Chain Mail Armour

Nsikigan Ho´Tonanese Yourth

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Chain Mail Armour

« on: 15 August 2006, 07:17:43 »

Chain mail is the armour preferred by infantry and soldiers at most parts of the Southern Sarvonian continent. It is especially popular among the often war waging tribe of the Erpheronians, who have shown exceptional proficiency in creating such items. This kind of armour is basically crafted from thousands of tiny metal rings riveted together and is often seen in combination with other kinds of protection, depending on the purse of the wearer or his or her Lord. Despite the high amount of workmanship involved, chain still remains a fairly inexpensive form of protection, providing material is present. Chain mail is less versatile and heavier than leather, but offers protection only exceeded by the various forms of plate mail - however, unlike plate mail chain still gives the fighter a good deal of freedom and flexibility to wield a weapon without the armour inteferring too much in combat activities.

Description: Chain Mail can be in worn several different ways, but the most common (and the most complete) chain suit includes a chain shirt, coif, leather or chain gloves and boots all worn over light leather or cloth. Leggings will generally be leather, or, much more rarely, chain mail (called a chausses). As you can see, combinations of different materials (ranging from leather over chain mail to plate parts) are quite common, depending on what's available, affordable and considered practical. Below the chain mail padded fabric or soft leather should be worn. If the mail shirt is waist length, it is called a hauberk. If it is knee length, it is called a habergeon. The coif can be worn two ways- with chin covering and without. It is more commonly found without. If the wearer does not wear a coif, a camail (leather helmet with mail hanging down) will oft be used
.
The “chains” in chain mail are small rings riveted together, with each ring connected to four others. Depending on the metal, chain mail is generally silvery-gray, though different metals produce a different coloured mail. Aurium (only the wealthiest need apply!) chain is a light gold, fyrite mail (used in places of extreme temperatures) can be lavender, pink, peach, or orange, herne mail is a greenish-gray (perfect for camouflage), mithril mail is a white-silver, and black, blue, and red iron mail will be (respectfully) black, blue, or red. However, chain mail is rarely made of materials besides steel or gray iron. Aurium and mithril are extremely expensive (though well worth the cost!) and most other metals are too brittle or weak for the forging process. In areas with low iron concentration (iron is used in the steel-making process), leather armour is generally more popular.

Usage: Chain mail is best used against swords and other cutting weapons (such as axes). The mail is occasionally shorn by these, but the armour will nevertheless protect the skin underneath. It can be punctured by spears and will only serve to cushion the blows of blunt weapons slightly. Ranged weapons not fired by expert marksmen seldom pierce mail.

You won't find every common soldier wearing chain mail, so the possession of this kind of equipment indeed ensures a distinction. (Chain mail is surely not found at every normal soldier in Caelereth as you initially wrote!) Chain mail helps to represent nobler warriors or adds an official touch, e.g. to town guards or patrolling soliders. The armour is prized by human, elf, and dwarf alike. It is hardier than leather, and more flexible than plate armour. While movement is not unhindered, it is not excessively restricted, providing a good balance needed for fighting.

Manufacturing: The process for forging chain mail is a lengthy and repetitive one. The first portion of the project involves the crafting of rings. Chain mail is made of hundreds of individual rings, each one bonded to four others. The ring making process is generally handled by an apprentice. The rings are originally kept open, but as the forging process continues, they will be riveted shut.
The next step is possibly the hardest and most complicated. It is the crafting of the ring chains The journey of a thousand furlay begins with a single step, and the working of a thousand chains begins with a single ring. Attached to this ring are two others, hanging down sideways (so the narrow side faces the forger). This is a ring assembly. Two more ring assemblies are attached to this one. The side rings are folded out, creating a 4-1 pattern. You continue the third step until the chain is the desired length. Once the length is achieved, create another chain of equal length, continuing this until you have the desired shape/size mail pattern.


« Last Edit: 15 September 2006, 18:01:54 by Artimidor Federkiel »	Logged

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Coren FrozenZephyr

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Re: Chain Mail

« Reply #1 on: 15 August 2006, 23:12:39 »

Haven't had a chance to read the entry yet but I was curious as regard one point: Would it be very hot under a chain-mail suit? You say,"It is perhaps the most commonly seen armor in the armies of Caelearth", which made me wonder if people in Aeruillin will agree with you on that point


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Rakshiri

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Re: Chain Mail

« Reply #2 on: 20 August 2006, 02:25:35 »

nice enrty but you kind of made it sound like anyone was wearing either leather or chain or some armor set like in rpgs. In reality combinations were the norm. A brigandine was a combination of leather with metal entertaining the advantages of both and not really weaker than chain armor, there are plate suits where metal suits are sewn below a leather shirt, etc.

Main thing is that only few soldiers would wear a full chain mail suit and there are also many alternatives.

Kind of a problem with all armor entries would be that certain armor advances make certain other armor obsolete. If we postulate that Santharia has reached a Rennaissance like level of technology wearing Chain armor would be a waste of money because plate armor of any kind would have reached a level of sophistication where it is lighter, better and cheaper than chain armor. There would be no sense in wearing it. Similarily there is little reason to wear pure leather armor if anyone else is running around in brigandines or chain or scale armor. Those not capable affording proper armor then often rather ran around with no armor at all and otherwise bought specific better armor (like instead of a full leather armor they rather saved money to afford a steel helmet and maybe a breastplate as the two most important parts)

This is not meant as criticism towards the entry but mainly pointing out some aspects I don't know if they have been considered or not..


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Rhaki Tekashi

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Re: Chain Mail

« Reply #3 on: 24 August 2006, 00:18:51 »

just one thing - You repeated "Chain Mail" Far too many times in the first paragraph, which is all i really had time to read. I suggest you use a variety of words.


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Talia Sturmwind

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Re: Chain Mail

« Reply #4 on: 24 August 2006, 00:30:50 »

Quote

Chain mail is the armor preferred by infantry and soldiers around Caelearth

Certainly not.

Please refrain your armour to ONE country, area or time to allow a more versatile developement (apart other arguments Rakshiri has mentioned). It is not probable that it was developed in every part of the world nor do we want such an uniformity.


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Artimidor Federkiel

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Re: Chain Mail

« Reply #5 on: 05 September 2006, 00:01:26 »

Ok, Uri check here finally...

Yellow ... changed passages
Orange ... comments

Chain mail is the armour preferred by infantry and soldiers at most parts of the Southern Sarvonian continent. It is especially popular among the often war waging tribe of the Erpheronians, who have shown exceptional proficiency in creating such items. This kind of armour is basically crafted from thousands of tiny metal rings riveted together and is often seen in combination with other kinds of protection, depending on the purse of the wearer or his or here Lord. Despite the high amount of workmanship involved, chain still remains a fairly inexpensive form of protection, providing material is present. Chain mail is less versatile and heavier than leather, but offers protection only exceeded by the various forms of plate mail - however, unlike plate mail chain still gives the fighter a good deal of freedom and flexibility to wield a weapon without the armour inteferring too much in combat activities.

(I've changed the order of the paragraph above a bit and added some more, so here are some things in seperate form I'd like to mention:
- write "armour" instead of "armor" (we use old English spelling in general)
- It's "Caelereth" not "Caelearth" or something similar
- It's "plate mail", but "Chain Mail" - you should only write uppercases if you're writing the entry on plate mail itself, the topic you're discussing is written with an uppercase)

Description.
Chain Mail can be worn in several different ways, but a more or less "complete" chain suit includes a chain shirt, coif, leather or chain gloves and boots all worn over light leather or cloth. Leggings will generally be leather, or, much more rarely, chain mail (called a chausses). As you can see, combinations of different materials (ranging from leather over chain mail to plate parts) are quite common, depending on what's available, affordable and considered practical. Below the chain mail padded fabric or soft leather should be worn. If the mail shirt is waist length, it is called a hauberk. If it is knee length, it is called a habergeon. The coif can be worn two ways - with chin covering and without. It is more commonly found without. If the wearer does not wear a coif, a camail (leather helmet with mail hanging down) will oft be used.

The "chains" in chain mail are small rings riveted together, with each ring connected to four others. Depending on the metal, chain mail is generally silvery-gray, though different metals produce a different coloured mail. Aurium (rarely manufactured!) chain is a light gold, fyrite mail (used in places of extreme temperatures) can be lavender, pink, peach, or orange, herne mail is a greenish-gray (perfect for camouflage), mithril mail is a white-silver, and black, blue, and red iron mail will be (respectfully) black, blue, or red. However, chain mail is rarely made of materials besides steel or gray iron. Aurium and mithril are extremely expensive (though well worth the cost!) and most other metals are too brittle or weak for the forging process. In areas with low iron concentration (iron is used in the steel-making process), leather armour is generally more popular, or at best combinations with prized chain mail parts occur.

Usage.
Chain mail is best used against swords and other cutting weapons (such as axes). The mail is occasionally shorn by these, but the armour will nevertheless protect the skin underneath. Puncturing of the armour by spears may happen and it will only serve to cushion the blows of blunt weapons slightly. Ranged weapons not fired by expert marksmen seldom pierce mail.

(Don't start every sentence with "Chain Mail..."! Be a bit inventive in terms of subject - verb - object order.)

You won't find every common soldier wearing chain mail, so the possession of this kind of equipment indeed ensures a distinction. (Chain mail is surely not found at every normal soldier in Caelereth as you initially wrote!) Chain mail helps to represent nobler warriors or adds an official touch, e.g. to town guards or patrolling soliders. The armour is prized by human, elf, and dwarf alike. It is hardier than leather, and more flexible than plate armour. While movement is not unhindered, it is not excessively restricted, providing a good balance needed for fighting.

Manufacturing.
The process for forging chain mail is a lengthy and repetitive one. The first portion of the project involves the crafting of rings. Chain mail is made of hundreds of individual rings, each one bonded to four others. The ring making process is generally handled by an apprentice. The rings are originally kept open, but as the forging process continues, they will be riveted shut.

The next step is possibly the hardest and most complicated. It is the crafting of the ring chains. "The journey of a thousand furlay begins with a single step" an old saying goes, and the working of a thousand chains begins with a single ring. Attached to this ring are two others, hanging down sideways (so the narrow side faces the forger) - this is a ring assembly. Two more ring assemblies are attached to this one. The side rings are folded out, creating a 4-1 pattern. You continue the third step until the chain is the desired length. Once the length is achieved, create another chain of equal length, continuing this until you have the desired shape/size mail pattern.

--------------

Okeydokey, that's it... Entry was already quite good, definitely already a nice improvement compared to the Leather one

Guess it can go up that way with my adjustments made, in case you approve of them.


« Last Edit: 05 September 2006, 00:28:01 by Artimidor Federkiel »	Logged

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Artimidor Federkiel

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Re: Chain Mail-Changes made Art

« Reply #6 on: 14 September 2006, 23:25:43 »

Okeydokey, I see the updates have been made, so this one's ready to be uploaded now


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Pyrokar

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Re: Chain Mail Armour

« Reply #7 on: 16 September 2006, 18:00:48 »

One thing, Rakshiri is that plate mail can be easily pierced by an arrow or bolt. Chain mail provides a better protection against arrows due to the rings stopping most arrows due to the arrowhead being too broad. Of course there are special arrows made to pierce chain mail, but hey archers would carry one or maybe 2 types of arrows, and i really think that, the arrows for platemail would be on their list before arrows for chain mail. On top of that crossbow bolts easily pierce plate armour, im not sure about chain mail i'll have to look into that.

True chain mail would be expensive, so is plate mail, which is probably more expensive. On top of that a knight would wear chain mail if they wanted minimal protection while just traveling, not plate mail, otherwise they'd wear down whatever mount they were riding, and it would die of exhaustion.

So I believe chain mail is needed in Santharia, and of course why would chain mail be invented and still be known if it had no use? I mean it's like saying what's the point of having wooden houses when you can have stone or brick.

Nsikigan Yourth thankyou for this useful entry, and I believe that Santharia will look forward to the production of chain mail. But to help the smithy's maybe you could post the average weight? I don't remember properly but I once had someone to explain to me the weight for some tour, of some castle and if my memory hasn't failed I believe it is around 70 lbs. but i'm not positive so it could be something to look into.

cheers,
Pyrokar


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Cheers,
Pyrokar

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Chain Mail Armour