FIGHTING EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR THE TURN OF THE XIII. AND XIV. CENTURY

 

The following text deals with the fighting equipment that is required at events organized by the Court of Hradec, especially the Hradec Tournament and the May assembly. General combat rules for tournament from safety rules and valid counting of hits to list of disciplines and awards are specified in a separate article:

Rules of combat for Hradec Tournament

 

The fighting equipment has to correspond historically with the years 1275-1330, and with the cultural area and the social status of the represented character. For characters from a foreign cultural background, the equipment may deviate from the above but it must always provide comparable protection. Any piece of equipment from a foreign cultural area must first be consulted with the event organisers and must make sense in the context of the broader reconstruction of the Court of Hradec.
 

The text below further details specific protection requirements for different body parts with indication of what constitutes a "good hit". Different disciplines will have different requirements for minimum protection of the given body part but as a rule of thumb, one cannot participate with insufficient protection of the given body part unless explicitly stated.
 

Gear requirements are not supposed to be an exhaustive list but rather serve as a support material for choosing your appropriate armour and weapons. In case of doubt, we recommend contacting the organizers with a specific question and ideally with a photo of the part of the equipment in question. The senior of each group is responsible for ensuring compliance with the gear requirements for all its members.

 

HEAD PROTECTION

Insufficient Armour

• No helmet or helmet without padded or quilted coif. No helmet plate thinner than 1.5 mm. No bare unprotected neck. No unrealistically oversized padded coifs, hoods and ventails (Michelin Man style).
   

Light Armour

• Padded or quilted coif with a kettle hat or cervelliere. Protected neck with at least a quilted or padded collar, either separately or as part of gambeson or aketon.

• A good hit is every hit, except for accidental weak blows, which, e.g., only bounce off the brim of the kettle hat.
   

Medium Armour

• Mail coif that is worn over padded or quilted coif, either separately or as part of mail hauberk with a kettle hat or cervelliere. 

• Only a direct hit to the helmet is considered a good hit.
   

Heavy Armour

• Mail coif that is worn over padded or quilted coif, either separately or as part of mail hauberk with a great helm. The great helm should be worn only if the torso is protected by a hauberk, never in combination with light armour. 

• A good hit is a hit led with sufficient ferocity directly to the helmet.
   

Elite Heavy Armour

• Mail coif that is worn over padded or quilted coif, either separately or as part of mail hauberk with cervelliere and great helm. The great helm should be worn only if the torso is protected by hauberk, never in combination with light armour. 

• With this sort of armour, only one direct hit to the helmet may not be enough to win. The stricken person may not even notice the blow. It's better to select a different part of the body to attack.

 

PROTECTION OF TORSO, ARMS AND HANDS
 

Insufficient Armour

• No armour that leaves wrists or hands unprotected. No armour that is too thin and does not sufficiently soften the impact of incoming blows. No armour with unrealistically oversized elements (Michelin Man style).

Light Armour

• Long-sleeved quilted or padded gambeson of knee length with mitten gloves or three-fingered gloves that are ideally part of the sleeves. However, separate quilted gloves or gloves protected by mail are also tolerated. An arming surcoat is not worn over this type of armour usually.

• A good hit is every hit, except for weak deflected hits.

Medium Armour

• Long-sleeved quilted or padded aketon of knee length with mitten gloves or three-fingered gloves that are ideally part of the sleeves. However, separate quilted gloves or gloves protected by mail are also tolerated. The mail hauberk must reach at least halfway down the thighs and have sleeves of at least forearm length. A mail coif can be part of the hauberk. 

• A good hit must be led with sufficient ferocity. In a case the hit lands outside the mail armour, such hit is considered a good hit, except for weak deflected hits.

Heavy Armour

• The base layer is formed by a thin quilted aketon or a sufficient number of layered tunics. A fitted hauberk must reach at least halfway down the thighs, have triangular gores on the sides and long tapered sleeves connected to mail gauntlets. Separate mail gloves or early plate gauntlets are also tolerated. A mail coif is part of the mail hauberk or worn separately. Over the hauberk and hidden under the arming surcoat can be worn cuir bouilli. 

• A good hit must be led with sufficient ferocity.

Elite Heavy Armour

• The foundation is formed by a thin quilted aketon or a sufficient number of layered tunics. A fitted hauberk must reach at least halfway down the thighs, have triangular gores on the sides and long tapered sleeves connected to mail gauntlets. Separate mail gloves or early plate gauntlets are also tolerated. A mail coif is part of the mail hauberk or worn separately. In addition, a short coat of plates, covered with arming surcoat, or the arming surcoat itself reinforced with iron plates or the Saint Maurice coat of plates must be clad over the mail armour.

• Torso protected by iron plates is resistant to spear stabs or arrows. The stricken person may not even notice the blow, it is, therefore, better to choose a different part of the body to attack, such as arms or shoulders. Even there the hit must be led with sufficient ferocity to be considered as a good hit.

 

LEG PROTECTION
 

Insufficient Armour

• No civilian chausses only and no bare feet. No armour with unrealistically oversized elements (Michelin Man style). No plate greaves worn without mail underneath.
   

Light Armour

• Short quilted hose which are either knee-length or mid-calf in length. Ankle-length quilted hose are also tolerated but only in the case they match the shape of the leg entirely.

• Every hit is a good hit, except for weak thrusts.

Medium Armour

• Short quilted split hose, which are either knee-length or mid-calf in length, fitted with metal knee-caps.

• A good hit is every hit, except for weak deflected hits or weak thrusts.

Heavy Armour

• Mail chausses worn ideally over thin multi-layer textile chausses. An archaic type without mail shoes or with open lacing on the calf is allowed. 

• A good hit is led at least with a medium intensity.
   

Elite Heavy Armour

• Mail chausses worn ideally over thin multi-layer textile chausses. Mail chausses are well-fitted and cover the entire leg. Over them, either short quilted hose are worn, which are either knee-length or mid-calf in length and are fitted with metal knee-cops or metal plate protection with a covered knee.

• A good hit is led at least with a medium intensity, but even then, the stricken person may not feel the blow through the protective layers.

 

Written by: Miroslav Mölzer (Libiš), Václav Černý (Javornice), Jiří Janda (Rabštejn), Vít Hrachovský (Kastilie), Vladimír Blažek (Wildenberg), Zdeněk Pokorný (Blatná) a Lýdie Krňávková (Spakona)

Translated by: Katharina Cordts (Ottersberg), Vít Hrachovský (Kastýlie), Miroslav Mölzer (Libiš), Tomáš Juračka (Nasavrky)