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Post by Kataphractos on Feb 27, 2012 19:17:29 GMT
Title. If so, what would they have resembled? I'm looking at getting this one (more likely in white though), but since the historical record is so sketchy on it, would I be better off wearing an extra shirt or two instead of getting a gambeson? This'll be mainly for Ren Faire wear/usage. On the other hand though, since the Faires I'd be attending are in Georgia and Florida during the summer, I'm probably better off eschewing the gambeson altogether and just sacrificing a white or natural color tunic to the oil on the mail. But anyway, question in the title stands.
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Sean (Shadowhowler)
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on Feb 27, 2012 19:54:59 GMT
Gah. Yeh, I go to the Georgia RenFaire... and its friggin hot! I sometimes do a viking persona... and when I do i ware a sleeveless tunic. You could not pay me to ware a tunic and gambeson and maile... I'd melt.
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Luka
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Post by Luka on Feb 27, 2012 19:59:01 GMT
There is no evidence they did, and thick woolen tunics work well enough.
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Post by Elheru Aran on Feb 27, 2012 20:54:57 GMT
I find it somewhat difficult to believe that the Vikings would have not worn gambesons. Given the propensity of chain mail to give way under blows and bite into the skin underneath, you HAVE to wear something underneath. Yes, a thick tunic would have helped to mitigate the effects of that somewhat; I won't dispute that. However, it wouldn't have been anywhere near as effective as a padded gambeson.
Mail does seem to probably have been a fairly rare commodity for the Vikings, though, so I wouldn't sweat it too much.
And take it from me-- going to the Atlanta Ren Fair, you WILL want to dress as lightly as you can stay in period. Bloody hot on a sunny day, still pretty stifling when it's cloudy. The trees help... a little. Good luck!
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Post by 14thforsaken on Feb 28, 2012 6:22:15 GMT
Sean, you ought to try my kit. I go to the fairs here in Texas in a an armming coat, chain haubrek, infantry gambeson, barbuta and leather armor pieces........all in black. If I wear my chain chauses, the padded armor that goes under them and carry my shield my kit get weighs in at about 90-100 pounds. Good way to sweat weight off, but it gets brutal after a bit.
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Post by Ichiban on Feb 28, 2012 6:43:20 GMT
A friend of mine, who devoted his time to live as a viking, made two gambesons. One of them he made of linen with pockets stuffed with horses hair. The second was made of home made felt and sewn together. He also made his own soap, and wouldn't use deodorants.
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Post by Kataphractos on Feb 29, 2012 1:56:54 GMT
Damn. I really want to wear the mail, but I'm from Minnesota; I start melting in high 80's :oops:
Hm. Well, I do have a wool tunic that can suffice, I guess. Maybe have to save that setup for a windy and cloudy day. But I do plan to wear it at least once.
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Post by Tendrax on Feb 29, 2012 5:10:19 GMT
If you're a northerner going to a renfaire in the south in the summer, I highly suggest a light linen tunic. Personally, a wool tunic in a Georgia summer sounds like hell on earth. Wool is too hot even in a New England summer. Lol.
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Post by Smstradley on Mar 29, 2012 16:14:15 GMT
Being from Florida and spending time in Georgia during the summer I can tell you that the lighter the better.
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Post by Phillip on Mar 29, 2012 23:51:54 GMT
Ya from S. Florida I go as a pirate mostly. Sometimes I don't even bring the sword. Hot, so friggin hot.
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Post by etiennehamel on Mar 30, 2012 0:20:42 GMT
i heard florida was less humid than my spot in canada, imagine a stuffy humid 95 to 104 (can go higher sometimes) i can hardly sleep at night because it's so hot and humid, i have to go sleep in the basement to be the the limit of the ok... but i didn't even went to florida so what do i know about the temperature there
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Post by chuckinohio on Mar 30, 2012 0:44:39 GMT
This thread contains some commentary on what would have been correct viking attire.
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Post by Smstradley on Mar 30, 2012 14:40:10 GMT
It is not to bad if you are with in ten miles of the coast, the sea breeze keeps things mildish. However once you are in the center of the state it is hot, humid, and no air movement.
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Post by MrAcheson on Apr 2, 2012 18:06:11 GMT
If you're wearing mail, you're wearing a gambeson or some other thick cloth garment under it. Otherwise you are just trading external bleeding for internal bleeding. And the latter is more difficult to treat in a culture that doesn't have anything like modern medicine or surgery.
One other thing to consider is that your average viking may not have worn maille at all. Mail cost a lot because of the metal and the labor required to make it. Also wrapping yourself in heavy steel before undertaking a long sea voyage in an open boat might not have been considered the best idea. Leather or heavy cloth might have been much more popular.
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Luka
Senior Forumite
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Post by Luka on Apr 2, 2012 18:41:21 GMT
Yes, thick wool or a few lighter woolen tunics under mail are good enough padding. About the leather, leather is also expasnive so it was rarely used for whole garments, maybe just as a thin outer layer that served for waterproofing.
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