A History of the Idea of Glued Linen Armour

[Sean Manning]

If its of any relevance I just came came across a reference for stiffening Linen in "Wearing the cloak" pg47:

"Nicetas Acominatos in a book written c.Ad 1204-1210 describes the crusader's way of making a linen garment more protective against weapons by treating it with a mixture of Vinegar and salt. This recipe is in agreement with Pliny the Elder who mentions the gauls and parthians used vinegar for stiffening wool."(Plin. NHVIII 192)

And going back further https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mIaY...bo&f=false  page 277. Here* they use rabit glue https://jhupress.wordpress.com/2013/04/2...our-lives/ and again here with some rudimentary testing of its protection. http://hvitr.blogspot.com/2015/08/linoth...tiles.html

First link* has a book to accompany the research, and why, what for, vinegar was used in the process. http://elbdisliker.at.ua/TermBallInd/ixk1d-bytnt.pdf

Pliny http://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny8.html
CHAP. XLVIII.
Divers kinds of wooll and clothes.

"Moreover, wool of it selfe driven togither into a felt without spinning or weaving, serveth to make garments with: and if vinegre be used in the working therof, such felts are of good proofe to bere off the edge and point of the sword; yea and more than that, they will checke the force of the fire."

What do you mean by "going back further"?

The original journal article has the passage by Niketas Akominatos in Greek and two English translations. This informal summary has my English translation.

The original article and the online summary explain how Larcher was mistranslating a French summary of various ancient and medieval sources.

As the online summary explains:

Most people interested in the ancient world have heard that ancient Greek warriors wore armour of layers of linen cloth glued together. In 2013, a group of researchers in the United States (Aldrete et al.) showed that there was no known archaeological or written evidence for this.

When Peter Connolly promoted the theory in the 1970s, there was no published fragment of glued linen armour, no ancient text linking linen armour and glue, and no other culture which made armour that way. So where did the theory come from?

If you read Aldrete et al's book carefully (and check some obscure footnotes), you can see the lack of evidence for the use of glue. It is unfortunate that many people who read their book or see their demonstrations come away with the impression that this is a plausible theory.