05-07-2007, 02:13 PM
Hi all, guys can i just suggest everybody take a deep breath, we are not all about to loose our fortunes here.
The argument between linen and leather has been ongoing for almost a century now and i dont think anybody is significantly going to change their opinions on the strength of this forum.
Arguing over whether something has been used as armour is a bit of a moot point as nearly everything has been used as armour at some point in history, from woven grass to fish skins.
arguing whether one is better armour than another is also moot as what you will use is governed by so many other things as well, cost, avaliability, terrain and weather to name just a few
Would an entire hoplite army have worn linothorax, absolutley not, just like the bell cuirass that preceded it it would have been an expensive peice of kit and only the higher classes would have been able to afford it.
I have been researching this subject for almost four years now and i cannot catagoriclly rule out a linothorax style armour being made out of leather or more likely rawhide, but as stated above proving a negative is impossible, 'prove that you dont have weapons of mass destruction'
All we can do as researchers seperated from the subject by 2500 years is look at the evidence and take a best guess, IMHO i believe the majority of linothorax were made from sheets of linen sewn together to make something similar to a medieval jack. but i would love to throw out all my research and be proven wrong by the discovery of one of them.
ps. I dont think the spolas was a designed peice of armour.
Jason
The argument between linen and leather has been ongoing for almost a century now and i dont think anybody is significantly going to change their opinions on the strength of this forum.
Arguing over whether something has been used as armour is a bit of a moot point as nearly everything has been used as armour at some point in history, from woven grass to fish skins.
arguing whether one is better armour than another is also moot as what you will use is governed by so many other things as well, cost, avaliability, terrain and weather to name just a few
Would an entire hoplite army have worn linothorax, absolutley not, just like the bell cuirass that preceded it it would have been an expensive peice of kit and only the higher classes would have been able to afford it.
I have been researching this subject for almost four years now and i cannot catagoriclly rule out a linothorax style armour being made out of leather or more likely rawhide, but as stated above proving a negative is impossible, 'prove that you dont have weapons of mass destruction'
All we can do as researchers seperated from the subject by 2500 years is look at the evidence and take a best guess, IMHO i believe the majority of linothorax were made from sheets of linen sewn together to make something similar to a medieval jack. but i would love to throw out all my research and be proven wrong by the discovery of one of them.
ps. I dont think the spolas was a designed peice of armour.
Jason
"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again." Maya Angelou
