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Linothorax vs Quilted linen vs spolas
You quoted a pretty old post. Based on what we know today it seems that Greek armour was more commonly made from leather than linen. I agree that linen armour could have a leather cover (there are plenty of medieval examples) but usually this cover was an integral part of the armour, not a separate garment.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen & Sword Books
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(04-27-2016, 11:32 PM)Dan Howard Wrote: You quoted a pretty old post. Based on what we know today it seems that Greek armour was more commonly made from leather than linen. I agree that linen armour could have a leather cover (there are plenty of medieval examples) but usually this cover was an integral part of the armour, not a separate garment.

Do you know anything about Iron Age Gallic armor around 300bc onward? It seems like they should have more in the way of armor than just tunics for most and chainmail for the rich. Not much is really talked about that. Even the Romans had padding. There is a mod for the game Medieval 2 Total War called Europa Barbarorum II, it shows some of the Gallic troops wearing what looks like linothorax or leather armor or some sort of padded armor. The purpose of the mod and its original version were to depict the period of the Roman Republic and early empire.

(04-28-2016, 12:35 AM)Braden Vande Plasse Wrote:
(04-27-2016, 11:32 PM)Dan Howard Wrote: You quoted a pretty old post. Based on what we know today it seems that Greek armour was more commonly made from leather than linen. I agree that linen armour could have a leather cover (there are plenty of medieval examples) but usually this cover was an integral part of the armour, not a separate garment.

Do you know anything about Iron Age Gallic armor around 300bc onward? It seems like they should have more in the way of armor than just tunics for most and chainmail for the rich. Not much is really talked about that. Even the Romans had padding. There is a mod for the game Medieval 2 Total War called Europa Barbarorum II, it shows some of the Gallic troops wearing what looks like linothorax or leather armor or some sort of padded armor. The purpose of the mod and its original version were to depict the period of the Roman Republic and early empire. 

PS: Do you think spears were used over arm or under arm in antiquity? ThegnThrand on YouTube has a whole bunch of videos about it. I didn't mean to copy my last post...I must have accidentally hit reply on my phone
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The main Gallic armour during that period is mail, and it was only worn by the elite. In many cultures body armour was only worn by the elite. The rest made do with a shield and, if they were lucky, a helmet.

There is a huge debate regarding overarm vs underarm. IMO overarm is more likely.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen & Sword Books
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(04-28-2016, 03:35 AM)Dan Howard Wrote: The main Gallic armour during that period is mail, and it was only worn by the elite. In many cultures body armour was only worn by the elite. The rest made do with a shield and, if they were lucky, a helmet.

There is a huge debate regarding overarm vs underarm. IMO overarm is more likely.

Haven't there been depictions of some Gallic tribes using tube and yolk armor? What sort of padding do you think the Gallic elite under their chain mail? It seems really stupid to not wear any padding, except in the Mediterranean where it could be forgivable.
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The only padding you need under mail is a winter tunic. Some types of mail had integrated padded liners and didn't need any other padding. This doesn't really belong in a a thread about Greek linen armour.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen & Sword Books
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Hello, I have read through this entire thread and read many arguments. I have a few questions. Could an armor be made of rawhide by soaking it and forming it to the shape of body and reinforcing it with tanned leather and maybe some type of metal plates?
How well would rawhide hold up to any sort of weapon? Are there any tanning methods which leave leather very stiff and tough? 
How could the springy yolk things be made of leather when normal tanned leather does not have those properties?
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(04-04-2019, 04:11 AM)rx7fc Wrote: Hello, I have read through this entire thread and read many arguments. I have a few questions. Could an armor be made of rawhide by soaking it and forming it to the shape of body and reinforcing it with tanned leather and maybe some type of metal plates?
How well would rawhide hold up to any sort of weapon? Are there any tanning methods which leave leather very stiff and tough? 
How could the springy yolk things be made of leather when normal tanned leather does not have those properties?

I can't speak to rawhide as a material used for a spolas or any other body armor in ancient Greece.  Hopefully more knowledgeable folks will chime in.

The spring in the yoke is done in the cut of the yoke pattern (search for spolas threads here - I got my pattern from a thread here).  Mine was a heavy floppy mess until I sewed it to the tube.  It springs back and stays just like on the pottery.
Cheryl Boeckmann
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(04-04-2019, 04:11 AM)rx7fc Wrote: How well would rawhide hold up to any sort of weapon?

I imagine it would handle most weapons very well. Certainly it would deal with them better than most leathers would IMHO. Rawhide in general is tougher than leather when it has the skin-layer preserved, but you had better make sure that they don't rot.

I have tried cutting small panels made from rawhide dog-chew toys... they are some really tough bastards to cut through. Rawhide dog-chew toys can be great for shield rims.
Jack Svendsen.
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Pretty much all the examples of hide armour we have from all over the world from the Bronze Age onwards are made from rawhide or semi-cured hide and not tanned leather. In order to make tanned leather into a functional armour, you need to harden it into cuir bouilli; in other words, to give it the same properties that the hide had before it was tanned.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen & Sword Books
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