Late 13th Century Armour Adapted for SCA Combat

Though the 14th century is usually associated with the ‘transitional' period in European armour study there are several examples that show armourers were beginning to experiment with rudimentary plate defenses from even the beginning of the 13th century. Most notably plate appeared at the knee and elbow joints and on the front of the shin. The knees appear to have been developed first and show up in the early decades of the century. This is probably due to the fact that knees are very vulnerable joint since it takes very little pressure to break the knee cap and incapacitate a fighter. By the end of the century it is possible to find examples of poleyns that would cover enough of the knee to be SCA legal. The poleyns are sometimes worn simply strapped over the maille leg defense but are often fitted to a gamboised cuisse which was a cuisse (upper leg defence) constructed from layers of quilted materiel stuffed with tow or rags. Though it can be assumed that padded garments were worn under armour in previous centuries the 13th century the 13th century is the first time these gambesons are seen worn on the outside of armour and sometimes as the only visible defense (usually in the case of soldiers). There are several examples of gambesons in the Maciejowski bible c1250 of foot soldiers wearing such defenses of sleeveless, long and short sleeved and designs sometimes it appears as two of the designs being worn together.
There is evidence that knights wore them as well such as the early 14th century effigy of Sir Robert De Shurland (1320). Though 14th century Sir Robert's effigy shows more in common with armours of the late 13th century and his is not the only example of a 14th century knight wearing armour that is old fashion. Both Sir Robert and the figure he is standing on seem to be wearing gambesons on their upper arms. It is somewhat confusing since they are both also wearing sleeveless surcoats over these gambesons. In fact the figure Sir Robert is standing on seems to have an additional long sleeved gambeson under the short sleeved gambeson. It is unclear weather Sir Roberts arms are protected in the same manner since the only visible arm in the effigy is highly damaged. His surcoat comes down over his knees and on his lower legs are mail chausses . Though mail chausses are predominate on most brasses, effigies and in illuminations of the time there are also examples of knights going without them. Sir Roberts head is protected with a mail coif and he carries a heater. His gambeson is charged with a rampant lion and is therefore probably of fine cloth. Sir Roberts helm is not visible under his head but is probably some kind of great helm. Most elbow defenses of the time consisted of simple metal cups or plates . Nothing like something that would be SCA legal existed until the 14th century. So it is best to wear a very close fitting elbow under your outer layer of garb or armour. Forearms and shoulders should also be defended in this fashion. Forearms are always either shown defended with mail or gambeson though the latter usually on foot soldiers. The and arms are usually defended with a mail hauberk but there are reference to leather cuirasse buckled at the sides. These cuirasses can sometimes be seen under surcoats in effigies. Though mail is the most predominate form of defense if you are careful you can get away with very little of it. A mail coif or even a padded arming cap with a mail ventail sewn to it would be a good place to start. A Hauberk is not necessary if you wear a long or short sleeved gambeson that reaches to the knees. Additionally you could make a false set of sleeves and skirt out of mail and attach them to a short sleeved gambeson since the body of the hauberk cannot be seen under the surcoat anyway. Gamboised cuisses should be worn on the legs with or without a poleyn, though if you go without a pair of SCA legal poleyns on the outside of your cuieses be sure you have a legal knee cop on the inside. The cuisse it's self can also be reinforced on the inside with rigid materiel. You can wear chausses on your lower leg or go without any defense or you can wear metal schinbalds (simple greaves). The hands must be protected by Gauntlets but these can be painted flat black to mask their nature a bit.
The picture at the top of the page shows what I think would make a good late 13th century armour for SCA combat. I have avoided using mail though the coif emerging from the bottom of the helm would probably be mail. The helm is a ‘sugarloaf' great helm which I have used here since it had a surprisingly short time frame of use from about 1260 to the early 1320s and perhaps a bit longer in some places. It is most common in the 1280s making it quite suitable for a late 13th century harness. Any other contemporary great helm could be worn with this outfit. The other helm pictured below is from the Maciejowski Bible c1250 and would also look good with this harness.

The body and arms are armoured with a gambeson with 3/4 sleeves and eliminates the need for a Hauberk. Legal SCA body and arm armour should be worn beneath it but could otherwise be constructed of anything so long at it was not too bulky.

The upper legs and knees are armoured with gamboised cuisses and metal polyens the lower legs are left undefended.

Over all is worn a surcoat split in the front and back and fashionably tapered from front to back as was the fashion of the time.
All in all this is a rather light defense but it still conveys the appearance of an armoured knight. It is not impossible to imagine a poor knight or esquire armed in such a fashion. There are also several accounts of Behords, tournaments fought with wands of wood or wale bone instead of swords, where no armour except helms and gambesons were worn by the combatants. Some times the helms were even constructed of waxed and gilded leather. The Behords were strikingly similar in nature to our own heavy combat system. This harness is easily consturcted and should provide an affordable start for a 13th century harness.

Note: This article has not been throughly researched. It should not be used for any purpose other than it's intent, to provide a guide for SCA combatants who would like to construct a late 13th century harness that looks reasonably believable and authentic. Though you are welcome to read it I would caution against using it as a source of information for academic research. I would advise even SCA combatants who are looking for an authentic look to conduct further research of their own and use this for a guide. This guide is mostly intended for those who would like a period looking harness but do not have the interest to do extensive research.