The fingers of each Knight Gauntlet are articulated by individually riveting a row of metal scales to a thick leather mount, which is then sewn to the back of each glove finger. Although it appears very simple, this extra plate covering the join between the back hand and the knuckles permitted a much more complex articulation during which the joint remained wholly covered and protected throughout. Below the knuckle is another new development seen on plate gauntlets of this period, the ‘knuckle-rider’ plate. The back of the knuckles feature raised hardened studs known as gadlings – these were a knight’s secret weapon, functioning like a knuckle-duster and capable of delivering stunning blows with a surprise punch. This gives the wrist joint a complex multi-point geometry meaning that you’ll barely realise that you’re wearing armor at all. The wrist joint is made from four overlapping steel plates which have been hand-riveted to one-another with sliding rivets. Now, they could be close-fitting and aesthetically streamlined – such as ours, which reach an elegant point to defend the forearm, with characteristic Gothic fluting to strengthen the steel. Due to the articulation of the wrist joint, gauntlets of this period no longer had to have the flared hourglass-shaped wrist pieces seen on earlier unarticulated steel gauntlets, which had to be wide enough to accommodate the full range of movement. The wrist-plate of our Knight Gauntlets is a cunningly curved piece of plate riveted at the wrist to form an enclosing and well-defended wrist-guard. They make an excellent companion to any of our Darksword Armory swords, which have secure leather grips specially designed for use with gauntlets. Our Knight Gauntlets are built around a pair of comfortable, resilient suede leather gloves, which are open at the palm and fingers for the maximum possible manual dexterity and grip. Modern roleplayers and re-enactors generally don’t have squires that they can merely cast their dented armor off to, so slightly sturdier armor ensures that it will weather the knocks and bumps of use with aplomb. This means that our Knight Gauntlets are much more rugged than contemporary analogues: a medieval knight would have had squires and armorers in their retinue at their beck and call to maintain their field armor think of it as a track-day car with its own team of mechanics. This is well within the bounds of historical accuracy for the period – although surviving examples of historical medieval battle tends to be a little lighter at around 18-20 gauge, thicker 16-gauge steel was the norm for tournament armor, with some heavily reinforced tournament pieces being made from 14 or even 12-gauge. ![]() T he expert armorers at House of Warfare have selected 16-gauge mild steel as the material for our Knight Gauntlets. They have been designed from the historical originals that appear around the second quarter of the 1400s CE as part of the first fully-integrated suits of armor that were designed and manufactured as one, functioning in efficient concert, rather than being designed and made as individual pieces of armor. The essence of our Knight Gauntlets is a matched pair of steel gauntlets with each finger and the wrist joint fully and independently articulated. Our Knight Gauntlets are the apotheosis of a new world: one in which the shining knight, clad all in a magnificent garniture of plate, would enjoy the briefest of supremacies.Īuthentic Designs with Modern Convenience The new kind of society emerging in Late Middle Ages Europe had birthed new weapons of war and new forms of warfare, and these spurred light-speed advanced in armor technology, enabled by revolutions in trade and industry. Our Knight Gauntlets hark from the glory days of plate armor in the 15 th -century, when complete garnitures of plate armor with interchangeable parts were ordered and made as unified, integrated armor systems. Knight Gauntlets (About): Mid-15 th Century Knight Gauntlets
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