British and Foreign Arms & Armour

by Charles Henry Ashdown

7. Banded mail was of so flexible a character that folds are depicted in garments constructed of this material; it was used for hauberks, camails, chausses, sleeves, and, in short, for every purpose in which its predecessor had been used.

8. It is represented in MSS. with a metallic surface. The colour is always silver, white or grey of various shades, and gold. We have therefore to devise a protection which shall be of greater service than chain against arrows; which shall be comparatively cheap; in which leather plays a more or less conspicuous part; which shall present the same appearance when viewed upon both sides; shall be flexible; and finally shall have a metallic surface or general appearance.

PLATE XIV

Suggested Construction of Banded Mail

The accompanying diagram ([Plate XIV.]) is taken from a photograph of a piece of banded mail constructed according to our idea of the structure of the mediæval defence. The rings are iron washers, 1 in. in diameter and 1/16 in. thick. Through the centre of the washers a piece of leather exactly as wide as the apertures passes from end to end. The washers are arranged like rouleaux of coin, each one just covering the aperture through the centre of the one below. Between each row of washers a thick piece of leather is placed, the raw edges being visible on either side of the mail where they have been rounded off with the knife. The section of this leather band would be similar to that of a dumb-bell, the centres on each side of the leather being hollowed so as to permit the edges of the rouleaux to approach each other and almost touch, the thin centre only preventing them. To the middle of this leather band the individual rings of the mail are sewn of both the upper and lower rows. The best portion of this example is that immediately to the right of the white band. The appearance of both sides of this example of mail is precisely similar; it is very flexible, and easily bends in any required direction. The weight, however, would probably be prohibitory, even to a mediæval knight, and in order to lighten it we may suggest that every alternate washer be made of leather, or even that two washers of leather alternate with one of metal. Against this it may be argued that banded mail is represented with a metallic tint, but so also is chain mail, which must have presented ordinarily a rusty-hued mass with simply an outer surface of polished iron. The liability to rust of chain mail must have been excessive, and the two outer and accessible surfaces were undoubtedly the only portions usually polished. So well known is this fact that in the pageants now prevalent brown string is knitted to represent chain armour, the outer surface being subsequently covered with a metallic medium. As a consequence the limners of banded mail would represent it with a metallic surface even though it presented as brown or rusty an aspect as chain mail. The washers used in the modern example would in the mediæval period be flattened rings of metal, and the excessively coarse and large banded mail would be oval rings and not circular. The bands are at times represented by single lines, and the suggestion is obvious that the lines simply represent the junction of the rouleaux which have not the extra defence of the bands of leather, or else the band is so narrow that one line is sufficient for its representation.

We will now deal with its efficiency for defence against arrows, which appears to have been the chief reason for its being called into existence. These missiles would strike either upon the rouleaux or upon the bands, and would impinge either at a right angle to the plane of the surface, or at any angle less than a right angle. An arrow striking the rouleaux at right angles would endeavour to pass through (1) the thickness of a metal or leather disc; (2) the leather running through the discs; (3) the thickness of a metal or leather disc at the rear. If it struck a metal disc, however, there would be a deflective tendency either to right or left, according to the slant of the disc.

An arrow striking at an acute angle upon the rouleaux would glance off if the discs slanted in its direction; if the discs sloped from it the arrow might insert itself between two of them, penetrate the band of leather running through the centres, and then endeavour to pass between two discs at the back. So tightly, however, would these discs be pressed together, by the leverage of the arrow-head itself in enlarging the opening between them in the front, that it is questionable if the inertia remaining in the arrow would enable it to overcome such resistance, remembering that the discs are firmly fixed both at the top and bottom to the leather bands. If an arrow struck upon one of the bands it would have to penetrate at least half-an-inch of leather and force apart the rouleaux firmly sewn, or affixed in other ways, to the band on either side.

The specimen of banded mail constructed in accordance with the foregoing method possesses in actual practice the resisting power claimed for it; the apparent weak point is the penetrability between the discs. If, however, the rings are firmly sewn to the lateral bands the resistance to an arrow is almost if not quite equal to that of any other part of the mail; the arrow becomes firmly fixed in the discs without penetrating to the body. It is an unsettled question as to whether or not complete armour of leather discs was ever introduced into England: certain it is that the armour of William Longuespée, first Earl of Salisbury, in Salisbury Cathedral was originally painted brown, but that might signify, as we have said before, rusty chain mail and not leather; whereas upon the few sculptured effigies in banded mail preserved to us the colouring has altogether disappeared.