Subject: knight, man-at-arms
Culture: English
Setting: Wars of the Roses, England mid-late 15thc
Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Field Notes)
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Polearm
* Royal Armouries Museum > War Gallery
"The characteristic weapon of the English heavy infantry of the 15th century was the bill, used in the same way as the halberd on the continent. Originally an agricultural implement, military versions were being made by the late 13th century." ...
Sword
*
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Armor
* Woosnam-Savage 2017 p63
"English armours had tassets attached higher on the fauld, gentle fluting on the armour for the limbs and big bold 'besagews' with pronounced florid edges and rivet heads."
Dagger
*
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Costume
* Köhler 1928 p174-175
"About the middle of the fifteenth century the items of attire commonly worn in France were brought from the Court of Burgundy into England. These included the tabard, wholly or partially open at the sides, and the robe, of varying length, closed all round and pleated round the waist. One of the chief importations was the fashion of thickly padded shoulders. English fashion also adopted the 'slashed' style that had gained currency in France during the second half of the century. By all kinds of ornamentation, including embroidery on the breeches, the English imparted to their dress a motley appearance that surpassed that attained by the introduction of mi-parti.
"Like that of the Frenchmen, the dress of Englishmen took on a different character toward the end of the century. The slashings increased both in number and in size, and the long, wide-sleeved over-garments had broad turned-down collars of fur, which ere long appeared also on the shorter overcoats. These latter had often very long sleeves, which, like those of the longer overcoats, were slashed either longitudinally or across. The close-fitting, low-necked undercoats were shortened and transformed into jackets, and in place of the padded shoulders came large puffs reaching to the elbows. The puffs were likewise slashed.
"These puffed sleeves were made as follows. They were cut straight, but much longer and much wider at the sleeve-hole than the ordinary sleeve. The upper parts of these sleeves were slashed either to the edge of the material or to some little distance from it. When the sleeves were sewn in other sleeves were inserted as lining. These were cut wide and slightly padded, and were sewn to the sleeve-hole along with the outer sleeves.
"Englishmen's dress was even more gaily coloured than that of Frenchmen, for in addition to wearing over their close-fitting breeches shorter breeches striped in different colours and extending to the middle of the thigh, they also wore stockings that came up higher than the calf of the leg.
"An important part of male attire was a round, wide-brimmed hat, mostly turned up at one side, with a large plume. A small skull-cap was worn beneath it. This was a genuinely French fashion, as were all the other forms of headgear -- hats and caps -- that came into use in England during this century.
"Changes had also taken place in footwear. About the year 1480 the long, pointed shoes disappeared, and boots and shoes became rounder at the toes. About the year 1500 the round toes were replaced by broad ones. Tight-fitting boots, knee-high, and turned over at the top, were at this time as popular in England as the over-stockings ...."
