Medieval Arrow Bag

Many of the few surviving archery artifacts we have from the Middle Ages come from the arsenals aboard the English warship the Mary Rose. The Mary Rose was not exactly a Medieval warship either, but rather early Renaissance. Due to the good condition of the finds however, these are often the artifacts used as a base. Also we know that these would have likely been used far earlier because of artwork which shows the use of such bags in a earlier period.

The first part to be produced in the arrow bag is the arrow spacer. This needs to be made from a rather thick piece of leather in order to have the stiffness required. Another method of production is to take two pieces of medium weight leather and glue them together. The triangular slits you see in the image above are for broadheads, but since I am only using field points, I left them round. This PDF contains a pattern for a spacer with and without the triangle cuts.

The bags themselves unfortunately have not survived, so we are left with art to determine their shape. The bag is made out of canvas, with a fold on each end for a drawstring. The top third of the bag is not sewn together so the cover can be folded back and the arrows drawn.

The leather spacer was sewn sturdily onto the bag with the small holes.

The drawstring was made with 1/4 in cotton rope, though slightly thinner would work also. Aglets were made from 20 gauge brass sheet, and had holes drilled towards the bottom and sewn on.

The belt loops were made from a simple 2x4 rectangle of canvas with the edges folded in.

Unfortunately, I made a small mistake in measuring. When closed for storage, the top of the bag is about 3 inches too short, leaving the tops of the arrows exposed. When the bag is opened, however, the arrow bag functions wonderfully as a combat archery quiver. The arrow can be worn on a belt, allowing for easy reach and draw capability. The spacer and drawstring keep the arrows from flopping around when walking and make it easy to control where your arrows are.

Late 14th Century Hood

Hoods were extremely common during the middle ages. Hoods, such as this example, found at the site at Herjolfsnes, are called liripipe hoods, named so for the long tail. Liripipe hoods were commonly found from the mid-fourteenth all the way into the end of the fifteenth century.

Hoods like this were often button-down also, an example of which is shown clearly on the figure in grey.

Patterning is by far the most important step, and with something like this it is important to make it too big on purpose.

Blue linen fabric was used for the outside layer and grey cotton bed sheets were used for the liner, wool could also be used and would be much more accurate. Rather than have the insert in the front, such as seen in hoods like those from the finds at Skjoldehamn, this style of hoods has the inserts on the sides, so a slit must be cut the length of the insert. Also there is no need for a tail in the insert; the point were it would be, however is a convenient place turn the seam inside out. 

Since the buttons are linen instead of wool, the linen itself is too thin to make buttons. To make up for the lack of material, circles of felt were cut which are beneath the blue linen fabric.

Button holes were cut, then sewn after using the cloth buttons to size them. The cloth buttons weren't sewn on until after the holes were made to ensure the holes and buttons lined up.

The hood worn with full garb.

Late 14th Century Cotehardie

Cotehardies were a popular form of clothing during the late 14th and early 15th century among the middle and upper class. They were roughly a transitional garment between the tunic and the doublet. The cotehardie featured a buttoned-down front and lower sleeves to allow for a more fitted garment than a tunic, but it still lacked the tight form fit and unnatural angles of a doublet.

The body can be made much the same way as a doublet, with the front having a slight outward bow and the back having a slight recurve to allow for the shoulders and the small of one's back. It is also important to note that the area where the sleeves attach on the front are slightly further forward than on the back.

The exterior was cut from black linen. While wool would have been far more accurate, we were unable to source any wool. Since linen was a common fabric material at the time, it is a good second choice.

Then liner was cut from cotton, and while not necessary when working linen, it can make the garment warmer and more comfortable. 

The back of the sleeve is cut to allow for button placement.

All of the buttons were made traditionally from felt and covered with black linen.

The cotehardie worn with full garb.