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KNIGHT c.1180
An extract from Armies of Feudal Europe 1066-1300by Ian Heath
5. KNIGHT c.1180
Based on the lost 'Hortus Deliciarum' of Abbess Herrade of Landsberg, a German ms. usually dated to c.1180-85, he has a long, almost triangular shield and wears a 'Phrygian' style helmet, a type which remained popular and in widespread use throughout the 12th century. Note his mail hosen, laced up the back of the leg as described under figure 3. His hauberk has full-length sleeves (which became the norm during the 12th century) with mail mitons (mittens) attached, and if the dating of c.1180 is correct then this ms. contains some of (if not the) earliest surviving clear representations of such mittens, which appear to have been in general use by the end of the century. Basically they consisted of a bag for the hand with a smaller bag for the thumb, the palm-piece being of cloth or leather with a silt through which the hand could pass, leaving the mitten dangling at the wrist. The lace visible at the wrist, and often below the knee as well, was intended to support some of the weight of the sleeve or chausse.
The detail at right shows the method by which the type of sword-belt worn here was secured. The tapes were drawn through the corresponding slits at the other end of the belt and knotted together. Although buckles were in general use elsewhere this knotted type of belt, which seems to have invariably been white, was prevalent in Germany and Central Europe at this date. It is to be found in some sources even in the early-14th century.
[Based on Plate 3, The Hortus Deliciarum
by Herrad of Landsberg]
