Last modified on 3 September 2015, at 20:00

Hand and Forearm Protection

Hand and Forearm Protection


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Completion Rating
This article's completion rating is 1 out of 5. Article planned for future work. No real progress to date.

Mail gauntlets

Integral to the mail shirt


Worn as separate gauntlets


Leather gloves and gauntlets

See Gloves & Mittens

Mail attached to leather gloves

A leather glove or mitten with a section of mail attached to give greater protection.

Discussion
There is no evidence that this was ever done. It is unlikely that warriors of the Viking age would have used this kind of protection.

Splinted forearm protection

Strips of iron attached to a leather or cloth layer worn around the forearms to cover the areas not protected by a mail shirt. Also known as ‘vambraces’.
Art
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Literature
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Archaeology

Discussion
Also used by the Byzantine Army and probably adopted by members of the Varangian Guard. [D’AMATO 2012] [HEATH 1979]

Plate

Separate plates of metal worn on the arms, legs and body.

Discussion
Metal plate armour does not seem to have been used in post-Roman Britain and was not a part of North-West European tradition. It is first mentioned in English texts from the C13th [CAMERON 2000]:p.26.

References