10-17-2005, 05:08 PM
The question I see is the marriage of a subarmalis and mail shirt into one defensive system that complimented and enhanced both of them. To understand one, you have to understand the other.
Starting with mail. Tests I hear bandied about have shown that mail by itself appears to be worse than nothing at all. It stops practically nothing and actually adds to the harm of the blow. However, were these tests on butted mail or did they include tests on iron mail that was solid and riveted? Iron is tends to fail by bending and stretching, steel by breaking.
When a pointed object strikes mail, it cannot strike its surface, but is channeled into one of the holes. The kinetic energy is then transferred to the inner circumference of the mail ring, plus the outer surfaces of the rings fastened to it. This disipates the energy to a much large area, as opposed to the tip impacting on the small area of a solid surface. Riveted or solid rings won't come apart at the butt joint. The ring must be broken by force by more or less equal force exerted on its inner surface, which is a hard thing to do . Iron would tend to fail by stretching out.
When you marry up a subarmalis under the hamata, you throw in another barrier to penetration. All of the substances mentioned: linen, hemp, felt tend to do the same thing; they present a tough fabric that further disipates kinetic energy.
To stop a slashing blow from a sword, the Romans added the doubling, which covers a large part of the area a slash would be directed at. I believe that the doubling itself was backed, not just lined, with a layer of the same stuff the subarmalis is made of.
I do not believe this stuff being said that felt is a naturally stronger fabric. than everything else. I think felt got used much the same way in Roman times as it is used today, which is as a padding, but not as a hard wearing surface. However, I can't prove it, so one will need to be made and we can see what happens.
Let's remember what DRB said, which is that the subarmalis was constructed of felt (translation?) and covered by Libyan hide whatever that was), as a separate garment
Starting with mail. Tests I hear bandied about have shown that mail by itself appears to be worse than nothing at all. It stops practically nothing and actually adds to the harm of the blow. However, were these tests on butted mail or did they include tests on iron mail that was solid and riveted? Iron is tends to fail by bending and stretching, steel by breaking.
When a pointed object strikes mail, it cannot strike its surface, but is channeled into one of the holes. The kinetic energy is then transferred to the inner circumference of the mail ring, plus the outer surfaces of the rings fastened to it. This disipates the energy to a much large area, as opposed to the tip impacting on the small area of a solid surface. Riveted or solid rings won't come apart at the butt joint. The ring must be broken by force by more or less equal force exerted on its inner surface, which is a hard thing to do . Iron would tend to fail by stretching out.
When you marry up a subarmalis under the hamata, you throw in another barrier to penetration. All of the substances mentioned: linen, hemp, felt tend to do the same thing; they present a tough fabric that further disipates kinetic energy.
To stop a slashing blow from a sword, the Romans added the doubling, which covers a large part of the area a slash would be directed at. I believe that the doubling itself was backed, not just lined, with a layer of the same stuff the subarmalis is made of.
I do not believe this stuff being said that felt is a naturally stronger fabric. than everything else. I think felt got used much the same way in Roman times as it is used today, which is as a padding, but not as a hard wearing surface. However, I can't prove it, so one will need to be made and we can see what happens.
Let's remember what DRB said, which is that the subarmalis was constructed of felt (translation?) and covered by Libyan hide whatever that was), as a separate garment
"In war as in loving, you must always keep shoving." George S. Patton, Jr.
