I've seen one reenactor use gauntlets that combined both your versions - it looked like a separate fingers version, but if you closed all fingers at once, an extra plate would slide out, turning it into a 'mitten'. I wonder if it was based on anything historical, or just creativity of a modern smith.
I absolutely LOVE these collab videos especially when it's with Matt Lewis bc he has some stunningly beautiful weaponry as well as armor and it's s real treat to see them!! So thank you to both Matt's for continuing to make these videos! 👍👍
Glad you appreciate my toys. I have quietly switched periods and been developing some new kit this last year or so that I hope to bring back to Matts channel at some point....
In german village Jagsthausen you can see in castle Götzenburg the ,Iron Hand' of famous Imperial Knight Götz ( Gottfried/ Geoffrey) von Berlichingen, who lost a hand in battle.
Wow what incredible gauntlets. That finger articulation is great. A big advantage of this design is being able to give the French a distinct middle finger salute! 😂
Matt, that tradition of knights fighting on foot is much older - it was used by Henry I at Brémule and his other battles in Normandy, just as under King Stephen´s reign at Northallerton.
That style of gauntlet worked well enough for it to stay in common use for almost a hundred years in England. It was likely in part because it was a good design, partly fashion & partly because they didn't like change.
I fought on foot in brand new hourglass gauntlets on Sunday. I experienced a few issues as a result of its shape. So today I bent & maleted them to better fit my hand. I definitely think the extra articulation of the 🏴 gauntlet would be a valuable addition to my gauntlets. However, we mostly do 14th C stuff so I'll probably make do without it.
I don't know if it has been mentionned before, but note that those "italian gauntlets" don't have the simple yet working articulation at the wrist withhout added lanes, by just having two loose rivets on the inside and overextend the cuff plate under the metacarpal plate. Commonly overlooked in modern reproductions (in general left is in one piece while right has this 2 parts construction). Still missing side compression of course, but much better than having fixed cuff.
Hey Matt a bit off topic but is the Zweihänder duel from Maximilian (2017) a accurate sword fight for the time? I'd love to see you do another fight review video. Thanks again for all you do.
I have seen hourglass gauntlets with scale fingers in replica. Do we know if this is an accurate combination? It seems a good compromise of protection and mobility.
Yes real, and probably the most common gauntlet type for the second half of the 15th century in England, based on effigies. After the 1480s you do see a trend towards full mittens without the finger scales. Initially they were just hourglass gauntlets with an extended solid metacarpal plate, but over time that git even longer and gained articulations at the same time that the cuff got longer and more pointed.
RE: the idea that it's linked to English specialization in infantry warfare. Do we know if the same types of gauntlets were used by English cavalry? How about jousting, where it would be almost 100% mounted? Any evidence for continental dedicated infantry using these types of gauntlets compared to cavalry?
In this period, the English knights and men-at-arms preferred to dismount and fight on foot. The only other cavalry fielded would be light types such as hobelars, who wouldn't be wearing any gauntlets at all. The same goes for infantry in continental Europe - they were commoners and for the most part wouldn't have gauntlets. Gauntlets are less important in massed spear/polearm fighting than in "knightly" single combat and provide little defense against enemy archers, and they are relatively expensive for the protection they provide, so they were quite a low priority compared to helmets and body armor.
Also, if you can’t to have them custom fitted, they are kinda a pain in the ass. They make using your weapon more tiring cus weight at the of a lever and it seems a lot of mauscripts show full armored dude choosing not to wear them, just like their allot with out greaves or Saba tons.
It’s Interesting that the italian and German armors didn’t usually have articulated wrists. Why not ? Wouldn’t using a mace or horseman’s axe or hammer also greatly benefit from more wrist mobility ? I’d think flared cuffs would get caught in the reins while using one handed weapons if the cuffs were big enough to allow full mobility.
Nation building seems to require shared struggle and myth, building a nation on the loss of a war isn't really an attractive idea, so pick a battle and ignore that the war was won in sieges.
Established Titles scam paid Matt Easton about $7,000 every time he mentioned them. Established titles recently came under scrutiny for their misleading advertising and pulled most of their ads. I have subscribed to this channel since I started watching RU-vid videos. However, Easton promoting and profiting from obvious scams did it for me. I'm out.
I would suggest that Matt's 'guest' displayed a rude and vulgar gesture to us behind Matt's back and changed it to a thumb only when Matt turned to him. I'd 'cancel' him!
Around 2:00 you did one of the things that makes this channel extremely annoying. As you built up to the main point of the video (in this case a particular type if gauntlet), you suddenly slow down, adding hmms filler words and asides. Get to the point as quickly as possible, editing out anything that gets in the way.
