Product Description
The evolution of arming clothes (clothes worn under armour to attach armour to) is uncertain and there is not much historical evidence to give us a clear picture of the path that this evolution took. What is generally accepted is that one of the first items of .arming clothes' would have been some form of simple belt to attach the earlier padded and perhaps maille leg armour to. As armour became more complex more specialist items or arming clothers such as lendeniers (which the simple padded belt probably evolved into) and arming coats were developed.
Many reenactors use a simple leather belt to attach their leg armour to. The problem with this is that in order to hold the leg armour in place so it does not slip down under its own weight, is that a tightly cinched leather belt will cause welts and abrasions. Because of this my personal view is that the earliest arming belts were padded strips that could be comfortably cinched tight around the waist and closely followed the clothing style of the time.
The illustration opposite shows a very rare surviving set of cloth hose (leg coverings) with a simple leather belt from 1247 orignally belonging to Rodrido Ximenez de Rada. This shows how leg armour would also be attached to a supporting belt.
Our new Lord of Battles arming belt is made from a single layer of padding and an outer layer of cotton. It has holes along the bottom edge and a series of holes at each end so the belt can be adjusted to fit a wide range of waist sizes.
Price includes GST and tracked postage within New Zealand.
