This is an original design work made by me, a modern interpretation of a Chi Rho monogram on Early Medieval silver reliquary, 4th century. Found in the space under the basilica "St. Sofia", Sofia, Bulgaria ……………………. А monogram of Jesus Christ - Chi Rho, Chrisma or Labarum - depicting intertwined first letters of his name in Greek- ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ. According to the Christian historian Eusebius of Caesarea, on the night before the battle of the Malian Bridge in 312, Emperor Constantine The Great saw a cross depicted in the sky and heard the voice "With this you will win." The next morning he heard instructions again that he should paint this sign on the soldiers' shields. Constantine actually won the battle with Maxentius. Тhen he wished the insignia to be depicted on his helmet as well. From then until the 6th century this symbol was very common in Christendom as a significant element in various decorative interpretations. Depicted in church decorations and iconography, manuscripts, on various items of church and imperial utensils, jewelry and clothing, etc.. Оf course it was used in Christian symbolism and then to this day. Very often the Greek letters Alpha and Omega are added to the sign represent what is written in Revelation: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (Revelation 22:13) ……………………………… Contains 5 files: PDF - white sign on a gray background PDF - white sign on a black background PDF - black sign on a white background PNG - white sign PNG - black sign I'm available for further questions.

Norman helmet. Early medieval helmet with nosal, mainly used by Vikings and Normans. Modeled on the helmet of St. Wenceslas. Looking for a xmas gift? You find! It looks like a real steel helmet. Hand painting highlights the texture of the helmet. Made of polypropylene. Hand-painted. It has a CE certificate. Environmentally friendly. Weight: 130g. Colors: silver and gold. Dimensions: - height: 6.7 in (17 cm), - length: 8,3 in (21 cm), - width: 6.7 in (17 cm), Head circumference: 22.8 in (58 cm). Norman helmet - an early medieval helmet open in the shape of a spherical cone with a characteristic rectangular nosal. Although it is attributed to the Normans, in fact it was used throughout Europe in the 10th and 11th century. According to many researchers, conicity indicates eastern influences. ------------------------- Helmet from a manufacturer with 15 years of market experience. Each sword or helmet before placing in the carton is thoroughly checked. Quality is one of our priorities. Do you have any questions? Write me a message.

One of the things that I really like about the 13th-early 14th century are the many varied ways to wear you hair - and headwear. Contrary to popular ideas hair was not always totally cover4d, not even on married women. I've written some about it on the page about my 13th century outfit with a Barbie pink gardecorps, but I thought that it would be nice with a blog post which focuses on this and show some more period examples. Unmarried women I'll start with (presumably) unmarried women, who are often seen with their hair hanging or, much more rarely, braided. Braid with gold ribbons and a circlet from the end of the 13th century, ow maybe her hair is just wrapped in ribbons and not braided. In any case it's not hanging loosely. Lausanne, Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire U 964 - Biblia Porta fol. 178r On of the young women ion this awesome French 13th century image of the Devil tempting both sexes to have fun same-sex sexuality, also has a single braid or possibly unbraided hair wrapped in ribbons. Wavy/slightly curly hair was popular. Here with a circlet. ca 1300. Codex Manesse/Grosse Heidelberger Liederhandschrift Here we see mother and daugher, showing the difference between a married woman with her chin strap and fillet and the daughter with a circlet in gold, tied with red ribbons. Codex Manesse/Grosse Heidelberger Liederhandschrift Loose hair and circlets in France c 1250. The Maciejowski Bible It is of course hard to be sure about the marital status of all these women, but this woman wearing a hairnet is also probably unmarried, like her friends, since she's wearing only a circlet with her hairnet. It appears that the white wavy fillet and chin strap was a thing for married women. And don't be fooled by all the women with white fillets and/or veils being courted by knights - adoring a married woman was a thing in Courtly Culture. (A book tip: Courtly Culture by Joachim Bumke, a German historian. It is really,really good.) This image show the death of Nabal and what I presume is his wife and daughter, indicating that the white cap today mostly referred to as the St. Birgitta cap, was worn also by unmarried women. You also see that already in France c. 1250 married women wore a chin strap and fillet with loose hair under it. But, really, "everyone" already knows that unmarried women wore their hair uncovered in the Middle ages. The most interesting thing may be the image of the woman at the top with her hair braided in one single braid. This is not a style that we generally associate with the 13th and early 14th century, and one that I will get back to now that I turn to the married women. Married women I promised myself that this post wouldn't be about veils, so I will try to refrain from showing images just because I like the veils, filelts or chin straps. there has to be some hair too. We have already seen that a white fillet, often with a wavy or decorated edge (I write more about that here) was worn by many women together with either a chin band/barbette, or maybe a Birgitta cap under it; the image above could for instance show a cap insted of a strip of linen. On the other hand there are written sources telling about long strips of linen, called gebende, wound many times around the head (Bumke 2000 p 152) and the image may well show this instead. This is a lovely detail shot of Markgrafin Uta from the Naumburg cathedral, showing her wide gebende decorated with gold, but also some of her wavy hair at the temples. Photo from Wikimedia commons A much less well-known figure from the same cathedral is countess Gerburg von Brehna. She's not as pretty, but she has a braid! So, like Uta she has a crown with a pill box cap, a gebende wrapped around her head, and wavy hair showing at the temples, but, since we can see her from the side we also see that she has a single braid hainging down her back. Furthermore, if you look at my favourite of the Naumberg ladies: the happily smiling Reglindis you see that she also probably has a hanging braid. Image from wikimedia commons Oh, what I would give for a side view of Uta's head :) Narrower chinstraps were worn with a fillet and hanging hair as you have seen in the example of the motehr and daughter from the Grosse Heidelberger Liederhandschrift above. The Weingartner Liederhandschrift, which is contemporary to it, but much less fancy seem to favour a slightly...sloppy approach to the white linen fillet. Image from wikimedia commons You also find many examples of hanging hair under a veil in the Grosse Heidelberger Liederhandschrift. With veil and a circlet on top of it. And another one: And one with a pink veil draped over what appears to be a gold coloured band of some kind. No chinstraps as you can see on these images, but veils indicating married status anyway. Hair nets came in many colours, and were frequently worn with chinstrap and white fillet. Two examples from the Murthly Hours, a French mansucript fro the 1280s, show a green and a blue net respectively. And we also see that while prossibly shaped it is defintiely not a cap the woman with the green hairnet is wearing, which makes it less likely that it's a cap in the image of Nabal's death from the Maciejowski bible, since it looks just the same, except that we can't see the top of her head. Detail from fol 6 recto This is a gorgeous manuscript, which can be seen in its entirety at the web site of the national Library of Scotland. Lots of inspiration for illumination there. Another be-netted, fillet wearing...snake. From MS K26 at St.John's College, Cambridge. And a Norwegian early 14th century example, showing decorated hairnet, chin strap and fillet. So, hairnets are definitely an option, for married as well as for unmarried women - there are also quite a few of them preserved. This one is from the church of St. Truiden in Belgium, dated to the 13th century (link to museum site): And the same goes for this one, from the cathedral of St. Paul (link to museum site). As you see, they are first knotted and then embroidered. I'm ending this post with an image from the Rheims Missal 1285-1297, showing maybe a "Birgitta cap" with a fillet with wavy or dagged edge and a gebende. And wavy hair at the temples.

In the high and late Middle Ages, attractive styles became more available to a new middle class. Clothing styles changed more quickly due to new technology, Eastern influences, and a better economy.

What is the purpose of the guige if the shield is equiped with forearm straps that already allow the shield to be held? Is the guige only used for transportation? Or is it used to maintain the shield in place during use? In that case, what is the purpose of the forearm straps? On historical sources from late 12th century to early 13th century, the straps for the forearm are rare. One mainly finds illustrations showing only a guige and hand strap...

Helmet “Gjermundbu” Spangenhelm adapted for heavy fighting formats Reenacting a Viking has always meant to accept vulnerability because of the early open-faced helms. Here’s a solution - a battle version of the authentic Varangian helmet, targeting the competitors of full-contact medieval bouts and buhurts. Since the excavations carried out in Norway during the Second World War, one of the unearthed finds is still regarded as unique. It’s a helmet, which could belong to a petty king and considered to be the only helmet dating back to the Viking era found in Scandinavia. Realizing how important chronological validity of the armour is, we’ve made this battle-ready model after that original spangenhelm pattern. Technical improvements intended to conform with the safety requirements include hidden solid metal neck protection at the back and sides, grilled eye slots, hinged cheek plates, and riveted aventail. A perfect wedding of reliability and historicity is achieved by attention to all minor details, so the hidden plates are painted black to conceal them under the chainmail, while the cheek plates clasp repeats the shape of the visor buckles of the corresponding period. The grilled eye slots on the spectacle half-mask are an effective solution to the eternal vision vs protection dispute. Spans between the crossbars are less than 1 inch in all projections to prevent weapons from entering into the openings. A severe armor for true combatants! For all those who root for historical accuracy, there is an authentic Gjermundbu helmet. To check how to measure yourself please click here. Please contact us if you have any additional questions. Chin strap with a drawstring and toggle Chin straps with one buckle (left pictures) and two buckles (right pictures). Safety disclaimer: Sword-fighting and fencing is a dangerous sport. Fencing, historical fencing, medieval reenactment and martial arts as well as other related types of activity, are inherently connected to a certain risk level of injuries or death. The Company declines all responsibility for any traumas or harm done to oneself or to the third person, along with any material or consequential damage, impaired during the products usage. We admonish that all acts with armour, weapons or their components have to be performed before designated person who is responsible for safety of the particular event and accredited to supervise armour and sport weapon conformance to the event’s standards.

The "Phrygian" helmet owes its name to the characteristic forward-facing tip, reminiscent of typical helmets from the Classical Antiquity. It's also called "Italo-Norman" helmet because they were commonly used by Norman knights who moved from Sicily to southern Italy. This type of helmet was very popular in Europe especially during the 12th century. It is made of two 2mm steel pieces welded in the center, the nasal protection is 4mm thick. It has an interior suspension system with slightly padded fabric, riveted to the inner perimeter of the helmet. It also has a leather strap with a brass buckle. Available sizes: S: The inner circumference measures 58 cm, forming an oval of approximately 17 x 21 cm. M: The inner circumference measures 62 cm, forming an oval of approximately 19 x 22.5 cm. L: The inner circumference measures 65 cm, forming an oval of approximately 20 x 24 cm. Approximate weight: 2 ~ 3.3 kg. Availability: 1 or 2 weeks depending on stock. We send all our items worldwide! To know shipping charges to your country, contact by private message.

The plain coif/cap is probably the most versatile piece of garb in the Middle Ages. It was worn for centuries and changed very little. It was worn by both sexes. It’s comfortable, practical and e…

c. 1510

By Jenneka Janzen Living without modern entertainment luxuries, what did medieval people do for fun? Surely it wasn’t all farm labour, praying, or jousting (to play into common misconceptions…

One of our latest uploads to the Digitised Manuscripts website is this exquisite copy of the Psalms which dates from the middle of the ninth century and takes its name from Lothar I, the grandson of Charlemagne and successor to half of his kingdom. Binding of the Lothar Psalter with...