European Hauberk Construction

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European hauberk Const ruct ion

This article details the pattern I have been using for the manufacture of12 t h and 13 t h Cent ury European Hauberks. It can be one of t he more

complex patterns to follow but the results are certainly worth the effort.

The aim of t his pat t ern was t o produce a hauberk with t he charact erist icsso often shown in medieval art: whether that be illumination, stone carvingor t omb ef f igies. The basic principle is t hat t he hauberk begins wit h acircular yoke over the shoulders rather than the more commonly used 'T'Shirt st yle. For a very clear represent at ion of t his see Fig 1.

Fig1.

Apart f rom purely aest het ic reasons, t his was done so t hat t he longsleeves, often with attached mufflers (or hand protection), could be joinedon wit h t he mail running in t he same direct ion as it does on t he body. Whent his is done t he mail fit s more snugly over t he arms and allows for g reat erfreedom of movement.

Those who are f amiliar wit h long sleeved hauberks of T shirt const ruct ion


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where t he mail on t he sleeve is running t he wrong way will doubt less befamiliar wit h t he way t hey can gape or hinder movement .

Anot her great advant age t o having t he mail hang in t he same direct ion on

t he arms as on t he body is t hat it makes blades less likely t o cat ch in t herings from downward cut s, because t he rings are present ed in a vert icalrat her t hen horizont al f ashion.

This kind of European hauberk is most of t en shown wit h an int egral coifconst ruct ed in one of t wo diff erent st yles, or variat ions t hereof. First lyand most commonly is t hat consist ing of an open circle around t he faceSee Fig 1 . and anot her closed or f illed circle at t he back of t he head. Thiscircle around t he face can be t ight ened or loosened via a cord. See Fig 2 .

This cord runs t hrough t he rings around t he face and exit s at t he cornersabove t he eyes. This enables t he coif t o be worn quite low covering t hechin only or as far up as right under t he eyes. When fully loosened t he coifcan t hen be removed very much like a hood and hung round over your back.See fig 3 . This is a very comf ort able and pract ical arrangement giving fullf reedom of movement for t he head and neck. It also allows one t o cooldown somewhat when not engaged in combat wit hout removing t he hauberkaltogether.

Fig 2 . Fig 3 .


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A variation on this first style of coif is the wearing of an additional dome-like coif over the attached coif. figs 4 a-c. This is most likely done with asimple close f it t ing dome helmet in between t he two layers of mail. This isshown very clearly in fig 4 . c The int egral coif wit h t he circle around t he

face is clearly visible underneat h a seperat e coif t hat is running in ahorizont al pat t ern and just covers t he area where t he dome helmet is. Figs4. a & b show the bottom edge of theis dome helmet below the second coif.

Fig 4 .a Fig 4 .b Fig 4 .c

The second style of co if is one t hat more closely resembles t he st andardhorizont al pat t ern of coif . This joins in t o t he hauberk quit e nicely as allt he mail is running in t he same direct ion. To facilit at e removal of t he coif

t here was oft en a loose hanging panel or f lap t hat could be laced up t o t hebrow level via a cord. See fig 5.

Fig 5 . Fig 6 .

However as stated before this style is less commonly depicted in 12th &


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13th C art than the one first mentioned and also most representations ofit do not show any kind of flap or cord fastening. See fig 6. An attachedcoif that one cannot get out of would be most tiresome. So it is my opinionthat in cases such as these the artist has either neglected to shown such

det ails or simply been unaware of t heir necessit y.An attached coif that one cannot get out of would be most tiresome.

When working wit h mail I work in rows and columns of rings connect ed t oeach ot her by links t hat I call connect ors. See Fig 7 . All of t he rings f aceone way and are parallel t o each ot her while all of t he connect ors areangled t he ot her way t o t he rings. The piece of mail shown in fig 7 . is a 3by 10 piece, having 3 rows of rings and 10 columns. They are all naturally

joined to each other by connectors.

Fig 7.

Connect or Ring

To make t he yoke st yle hauberk, st art wit h a hollow circle of mail like t hebottom edge of a coif that is 3 by 70 rings, seven pieces of what is shownin Fig 7 joined together and both ends connected to complete the circle.Expand this outwards at a rate of 7 rings per row. Evenly distribute the

expansions around t he rows t o avoid a series of radial lines t hat will occurif all expansions are in t he same posit ions. Fig 8 .b shows how t o divide t hecircular yoke section of the hauberk up into 7 segments and thendistribute the expansions evenly. The diagram only shows the first 10 rowsof t he yoke. Cont inue adding 7 expansions per row unt il t he very corner oft he shoulders is reached.

At t his point you can simply add rows wit hout t he expansions as t he mail isnow hanging vert ically and t he circle does not need t o increase in diamet er.If t here is t oo much mail in t he yoke t his can leed t o bunching in t hearmpits and severe restriction of movement. Continue adding rows without


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expansions to the bottom of the yoke until, when worn over the gambeson,the mail hangs down to the point where it is level with the inside of thearmpit . See Fig 8 .a for a diagram of t he basic component s.

Fig 8. a Fig 8. b

Next a basic tube for the body is attached to the yoke piece. Both at thecent re of t he chest and cent re of t he back. Each of t hese joins only needsto be about 20 rings across at the moment. For the sleeves, two matchingtubes can be constructed. They should not extend past the inside of theelbow at this stage. These tubes are attached to the yoke at the outermost part of the arm for about 10 rings. The inner side of the sleeve isattached to the body tube of the hauberk for about 5 rings. To ensuremaximum freedom of movement and minimise bunching under the arms t hearmpit of the hauberk should fit very snugly to the body.

This stage of assembly is one of the most critical of the entire hauberksconst ruct ion. Regularly t ry on t he hauberk checking f or f reedom ofmovement and any possible t ight pat ches or snags. Adjust as necessarywhile t rying t o keep t he sleeves as snug as possible to t he body. Tocorrect any problems at t his st age several t hings might be required. Thebody or arm t ubes may need t o be enlarged or even reduced, likewise theyoke. During these fitting trials make sure that the body tube is fairly longabout waist level, also the arm tubes extending to about the inside of the

elbows.

Corner of shoulder


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Once a good f it has been achieved t he seam line bet ween t he yoke andbody t ubes can gradually be closed t owards t he arm pit s. Like wise t heseam bet ween t he sleeve and t he yoke can also be closed t owards t hearm pit s. Make sure t o t ry on t he hauberk regularly during t his process.

Cont inue unt il only f our small t riangles are left . Front and back of eacharmpit. If these triangles become too small the hauberk will tighten up atthe arm pit and restrict movement severely. These remaining trianglesshould be filled as best as possible. Triangular pat t erns in mail where allt hree sides of t he t riangle are running in diff erent direct ions are alwayssomewhat 'messy.' See Fig 9 . for a Hauberk t hat st ill has t he armpitt riangles unfilled. It has also been phot ographed t o make t he join bet weent he yoke, body t ube and arm t ubes easier t o see wit h only every secondconnect or in place.

Fig 9.

To permit free movement of the arms the elbow will need to be tailored.This can be achieved by adding an ext ra diamond shaped panel on t heoutside of the arm. This is exactly the same principle used to constructt he knee of a good pair of chause and is performed in t he same way. Thesleeve should be made t o f it t he arm in a half bent posit ion. This way whenit is straightened some of the bunching will occur at the back of the elbowand when bent complet ely some at t he inside. This provides much greaterfreedom of movement than having all of the bunching occur inside theelbow as will happen wit h a st raight sleeve.


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To construct this elbow section. Make a gently tapered tube that fits theforearm and extends to the wrist. Attach it at the inside of the elbow by 5rings. Bend t he arm t o a half bent posit ion and work out how many ringsare required to be inserted at the back of the elbow. Add a strip 4 rings

wide and then fill in the resulting triangles contracting towards the insideof the sleeve.

While the body of the hauberk can taper in towards the waist it should thenstart to expand at the hips and gently flair out as the skirt continuesdown. This will make t he front and back split s sit much squarer. And allowgreater freedom of movement for the legs.

Craig Sit chCopyright 1996-2005

Patterns for construction of both styles of coif mentioned above andchause will be fo rt hcoming.


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Phot ographic Bibl iography

Barber, Richard. The Reign of Chivalry, Reed 1980.Bouchen, Francois. 20,000 years of fashion. Harry Abrams NY.

Bull, St ephen. An Historical Guide t o Arms and Armour, 1991 St udioEdit ions London.Cockerell, Sydney ( Int roduct ion and Legends). Old t est ament minat ures,George BrazillerEvans, Joan. The Flowering of t he Middle ages, Thames and Hudson 1 966 &1985 .Hofstatter, Hans H. Art of the Late Middle ages, Harry N. abrams 1968.Humble, Richard. Waref are in t he Middle ages, Mallard Press 1989 .Huyghe, Rene. Larousse encyclopedia of Byzant ine and Medieval art , Paul

Hamlyn 1963.Kendall, Alan. The Doccument ary Hist ory Series, Medieval Pilgrims, WaylandPublishers London 1986.Koch, H.W. Medieval Warefare, Book Club associat es London 1978 .Mit chell, Sabrina. Medieval Manuscript Paint ing, Weidenfeld and Nicholson1964 .Norman, Vessy. The Medieval Soldier, Art hur Barker 1 971 .Savage, Anne. The Anglo Saxon Chronicles, Book Club Associat es 19 82 -3 .Shouchal, Francois. Art of t he Early Middle ages, Harry Abrams 1968 .Ward, J.O. t he Middle ages, Rinewart and Winst on.Williams, Jay. Knight s of t he Crusades, Cassell London 19 62 .Wise, Terence. Armies of t he Crusades, Osprey 1978 . (Pict oral only)Edit ors of t he Horizon Magazine. The Vikings, Cassel London 1964 .

European Hauberk Construction

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