Padded Armour

[Crispvs]

Tarbicus,

"I had an idea that the thoroughly conjectural extra layer for shoulders and chest, with short pteryges attached, could be another garment worn over the main subarmalis."

I have been using a thick piece of leather with heavily padded shoulders in this way for a couple of years. The main problem with it is that it tends to shift around while the armour is being donned and often has to be hauled (not necessarily successfully) back into position one the armour is on. This was the thing which spurred me on to start making a full torso linen and wool subarmalis over the off season. I was about half finished when this thread really took off and I decided to stop work and see what might be come up on RAT before continuing.

"Perhaps the subarmalis was only a simple garment to protect the tunic from the armour, and the pteryges are purely decorative, just like the cingulum's apron?"

I have often had that feeling about the pteruges themselves, particularly on later monuments, but I cannot believe that the subarmalis only existed to protect the tunic from the armour. It is true that the Romans do not seem to have worn a subarmalis in the days of the pectoral plate, but the move to mail indicates a desire for greater protection. Given that mail gives very little protection on its own from the concussive effects of a blow I see little point in Roman soldiers (and later the army) going to the expence of buying mail if the extra coverage it provided did not equal extra protection from concussive blows. I have always maintained, and still maintain, that to be useful as armour, mail must be padded.

Crispvs