Polish knight in the Plock Bible, 12thC, in scale armour?

[druzhina]

Judas Maccabeus portrayed as a Polish knight (in scale armour?) in the Plock Bible, second quarter of the 12th century.

Although this bible was made in the Meuse region, it is feasable that the figures were added after the book was taken to Plock in Poland, as they are painted in the margins.

Piotr Pudlo makes comparisons with other illustrations that he thinks are wearing scale armour:
'Herod's Guards' in the Golden Gospel of Echternach, Lower Lorraine - c. 1040 could be mail;
'Pharaoh's Army' in the Exultet Roll from Fondi, southern Italy - 11th c., NAL 710, may be scale;
'Count Guy' in The Bayeux Tapestry - the late 11th c. may be scale;
'Defenders' in the Siege of a city, carved reliefs in the Church of S. Nicola, Bari, Italy - the early 12th - non-mail but not necessarily scale;
Egyptians flee into Ascalon and Defeat of Turks outside Antioch - eighteenth century drawings from Les Monuments de la Monarchie Françoise of lost early or mid-12th century painted windows illustrating the First Crusade - St Denis, Paris, France probably includes some scale armour;
one soldier in scale armour on the 'Return of the Milanese' carved relief from Porta Romana, Milan, Italy, 1167;
Scandinavian knight on the Tapestry from Baldishol, Norway, c. 1200 could be in mail;
a soldier in scale armour in 'Abram Blessed by Melchizedek' in Reims Cathedral - the first quarter of the 13th century;
The arrest of Jesus, in the Armenian Roslin Bible manuscript, c. 1270 non-mail but not necessarily scale.
Does anyone have the other illustrations he refers to?

The Plock Bible and Norwegian knight on the Baldishol Tapestry have coifs that are shown fairly tight around the neck. This would be more difficult to do with large scales rather than mail. The scale coif on the Porta Romana frieze has a wider neck than the mail coif of the soldier next to it. The Exultet Roll from Fondi also has wide armour necks on the coif, but David Nicolle thinks they are mail.

Mail armour is sometimes depicted with larger shapes. Do you think the Plock Bible knight is wearing scale?

Mirror site
Judas Maccabeus portrayed as a Polish knight (in scale armour?) in the Plock Bible, second quarter of the 12th century.

Druzhina
http://warfare.tk/12C.htm]12th Century Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers[/url]

[druzhina]

I have found some more images of marginal figures in the Plock Bible for comparison. Those that are attached to illuminated letters look less likely to have been done separately - where they overlap the letter some of the paint would have to have been scrapped from the letter if the miniature was added later. This is probably why some think that some initials as well as miniatures were completed in Poland.











Druzhina
Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers