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.

15th Century Spaulders

Unlike most of the pieces I make, these have no one particular inspiration, but are instead a stylization based on several pieces all from around the beginning of the 15th century.

To start with, I made a half pattern for the largest plate which all the other plates are built off.

The plates were cut from 16 gauge mild steel, which seems to be the optimal thickness for arms and legs. I  dished it as much a I could using a rubber mallet, then switched to a broad ball pin hammer.

The nest step I called planishing. Here I positioned the plate over a ball stake and flattened all the hammer marks, leaving the piece round and smooth

The upper plate and the lames were cut from metal of the same thickness. The smallest plate allows for the arms to move up and down more freely, while the lower two lames allow the arm to move back and forth while covering the upper arm.

The upper plate and lames were lightly dished, just enough to make the spaulders plates transition smoothly from one to the other. It is important to keep checking and re-checking the sizing and shape.

The next step is preparing to suspend the plates. While I had already drilled holes in the upper and lower plates, I saved the largest for last to make the sizing more precise, something I should have done with the lower plates as well as the outer holes are too close to the edge in the picture above.

To connect them to my arming jacket, I drilled two holes in the top plate of both spaulders. Now that the plates are forms and smoothed the next step is polishing. To do this, I used I tiger abrasive wheel. I then took a scotch-brite wheel to smooth it out. To get the satin finish, I ran over it several time with a wire wheel.

On the back side of the spaulders, I very loosely riveted the back of the plates together. The plates are connected loosely enough that they can move freely but not pull apart from each other.

The final step in assembly was taking straps of leather and riveting them to the plates, suspending them to move freely. To have them move with my arm, I put a strap on the lowest lame that wraps around and buckles so that I can resize it as needed.

These are the patterns I made for the spaulders. They were drawn on 8.5x11 graph paper but the graphing lines didn't scan. 

Medieval Turnshoes

I made these shoes to be able to be worn with case greaves and sabatons, so I was limited in the style and height which the shoes could be. The design I chose was based on the Hedeby type 6 shoes from the Hedeby archaeological site in Germany.

The first step was creating the sole. To make the sole, I traced my foot over a piece of cardboard and added some extra room in the toe. I then cut it out of a piece of 9oz veg-tan leather and mirrored it for the other foot.

The vamp and quarter were the most difficult pieces. To make them, I placed the sole under my foot and wrapped it in plastic wrap and then covered it with duct tape. I cut my foot out and used it for the pattern. 

One mistake I made that I would recommend others not do is have a curve that will cause the leather to pull back. On the photo above, the far right seam of the quarter is curved....leave it straight! The leather will stretch and conform to the shape of the foot.

I backstitched the entire shoe, as I do with all my leather items, using artificial sinew for the extra strength and durability.

The next step was the tongue, which I should have sewn onto the vamp before I attached it to the sole. It's very simple, just a rounded rectangle secured at the opening.

 To help increase the durability, I closed the seams and covered the sole with a flexible rubber-like coating.

To finish them off, I cut holes in the opening for laces, and while there are many different styles of lace patterns, I decided to go with the simple cross lacings.

While the shoes came out somewhat more pointed than I would like, I hope I can remedy this by soaking the toe and inserting a boot form. Beyond that, the shoes are comfortable and functional and are suited well to their use.

Norman Helm

My quest to create a decent helmet has taken me many places. I have scoured Goodwill stores and scrap piles for raw material. I have read obscure books on the functionality and purpose of different types of medieval armor. I have delved into the minds and tutorials of an eccentric Ukrainian hobbyist. I have done all of this to create a helm.

In the heat and frost, I wrought it from mithril and steel, pounding away at the hardened metal until from the dust it emerged; a Norman helm.

But like all great adventures, the journey was long and trying. Often it did not go as was expected; sometimes I even thought of turning back, but I pushed forward. It began in a land of grass and trees, when I first happened upon the art of weaving maille. Though the links from which I wove my armor were soft and weak, it made me dream of what could be.

For years I labored. Not hard work, but tedious and taxing on one’s patience and concentration. Hours every day passed me by. But when I held aloft the creation that which I had wrought, my heart was filled with not but satisfaction.

Its polished silver rings glittered in the light, and its edging the golden light of brass shone defiantly. I thought that nothing I had made before could triumph over the beauty and majesty of my great work.

But as any true craftsman knows, it did not long last. My hauberk was finished yes, but by itself it was little more than a tediously crafted decoration. Articles and accessories followed suit. First came forth the soft gambeson, the protector from brutish blows. Then from oak and mesh came the shield, a defender from what a body dare not take itself. A brais and a tunic had existed long before, but for long I had felt the urge to create the most difficult piece of all; the mighty helm.

It began when I spotted a large and thick piece of metal at a store. Looking at it, I assessed that it would suit my purposes. I had not the tape to measure, but my eyes judged that it was of significant value and size.

This is where our story takes an unexpected turn. My eyes were set on the creation of a sallet, the most versatile of the helms. When I found it lacking in size, I then turned to the mighty bascinet, strong and fair. But alas again I was foiled. In the tradition of my hauberk and the constraint of my metal’s size, I began the construction of the ancient Norman helm.

I was foolish to have used the bowl, for it was wrought of mithril. Though it is strong and does not tarnish, it is taxing to work and takes long to finish. For many days my hammer fell and rang upon the silver steel, the hard metal morphing into use.

At last, upon the third day, they were suitably wrought. Their form dished strong and stout, their facing planished smooth and clean. Twas then and only then, that with that fire of the sky I joined them to become one again.

Yet my troubles far from over, as I gazed upon my creation, I began to feel what I would later find be true. This stout cone which I had made was inept in size. I scoured across all places I knew to look but alas no more mithril of suitable size was to be found. It pained me to join the fair mithril with lesser iron, but it had to be thus. So from a lesser iron I beat out a band and with the same power as before joined it to the helm.

Of my last piece of the fair silver steel, I cut and joined to it a crucifix as a protection for the face. The time had come at last when all the components of metal were to be joined through the pounding of rivets; it was time for the parts not of steel. To join it all together came a band of leather; its shape was such so that it could be riveted to the helm. Holes for the aventail were also made and the padded lining cap was shorn and joined.

Thus it was born, a Norman helm.

 

the plates before and after dishing

after planishing

half welded

entirely welded

after grinding

cresting a band

the band after welded

padding

leather band for aventail

as scrap piece for the nasal plate

aluminum rivets to attach

Adding a ridge with a blunted chisel

hammers I used, a blunted chisel, and a trailer hitch for a ball stake

completed