We hope you enjoyed this article on medieval chainmail. Chain mail was an important innovation in the medieval armory and was commonly used by most medieval soldiers. Let the Interweave Knits Winter 2024 issue transport you to a winter wonderland of cozy knits! This remarkable edition features 14 extraordinary projects to immerse yourself in the uniqueness of specially crafted yarns. Open your jump rings properly. This sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s important to remember. You don’t want your jump rings slipping apart after you’ve spent hours assembling an intricate piece of chain maille jewelry! You should always open your jump rings by twisting the ends apart, moving perpendicular to one another (north-south). Never open a jump ring by pulling the ends apart (east-west).

Chainmail was less expensive than plate armor and this is why it was used commonly by foot soldiers. Mail remained in use as a decorative and possibly high-status symbol with military overtones long after its practical usefulness had passed. It was frequently used for the epaulettes of military uniforms. It is still used in this form by some regiments of the British Army.

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Stone, G.C. (1934): A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms And Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Dover Publications, New York The earliest Google Books match for chain mail that I could find is from Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons (1785): Open and close your jump rings only once. If you can. As you work with wire or metal jump rings, the metal will harden and stiffen. If you open and close a jump ring too many times, that metal will eventually become brittle and break. Try to open all your jump rings before you begin linking them, setting them in small, labeled piles on your work surface just as you would pour out little piles of seed beads for a bead-weaving project. This way, you only have to open and close them once (ideally) to prevent any kind of breakage in the middle of your project. The first attestations of the word mail are in Old French and Anglo-Norman: maille, maile, or male or other variants, which became mailye, maille, maile, male, or meile in Middle English. [15] In early medieval Europe "byrn(ie)" was the equivalent of a "coat of mail"

The flexibility of mail meant that a blow would often injure the wearer, [46] potentially causing serious bruising or fractures, and it was a poor defence against head trauma. Mail-clad warriors typically wore separate rigid helms over their mail coifs for head protection. Likewise, blunt weapons such as maces and warhammers could harm the wearer by their impact without penetrating the armour; usually a soft armour, such as gambeson, was worn under the hauberk. Medieval surgeons were very well capable of setting and caring for bone fractures resulting from blunt weapons. [47] With the poor understanding of hygiene, however, cuts that could get infected were much more of a problem. [47] Thus mail armour proved to be sufficient protection in most situations. [48] [49] Manufacture [ edit ] A manuscript from 1698 showing the manufacture of mail Medieval chainmail has different names meaning the same thing, other common names are chain armor, ring armor, and mail. I splurged and spent an extra two dollars on a great little tool to open jump rings. It’s a ring that slips onto your finger while you work. To open your jump rings properly, all you have to do is insert a jump ring into one of the slots and give it a twist!

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Ian Bottomley & A.P. Hopson Arms and Armor of the Samurai: The History of Weaponry in Ancient Japan pp. 155–156 ISBN 1-86222-002-6 Herodotus wrote that the ancient Persians wore scale armour, but mail is also distinctly mentioned in the Avesta, the ancient holy scripture of the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism that was founded by the prophet Zoroaster in the 5th century BC. [12] Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-duc, Encyclopédie Médiévale and Dictionnaire Raisonne du Mobilier Francais de l'Epoque Carlovingienne a la Renaissance. Several patterns of linking the rings together have been known since ancient times, with the most common being the 4-to-1 pattern (where each ring is linked with four others). In Europe, the 4-to-1 pattern was completely dominant. Mail was also common in East Asia, primarily Japan, with several more patterns being utilised and an entire nomenclature developing around them. When the mail was not riveted, a thrust from most sharp weapons could penetrate it. However, when mail was riveted, only a strong well-placed thrust from certain spears, or thin or dedicated mail-piercing swords like the estoc, could penetrate, and a pollaxe or halberd blow could break through the armour. Strong projectile weapons such as stronger self bows, recurve bows, and crossbows could also penetrate riveted mail. [43] [44] Some evidence indicates that during armoured combat, the intention was to actually get around the armour rather than through it—according to a study of skeletons found in Visby, Sweden, a majority of the skeletons showed wounds on less well protected legs. [45] Although mail was a formidable protection, due to technological advances as time progressed, mail worn under plate armour (and stand-alone mail as well) could be penetrated by the conventional weaponry of another knight.

Kusari was used in samurai armour at least from the time of the Mongol invasion (1270s) but particularly from the Nambokucho Period (1336–1392). [34] The Japanese used many different weave methods including a square 4-in-1 pattern ( so gusari), a hexagonal 6-in-1 pattern ( hana gusari) and a European 4-in-1 ( nanban gusari). [35] The rings of Japanese mail were much smaller than their European counterparts; they would be used in patches to link together plates and to drape over vulnerable areas such as the armpits. karakuri-namban (riveted namban), with stout links each closed by a rivet. Its invention is credited to Fukushima Dembei Kunitaka, pupil, of Hojo Awa no Kami Ujifusa, but it is also said to be derived directly from foreign models. It is heavy because the links are tinned (biakuro-nagashi) and these are also sharp-edged because they are punched out of iron plate [37]Douglas, David (director) (2002). Straight Up: Helicopters in Action. Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. Many historical reenactment groups, especially those whose focus is Antiquity or the Middle Ages, commonly use mail both as practical armour and for costuming. Mail is especially popular amongst those groups which use steel weapons. A modern hauberk made from 1.5mm diameter wire with 10mm inner diameter rings weighs roughly 10kg (22lb) and contains 15,000–45,000 rings. [ citation needed] Entire suits of mail kusari gusoku were worn on occasions, sometimes under the ordinary clothing [40]

Large-linked mail is occasionally used as a fetish clothing material, with the large links intended to reveal – in part – the body beneath them.

What is Chain Maille?

There are some excellent books and DVDs on chain maille jewelry currently on the market and those into chain maille already have them. Chained by Rebeca Mojica is probably the best not only because of the photography and stunning projects but also the quality of information and instruction. However, Chained doesn't feature the European 4 in 1 or any of the Persian Weaves but it covers the Japanese 12 in 2 which isn't in Chain Maille Jewelry Workshop. If you have some basic wire jewelry-making skills, you can get started with chain maille jewelry. It’s not as hard as you might think, and if you want some tips for getting started, these are my five recommendations for anyone who wants to get started making jewelry with this ancient art: Chainmail was flexible and lighter than plate armor and protected against medieval slashing weapons. Chain Maille Jewelry Workshop has few variations on the weaves.... it's devoted teaching a diverse number of classic weaves, not just 4 or 5 weaves before the author veers of on their own unique weaves. A good chain maille book will will go into the basics: wire guages, metal types, jump ring opening and closing and the math (yikes) of doing chain maille. Karon uses the following terms for inserting a new jump ring through the intersections created by previous jump rings: TE for through the eye and AE for around the eye are used when discussing the placement of rings using clear illustrations. She provides an in-depth discussion of the all important aspect ratio. .