Roman Maile

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Considering converting a riveted maile shirt I have to use for 1st cent Legionare impression. I am curious how long should the sleeves be, and how long should I make it in the body?

My plan is to purchase another shirt and use it to construct the cape part of the hamata.

[Emeraldweapon7d]

From what I've been told and read myself the shirt should probably be sleeveless and reach the mid-thigh area. From my experience weaving chain the rings you would have used on the sleeves will put well on your way with the shoulder doubling!

[thoth2]

If you make your hamata in a rectangular pattern with "seams'under the arms , the mail will fall over your shoulders slightly , and thus create a short sleeve. if you don't want this you should tailor the mail around the arms in the shape of a 'tanktop/basketball'shirt.
As for length I can only refer to stone carvings , on wich a lot of the mail comes to the middle of the upper leg , or to the hips , in wich case pteruges are used.

[madoc]

If you make your mailshirt such that it does NOT fall over your shoulders even slightly, then that is going to concentrate all the weight on a small strip that is going "bite" into your shoulders as mail has a tendancy to bunch up when under load.
Not too bad if all you do is march about with the mail for half an hour but bl**dy murder if you run around the woods all day hunting britons .........

I'd advise that you just run the mail over the top of the shoulders a little, giving very short sleeves indeed but spreading the load somewhat


Madoc
Legio IX
www.vicus.org.uk

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Actually I am trying to keep my short sleeves on the shirt I am currently working with. Would this make it farby?

[Tasciavanous]

I think farby might be a bit strong (and I don't really like the word anyway).
At some time in the 1stC the mail seem to change from the almost sleeveless doubled mail shirt to and undoubled short sleeved number. The big question is of course when did this happen? The answer is we plain don't know, it has become a bit of a convention amongst reenactors to portray auxiliary in undoubled short sleeved mail and legionaries in doubled sleeveless mail. But I don't know of any evidence to back this up and am of the opinion that it is a distinction that has just evolved on its own with no reference to history. To conclude as far as I can see short sleeved undoubled mail or minimalist sleeved doubled mail is fine and dandy for a 1stC. impression.