbows and other innovations making heavy armor redundant, it was commonplace for rich leaders who didn’t actually set foot on the battlefield to decorate their armor. Roman Emperors in particular seemed fond of looking absolutely fabulous in armor.
Ancestral armor was not really a thing in most places because generally a memorable suit of armor was part of an individual’s identity. A noble’s armor were also unlikely to fit their heirs – outside of Disney movies few families have identical measurements from generation to generation. Finally there was the issue that armor adapted as weapons did – wearing the previous generation’s armor exposed you to the current generation’s weapons.
The armor above was made for Sigismund II Augustus, the then King of Poland (who it seems probably never set foot on a battlefield) – and was one of twenty private armors owned by him at the time of his death. It would not have been unusual for a noble wearing such as suit in a parade to accessorize with a sash and/or long cape.
The important part about purely ornate armor is that it looks like armor – just with decorations that go beyond being practical. They still reflect the core armor values of the era but they’re just over decorated*, questionable accessorized and may have reductions made to facilitate their non-combat use (such as no gauntlets or arm protection if it’s for wearing to dinners and parties).
I thought we’d bring this one back as the reminder that there’s no reason that fabulous looking armor can’t be (at least semi-)practical looking armor… just with more fabulous.
I got Prismacolor markers recently. Never used markers before but as it turns out they’re pretty amazing, though I could use more colors. I did see that I had 2 shades of red and an orange that looked very much like gold when used in tandem with brown, so there was only one thing for me to do: sketchdump every Blanzhardia character! These are seven separate characters (the bottom one is the same lady), all of whom bear the name “Blanzhardia” and all of whom are champions of the same goddess, though possibly at different time periods.
In general, these women have some consistent traits, but despite that, I tried to give each one some minor individual styles specific to them, be it the various textures on their armor or the shape of the armor segments. The common traits are:
– Gold armor and metal in general. Note that it’s not actual gold but instead a fictional magic alloy that is far more effective.
– Gorgon helmet of some form. Probably the most distinct feature. The goddess Tyrnazhel looks like a gorgon in her most common form and this reflects in the helmets of her champions.
– Female. That being said, there are some male characters in-universe that have similar appearances due to being in the same faction and etc. – Overall snake/reptile theme. This is pretty evident, but even simpler things such as the segmented nature of the armor is reflective of this.
– Fully armored. Every one is completely covered up and looks generally scary. There is no chainmail bikini/skank plate silliness here. Granted I try to apply this to generally any female character that calls themselves “armored”, but Blanzhardia ladies in particular are meant to look very intimidating.
– Magic-warrior hybrids. Every Blanzhardia is a powerful elite/veteran fighter who has mastery of both magic and martial skill, and in fact uses them in tandem very effectively. While they have individual preferences, they are very well-rounded as fighters.
Now those are some fine examples of what happens when an artist puts effort into costume design. It’s apparent that research and creativity were applied to come up with those armors.
I especially like how the gambeson padding is visible under metal plating in all of the costumes. If I had some major issue here, it would be to give different characters more diverse body types. It would also compliment the diverse styles of armor.
This week’s blog is on the fighter women of House Clovenshield, mostly because there were some awesome pictures from Pennsic of the group. (This was supposed to post Friday, apparently the auto-poster thing decided not to. Oops!)
While women are of course equally able to fight in the SCA as men, often women fighters are quite outnumbered by their male counterparts, and in some (hopefully rare or apochrophal) groups there is even talk of animosity towards women fighters. Not so for House Clovenshield! There were five lady fighters present in the group at Pennsic.
1 Siobhan an Einigh, right after inspection, Pennsic 2015
This is me in my kit! My persona is of an Irish woman from around 1030 CE, so my kit is mostly Nordic based. Armor wasn’t really a thing for the Irish at the time, and what armor was worn was usually based off of other cultures. I’m wearing a leather coat of plate made in a viking style, with metal shoulder-cops (that I made myself!) Under that is a linen leine, or tunic, which covers my knees. As we don’t actually want to hurt our friends, our swords are made of rattan, a kind of stick, and covered in duct tape. When out in the field, I’m also wearing a helm.
Of particular interest to me, however, is my shield. I finished it just a few days before this picture was taken, and am particularly proud of it. It is a La Tene style Irish war shield, and is made to the exact dimensions of extant pieces. 48" x 24" is quite huge when someone 5’2" is using it! The shield is made of birch and fiberglass, with a canvas cover. It worked quite well throughout the war!
2 Castle Battle, Pennsic 2015
And this is a line of battle. That person in the red circle? That’s me, fighting with my old kingdom of Calontir (the purple and gold folks). As a shieldman, my job in battle is to defend the spears around me, then rush in with other shields to make a hole in the oposing line. Tis quite fun!
3 House Clovenshield Lady Fighters, Pennsic 2015
And here’s a picture of the five lady fighters of Clovenshield, in our armor! From left to right, they are Susan the Irresponsible (archer), Vixi (shieldman), Haelga (shieldman), me (shieldman), and Susan the short (shield sargent). As you might gather, the lady fighters make up most of our shield line!
4 Silliness, Pennsic 2015
And to end with a bit of silliness, here are Susan and I after a battle (or between battles), being mature adults. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!
This week:
Lady Fighters of Clovenshield!
Next week:
A year in Arts and Sciences!
3rd week:
Pennsic recap!
4th week: Tournament of Chivalry Review!
Another example that people in SCA/LARPers all want the same kind of fun, including practical armor, regardless of gender.
This week’s blog is on the fighter women of House Clovenshield, mostly because there were some awesome pictures from Pennsic of the group. (This was supposed to post Friday, apparently the auto-poster thing decided not to. Oops!)
While women are of course equally able to fight in the SCA as men, often women fighters are quite outnumbered by their male counterparts, and in some (hopefully rare or apochrophal) groups there is even talk of animosity towards women fighters. Not so for House Clovenshield! There were five lady fighters present in the group at Pennsic.
1 Siobhan an Einigh, right after inspection, Pennsic 2015
This is me in my kit! My persona is of an Irish woman from around 1030 CE, so my kit is mostly Nordic based. Armor wasn’t really a thing for the Irish at the time, and what armor was worn was usually based off of other cultures. I’m wearing a leather coat of plate made in a viking style, with metal shoulder-cops (that I made myself!) Under that is a linen leine, or tunic, which covers my knees. As we don’t actually want to hurt our friends, our swords are made of rattan, a kind of stick, and covered in duct tape. When out in the field, I’m also wearing a helm.
Of particular interest to me, however, is my shield. I finished it just a few days before this picture was taken, and am particularly proud of it. It is a La Tene style Irish war shield, and is made to the exact dimensions of extant pieces. 48" x 24" is quite huge when someone 5’2" is using it! The shield is made of birch and fiberglass, with a canvas cover. It worked quite well throughout the war!
2 Castle Battle, Pennsic 2015
And this is a line of battle. That person in the red circle? That’s me, fighting with my old kingdom of Calontir (the purple and gold folks). As a shieldman, my job in battle is to defend the spears around me, then rush in with other shields to make a hole in the oposing line. Tis quite fun!
3 House Clovenshield Lady Fighters, Pennsic 2015
And here’s a picture of the five lady fighters of Clovenshield, in our armor! From left to right, they are Susan the Irresponsible (archer), Vixi (shieldman), Haelga (shieldman), me (shieldman), and Susan the short (shield sargent). As you might gather, the lady fighters make up most of our shield line!
4 Silliness, Pennsic 2015
And to end with a bit of silliness, here are Susan and I after a battle (or between battles), being mature adults. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!
This week:
Lady Fighters of Clovenshield!
Next week:
A year in Arts and Sciences!
3rd week:
Pennsic recap!
4th week: Tournament of Chivalry Review!
Another example that people in SCA/LARPers all want the same kind of fun, including practical armor, regardless of gender.
