What ARMOUR did the NORMANS wear during the CONQUEST in 1066?

What armour were the Normans and Anglo-Saxons wearing during the Battle of Hastings and Conquest under William in 1066?

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#armor #medieval #norman

[Oldtanktapper]

It’s interesting how the armour is being removed in the marginalia, pulled off over the head like you’d expect from a hauberk style garment that doesn’t have any fasteners on front or back. It makes me wonder if the legs were actually just long flaps that were laced tight around the limb.

[chehalem]

So the Normans wore hooded mail onesies. That makes me smile.

[connorperrett]

"I personally go with the edging"
-Matt Easton

[aspiringmarauder]

What’s more I feel is that the people creating the Bayeaux Tapestry went to the trouble of depicting different configurations of things like the front/collar closure which tells me that the armor was varied but also that the artists were trying particularly hard to show the greatest detail they could at the time. Very interesting stuff.

[If-ish]

Counter argument, considering that in the tapestry we see mail being stripped off over the head and we know mail shirts existed before and after this period, it really just makes more sense that they would bind the split skirt of a hauberk around their legs. Also this way there's less risk of someone cutting through the seam. The square could easily be either additional chest protection or a extension of the coif.

[Blokewood]

The Bayeux Tapestry's depiction of armour has caused many misinterpretations over the years. It was from looking at the inconsistencies of the stitches sometimes showing ring shapes, squares, or lozenges, that lead Victorian enthusiasts like Samuel Rush Meyrick to come up with the idea of tegulated mail, rustred mail, mascled mail, banded mail, ring mail, etc. While some of those armors may have existed at some point in time (eyelet doublets were a European style of ring armor from the 16th century), it's unlikely that the artists of the tapestry meant to depict them.

[qsterino]

As you said, the tapestry does show several people having the mail pulled off them - with the head being 'last', which wouldn't be possible if you go in from the top. The images also show the mail being 'inverted' at that point - which would imply it's either inside-out, or that it separated down the back (say) and was flipped over.

[DETHMOKIL]

You might be wondering why Matt wore Knickerbockers in the 80's, but you have to remember he graduated highschool in 1889.

[johnminard]

As a long time maker and wearer of riveted mail, I think it most likely that the tapestry depicts traditional hauberks. The square on some chests is most likely a reinforcement or a ventail. As for the legs, I think it most likely that people often laced the legs closed after donning the hauberk.

As someone already pointed out, the dead are being stripped in exactly the way you'd expect if they were "normal" hauberks.

[dustincarner]

I find the Raven Banner or Hrafnsmerki used by the Normans in the Tapestry to be interesting. Seems a reflection of the Normans Scandinavian heritage.

[darkmattergamesofficial]

I saw the Bayeux Tapestry last fall with my dad. We were in the area to explore Omaha Beach, which was a research topic of mine. But wow, that tapestry was an amazing experience. We went back to see it a second time before leaving Normandy.

[giuseppeesposito]

The thing i find the most strange is how they are shown not wearing belts... I mean belts surely were a thing and they are a very useful and practical item

[Zayphar]

I always thought the chest square was a chain maille bevor that flipped up and was fastened to the helmet chin strap over the throat.

[allmachtsdaggl]

After the first few seconds my mind was made up: Normans wore Spes-Officer jackets.

[corvanphoenix]

My long armed mail coat wasn't custom & its arms are very big, not just a bit longer. I don't have a surcoat or cloth on my mail leggings either & I get stuck in my own mail around once every 5 min of combat. So I'm in the process of making coverings. I wonder if the leg & arm wraps are just that, both coverings & in the case of arms, things which take the slack out of the coat.

[bobrobinson]

So many unanswered questions and yet such a fascinating video. Thank you very much Matt.

[michaeljfoley]

Regardless of "right" or "wrong" assessments, these videos are always useful for sparking another round of conversation and thought about different armor systems from different eras. Great stuff 👍

[kaoskronostyche]

Many caveats are raised concerning the "artistic license" in Historical Art ... and rightly so. However it behooves us to consider that some of these artists could have beeen sort of "proto-technical" artists and may have actually researched their work like technical artists do today. They may have gone to the local garrison and made sketches.
Even the middling artists likely would have seen the local militias girded for battle or training, seen them assembling in the square, seen armies marching to war down the main street.
Any one of us could probably sketch a recognizable rendition of a Main Battle Tank or an AR-15 or a couple of different WW2 helmets. Most could likely sketch an automatic pistol and a revolver and show the differences adequately. And we are not most of us artists.
Anyway, I guess that one reason why Art History exists.
Thank you for another great discussion. Cheers!

[patrickwegener]

As a reenactor I cannot agree to the trouser like hauberk. Especially makes no sense when looking at the tapestry, undressing fallen by pulling the armor over the head

[duncanmcdane]

Cool vid. Interesting detail on the tapestry are the colored helmets which I take for a very early form of recognizing who is who in the heat of battle ( what later turned into heraldry ).