Re: A Quick Guide to Byzantine Dress (8th to 12th century)
As promised:
Arms and Armor
Armor
Klibanion: Predominant armor in the Byzantine Empire, it was usually a lamellar armor but could sometimes be a scale armor. Lamellar armor comprised small, basically rectangular plates (either long and narrow or very nearly square) laced together in rows by threading leather tongs through punched holes, the rows then being laced to each other overlapping upwards. (Unlike scale armor, which overlaps downwards) The lamellae were most commonly iron, but leather and horn are also often used. The resulting corselet was usually sleeveless or short-sleeved and went not further than the waist. Some knee-length lamellar corselets with long sleeves have been known to exist, but they are a rarity. Scale corselets, being stiff and somewhat inflexible, tended to cover only the torso and were invariably sleeveless.
Zabai or Lorikia: These mail corselets were rarest of all Byzantine armors. Usually going to knee-length and having sleeves reaching the elbow or the wrist. Mail hoods were also worn. Klibanion type armor was usually worn over mail corselets.
Epilorikion, Kabadion, Bambakion: A variety of padded and quilton contton, leather, wool and felt body-armor with a minimum of three quarter inches of thickness. They were all sleeved, the epilorikion and bambakion also had hoods. The former was worn over, and the latter under, the klibanion or the lorikia. Epilorikion was usually worn by cavalrymen and kabadion by infantrymen.
Pteruges: Hanging strips protecting arms and legs on sleeveless corselets which also ended at the waist. These were made of leather, quilted cotton or even splint-armor.
Cheiropsella or Manikelia: Vambraces of splint construction protecting the forearms. Usually made out of iron, but leather, wood and felt were sometimes used.
Podopsella or Chalkotouba: Greaves of splint construction protecting the lower legs. Usually made out of iron, but leather, wood and felt were sometimes used.
Boots: Were tall and square-toed.
Hands: Sometimes protected by leather gauntlets, reinforced with mail in the case of extra-heavy cavalry.
Helmets: Usually of a single universal pattern and made of iron. Usually it also had a seperate neckguard.
Shields
Skuta: Heavy infantry shield. Commonly a three by four-foot oval.
Thureos: Sometimes carried by heavy infantry or cavalry. Circular with a thirty inch diameter.
Small shield: Carried by light infantry and most of the heavy cavalry, it usually had a diameter of twelve inches.
Kite-shields: Less than two feet broad at their widest point, in the 11th century it was the predominant shield amongst both the infantry and the cavalry.
Weapons
Kontos or Kontarion: Adopted in earlier centuries from the Sarmatians and the Alans, it was twelve-foot long for the cavalrymen and the same or somewhat longer for infantry.
Rhiptarion or Akoution: Eight- to nine-foot light throwing spear.
Menaulion: Heavy javelin used by a proportion of men (called menaulatoi) in each heavy infantry units.
Marzobarboulon: Lead-weighted darts only used by heavy cavalry. They were carried in a case at the saddle.
Spathion: Sword of thirty-six inches, excluding the hilt. Its scabbard was most often suspended from a baldric and hung at the left hip.
Paramerion: Other main type of sword. One edged sword of the same length as the spathion and was possibly a type of sabre. Unlike the spathion it was girded at the waist.
Tzikourion: Infantry side-arm, it was the only type of axe commonly seen throughout the Byzantine Empire.
Matzoukion or Bardoukion: Mace used mainly by cavalrymen. It was kept in a leather case attached to the saddle.
Bow: Composite weapon measuring forty-five to forty-eight inches long, with short and powerful limbs. It was probably originally adopted from the Huns. Used by both the cavalry and the infantry, though its use by the former was in decline during this period, tha majority of the Byzantine horse-archers being provided by Asiatic mercenaries.
Spendone: Sling, issued to many Byzantine archers.
Solenarion: Type of crossbow firing short arrows called menai. It was used by light troops. It dropped out of used in the middle of the 10th century, only to be reintroduced at the end of the 11th century or the beginning of the 12th through contact with the Normans.
Rhomphaia: Falx-like weapon with a slightly curved blade of about the same length as its handle. Little is known of this weapon, save that many Byzantine guardsmen were apparently armed with it.
---------------------
Images forthcoming.
Originally Posted by Sasaki Kojiro
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks