by Bran
This is an article covering Early Period Gambesons using information from period written sources, Internet websites and living history group's information on the topic. By no means is this 100% accurate for research purposes but for SCA historical use as part of your kit, I feel it will suffice.
Overview of Gambesons shows that there were three basic method of construction. Each had it's own use for that time period and combat. The first period of gambesons were the 'sandwich' style or 'blanket' style. This was a simple pattern of cloth (most likely linen) with padding sandwiched in between the two layers. The layers were then stitched in vertical rows to hold the padding inside from moving. There may have been cultural differences in the stitching pattern but most Norman period art shows vertical rows with the occasional upper body in diamond shapes most like to maintain the padding positioning or reinforced padding long that area. The padding would more than likely be wool, wool scrap, cloth scraps and horsehair etc. Since we live in the Real World, we should use 100% cotton batting. Lord Tyerrie had a gambeson made with wool padding/lining and he soon found out that wearing such in a Pennsic (neo-Cambodian) climate can make one loose body water in a hurry.
Examples:
http://news.webshots.com/photo/10927938 ... 2893npXMth
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisand ... attern.htm
http://www.pixures.be/web2007dourdan/im ... d07023.jpg
http://www.larp.com/midgard/gmbsn.jpg
http://www.de-reinbach.de/bilder/bilder ... beson2.jpg
Tyerrie's Model http://www.fiefetchevalerie.com/fief/?a ... th-century
The 'sandwich' gambeson would have started out as a thick coat to stop slashing blows of swords which at the time were used mainly in cutting motions. It was used both as primary armor for the mainstay troops and as a undercoat for wearing of mail hauberks etc. This would be common from Viking Period to the 1200 Period. I see many Living History Groups, especially Viking groups, using leather as their outside covering of their gambesons. I personally have not read anything supporting this as it would be hot to wear and difficult to produce but there may have been a few ins stances where such was done (but when many do one recreation of one instance, it clouds fact and the effect is lost or becomes Internet photo gallery truth).
The Second period of gambesons would be the 'stuffed' tube gambeson. Troops need armor and needed it fast. Mail was still expensive so gambesons were upgraded to fill that gap. The construction would be a tight heavy weave linen material laid over a second layer of the same material. Vertical rows would be stitched in the material. The row would be wider apart than the Sandwich style. A rod or something would be used to push through or pull through material to stuff the tubes. The wider stitching compensates for the 'swell' in the material as stuffing is pushed into the tubes of the material.
This now offers not only slashing protection but also some blunt trauma protection (not much) and also deters stabbing from swords and spears. Mail could still be used over this style. Due to the heavier and denser stuffing, it would asl be more rigid and also restrict the movement of the soldier. After a time, I am sure the flexing of the joints would ease up some motion at shoulders, elbows etc. It is a nice look.
I would estimate this to start from contact with Iranian/Arabic troops that did similar with cotton. The time period would be about pre-1200 through 1400.
Examples:
http://www.historiavivens1300.at/subpag ... /khm05.jpg
http://www.historiavivens1300.at/realie ... ambes1.jpg
http://www.historiavivens1300.at/realie ... ambes2.jpg
http://www.historiavivens1300.at/realie ... ambes3.jpg
http://www.brandenburg1260.de/ruestungundwaffen.html
In the 1400 and beyond era, gambesons were no longer stuffed nor plain construction. The now were decorative and still fully functional torso/arm protection. A few French sites actually explain the construction of the gambesons as “...up to 13 layers of heavy linen sticthed into a Jack or Jupon. This armor was used as primary and secondary over plate or a coat of plates.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/H ... 1254430244
and
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/H ... en1386.jpg
[Note: Norman Period Gambsons were pull over padded tunics for the most part. The only gathering spot might have been the collar with a button or lacing. I could see the use of lacing on the gambeson at elbows or elsewhere to help sinch the kit or addons or even mail assistance.]The following is from the Company of Saynt George, an artillery company of the 15th century
Old Article by Bran
Gambesons
The term gambeson is a loan from Old French gambeson, gambaison, originally wambais, formed after the Middle High German term wambeis "doublet", in turn from Old High German wamba "stomach" (cognate to womb.)
The term aketon, originally medieval french alcottonem might be a loan from Arabic al-qutn "cotton (definite article - the cotton)".
In medieval norse, the garment was known as vapntreyiu, lit. "arming shirt" or pannzar/pannzarum, another loan word from middle high german.
Also known as: Aketon, acton, arming coat, auqueton, gambeson, hacketon, haqueton, pannzar, vapntreiyu, wambais, wambesium, wambs,
Quilted leather open jackets and trousers were worn by Scythian horsemen before the 4th century BC, as can be seen on Scythian gold ornaments crafted by Greek goldsmiths. The European gambeson can be traced at least to the late 10th century, but it is likely to have been in use in various forms for longer than that. In Europe, its use became widespread in the 13th century, and peaked in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The gambeson was used both as a complete armour unto itself and underneath mail and plate in order to cushion the body and prevent chafing. It was very insulatory and thus uncomfortable, but its protection was vital for the soldier.
Although they are thought to have been used in Europe much earlier, gambesons underwent a revolution from their first proven use in the late 11th and early 12th centuries as an item of armour that simply facilitated the wearing of mail to an item of independent armour popular amongst infantry. Although quilted armour survived into the English Civil War in England as a poor man's cuirass, and as an item to be worn beneath the few remaining suits of full plate, it was increasingly replaced by the 'buff coat'- a leather jacket of rough suede.
There are two distinctive designs of gambeson; those designed to be worn beneath another armour, and those designed to be worn as independent armour. The latter tend to be thicker and higher in the collar, and faced with more resilient materials, such as leather, or heavy canvas. This variant is usually referred to as padded jack and made of several (some say around 18[1], some even 30[2]) layers of cotton, linen or wool. These jacks were renowned to stop even heavy arrows [3] and their design of multiple layers bears a striking resemblance to modern day body armor, which substituted at first silk and later kevlar as fabric.
For common soldiers who could not afford mail or plate armour, the gambeson, combined with a helmet as the only additional protection, remained a common sight on European battlefields during the entire Middle Ages, and its decline - paralleling that of plate armour - came only with the Renaissance, as the use of firearms became more widespread, until by the 18th century it was no longer in military use.
Three Phases of Gambesons
1-The Early Period. Cloth over padding over cloth. Stitched typically in a vertial pattern.
2-The Middle Period. Two layers of cloth or leather stitched vertically and stuffed with fiber to fil the ‘tubes’.
3-The Late Period: Several layers of linen (13-15) hand sewn into a jack of sorts. Eyelets or metal ring eyelets sewn in as option. Offered very good protection as the cloth would ‘slide’ the blade off of it when struck.
Early Period
An example of quilted armour
The outside is leather. The padding is wool felt. The lining is unbleached linen (flax) canvas.
Total weight is a little under 10# or 5 kg. +/-
It is much easier to make this type of armour by first constructing flat pieces, then sewing them together.
Effectiveness:
Mostly from first hand experimentation: It is almost impossible to stab a sharp knife or even a spear through a couple of dozen layers of linen (or, for that matter hemp) canvas, although the wearer could still be wounded. It gets soggy in the rain. Wool or hair stuffing is less effective but sheds water better. Vikings only imported small quantities of silk, so they probably didn't use it for armour, although it is highly effective for its weight.
Thick leather:
Any thick leather offers protection, such as the Buff Coat of several centuries later. On the other hand the paucity of leather garment finds suggests that Vikings had something against it.
Sources:
Body armour of any kind is notably absent from contemporary Scandinavian depictions.
A document refers to reputedly effective armour of reindeer skin. As reindeer hide is thin and the hairs are particularly fragile, this is hard to interpret. If not an error, it suggests some sort of armour based upon reindeer skin, such as quilting.
There is no evidence that Vikings used thick hardened leather (such as Cuirboilli). There is a tantalizing rumour about an unpublished find in Denmark however.
Small plates of bone, horn or walrus ivory, used as scales or helmet panels have been found from other periods, but nothing conclusive from Viking Scandinavia.
All of these types of armour would have been relatively easy to make and generally cheaper than metal armour.
Quilting:
The use of some sort of padding under mail is not neccessary, but it increases the effectiveness of mail against shock and shallow penetrations, it is comfortable, and it protects inner clothing against dirt and chafing. Armour composed of quilting, felt or stuffing between two layers of flexible fabric or leather would have been relatively easy to make. It was certainly used just after the Viking period and may be depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. Cotton stuffing probably first came into use with the Crusades as it could not be cultivated in northern Europe (the term Haqueton is derived from the Arabic for cotton).
Middle Period
This type of gambeson (called wams in German) was used when kingdoms and nations become a lot more organized in their standing armies. Mail was still the dominate armor of the 1200s and was still mainly used by mounted soldiers ie knights, barons etc. For the foot soldier, the gambeson became the main body armor. To offer more protection, they used tubular construction stuffed with wool, horse’s hair and even crop fibers. The pattern would be cut out (typically over size) the tubes or seams sewn then stuffed. This afforded a sturdier ‘ribbed’ effect that could withstand sword blows etc in combat. In almost all cases the gambeson is a pull over piece of garb with only the occasional incorporated padded collar has 1-2 buttons or a lace to secure and protect the neck/throat area. It is my opinion that if mail was worn as a primary armor, then the gambeson would be of the old layer style to cushion the mail and allow flexibility when used. The ‘stuffed’ gambeson would be very hot and stiff to use with extra armor over it including scale and coat of plates. Not to say it didn’t happen but from the pictorial evidence I have seen, I would guess not.
Late Period (1400+)
Artilleryman in Livery (wool coat) Gambesons drawn by Gary Embelton of Co/St’George. These gambesons at this time are called Jacks by the English, also Brigidines, Pourponts, Jazarines etc. They are comprised of 13 to 25+ layers of stiff linen stitched by hand and sometimes incorporated plates of hardened leather, horn, metal or even overtitched small rings within the material itself. There is ample evidence of this sort of jack for the time period in English, French and Burgundian sources. The multi layered jack was hot and stiff but the oils did allow for durability in foul weather. The multi layers foiled weapons but ‘rolling’ as the weapon struck. Todays Bullet Resistant Vests are based upon this very prinicple. Leather was also used but more like soft stag hide (1 oz). The arms were to be of the same thickness as the body as they were in the weapons way as much as a man’s body would be. A opening of lace would be in the front with a large overlap for protection and occasionally side laces. The sleeved were at time laced on too.
D: Good looking heavy overcoat for fighting,this is not a good way to pad yourself! <the old article had pics with it and is tagged below.> http://www.companyofoutremer.com/docs/Gambesons.odt
This is a nice 1200+ gambeson. http:www.malus.pl
A byzantine kit
