Norman knight (Varangian) in chain mail, from the second half of the 11th century.
Reconstructed from the embroideries of the Bayeux Tapestry and contemporaneous original weapons.
Helmet conical, riveted together from iron plates reinforced crosswise with copper clasps and provided with a broad nose guard.
The body is covered by a ring-stitched, leather breastplate (also Brunnika, Haubert), which is provided with a hood, short sleeves, trousers and on the chest with the opening necessary for putting on the breastplate, which is closed by a square bib.
The armoured shirt (ring mail) was probably a garment made of leather or textile (jacket or trousers) with a large number of metal rings sewn or bound directly into the basic garment. Unlike chain mail, the rings are not physically interlocked. No actual examples of this type of armour are known from collections or archaeological excavations in Europe. The Bayeux Tapestry has been wrongly interpreted as depicting several different types of armour. Today it is generally accepted that virtually all the armour on the tapestry is standard armour.
The lower legs are covered with fur and wrapped with wide leather strips. The feet are covered with leather half-boots with spurs with straight stirrups and short, square spikes. Under the breastplate the knight wears the tunic with long sleeves and the sword belt, to which the broad, long, double-edged sword with short handle, short parry bar and mushroom-shaped pommel in a leather scabbard is attached by means of a leather flap inserted through the breastplate.
The right rests on the long-handled battle axe with crescent-shaped edge. Shield of leather-covered wood, elongated ovoid, slightly curved, metal-bound with bosses. A dragon is painted on the front. Inside a strap for the upper arm and a leather handle.
The shield hangs over the right shoulder on the shield cuff.
Source: Knights and Soldiers from Antiquity to Modern Times. The Weapons Collection of Karl Gimbel.
