Provocator Armor

[Martin Moser]

Did a quick count of the Pectorale depictions in "Das Spiel mit dem Tod". Aside from the original find I found 6 of them on reliefs, 5 of them U-shaped, 1 (the one mentioned above) V-shaped, and that V is so flattened out and curved that it's not far from a shallow U either. Some are more broadish, covering only the breast, others come further down, but are narrower. Looking at this and at how much cover they actually provide, I'd say the reconstructions shown in "Das Spiel mit dem Tod" are within acceptable range.

After having worn Marcus' reconstructions in a number of Provocator fights, more critical for the reconstruction (and for the wearer, eventually), I find is the way the upper ends of that U are done (after having worn Marcus' reconstructions in a number of Provocator fights). Ours are a tad too short IMHO, they should rather come up to the highest point of the shoulder, maybe even over that a bit. This is mainly to protect your high breast/collarbone area from being all red and blue after a few rounds - not from hits you receive from your opponent but from the too short/low ends biting into your flesh when making sword or shield thrusts. Too bad I didn't have my camera with me last weekend, could have shown you very colorfully (literally) what I mean ... ;-) )