I can't agree with you that "padding won't help much" if your armour is pierced or dented. Any additional protection will always have an effect in reducing the trauma from a blow and denting results from precisely the kind of blow that padding is intended to cope with - the concussive kind. Moreover, we frequently see padding as the only kind of protection used.<br>
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Several authorities I have read argue that no specialised undergarment was worn beneath armour (cf. an arming jack) and therefore the armour was likely to be lined, if not padded. Earlier armour, both greaves and cuirasses, shows stitch holes for affixing linings and the assumption is that lining or padding must have been glued to the later stuff.<br>
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Having also worn plenty of armour, I know I want something quite substantial under the metal kind.<br>
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My point is that, if you line or pad your armour, you don't absolutely need a chiton and could dispense with this extra layer of clothing.<br>
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People have said, "If the Celts did it, why not the Greeks?". I would say that the Greek style of fighting (in fact, rather than in Art) is demonstrably intellectual, whereas the Celtic style, WHEN it included nudity, was equally demonstrably testicular ( park the brain and run on the testosterone).<br>
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I'm not sure I buy the bit about mucky cloth, either. There would be a clear advantage in having cloth supporting the scrotum if you got a spear in the pubis. Some of the warriors on the Chigi vase appear to have wrapped theirs up tightly. Still, said vase also shows warriors with exposed genitals and I won't claim to be right on this - these are just my views.<br>
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Look on the bright side, Buffhoplite; if they ever did that musical training we hear about, it was probably done nude, so you can make an excuse for showing off your vaunted physique. I've actually been keen to develop the "Classical Kata" myself ( though I wasn't originally planning to do it nude!). You could become the Greek re-enactment equivalent of the Chipmunks. No, hang on, I think I mean Chippendales... <br>
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I have made and worn a linothorax and I actually find that heats up very rapidly. Working in the British Museum, I found the edging was coming unstuck!<br>
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If you're in the UK, any of you, please let me know, it would be good to get together at a show.<br>
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Paul<br>
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