Tuesday, December 04, 2018

The Maile Shirt in European Tradition

The hauberk is a shirt of maile, commonly known as chain mail. Usually reaching to the mid thigh it had sleeves of varying length. A shorter version was referred to as a haubergeon but either terms are applicable to a wide assortment of variants found around the world used by most iron using cultures.European maile was created by interlocking riveted rings of mild steel. In the western tradition it was fabricated using the 4 in 1 pattern.








History attributes the Celts as the originators of chain mail as documented by the Romans when they expanded their empire north into Europe. The Romans adopted their version of maile armor called the lorica hamata that remained in active use with the legions and auxiliaries for at least six hundred years. It was the empire that spread the use of maile throughout the Mediterranean basin and central Asia.



The earliest surviving example of maile was found in present day Romania and was dated to the 4th/5th century BC. It is a testament to the efficiency of maile that it remained in service for so long only being supplanted by the advancement of plate armor in the 15th century and the use of gunpowder by the 16th century. As a defense against slashing and cutting weapons maile was extremely effective, did not hinder movement despite its weight and was durable. If links were broken they could be replaced easily. Maile, like swords, became legacy items passed down generations.



It is perhaps the Normans who are mostly associated with the resurgence of maile in the 11th century as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. During the migration period after the fall of the Roman empire much of the infrastructure to create maile, (which was laborious, tedious and expensive), was abandoned to all but the wealthy or nobility. Not only did the Normans issue maile to their soldiers but they also modified the traditional dark aged byrnie maile shirt by adding fuller sleeves, additional length to protect the upper legs of cavalry and began the use of mail coifs under helmets for additional neck and head protection. Thus began the second golden age of maile in Western Europe.





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