Category Archives: Costuming

I’ve been doing a lot of writing of late, mostly on my Herongarde novel. I also have become involved with the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) – specifically with heavy weapons (aka swords and such). I have this character, Hanna, who is transported back into medieval times. She finds herself in situations where she must wield a sword. I want to write the story with some level of accuracy, but reading about medieval swordplay can only get you so far. And, let’s face it, what we see in movies most of the time is pretty bad swordsmanship. So, twice a week, I strap on some armor and learn first-hand what it’s all about.

I *really* enjoy it.

Yeah, it’s a hell of a workout. Armor is heavy. It’s hot. And since I’m borrowing armor, it’s also awkward and uncomfortable. Most of the bruises I get aren’t from sword blows, but from the armor itself. I need my own kit. I have to decide what I want my persona to be.

Armor includes many layers. One usually starts with a light shirt. Over that comes the gambeson, which is a padded shirt – so the armor doesn’t bit you as much. I’ve made myself a gambeson. It makes a huge difference. I need to make padded legs, too. I’ll get to that eventually.

What after that?

The SCA has its rules, so I’ll start there. You have to protect the knees and elbows from the front and from the sides. There are lots of ways to do this, but when I get my own kit, I want to go for metal knees and elbows.

Other necessities include protecting the Xiphoid process (the lower tip of the sternum or breastbone) on the chest, and to protect the kidneys and floating ribs on the back. A He-man style breastplate and a big ol’ weight lifting belt might do the job. My reaction: functional, but too Xena-esque. And, given my interest in medieval Europe, a better choice for me would be a bringandine or “coat of plates” which is basically metal plates riveted onto thick leather. This was the predecessor of plate armor.

SCA rules insist that the neck be protected. The most common way to do this is with a gorget – basically a thick leather collar. I’ll probably go with that initially, since it will be relatively easy to make and can be made in any number of styles.

Obviously, I’ll also need a helmet. Hmm. Obviously, something like that, I’m not going to make myself. But I got people. And the Internet, if that fails…

Gloves are important, since the hand must be protected. For now, I’m using a sword and shield with cages over the hand for protection. Ultimately, I want to ditch the cages (making my equipment lighter), and get armored gauntlets. A good hockey glove does the trick, but is seriously NOT period. This will be a challenge to create.

Then there are the other bits that aren’t required by SCA rules, but I think might be foolish to do without if they were real swords, not just rattan rods with hilts.

My kit will include pauldrons, which sit on the shoulders like the pads that football players wear. (Clarify: American football, apologies to my non-US readers.) And they shall be shiny and metal.

I need something over the thighs, hopefully wrapping completely around the thigh. Those wrap shots to the back of the leg really smart! These can be leather and simple, basically something to hang the knees off of.

Similarly, the elbows need to connect somehow to the shoulder, probably to points (or ties) under the pauldrons. Might as well protect the upper arm as well.

So far I’m glad I have the gambeson made. All these straps are gonna leave marks.

Ultimately, I dunno if I’ll put anything on the lower leg (greaves) or on the lower arm (bracers), but these can be independent of the knees and elbows, and that may just be how it goes.

Over top of all this, typically goes a tabard. This is a simple covering usually bearing the colors of the fighters nation. I made a really basic one with the colors of Herongarde. By wearing a tabard, the gaps in the armor are hidden (if there are any). A tabard can also be asthetically pleasing. For now, the tabard I’ve made will do. Later, I’ll make one with the proper materials (linen instead of cotton).

What about that chain mail? You ask. Well, mail (or maille) would be worn over the gambeson and under the brigandine. I have a maille shirt. It weighs 25 pounds. Not planning to wear it for any SCA practices, since it would be overkill, but in real action. I don’t think I’d leave it behind. I need to fit the shirt I have to my body a little better, though. The sleeves are too big. I might just discard them altogether. And the leather trim might get tossed too. We’ll see.

Of course, no one does the maille-brigandine-tabard quite as well as James Purefoy.