Kettle Hat (*also known as chapel de fer in French) Strong yet light open-faced helmet popular with both knights and infantry throughout the 1300-1500 period,… Read More »Medieval History Term of the Week: Kettle Hat
Arbalest [ahr-buh-list] Etymology: Middle English arblast, from Anglo-French arblaste, arcbaleste, from Late Latin arcuballista, from Latin arcus bow + ballista — more at arrow 1)… Read More »Medieval History Term of the Week: Arbalest
Melissa Snell has an in depth post on her blog regarding the heraldic symbols of the medieval period and what those symbols mean. The information… Read More »What Do Different Heraldic Symbols Mean?
Basinet or Bacinet [bas-uh-nit, -net, bas-uh-net] Etymology: Middle English bacinet, from Anglo-French, diminutive of bacin Relatively light helmet with a rounded or pointed top. It… Read More »Medieval History Term of the Week: Basinet
Gambeson: Quilted linen jacket stuffed with flax or rags, worn as a body defence by infantry and over the hauberk by poor knights and sergeants.… Read More »Medieval History Term of the Week: Gambeson
Metal Body Suits vs. Weapons of Medieval Destruction discusses the evolution of armor through the Middle Ages. While it is a very brief overview —… Read More »Suits of Armor in Medieval History
Heater Shield Semi-cylindrical shield with a flat top edge. The shield was about 95 cm. long in the first half of the fourteenth century but… Read More »Medieval History Term of the Week: Heater Shield
“Observing this, [Duke] William gave a signal to his troops, that, feigning flight, they should withdraw from the field. By means of this device the… Read More »The Medieval Warhorse
Mail, often referred to as “chain mail” (a term later applied to this type of armor in the Victorian era), was the armor of choice worn… Read More »The Making of Mail Armor
For purposes of this post, I will focus on the medieval sword of Western Europe, namely England and France and Scandinavia, from the 10th to… Read More »The Medieval Sword