Padded Armour

[tlclark]

Travis,
Of course, an edge binding would be the most sensible solution but, as you've already pointed out, why and how was that binding followed over the fridges? :?

Aitor

This is the question that keeps me awake at night! It looks like the edge should just wrap around the pterugion, but if that was the case, then the fringes would be covered!!

Perhaps the fringe is separate and attached to the edging?! I think that unlikely and that is most likely the natural fringe produced by woven cloth core.

Check out this detail:

http://astro.temple.edu/~tlclark/lorica ... rugesa.jpg

The fringes are definitely just sewn on the backside of the pteruges, but are coming from an interior core.

Here it looks like it might be two pteruges sandwiched over a cloth interior core, now check out this example.

http://astro.temple.edu/~tlclark/lorica ... o3deta.jpg

Here the edging goes around all three edges, AND the edging seems to wrap around the edge of the pterugion, so how does the fringe come out from an interior core?! Logically the core should be sealed in by the edging.

It's frustrating.

To bring this back to the topic. I do think it makes sense that the pteruges and subarmalis are of one piece of material, rather than attached later. This would mean that you could cut several layers of flet and cloth and just sew them or edge them together. It struck me as I was thinking about this, that we already have a garment made of one material with pteruges attached....the late hellenistic linothorax.

Could the subarmalis simly be a linothorax made of felt and linen? It would be simple and follow known patterns. Also, the skirts of pteruges on many of these musculata look just like the skirts on the linothorax.

Travis