quipment Requirements

Academy of European Medieval Martial Arts

The armour of the 14th century was characterized by the increased usage of plate armour for the body of various materials, including latten (a brass-like copper alloy), whalebone, iron and steel. For the duration of the 14th century, the knight would continue to wear a mail hauberk. The hauberk only reached to just below hip level, sleeves extending to the wrist. Mail chausses were worn, covered with plate armour on the legs, called greaves strapped with leather behind the legs. After mid 14th century, the arms were frequently completely covered in plate armour and the arm protection was completed with a pair of gauntlets. In the latter half of the century, breast plates made their first appearance. During the latter part of the century, body defense known as brigandine was developed. This was a piece of body armour which followed the principle of a coat of plates.

Through research and practical experimentation, it was determined that the 14th century (transitional/international) archetypes is the most appropriate and suitable form of armour. This period armour has the advantage of becoming a later period armour with more plate, or an earlier period armour with the removal of the respective plated components.

Note: For your convenience, equipment listing is highlighted with links directly to specifications, source, availability and pricing. As more sources are validated, additional links will be added.

Recruit Member Equipment Requirements

The following list is the minimum training equipment required for any newly joined individual interested in starting with the training program. This will allow the participant to practice with the above mentioned wooden waster swords and will be restricted to training of fundamental offensive and defensive forms (no contact) and the initial levels of grappling and dagger. The listing below describes the basic equipment requirement for both new participants and existing:

Training Wear
- footwear: It is recommendeded that the recruit who decides to pursue training on a regular basis purchase a pair of the Revival's 14th century low boot, similar to the pair depicted on the right. However, new recruits that do not have a pair of martial arts period training shoes or the flat-soled kung fu boots, can consider the purchase of "China flats", which are essentially Chinese slippers in the interim, or may begin their training with regular athletic training shoes.
  Note: Footwork is an important fighting attribute and when training medieval fighting arts, wearing modern footwear (specifically with heals and thick soles) may introduce training artifacts into the recruit's training resulting in inappropriate footwork. In order to develop proper footwork, it is recommended that the recruit purchase the flat-soled training boots.
- training leggings: black track pants/leggings
- training T-shirt: AEMMA standard training shirt, compulsory for all AEMMA members (T-shirt: white, AEMMA crest chest left, Fiore's sette spada image on the back)
- hand protection: leather fencing gloves/leather riding gloves with cuff fitted with hardened-leather or metal finger bucklers or rondels, or in the interim until more appropriate hand protection is acquired, the student can use lacrosse gloves. These however will impact the flexibility and sensitivity of the hands during training. Note: Recruits employing inadequate hand protective are not permitted to engage in arming sword free-play but are able to engage in training arming sword drills. For information on hand protection for schollers, click on Unarmoured Longsword for hand protection requirements.
- leather sword belt around the waist (email "" for more info)
Weapons

aluminum arming sword are preferred and recommended by AEMMA as the recruit's and above training weapon. Aluminum arming swords last much longer than wooden wasters and also exhibit physical properties that are closer to steel swords than wasters. For more details on the aluminum arming swords, click here.

Scholler and above Equipment & Harness Requirements

The following describes equipment required for anyone who has achieved the rank of scholler, free scholler, provost or maestro. It is also an indication of the commitment of the student to pursue advanced training and therefore, acquire appropriate protective equipment. The equipment requirements will differ depending upon the orientation of the student, i.e. unarmoured vs armoured targets, pollaxe, quarterstaff. Scholler level of training is generally oriented towards unarmoured training which maps to the historical master's approach such as Fiore dei Liberi and/or Fillipo Vadi, and which forms the core of the AEMMA training program. Armoured training is considered as another fighting arts discipline as is pole-weapons training, German longsword, sword & shield, sword & buckler, spear, etc.. Therefore, the student is able to develop core skills which can be easily transferred towards unarmoured combat, armoured combat, German longsword, pollaxe, etc.. The intent that the foundational training of unarmoured components can be leveraged to armoured combat.

Arming Sword and Unarmoured Longsword

Most of the works created by the historical masters, present illustrations and descriptions that describe techniques as they relate to unarmoured fighting. Typically, the armoured combat techniques are presented in the last few sections of the historical manuscripts, implying that it is firstly critical that the student develop the fundamental fight concepts that involve timing, distance, placement, range, judgement and footwork. These are difficult to master when encumbered with armour and of course, the student is distracted with the armour in the early stages of development. Therefore, in the AEMMA training program, following a similar structure to the historical masters, such as Fiore dei Liberi.

Our interpretation of unarmoured longsword means that students engaged in fencing bouts do so with the orientation of blossfechten, meaning the sword work during these bouts are point oriented rather than the cuts/slashing found during harnisfechten. It must be clear there are two paths of training, one for unarmoured and the second for armoured. It should be merely looked at as armoured training is an extension to the unarmoured training program and that it is considered another fighting arts style.

Soft Harness Components

The mandatory components below satisfies all basic equipment requirements regardless of weapons employed. These form the under-armour garments necessary for either armoured or unarmoured longsword combat or pollaxe or quarter-staff. Specific protective requirements for each weapon's type will be highlighted as more development results are made available.

Mandatory

flat soled training footwear - black-laced kung fu boots or similar, with flat hardened rubber soles (these are effective medieval footwear "simulators" and much less expensive than their leather counterparts).
gambeson - quilted padded material which is worn under the chain mail and sometimes over the mail. The gambeson is the most critical component to acquire. The rest of the components are built upon the gambeson base. The student must acquire a gambeson prior to challenging for the prize of the scholler rank. Some considerations are listed below in order to provide some additional information on making an intelligent choice with respect to constructing a gambeson or purchasing one:
- There are essentially two versions of gambesons the student must consider - thick or thin.
- If the student is planning on developing one's skills only in the area of unarmoured sword skills, then it is suggested that the gambeson be padded thicker, such as the one sourced from Revival Clothing with their ready made gambeson. A gambeson will provide good overall body protection from sword strikes. A gambeson such as this would be augmented with elbow cops, gorget, good leather gauntlets or finger gauntlets and fencing mask.
- A less padded version is more convenient if the student is planning on pursuing armoured swordsmanship skills. A heavily padded gambeson is not suitable for the application of armour. One can build their own gambeson (SCA article, but the design and construction is viable for AEMMA's requirements).
- Another source for the "thinner" model is from Museum Replicas.
padded coif (recommended) - quilted padded material which is worn under the helm and aventail (worn under the fencing mask for waster training), or arming cap - a cloth close-fitting cap with chin ties worn under the helm.

Hard Harness Components

The following mandatory hard harness components are designed to provide protection for the scholler for free-play swordplay with aluminum swords such as blossfechten (fechtschule rules) or à plaisance style of tournament fencing.

Mandatory

gorget (hardened leather or metal)
3-weapon fencing mask, model:AUM or the sabre fencing mask Note: AEMMA will have some of these masks available for training purposes. If the student decides to pursue the unarmoured combat path, it is expected that the student will purchase his/her own fencing mask.
leather gauntlets fitted with hardened-leather finger bucklers or rondels, or if prefered, metal finger-gauntlets Note: Although AEMMA will have some padded protective gloves available for training purposes, it is expected that the student will purchase his/her own hand protection in the form of gauntlets (leather or steel). It is preferred and highly recommended that the hand protection be period, with padded leather gauntlets with hardened leather rondels for additional protection.
elbow cops & knee cops (hardened leather or metal)
protective cup

Optional

full or half-greaves (hardened leather or metal)
hauberk">chain mail hauberk - full length to the knees, non-split or split front/back, full length sleeves, riveted mail is highly recommended.

The photos below are some samples of the equipment used at AEMMA. Although the street hockey gloves are used periodically (see details above), AEMMA recommends good quality leather guantlets with the addition of hardened finger bucklers.

Unarmoured weapons
In order to train and to fence free-style longsword, it is recommended that the scholler purchase an aluminum longsword with the specifications listed below. Blunts are also possible, however, during any free-play longsword fencing, only similar materials can engage, i.e. aluminum longsword vs aluminum longsword.

Mandatory

aluminum longsword See the evaluation of the Valentine aluminum longswords by clicking here.

Sword blades will possess a blunted/rounded edge of approximately 1.5 - 2.0 mm in diameter.
Sword blades will be a minimum of 0.48cm (3/16 in) to 0.8cm (5/16 in) thick.
The point will be blunted (rounded) with a diameter of no less than 2 cm.
The longsword of approximately 122cm (48 in) to 137cm (54 in) will weigh no more than 2.0kg (4.5 lbs) and no less than 1.4kg (3 lbs).
The blades will be constructed of "aircraft" aluminum or other aluminum possessing similar properties, i.e. type 7075 T6 (aircraft wing struts).

wooden rondel dagger
blunt steel rondel dagger Note: Tips must not be pointed! Tips to be rounded with at minimum of 1.5cm dia (about the size of a "pinky") Note: For those recruits who have successfully passed their scholler's test, a steel rondel dagger will be given to them signifying their promotion to the scholler rank.

Optional

blunt steel sword with the following properties:

Sword blades will possess a blunted/rounded edge of approximately 2.5 - 3.0 mm in diameter.
The point will be blunted (rounded) with a diameter of no less than 1 cm.
Swords weight will not exceed mass greater than 0.68kg/30.5cm (1.5 lbs/ft) nor less than 0.34kg/30.5cm (.75 lbs/ft) of total length:

A longsword of approximately 122cm (48 in) to 137cm (54 in) will weigh no more than 2.4kg (5.25 lbs) and no less than 1.4kg (3 lbs).
A greatsword of approximately 183cm (6 ft) will weigh no more than 4.1kg (9 lbs) and no less than 2.04kg (4.5 lbs)

All swords will be constructed of tempered steel, moly-chromium alloy or other steel-based metals possessing similar properties.
The guards and fittings of swords will not be sharp.
Swords will be in good repair and the edges will be smooth without sharp nicks when presented for inspection.

Armoured Combat Harness Requirements

In general, armour should replicate historical specifications as close as possible and remain consistent with the period of focus at AEMMA from the late 14^th century to the early 15^th century. Incongruent combinations such as 14^th/15^th century plate armour worn with a spagenhelm from pre-11^th century would not be permitted. Modern materials are not permitted except for those which satisfy the specific requirements detailed below.

Although the armour requirements appear to ignore the harness worn by the common foot soldier, the purpose of defining the armour standards was not to orient the fighter towards the knightly or nobile (elitist) configuration of arms and armour, but rather define the basic requirements that would best meet the safety expectations of modern society. The minimum requirements would be analogous to minimum equipment and safety requirements for other activities such as SCUBA diving or hockey. It would be impractical and unsafe to engage in blunted-steel-sword tournaments with armoured harnesses that would be of the style with the earlier periods in the medieval period.

General Harness Considerations & Requirements

The harness is to be constructed and assembled in authentic style in the form of harness for war or for period armoured tournaments. Any harness should be recognizable according to style and materials as belonging to a particular period within the time frame of focus at AEMMA (mid 14^th to mid 15^th centuries).

All harnesses must be in good repair and fitted to the user. Due to the requirements for plate armour for safety reasons, harness styles from before c.1300 will not meet protection standards. Harness styles from C.1320 to C.1450 are acceptable. Post 1450 style harnesses in the form of harnesses for combat on foot with weapons of war are acceptable. Some harnesses from the 1600s where highly specialized for particular forms of combat (batons or wooden maces, rebated swords) and may not appropriate and therefore, must be reviewed by the tournament officials prior to the tournament.

Footwear should not detract from the appearance and consistency of the style of harness worn, therefore, period footwear or armoured footwear (solarets/sabotans) are required. Riding boots, modern combat boots, athletic shoes or other modern footwear are not permitted for tournament engagements, although martial arts or wrestling footwear being visible during armoured combat training are permitted for training purposes only. These can also be worn during tournaments if they are concealed with solarets/sabotans.

Combatants are individualy responsible for the integrity of their armour and ensuring that it provides adequate protection against the rigors of combat. A lot of latitude is left to the combatant regarding the style and level of protection they are comfortable with. For earlier period styled armour( <= 1300) it may be necessary to augment the historical harness with additional protection. This augmentation such as leather or metal gorgets would be required, but can be concealed thus maintaining the integrity of the style of harness.

The instructors or tournament officials in the event of a tournament, may reject a harness that does not meet the requirements outlined in this section of the document. The instructors or tournament officials may also reject any harness that they feel is in poor repair or of inferior quality which may compromise safety.

In assembling their armour all combatants should have a historical target in mind. Armour "cobbled" together of bits and pieces with no thought to historical accuracy will be rejected.

Armoured students and combatants considering participation in tournaments are strongly encouraged to satisfy the "Combatants Array Requirements" described in the tournament document entitled "Of the Undertaking of a Tournament".

The use of tabards or heraldic cotes to hide poor or inauthentic harness is not acceptable. Armour without any coverings or concealing type of garments will be inspected before armoured training or prior to the opening of a tournament.

Detailed Harness Requirements
Over and above the general harness considerations & requirements listed above, the combatant's harness must comform to the six requirements listed below. These form the basis requirements for harness for most tournaments held by AEMMA, including tournaments which may include different types of bouts such as à plaisance bouts and à outrance bouts.

The neck and throat must be protected with a plate defense (gorget) covering the larynx and the cervical vertebra. (Note: It is recognized that this defense may not be authentic for all periods or styles of armour, nevertheless it is required protection)

The body must be protected by a gambeson (various thickness of the padding are available and left to the preference of the combatant) extending to the hips and including the armpits worn under a minimum of thick leather armour or mail defenses.

All exposed edges of the armour must be treated (rolled, roped or filed and turned under at the least) in order to protect the wearer from secondary injuries (edge cuts to the wrists, upper arm injuries, etc.)

Plate thickness, i.e. 14g, 16g, 18g, 20g is a metric that is considered only as a result of no other method of determining the viability of plate. Thinner metals such as 20g can demonstrate similar, if not more resistence to stress/impacts as would 14g or 16g plate should the plate be ridged or fluted. Metal strength is dependent upon the treatment applied:

mild steel, cold-rolled steel: Helm (bascinet) recommended 14g, 16g permitted. Visor 16g. Other body, arm plates recommended 16g for frontal components (those components that typically receive the blows) and 18g for the rear components.

medium/high-carbon steel, spring steel: Helm (bascinet) recommended 16g, 18g permitted. Visor 18g. Other body, arm plates recommended 18g for frontal components (those components that typically receive the blows) and 20g for the rear components.

Click here for a quicky tutorial on the differences between cold-rolled steel and hot-rolled steel.

Helmets must be no less than 16g construction with occularia not wider than 1.27cm (1/2 in). Segmented occularia described below is strongly recommended.

Helmets intended to represent historically open-faced helmets are permitted provided the open-face is covered with hardened, perforated steel which is consistent with historical evidence. Note: Blows to the "open-face" visor will be considered potentially lethal and will be viewed as an unprotected face.

Additional Harness Requirements
Armoured combatants are strongly advised to conform to not only the above considerations and detailed harness requirements, but conform to the following as well. The following are designed for à outrance bouts, however, the additional clarifications and additional "hardware" requirements are designed to enhance the safety of the combatants in these or any other style of armoured combat tournaments.

All limbs must be protected with rigid plate armour. Plate armour may be constructed with steel or hardened leather or a combination of these materials, splint style armours may be acceptable if properly constructed.

Arms must have plate cops protecting the elbows and plate vambraces and rebraces on the outside side of the arm as a minimum. Full cannons are recommended.

The hands must be protected with a minimum of maille reinforced heavy leather gauntlets. Plate hand defenses are most strongly recommended.

Legs must have plate cops protecting the front and sides of the knee. Grieves protecting the front and sides of the shins are required.

The upper legs may be protected with heavy padding and hardened leather augmented with rivets or splint steel, or plate metal.

Foot protection will be comprised of sabotons of plate over medieval styled shoes or flat-soled martial arts training shoes are strongly recommended.

Later period all-plate harnesses (late 15th - 16th centuries) if permitted in a tournament, it is recommended that the combatant wear mail gussets worn in the armpit and inner elbow areas. Any gaps in the plate armour that does not have any mail under will prevent the combatant from engaging in à outrance (thrusting permitted) bouts.

If thrusts are to be received then the body defense must include a full maille shirt falling to mid thigh length with sleeves of elbow length. There may be no gap or void in the maille under the arms.

Helmet Requirements:

Helmet - The head must be covered with a steel helmet and visor of no less than 16G final (i.e. start with a 14G metal, by the time it is plennished to shape, the metal becomes thinner and will approach 16G) - assuming mild steel properties.

Occularia - The eye slots length must be consistent with the helm and period and may not be greater than 1/2 inch (13mm) high. The slot must be grilled as consistent with the period as possible. The openings must be no wider than 1/4" (6mm) followed by a 1/4" (6mm) rib followed by 1/4" (6mm) opening, etc. (see the image on the left for an example helm with ribbed visor). It is highly recommended that eye slots have a raised stoprib around the entire slot. (Note: AEMMA recommends that all combatants wear polycarbonate safety glasses under their helmets to protect the eyes from flying steel flakes and chips from swords and to provide a secondary defense should a blade enter the eyeslot.)

Helmets of a style intended to represent open faced helmets are allowed. The open part of the face must be covered with hardened perforated steel. However they will be considered as having no face defense in the determination of lethal blows. Strikes to the faceplate of a helmet with a perforated steel faceplate will be treated as if the faceplate is not there. Therefore any part of a weapon coming in contact under direction of the wielder with the faceplate will be considered potentially lethal.

Groin protection is mandatory for all combatants, especially when engaged in à outrance bouts.

Armour Nomenclature
In order to assist the student with understanding the nomenclature of the armour components, the following illustrations and definitions are provided. The armour harness illustrated is consistent with mid to late 14th century. Permission to use the illustration presented below was gratiously provided by Mr. Brian Price and is extracted from his recent book "Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction - The 14th Century".

*** Left Side of Illustration ***

Bascinet or Basinet: an open-faced helmet with a globular or conical skull enclosing the sides of the face and neck. Usually worn with an aventail, and occassionally a visor.

Vervelles: staples attached to the base of a basinet for securing the aventail.

Aventail: a curtain of mail attached by means of staples (vervelles) around the base of a helmet (usually a basinet), and covering the shoulders. Also called camail (French).

Spaudler: a light laminated defence protecting the point of the shoulder and top of the arm.

Rerebrace: plate armour for the upper arm.

Couter: a plate defence for the elbow, also known as a spelt cowter.

Vambrace: armour designed for the lower arm.

Haubergeon or Habergeon: a short type of hauberk (hauberk: a mail shirt reaching to between the knee and hip, and invariably with sleeves).

Cuisse: plate defense for the upper thighs

Poleyn: a cup-shaped plate defense for the knee, usually includes a side wing-like extension on the outside of the knee for additional protection

Greave: also known as "schynbald" or "jamber". Plate defense for the leg from the knee to the ankle, initially protecting only the front in the early 14th century and later covering the entire leg. It is constructed of two contoured plates, fitted with hinges and closed with either pins or straps.

Sabaton/Solaret: either laminated plate defense or mail defense for the foot, ending in a toe cap

*** Right Side of Illustration ***

Visor: protection for the eyes and face; a plate defence pivoted to the helmet.

Cuirass: a backplate and breastplate designed to be worn together.

Gatlings or Gadlings: protruding studs or bosses (sometimes zoomorphic) on the finger and knuckle joints of a gauntlet.

Gauntlet: defense of articulated plates for the hand in the form of a glove. gauntlets can also be in the form of a mit or initially of mail.

Wing: a wing-like extension of the poleyns, for protecting the outside of the joints.

Lames: a narrow strip or plate of steel, sometimes used in armour to provide enhanced articulation of the joints.

Fauld of Four Lames: armour plate strips composed of horizontal lames attached to the bottom edge of the breastplate to protect the abdomen

Cuff: an extension of the gauntlet for defending the wrist, contributing to the classic "hour-glass" shape of the gauntlets.

Demi greave: a small defense plate transitioning the poleyn articulations to a greave on the lower leg.

*** Other Terms ***

Arming points: ties of flax or twine by which the armour was secured in place.

Bevor: a plate chin-shaped defense for the lower face often incorporating a gorget. Sometimes called a bavier or buffe

Breastplate: Usually, a single plate of armour for the front of the torso, down to the waist.

Fauld of Four Lames: armour plate strips composed of horizontal lames attached to the bottom edge of the breastplate to protect the abdomen

Gardbrace: a reinforcing plate closely shaped to the pauldron, first appearing in the 15th century on Italian armours. It often covered the lower 3/4's of the front of the pauldron and was attached to it by a staple and pin as indicated in the figure.

Gorget: or collar plate defense for the neck and extending to the top of the chest and shoulders. Generally made up of 2 parts joined by a hinge, pivoting rivet or leather straps.

Guard of Vambrace: an exaggerated defence for the right elbow and vambrace armour for the lower arm

Gussets of mail: shaped pieces of mail which were sewn to the arming doublet to cover the armpits and portions of the arm left exposed by plate defenses.

Lance rest: a support structure for the lance when couched, bolted to the right side of the breastplate and was occasionally hinged.

Lower Cannon: individual plate armour, tubular in form to protect the lower arm.

Mail standard: a mail hood or coif often worn under the helmet for additional protection for the head and neck areas

Pauldron: a laminated plate defense for the shoulder extending at the front and rear to protect the armpit.

Plackart: A reinforcement plate attached to the breastplate. It covered the lower half of the breastplate, however, Italian armour typically covered the entire breastplate.

Stop rib: a small metal bar riveted to plate armour to stop the point of a weapon sliding into a joint or opening.

Tasset: a defence for the top of the thigh, hung from the fauld by leather straps to cover the gap between the cuisses and breastplate. This form of armour first appeared in the 15th century.

For additional and extensive glossary of armour terms, go to the Arador Armour Library's Glossary of Armour Terms.

Harness Archetypes

The following four images represents the range of harness that would satisfy the AEMMA armour requirements for armoured combat and training. The material shown below are extracts from the publication entitled "A Book of Armour" by Patrick Nicolle, Puffin Picture Book No. 97, 1954.
Note: AEMMA has been in contact with the original publisher in order to obtain formal permission to use this material. However, copyright/contact information for this material cannot be found by the publisher and therefore cannot grant formal permission to use this material. Without formally clear permission, the publisher cannot warrant that use of the material would not infringe any third party rights. However, understanding this, AEMMA presents this information with full credit to the original author and publication for the non-profit purpose of enhancing the practitioner's knowledge with respect to the assembling together of an appropriate and historically authentic harness in order to engage in the armoured fighting style of historical European martial arts.

c1325
By the year 1320 many pieces of plate armour had been added. The figure on the left represents a knight of the reign of Edward II. Roundels of plate protect the arm-pit and elbow joint; the shoulder and upper arm were protected by rere-braces, and the lower part including the elbow by vambraces. Below the poleyn are the schynbalds and over the mailed feet are shoes of plate called sabotans.
About the year 1325 the knight's general appearance changed considerably. The great pointed helm was still used, but under it a snaller headpiece was worn. This was known as the bascinet. The mail attached to its edge and descending to the shoulder was called the aventail, At first it seems to have been riveted to the bascinet, but later it was secured by a thong or lace. Roundels, rere-braces, and couters (elbow defences) remain, but the sleeves of the hauberk are loose, and under them is seen a two-piece vambrace completely enclosing the forearm. The surcoat had become shortened from its earlier version to become the gipon. It was laced at the sides, fiting closely to the upper part of the body, while below the waist it is full but cut away in the front. At this period knights were learning to fight on foot, and the long surcoat was found to be a cumbersome garment.

c1345
This is an excellent example of the armour worn at the time of the Battle of Crecy. The figure on th eleft wears a visor which has on its lower edge a curved projecting piece of steel to protect the throat. The gipon is now curtailed both back and front, and beneath it may be seen body armour of iron plates. These were riveted either inside or outside material of cloth or leather. The plates were never riveted together. Notice that prick-spurs are still used in some cases.
The helmets shown are types used in the second half of the fourteenth century. The first is a bascinet with cheek pieces to protect the face. These would not be seen if the aventail was in position. Over the brow are two projections serving to secure a visor or a metal nose-piece attached to the aventail. A bascinet of this type called the hounskull with its visor hinged at the sides is illustrated below.

c1350
The sketch of a battle shows the conflict between the bowman and the mounted knight (click on the image on the left to view an enlarged image). The first horseman (on the left) wears a hounskull with additional plate to defend his throat and the edges of his aventail are secured with laces or points. His gipon has wide sleeves, and a shield with an outward curve is carried on the left arm. In one corner of this is a notch (called bouche). The horse's head is protected with hinged plates. Behind this figure is a knight who still vafours the great helm on which he wears a crest.
Surcoats are tight-fitting and laced at the back or sides and sometimes butoned at the front. The two forground figures show how complete was plate armour at the end of the fourteenth century. One of them wears a decorative cloth cover over his aventail.

c1419
In the early years of hte fifteenth century the gipon went out of fashion, and the monuments and drawings of the period show us the complete plate armour. The bascinet with its aventail of mail also went out of fashion and was superseded by the great bascinet. This is illustrated at the top. Below it in this illustration is a similar great bascinet. The skull is of the small bascinet type and has neck and throat guards riveted to it. Its visor is of the hounskull type. The original helmet is in the Musee de l'Armee in Paris. The third helmet is taken from a manuscript painting of the early fifteenth century. It is a great bascinet of different type, its skull and visor being rounded.
The standing figure is taken from the monumental brass of Baron Camoys, 1419, at Trotton, Sussex. This was the type of armour worn at the Battle of Agincourt.

Combatant's Accoutrements
Note: For those schollers who plan on pursuing armoured combat training are encouraged to pursue the acquisition of personal arms (assumed or granted) in order to satisfy further accoutrements for participation in tournaments. Armoured combatants are encouraged to conform to the requirements for arms (shield), banner and jupon/surcoat specified in the Combatant's Array Requirements.

Sources for Armour

hauberk">riveted chain mail hauberk - full length to the knees, non-split or split front/back, full length sleeves, or refer to Butted Mail: A Mailmaker's Guide for an excellent online guide to building your own butted mail, or ask AEMMA for .

plate mitten/finger guantlets

basinet type helm with visor

Note: Any one of the following is acceptable for the period:

Hounskull Basinet (Pigface Basinet),

Heaume (Barrel Helm),

Klappvisier Basinet,
German Sallet with Bevor.

gorget (hardened leather or metal)

segmented breast plate or a coat of plates (build your own or purchase or assemble your own and Wisby coat of plate instructions - (Note: assembly kit not validated by AEMMA) )

Note: The images on the right depict a pair of "styles" as employed by armoured individuals in AEMMA that work. Other styles are certainly available which are consistent with the 14th century, however, at this time, from a practical and practiced perspective, these armour styles are proven. Click for enlargements.

elbow cops attached to hardened leather arm armour or articulated metal arm armour

knee cops attached to hardened leather leg armour or articulated metal leg armour. Info on building your own 14th century leg harness (SCA article, but the design and construction still viable for meeting AEMMA's requirements).

full or half-greaves (hardened leather or metal) integrated with knee cops

flat soled footwear - typical martial art training footwear with leather uppers which are to be covered in mail or plate (solarets) or reproduction period footwear appropriate for combat (i.e. flat soled footwear) which may or may not covered with plate or mail.

spaudlers - required if you are pursuing the plated international style (spaudler-like shoulder protection is part of the coat of plates design)

Leather Resources for Hardened-leather Armour
Sources for information on building hardened-leather armour (some sources are from the SCA, however, the methods described will create the desired results and which will satisfy the AEMMA requirements):

Leatherworking - A Basic Guide

The Perfect Armor

The Perfect Armor Improved: Water Hardened Leather (An updated version of the above article.)

Cuir Bouilli/Hardened Leather FAQ

Period Leather - Types, Classifying Leather, Tanning Leather

The costs of a harness is typically spread over a period of months or even years. When there is an opportunity to reduce the cost of equipment and gear, AEMMA will provide those same opportunities to its members.

Armoured Combat Arms Requirements

All weapons employed during armoured combat training or tournaments were rebated, meaning, all edges were dulled or blunted. This is consistent with the period tournaments, and it continues to be true in today's tournaments and armoured combat training. Any combatant wishing to use their own acquired weapon must be able to defend its historical providence with evidence from history, and it must undergo an inspection similar to what would occur at a tournament or by the instructors of AEMMA.

Swords: longswords, two-handers, arming swords - spada

Steel "blunts"
In general, most tournament bouts will employ blunted steel swords and blunted daggers. These weapons are also appropriate and required for tournament bouts of the à outrance kind.

Sword blades will possess a blunted/rounded edge of a minimum of approximately 1.5 - 2.0 mm in diameter.

The point will be blunted (rounded) with a diameter of no less than 2 cm.

Swords weight will not exceed mass greater than 0.68kg/30.5cm (1.5 lbs/ft) nor less than 0.34kg/30.5cm (.75 lbs/ft) of total length:

A longsword of approximately 122cm (48 in) to 137cm (54 in) will weigh no more than 2.4kg (5.25 lbs) and no less than 1.4kg (3 lbs).

A greatsword of approximately 183cm (6 ft) will weigh no more than 4.1kg (9 lbs) and no less than 2.04kg (4.5 lbs)

All swords will be constructed of tempered steel, moly-chromium alloy or other steel-based metals possessing similar properties.

The guards and fittings of swords will not be sharp.

Swords will be in good repair and the edges will be smooth without sharp nicks when presented for inspection.

Aluminum swords for à plaisance and blossfechten/fechtschule bouts
These weapons are employed for those tournament bouts defined as à plaisance, although steel blunts can be used provided the style of combat is agreed to for such a bout type. For unarmoured combat, either aluminum or steel blunted swords can be used, however, in any bout, both weapons must be constructed of the same material.

Sword blades will possess a blunted/rounded edge of a minimum of approximately 1.5 - 2.0 mm in diameter.

Sword blades will be a minimum of 0.48cm (3/16 in) to 0.8cm (5/16 in) thick.

The point will be blunted (rounded) with a diameter of no less than 2 cm.

The longsword of approximately 122cm (48 in) to 137cm (54 in) will weigh no more than 2.0kg (4.5 lbs) and no less than 1.4kg (3 lbs).

The blades will be constructed of "aircraft" aluminum or other aluminum possessing similar properties, i.e. type 7075 T6 (aircraft wing struts).

Sources for Arms

Mandatory

blunt steel sword with the following properties:

Sword blades will possess a blunted/rounded edge of approximately 1.5 - 2.0 mm in diameter.

The point will be blunted (rounded) with a diameter of no less than 1 cm.

Swords weight will not exceed mass greater than 0.68kg/30.5cm (1.5 lbs/ft) nor less than 0.34kg/30.5cm (.75 lbs/ft) of total length:

A longsword of approximately 122cm (48 in) to 137cm (54 in) will weigh no more than 2.4kg (5.25 lbs) and no less than 1.4kg (3 lbs).

A greatsword of approximately 183cm (6 ft) will weigh no more than 4.1kg (9 lbs) and no less than 2.04kg (4.5 lbs)

All swords will be constructed of tempered steel, moly-chromium alloy or other steel-based metals possessing similar properties.

The guards and fittings of swords will not be sharp.

Swords will be in good repair and the edges will be smooth without sharp nicks when presented for inspection.

training wooden rondel dagger - AEMMA has an internal source for wooden daggers or one can source them from woodenswords.com

blunt steel rondel dagger Note: Tips must not be pointed! Tips to be rounded with at minimum of 1.5cm dia (about the size of a "pinky")

Optional for tournament and demonstration purposes

scabbard for steel sword

sheath for steel blunted dagger

Pollaxe - azza

Weapons

Mandatory

Prefered design of pollaxe is the bec de corbin. See image on the right, click to enlarge.

Haft to be constructed of an appropriate hardwood such as maple, oak or ash.

Pollaxe head to be constructed from cast dense rubber head or cast aluminum.

Haft length is related to the size of the wielder, however, it should be a minimum of 137cm (54 in) to a maximum of 182cm (72 in).

In order to enhance the historical specifications of the pollaxe, the langets should be recessed into the haft.

The queue to be sufficiently finished with a cast rubber butt, flattened or with rounded point.

Pollaxes and daggers that have thrusting spikes or points must be blunted to the radius of a dime. It is suggested that any thrusting point (other than on swords) be thickened to 5mm

The blades of axes must be 5 mm thick.

Optional

The queue may be afixed with a metal tip, or blunted spike.

Spear - lanza

Weapons

Mandatory

Spear heads are to be made out of steel and fitted with a 19-20 mm (3/4") diameter ball bearing welded to the point of the spear heads.

Shaft length is related to the size of the wielder, however, it should be a minimum of 137cm (54 in) to a maximum of 182cm (72 in).

Shaft to be constructed of an appropriate hardwood such as maple, oak or ash.

Optional

The queue may be afixed with a metal tip, or blunted spike.

Period Garments

AEMMA periodically delivers education presentations and demonstrations of 14th century judicial armoured duels, or reproductions of mid-14^th to mid-15 ^thcentury tournaments (combat on foot) at such venues as the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Faires and schools. Therefore, in order to deliver an authentic 14th century presentation in all aspects, those individual who plan on participating in this activities are strongly encouraged to acquire authentic reproductions of appropriate 14th century garments for tournament and demonstration purposes. The photos below (courtesy of Historic Enterprises and Fettered Cock Pewters) offer a good example of a 14th complete outfit and some accessories for both men and women practitioners.

Note: AEMMA does not necessarily endorse the suppliers for the garments, footwear and accessories below and are provided only as examples of possible sources.

period cotton shirt (Historic Enterprises, Leonardo Carbone)
period leather footwear (Alastair Footwear, Historic Enterprises)
1 pair of hose and braes comprised of cotton shorts (braes) over which is worn separate hose held up by a thin belt or cord (Historic Enterprises, Leonardo Carbone)
surcoat (Historic Enterprises)
rope tie/leather sword belt around the waist (email "" for more info)
scabbard for a sword or dagger
other examples of period belts, garters and buttons can be obtained from the Fettered Cock Pewters.

The photos below are sourced from Historic Enterprises and the Fettered Cock Pewters which provide an excellent example of the sort of selections of a 14th Century complete outfit and their constituent components. These are made for reference purposes only. Click on each image to view detailed information on the particular piece on the Historic Enterprises and Fettered Cock Pewters websites.

tournament menu

medieval tournament
tournament roll
tournament officials
victory conditions
combatant's accoutrements
armour inspection
harness requirements
arms requirements

Harness Archetypes
The following four images represents the range of harness that would satisfy the AEMMA armour requirements for armoured combat and training. The material shown below are extracts from the publication entitled "A Book of Armour" by Patrick Nicolle, Puffin Picture Book No. 97, 1954. Note: AEMMA has been in contact with the original publisher in order to obtain formal permission to use this material. However, copyright/contact information for this material cannot be found by the publisher and therefore cannot grant formal permission to use this material. Without formally clear permission, the publisher cannot warrant that use of the material would not infringe any third party rights. However, understanding this, AEMMA presents this information with full credit to the original author and publication for the non-profit purpose of enhancing the practitioner's knowledge with respect to the assembling together of an appropriate and historically authentic harness in order to engage in the armoured fighting style of historical European martial arts.
	c1325 By the year 1320 many pieces of plate armour had been added. The figure on the left represents a knight of the reign of Edward II. Roundels of plate protect the arm-pit and elbow joint; the shoulder and upper arm were protected by rere-braces, and the lower part including the elbow by vambraces. Below the poleyn are the schynbalds and over the mailed feet are shoes of plate called sabotans. About the year 1325 the knight's general appearance changed considerably. The great pointed helm was still used, but under it a snaller headpiece was worn. This was known as the bascinet. The mail attached to its edge and descending to the shoulder was called the aventail, At first it seems to have been riveted to the bascinet, but later it was secured by a thong or lace. Roundels, rere-braces, and couters (elbow defences) remain, but the sleeves of the hauberk are loose, and under them is seen a two-piece vambrace completely enclosing the forearm. The surcoat had become shortened from its earlier version to become the gipon. It was laced at the sides, fiting closely to the upper part of the body, while below the waist it is full but cut away in the front. At this period knights were learning to fight on foot, and the long surcoat was found to be a cumbersome garment.
	c1345 This is an excellent example of the armour worn at the time of the Battle of Crecy. The figure on th eleft wears a visor which has on its lower edge a curved projecting piece of steel to protect the throat. The gipon is now curtailed both back and front, and beneath it may be seen body armour of iron plates. These were riveted either inside or outside material of cloth or leather. The plates were never riveted together. Notice that prick-spurs are still used in some cases. The helmets shown are types used in the second half of the fourteenth century. The first is a bascinet with cheek pieces to protect the face. These would not be seen if the aventail was in position. Over the brow are two projections serving to secure a visor or a metal nose-piece attached to the aventail. A bascinet of this type called the hounskull with its visor hinged at the sides is illustrated below.
	c1350 The sketch of a battle shows the conflict between the bowman and the mounted knight (click on the image on the left to view an enlarged image). The first horseman (on the left) wears a hounskull with additional plate to defend his throat and the edges of his aventail are secured with laces or points. His gipon has wide sleeves, and a shield with an outward curve is carried on the left arm. In one corner of this is a notch (called bouche). The horse's head is protected with hinged plates. Behind this figure is a knight who still vafours the great helm on which he wears a crest. Surcoats are tight-fitting and laced at the back or sides and sometimes butoned at the front. The two forground figures show how complete was plate armour at the end of the fourteenth century. One of them wears a decorative cloth cover over his aventail.
	c1419 In the early years of hte fifteenth century the gipon went out of fashion, and the monuments and drawings of the period show us the complete plate armour. The bascinet with its aventail of mail also went out of fashion and was superseded by the great bascinet. This is illustrated at the top. Below it in this illustration is a similar great bascinet. The skull is of the small bascinet type and has neck and throat guards riveted to it. Its visor is of the hounskull type. The original helmet is in the Musee de l'Armee in Paris. The third helmet is taken from a manuscript painting of the early fifteenth century. It is a great bascinet of different type, its skull and visor being rounded. The standing figure is taken from the monumental brass of Baron Camoys, 1419, at Trotton, Sussex. This was the type of armour worn at the Battle of Agincourt.

	* Left Side of Illustration * Bascinet or Basinet: an open-faced helmet with a globular or conical skull enclosing the sides of the face and neck. Usually worn with an aventail, and occassionally a visor. Vervelles: staples attached to the base of a basinet for securing the aventail. Aventail: a curtain of mail attached by means of staples (vervelles) around the base of a helmet (usually a basinet), and covering the shoulders. Also called camail (French). Spaudler: a light laminated defence protecting the point of the shoulder and top of the arm.
Rerebrace: plate armour for the upper arm. Couter: a plate defence for the elbow, also known as a spelt cowter. Vambrace: armour designed for the lower arm. Haubergeon or Habergeon: a short type of hauberk (hauberk: a mail shirt reaching to between the knee and hip, and invariably with sleeves). Cuisse: plate defense for the upper thighs Poleyn: a cup-shaped plate defense for the knee, usually includes a side wing-like extension on the outside of the knee for additional protection Greave: also known as "schynbald" or "jamber". Plate defense for the leg from the knee to the ankle, initially protecting only the front in the early 14th century and later covering the entire leg. It is constructed of two contoured plates, fitted with hinges and closed with either pins or straps. Sabaton/Solaret: either laminated plate defense or mail defense for the foot, ending in a toe cap
* Right Side of Illustration * Visor: protection for the eyes and face; a plate defence pivoted to the helmet. Cuirass: a backplate and breastplate designed to be worn together. Gatlings or Gadlings: protruding studs or bosses (sometimes zoomorphic) on the finger and knuckle joints of a gauntlet. Gauntlet: defense of articulated plates for the hand in the form of a glove. gauntlets can also be in the form of a mit or initially of mail. Wing: a wing-like extension of the poleyns, for protecting the outside of the joints. Lames: a narrow strip or plate of steel, sometimes used in armour to provide enhanced articulation of the joints. Fauld of Four Lames: armour plate strips composed of horizontal lames attached to the bottom edge of the breastplate to protect the abdomen Cuff: an extension of the gauntlet for defending the wrist, contributing to the classic "hour-glass" shape of the gauntlets. Demi greave: a small defense plate transitioning the poleyn articulations to a greave on the lower leg. * Other Terms * Arming points: ties of flax or twine by which the armour was secured in place. Bevor: a plate chin-shaped defense for the lower face often incorporating a gorget. Sometimes called a bavier or buffe Breastplate: Usually, a single plate of armour for the front of the torso, down to the waist. Fauld of Four Lames: armour plate strips composed of horizontal lames attached to the bottom edge of the breastplate to protect the abdomen Gardbrace: a reinforcing plate closely shaped to the pauldron, first appearing in the 15th century on Italian armours. It often covered the lower 3/4's of the front of the pauldron and was attached to it by a staple and pin as indicated in the figure. Gorget: or collar plate defense for the neck and extending to the top of the chest and shoulders. Generally made up of 2 parts joined by a hinge, pivoting rivet or leather straps. Guard of Vambrace: an exaggerated defence for the right elbow and vambrace armour for the lower arm Gussets of mail: shaped pieces of mail which were sewn to the arming doublet to cover the armpits and portions of the arm left exposed by plate defenses. Lance rest: a support structure for the lance when couched, bolted to the right side of the breastplate and was occasionally hinged. Lower Cannon: individual plate armour, tubular in form to protect the lower arm. Mail standard: a mail hood or coif often worn under the helmet for additional protection for the head and neck areas Pauldron: a laminated plate defense for the shoulder extending at the front and rear to protect the armpit. Plackart: A reinforcement plate attached to the breastplate. It covered the lower half of the breastplate, however, Italian armour typically covered the entire breastplate. Stop rib: a small metal bar riveted to plate armour to stop the point of a weapon sliding into a joint or opening. Tasset: a defence for the top of the thigh, hung from the fauld by leather straps to cover the gap between the cuisses and breastplate. This form of armour first appeared in the 15th century.