Hauberk, Museum of Bayeux.

A hauberk is a shirt of chain mail armour. The term is usually used to describe a shirt reaching at least to mid-thigh and including sleeves. Haubergeon ("little hauberk") generally refers to a shorter variant with partial sleeves, but the terms are often used interchangeably.[1] Slits to accommodate horseback-riding are often incorporated below the waist. Most are put on over the head. Hauberk can also refer to a similar garment of scale armour. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 474 KB) Museum of Bayeux, coat of mail / Personal Picture taken bu user Urban, February 2005 File links The following pages link to this file: Hauberk ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 474 KB) Museum of Bayeux, coat of mail / Personal Picture taken bu user Urban, February 2005 File links The following pages link to this file: Hauberk ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Armour sucks ass alottttttttttt Armour was also commonly used to protect war animals, such as war horses and elephants. ... Dacian scale armour on Trajans column. ...

History

The word hauberk is derived from an old German word Halsberge, which originally described a small piece of mail that protects the throat and the neck (the 'Hals'). The Roman author Varro attributes the Celts with inventing mail. The earliest extant example was found in Ciumesti in modern Romania and is dated to the 4th-5th centuries BC. Roman armies adopted similar technology after encountering it. Mail armour spread throughout the world with the expansion of the Romans and was quickly adopted by virtually every iron using culture in the world, with the exception of the Chinese, who used it rarely despite being heavily exposed to it from other cultures. Detail of metal links. ...

The Bayeux Tapestry, a long embroidered cloth which depicts scenes commemorating the Battle of Hastings (ca. 1066) illustrates Norman soldiers wearing a knee length version of the hauberk, with three-quarter length sleeves and a split from hem to crotch. The Bayeux Tapestry (French: Tapisserie de Bayeux) is a 50 cm by 70 m (20 in by 230 ft) long embroidered cloth which depicts the events leading up to, as well as, the Norman invasion of England in 1066. ... Gold Embroidery Cross-stitch embroidery, Hungary, mid-20th century Phulkari from Punjab region, India 15th century embroidered cope, Ghent, Belgium Elizabethan embroidery styles include blackwork on linen and dense patterns worked in colored silk and metallic threads on velvet or other rich fabrics Embroidery is the art or handicraft of... Combatants Normans supported by: Bretons, Aquitanians, Flemings Anglo-Saxons Commanders William of Normandy, Odo of Bayeux Harold Godwinson † Strength 7,000-8,000 7,000-8,000 Casualties Unknown, thought to be around 2,000 killed and wounded Unknown, but significantly more than the Normans The Battle of Hastings was... Norman conquests in red. ...

The hauberk stored in the Prague Cathedral, dating from the 12th century, is one of the earliest surviving examples from Central Europe and was supposedly owned by Saint Wenceslaus. In Europe, use of mail hauberks continued up until the 14th century, when plate armor began to supplant it, and mail armour started to be recycled into other metal objects or used for scouring pads. In parts of Central Asia, it continued to be used longer. Statue of Saint Wenceslaus in Olomouc (Czech Republic). ...

Construction

The hauberk is typically a type of chain mail armor which is constructed of loops of metal woven into a tunic or shirt. The sleeves sometimes only went to the elbow, but often were full arm length, with some covering the hands with a supple glove leather face on the palm of the hand, or even full mail gloves. It was usually thigh or knee length, with a split in the front and back to the crotch so the wearer could ride a horse. It sometimes incorporated a hood, or coif. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Medieval coif Detail of Edward VI as a child by Holbein, 1538. ...