Byzantine Weapons and Warfare

[Urselius]

Another question. Is there some good reason to assume that the kremasmata shown on the saint in the middle are not simply pteruges? Nor his protection for the upper arm, and that of the saint on the left? I believe it is often seen as a quilted defense or splints.

On some depictions of kremasmata, and of the upper-arm defences, there are rivet heads, which would suggest that leather is probably not being used, as leather can be stitched. Also there is the artistic bias of the Byzantines, they delighted in showing folds in textiles, virtually all depictions of textiles are shown elaborately folded; the cloaks of horsemen almost universally are shown billowing behind them in an exaggerated manner. I think that if the separate strips of leather pteruges were being depicted then the artists would have been unable to restrain themselves from showing some evidence of this - slightly overlapping strips, or a general unevenness. On the contrary, all depictions of kremasmata seem to show them as being in even ranks, no suggestion of separateness of strips is ever shown.