Show here your Germanic warrior impression

[hengist]

How many in your group?

11 adults et 5 children but we are scatered... One near Marseille, one in Lorraine near belgium and Germany, the others in Normandy and Paris.

[Alanus]

Salve, Hengist

I know how difficult it is trying to gather a group like yours for an event. I belong to Legio III Cyrenaica as a Sarmatian auxillary. We meet this weekend near the Massachusetts - New York state border, for me a four hour drive from midcoast Maine. I applaud the dedication of you and your group. Keep up the good work.

[WorkMonkey]

This is my early vendel Germanic warrior,

The helm went in the ground early 6th C, so I have geared the rest of the kit on a late 400's, early 500's time line.

[Alanus]

Excellent! I believe the original was a reworked and "refined" ridge-helmet. Where did you get the boots-shoes?

[WorkMonkey]

Mm, different to a ridge helm, the bowl itself was made overlapping plates with the decorative foils lying over the top, rather than two halves held in plAce by a ridge.

The boots are from Plantaganet shoes,
http://www.plantagenetshoes.freeserve.co.uk/
Based on a find from London apparantly,

Hand made shoes made to order at reasonable prices, very good quality, only place I buy shoes from now. Best fitting pair of shoes I own (modern shoes included) Got a pair of 10th C shoes from York on order from them.

[Robert Vermaat]

Mm, different to a ridge helm, the bowl itself was made overlapping plates with the decorative foils lying over the top, rather than two halves held in plAce by a ridge.

How did the plates connect on top of the helmet? Ridge helmets could be two halves indeed, but the Burgh Castle type (including the Deurne and the Berkasovo I) consisted of 6 plates, the middle one overlapping the other two.

[WorkMonkey]

mm, as far as I can tell the plates would not have sat flush against the bowl, I don't have the measurements for the thickness of the bowl plates, but I assume they would not have had to be very thick to make it strong, so if the plates overlapping are relatively thin the decorative foils would be laid over the gaps, meaning if anything hit them they would instantly crumple as there was little supporting them in the middle section, its hard for me to explain, D.Tweedles "anglian helm from coppergate" has schematic drawings of the Valsgarde 8 that would explain it easier.

[Robert Vermaat]

Like this?

The plates are constructed differently, but there is still a base ring and a ridge connecting the plates across the bowl.

There are differences of course. The nasal is attached on ridge helmets, not part of the ridge.

[Phalanx300]

Really nice representation, wouldn't want to fight that guy. hock:

Also I found this shield on Armae, I gues it would be Historical if I were to go B.C. - early A.D Germanic?

http://www.armae.com/Zenglish/greek_and ... _frame.htm

The company is very close and uses the same currency and quite low prices compared to Manning Imperial. Are there any other good European companies making ancient weapons and armour which feature ancient Greeks or Germanics? :mrgreen:

This also seems like an ideal Germanic spear head since they were known to be very large:

http://www.manningimperial.com/item.php ... d=1&c_id=3

Best thing I've found to a Germanic sword for my aimed time period is a Migration era sword though thats after the time frame I'm looking at, would a Migration era sword also apply for B.C and early A.D.? Or would it be better to take a Celtic sword otherwise(would be used by Germanics I gues, like chain mail)?

[Alanus]

Thanks for the tip. At the moment I'm wearing a pair of high-ankle moccosins as a Roxolani auxilliary. Shoes with a central sew seam would be "more better," as they say. :lol:

[Antonius Lupus]

This is my early vendel Germanic warrior,

The helm went in the ground early 6th C, so I have geared the rest of the kit on a late 400's, early 500's time line.

I thought that Valsgärde helms had a later dating.
http://www.vikingsonline.org.uk/resourc ... /index.htm


BTW, that helmet is a piece of art, I guess Thorkil's work. I wish I had one!

[WorkMonkey]

Most of the Valsgarde and Vendel helms are 7th C in Date, the Valsgarde 8 seems to have been the earliest one being deposited early 6th C, of course these are only deposition dates, stylistically they're all the same, including the Sutton Hoo helm, since these sort of visored, decorated crest helms don't appear before, or after I'm inclined to think they were all made at roughly the same time (within 50 years of each other) and then deposited in graves at different periods depending on how long the family who owned it kept it.

[Medicus matt]

Most of the Valsgarde and Vendel helms are 7th C in Date, the Valsgarde 8 seems to have been the earliest one .

Except the Vendel XIV. I reckon that's even earlier

[WorkMonkey]

Hm yeah I've seen that dated earlier before, why so?

[Medicus matt]

Mostly it's the whole joined cheekflap/face protection thing. In form and function it looks so much like a 3rd century Niederbieber type Imperial helmet that the latter must have influenced the former. I wonder if anyone's had a proper look at the construction of the Vendel XIV to see if it might even be a recycled roman helmet. Looking at it, some of the decoration does look like an afterthought to bring it up to date, rather than being planned as part of the original construction.

It doesn't have a raised ridge/crest either, unlike all (?) the other Vendel and Valsgarde. Again, possibly a sign that the dome is a single raised piece, again, like the Niederbieber (I'm assuming that the Niederbieber bowls are one piece and that the reinforcements are applied?).