Get Dressed for Battle

With the end of Roman Imperial Rule in the West, the state-controlled fabricae stopped production, and Europe returned to the sole use of maille armour (chainmail armour). From the sleeveless byrnie grew the haubergeon and eventually the hauberk that became the mainstay of the professional soldier at the end of the period. Also at the end of this period we see the integral maille hood becoming a separate coif that would become the accepted style for the coming centuries. Helmets seem to have developed from Roman cavalry helmet designs such as the ridge helmet, eventually evolving through a variety of styles such as the spangenhelm, spectacle helm and ubiquitous conical nasal helm. The Early Middle ages are sometimes also referred to as the „Dark Ages“ due to a relatively low level of economic activity and successful incursions by pagan tribes. Contemporary to the period of the Early Middle Ages is also “The Viking Age” which is commonly seen in the period between AD 793 and 1066 in Northern Germany, Danmark, Scandinavia and Britain, following the Germanic Iron Age and the Vendel Age in Sweden. During this period, the Vikings, northern warriors and traders, raided and explored most parts of Europe, south-western Asia, northern Africa and north-eastern North America.

The High Medieval Ages were characterized by a civilatory advance and military expansion of Europe. This time was truly the age of maille and is identified between the 11th Century to end of 13th Century. The Norman hauberk seen at Hastings grew to fully cover the arms and hand and the skirts sometimes extended beyond the knee toward the ankle. Helmets became more protective - often sacrificing vision for safety. The classic nasal helm evolved into helmets such as the chapel-de-fer and helmets with faceplates - eventually culminating in the great helm. The development of western armour in this period was heavily influenced by combat conditions against the Muslims in Iberia and the Holy Land.

Late Middle Ages is defined by historians depicting European History of 14th and 15th Century. Early in the period we see the addition of metal (or leather) armour covering first the elbows and knees and soon after, the arms and lower legs. Developments in weapons and tactics began to expose the maille-armoured warrior and more and more plate armour additions give us the transitional period, combining maille and plate to good effect. Armouring techniques and design eventually gave us the fully plate armoured man-at-arms in the 15th Century. This was by no means the norm, with padded armour, maille and pieces of plate being the mainstay of the ordinary soldier. The cumbersome great helm was supplemented and eventually replaced by the bascinet - to be eclipsed in its turn by helmets such as the sallet and armet. At the end of the period, the great armourers of German and Italy and their contrasting styles of Gothic and Milanese dominated armour production.

All our bucklers are made out of 2MM. Perfect historical replica, can be both used for defence and as weapon.

This category covers a wide range of items for reenactors like purses, utensils, lanterns, bone spectacles, wax books and many other items.

We are the World’s most reknowned company in Chainmaille. Right from Buttted Spring Steel Chainmail we produce European Flat Ring Chainmail with Wedge rivets. Also we currently produce Roman Maille in 6MM. We always welcome deales and wholesalers who wish to become resellers of our products.