Sage-Tips

How is gambeson made?

Gambesons were produced with a sewing technique called quilting. They were usually constructed of linen or wool; the stuffing varied, and could be for example scrap cloth or horse hair. During the 14th century, illustrations usually show buttons or laces up the front.

How many layers of padding does a gambeson need?

Layers of Gambeson’s padding If you plan to take part at the LARP event, 1-2 layers will be enough. If you wear good plate armor or brigandine, 3 layers of padding are good. If you wear just a chainmail or armor, which strength you are not so sure about, you better choose 4-6 layered gambison.

Is gambeson good armor?

Despite being made of soft material, a thick enough gambeson provides excellent protection. Composed of many different layers of fabric, they prove very difficult to cut through; the layers usually consist of linen or wool, but historically people have filled them with many different types of stuffing between layers.

How many layers does a gambeson have?

Unlike many reproductions of quilted gambesons which are available to purchase or see today, and are usually stuffed, it was decided to make the gambeson at least twenty-eight layers thick. This seems like a lot, but there are references to gambesons that had up to thirty layers.

Was leather armor a thing?

Leather armor did exist, although it was not soft leather armor, but boiled leather (cuir boulli). And even then, it wasn’t ubiquitous. It seems to have been popular during the early 14th century, before plate became common, with cuir boulli being used in some cuirasses, cuisses, greaves, vambraces, and gauntlets.

How thick should a Gambeson be?

It’s made from rough linen with smooth linen inside. It’s a bit stiff, with a thickness varying between 1 and 2 centimeters.

What goes under armour?

Gambeson
The Gambeson is worn underneath chain mail and armour and normally both helps to protect the body from the impact of weapons and provides some degree of comfort to the wearer.

What is worn under a gambeson?

The gambeson also covered the neck but sometimes a separate piece of quilted padding was used for this. The final evolution of the gambeson worn under plate armor is the arming doublet, it had a lot of leather straps attached to it to attach the plate armor firmly to the doublet.

How thick should a gambeson be?

Did the Mongols wear armor?

Mongolian armour has a long history. Most Mongolian armour was of scale and lamellar variety. Most armour was made of hardened leather and iron, laced together onto a fabric backing, sometimes silk. Mail armour was also sometimes used, but was rare, probably due to its weight and difficulty to repair.

How heavy is a brigandine?

Now, if one opts for a brigandine rather than breastplate for any number of reasons (likely financial) you’ll be wearing something in a similar realm to the hauberk, between 20 lbs/9.07 kg and 30 lbs/13.61 kg. This beautiful example (housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art) weighs 23 lbs 6.4 ounces/11.06 kg.