Dan Howard on Scale Armour

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Karak Norn Clansman
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Dan Howard on Scale Armour

#1 Post by Karak Norn Clansman »

As seen here, historian Dan Howard (author of Bronze Age Military Equipment; much recommended) touches on some aspects of scale armour:
Scale armour tends to use plates that are a lot thinner than solid plate armour (c. 0.5mm was typical while plate armour was usually over 1mm), otherwise it becomes too heavy to bear. Plus there are a lot of weaknesses introduced because the scales have to be attached to the backing (every lacing hole is a weak point). Lamellar is a lot more efficient but the lacing is still a huge problem. The mail-and-plates construction was developed as a replacement for lamellar and did away with a lot of problems associated with lamellar lacing. If you want flexibility then use mail. It is lighter and just as protective as scale and lamellar. The problem with mail is that it is the most expensive and labour-intensive type of armour ever developed. The ideal armour is solid plate as the primary defence with mail protecting the areas that can't be covered with plate. But solid plate has to be carefullly tailored to fit properly and requires a lot of skill.

Sakakibara Kozan's Chukokatchu Seisakuben presents a good summary of some of the problems with scale and lamellar - problems that re-enactors usually never get to experience.

"When soaked with water the armour becomes very heavy and cannot be quickly dried; so that in summer it is oppressive and in winter liable to freeze. Moreover, no amount of washing will completely free the lacing from any mud or blood which may have penetrated it, and on long and distant campaigns it becomes evil-smelling and overrun by ants and lice, with consequent ill effects on the health of the wearer."

The following passage from the Arabic Nihayat al-Su'l wa'l Umniyaya fi Ta'lim A'mal al-Furusiyya supports this.

"Every day he must train himself to dismount elegantly so that he does not break or damage it [the armour], and he must keep practising and improving this skill. If, during the winter, the cuirass gets wet or damp from rain, he must examine its leather straps and its connections carefully and wipe off any dampness or mud from its individual pieces and any wetness from its lacing. If he fails to do this, the inside of it will rot and it will become out of shape. Such rotting shows negligence and carelessness."

All metal armours are highly protective. The problems with scale have already been outlined but have nothing to do with protective capacity.
SpellArcher
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Re: Dan Howard on Scale Armour

#2 Post by SpellArcher »

That gels with what I remember reading when I used to play a lot of Ancients. For example at one point under the Empire, Praetorians wore scale because it looked good. But Legionaries wore chainmail or segmentata because those were more practical, at least until they abandoned metal armour wholesale. Chain was popular I think from around 200 BC until late medieval times in western Europe and much later further east.
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Prince of Spires
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Re: Dan Howard on Scale Armour

#3 Post by Prince of Spires »

Karak Norn Clansman wrote: and on long and distant campaigns it becomes evil-smelling and overrun by ants and lice
:lol:

I can just imagine a whole army being defeated because it's overrun by lice and ants... :lol:

Thanks for that image in the early morning. :)

It does match with my thoughts. In the end, a lot of it comes down to cost vs utility. Once something becomes very labour intensive, it becomes too expensive and impractical to equip a whole army with it. And at some point you decide that decent protection is good enough.

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Re: Dan Howard on Scale Armour

#4 Post by Luna Guardian »

Prince of Spires wrote: And at some point you decide that decent protection is good enough.

Rod
Not if you're a high elf it isn't :lol:
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Karak Norn Clansman
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Re: Dan Howard on Scale Armour

#5 Post by Karak Norn Clansman »

No tradeoff equation can stand against the need for highest helmet in all of Warhammer!
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Re: Dan Howard on Scale Armour

#6 Post by Luna Guardian »

Karak Norn Clansman wrote:No tradeoff equation can stand against the need for highest helmet in all of Warhammer!
Word! We even named the champion of our knights "high helm"! Kneel before the majesty of our magnificence! :lol:
Prince Deral Lionbane, head of the House of Lionbane, Lord of Lionstone and Warden of Tor Charta

Luna, try not to beat them too hard. They are proud about their pseudo-glorious past and their present nothingness, you know.
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RE.Lee
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Re: Dan Howard on Scale Armour

#7 Post by RE.Lee »

Good read but they didn't take Ithilmar into account :wink:
cheers, Lee

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Re: Dan Howard on Scale Armour

#8 Post by SpellArcher »

Yeah, I kind of see a High Elf army in scale (mine are mostly chain funnily enough) not suffering too much from real world problems!
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Karak Norn Clansman
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Re: Dan Howard on Scale Armour

#9 Post by Karak Norn Clansman »

Yes, elegant Elves and magic doesn't lend themselves much to a picture of chafing armour, lice, rot, sweat and misery. There can be a little of that in dire circumstances, but obviously you'd normally see something that would make a mere human gape at the wonder and apparent ease, cleanliness or comfort of it all, always with a touch of finesse and refinement. One can see Elves undergo great hardships, but they themselves and their equipment wouldn't be such a burden unto them as it would be for others.

Good fantasy borrows heavily from reality, and dares to go beyond it with a glint in the eye. One foot firmly on the ground, and the other rising for lofty adventures and dream realms.
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