07-15-2010, 08:34 PM
Quote:Surely the nearest comparable item is a medieval gambeson, they are laminated layers of linen, that are sewn into tubes to compress them, if you have enough layers of linen these things become rock hard, yet still absorbant to help negate the energy of a thrusting blow, if a medieval soldier was happy to wear one of them going up against longbows and two handed axes, then I would have thought a hoplite would be happy wearing one going up against thrusting spears.
I don't know how comfortable the typical hoplite would be wearing something as stifling as a gambeson is in the summer Mediterranean heat! I've worn a linothorax in high summer heat for more than 3 hours and withstood it fairly comfortably.
Quote:What effect does just glueing the layers produce? I would imagine it makes it stiff but also brittle and that running around in it would make it sweaty and limp.
Laminated linen is stiff but has a great deal of flexibility. It is far from brittle. I have test patches and a linothorax that are around five years old and they are practically the same now as they were when they were brand new. Laminating the layers instead of quilting (without stuffing) offers more resistance because of the glue. This may not seem like much but it actually makes quite a big difference.
Scott B.
