What an incredible series Matt. I hope you realize how lucky you are to have access to Toby like that :) The information in these videos is of such high value they could have easily been released as an addendum to his book.
Jeffrey Hedgcock (facebook.com/jeffreyjousterarmourer/) lives in SoCal and also runs a jousting school, go on a bike ride with him and you will get loads of great information without having to travel outside the U.S. He is a guru. :)
Great video. On a related topic, are there any acounts about the use of armor outside the battlefield? For example: if a knight (or small group of knighs) was traveling (through a region that is not at war), would he bring some kind of armor? If so, what kind: something lighter, like gambeson and mail, a full plate, or something else? Would it be practical for him to ride all day in armor, or would he have it stored?
The comment on damage by Iconoclasts is interesting; was this a common type of thing in England at the time? and why did they chop off the finger tips?
The German planes were best in the beginning of the war, the English in the middle and the Americans by the end. This has everything to do with when they began the design process and little else. If the Germans had managed a few more months, they would have been back on top as their jets had huge potential. Of course the English jets would have been better still and so on...
Poppycock! He's not American! I mean, he may have an American accent, and he may have been born in California and he may have an America passport and all that, but possession is nine tenths of the law and he are belong to us.
Okay, we'll do it like this: we get the back part with most of the brain, and you guys get the face, so you can benefit from our good looks and healthy teeth.
Loved this series of videos, but that damn vandalism of scratching in names/initials pissed me off in every single video. Oh well people will do that kind of shit regardless of the time period I guess. Impressive work as well, making that out of a single block of stone with such detail and not messing it up.
Dear Matt, would you consider making a video about blackening armour? I showed to a friend pictures of Dr. Capwell in his gorgeous old black and gold armour, and he complained that it doesn't look authentic at all, that it looks very modern and sci-fi and kitch plasticky fake, instead of looking like a proper replica. I then sent him several links about painting and blackening armour (and sometimes covering it in textile), but I would also like to hear your take on the matter. I find that many people think that the way museum armour looked when it was new is very similar to the way it looks now (never mind that there are quite a few centuries between them), and in some cases it's actually true, but in many it's not. Also, I find that that this situation presents similarities to the way we think about ancient greco-roman sculpture, with new evidence showing that originally it was painted over!
+TheFilthyCasual A few years ago there was an exhibition of Austrian arms and armour here in Sydney Australia that had examples of blackened armour. The book described how it was done including the bluing technique. Unfortunately I don't have it anymore but perhaps if you google the following it may help. Austrian arms and armour exhibition, Sydney powerhouse museum Australia 1998. Hope this helps you in some way.
This blackening was done chemically on that armour, it's not really period correct but it's the best way to get a clean finish like that, period blackening was done with heat and oil, does give a more natural look. That aside It's a masterpiece of reproduction.
Matt, although you have really helped illuminate the skill of 15thC armorers, this video has REALLY given me an appreciation for 15thC stone sculptors! ;-)
BTW Christian Bale had the same problem in Batman Begins to the point of headaches from the tight fit, so they made it more flexible for the Dark Knight x)
That bascinet looks a lot like the neck harnesses used to protect race car drivers' necks from bending to much in a impact. It's remarkable how we keep coming back to very similar forms.
Matt you are my favorite youtube channel, but only because Tobias doesn't have one. As good as your regular videos are anything with Tobias is guaranteed to be twice as good.
Gorgeous….look at the weaved gold on his armour and crown on his head….magnificent carved necklace on him and his lady is very beautifully carved also..
5:00. Dr Toby talks about the armour being a machine. Well a common definition of a ‘machine’ is “Something with at least one moving part.” So in the case of armour there is many moving parts so it’s definitely a machine by definition.
I'm still not entirely clear on whether it was Wehraboo's, or if Lloyd actually said something goofy. Don't know enough about it to figure it out, honestly.
+CarnalKid from what I have read it seems alot of people are jumping down his throat for daring to criticise the spandau, but it seems he didn't really criticise it as much as highlight the benefits of the Bren, which the "fanboys" then ran with and basically lynched the poor bastard. I am glad he "stuck to his guns though " pun intended .
+Baker7498Army I'm glad he stuck by his points, I don't know enough about the subject to form an argument but it seems like apart from the few who knew what they where talking about the was another 100 atacking him, he gave good reasons for his comments and his research all came from good sources , another example of RU-vid buggery
Yeah, this channel isn't plagued by fanboys debates yet, or should I say, wasn't? What I saw on Lindy's vid was Lindy's Fanboys beeing buthurt about people correcting their patron saint, calling the rest of the world fanboys! Some of these people indeed where wermacht fanboys talking out of their arses, but others, many others, actually knew what they where talking about, and replied, factually, on precise assertions made by Lindy! Lindy first said AND implied loads of BS on his first video, then cherry picked the worst dumbest comments to reply to, carefully ignoring the numerous rationally argumented ones, especially avoiding those from people that have actual experience firing one or even the two weapons, such as was the case of some commenters, US based recreational shooters, and those of Austrian, German, Spanish, and other countries military or former military, and i mean, former crewmen, formally trained in the use of the MG3 or it's variants (still basically a 7,62 nato version of the mg-42), IE, not the odd guy that had the occasion to shoot one, once... Sadly, Lindy has proven quite adept at working his mouth faster than he should, and making broad generalizations based on either cherrypicked or anecdotal evidence, or at times, only supported by his gut feeling on a subject, hence all the rebutals Mr Easton made to his videos on this very channel! All in all Lindy's channel is more of a Rant channel, with anecdotal information sprinkled in, not often factual, at that... On the other hand, This Channel, or Knyght Errant's one are pretty much the exact opposite, half well sourced evidence, and hands on experience, with the occasional rant, maybe... I'd be glad if that Bren vs MG-42 pointless quarrel did not expand ellsewhere, especially on much more informative channels, although I'm also cognizent that by replying to you here, I'm contributing to what could be considered a spillover...
Dr Toby Capwell is a truly inspiring man. Imagine being a small child with the impossible dream of becoming a knight in shinning armor but you live in the wrong country at the vastly wrong date, and then one day finding yourself decked out in full armor beaming on your noble steed leading Richard III to his final resting place while the whole world watches. It seems to me like walking on the moon should be an easier goal to achieve. He's living a life worth living.
A very enlightening presentation. I would love to see another on another effigy from a different period. I was wondering about those stubby fingers from the second I first saw them. Any reason why they were shortened?
The stubby fingers are mentioned by Toby and Matt in either this video or part two. The fingertips were chopped up by Iconoclasts and the restoration work, unable to magically repair the fingers to their original length, settled for redoing the faux-fingernail details of the armor on what would originally have been the last set of joints.
Both of you guys have an amazing chemistry, more informative than anything on dead tv right now, iam glad I live in this age. A shame however later medieval gets so much attention in terms of content, would love to see more about dark ages, Byzantine times.
The "crown"? Any comment on that would be nice. What is it? Is it a crest? Would they be wearing something like that in come form of combat (doesn't have to mean big battle)
If I'm not mistaken it's an "orle" or scarf, and the only purpose is to show off. As established in the earlier vids this knight was wealthy and that was a fashionable addition at the time. Whether it would be worn in combat, who knows. Nobles did decorate their combat armour with gold and precious stones, we know this, but it probably boiled down to personal preference. On a side note such decoration could serve to more easily identify you, in case your men were looking for you (and you banner was missing/ unrecognizable) and might help convince your enemies that you can pay a ransom and they should take you alive rather than kill you.
This was an amazing series of incredibly fascinating information. Thank you to you both. I wish there would be more videos like this with different effigies.
If ever you can convince Dr. Capwell to show off one (or several) of his personal sets of armor that would be really interesting, as we'd be able to see the whole kit in motion. Also, sincerely, thank you to the both of you for this little series. It's made me even more aware of how poor most fictional armor is. So please, keep ruining fiction with your knowledge - I love it! :)
More people should view these. Plenty to think about. Good work toby ! This series needs more exposure and proper tie ups..potentially heavy subject..what might be interesting is on how to extrapolate from here back to texts and so on..
ok. I'm just going to throw it out there. I would like a video where Toby is let loose and just talks. I would watch an hour long or more informational video. just a thought. love the channel.
7:25 thank you, I was just making a 3D-model of an armor set and I was just wondering how the hell the placard looked from the back, when you said this.
Keep in mind that a lot of effigies are made ether before or after the funeral. Knight: when i die in 30/50years time i want a fancy tombe Grandson 50years later: grandad always liked the latest tech, lets get him a new tombstone in the latest fashion.
What kind of helmets do the English use after the 1460's? I can't seem to find anything English in my usual source after this time that depicts a helmet clearly.
What sort of visors would these great bascinets have? The sculptors clearly wanted to show the individual's face in these effigies, so they'd leave out the visor, but surely the knight would have had one in real life. Not much point in encasing yourself in armour like that if you're leaving the face exposed. Do we have any clues as to the sort of visor Lord Bardolf might have worn?
This was such a wonderful series, Matt. A true pleasure to watch through. Thank you for making such informative and entertaining videos alongside Dr Capwell.
I know this is old, but wow! I found this to be one of the best armor series that I have watched. The effigies really are some of the best historical references. One gets to see the whole package. Thanks guys.
Truly extraordinary series, Matt! I have to say that I'd love to see Dr. Capwell do the same sort of series on other armour traditions, given the fact that armoured effigies also exist across the Continent. The other thing I'd say about your joint effort here is that it is a classic illustration of the power of two teachers who love their subject to pull in an audience. I shared these with some friends who have no interest in armour but who found themselves drawn into the subject matter. That's a real gift.
Encore gentlemen, encore! Great to see an enthusiast and expert explaining the function and evolution of armor, and thank you very much to both of you for putting the mini series together.
12:13 i tried to make a gauntlet articulate on leathers (like English sabatons) but the leather strips bunch up in a really uncomfortable way and it was incredibly less protective against blows and stabs.
This was an amazing set of videos, and the audio and visuals are top notch too. I loved how you could get so in close on effigy in this video. I could honestly listen to you and Toby talking all day long. :)
Awesome video series. My question seems to miss the point but I think it's because everything was so well explained - anyway, what's all the 'graffiti' on the effigy? Is there anything interesting to be said about it?
I skimmed some of the comments in the other videos, Matt replied there with something that it was mostly 18th/19th century vandalism/graffiti. I suspect what can be said about it is that humans will do what humans do.
Did the knights really look like this? I just can't look away from the puny build of this knight's human frame.(Not comparing with Henry 8😅) Thin arms and legs seem so opposite of what a knight should have,IMHO..?!? Just asking as a noob.
@@deece1482 Well, endurance is key so I suppose it is close. artistic interpretation and practical reasons was my guess. But I didn't live back then, so I wouldn't know✌
You might want to take a look at Knyght Errant 's channel if you haven't already. He talks about the design aspects of several types of armour and head/neck protection from the period.
You can see fage letering on the armor, I asume it was painted with script on it but now is faided away and a ghost image of the collour borders remain, could you maybe talk about what is known, about that and relation to real armor.
If you're talking about the lettering on random parts of the body and limbs of the armor, that's graffiti and vandalism. If you're talking about the gold band above the facial opening of the bascinet, they often contain Latin mottoes and prayers.
pardon the silly question, but would a great bascinet like this have a visor that the artist hasn't shown or is this it? It seems strange to leave the entire face open?
It's amazing, I asked the very same question about the fingernails in the earlier video and even though this was obviously recorded much earlier than my question was asked you still addressed it. It's a testament to Matt's ability as an interviewer. Thank you for the video Mr. Easton, I've enjoyed this series greatly.
