Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

By the middle of the 11th century both Normans and English wore similar armour. This was most commonly mail, flexible metal fabric made of linked rings, sometimes known as chain-mail.This took the form of a hauberk or byrnie.The Bayeux Tapestry also shows men in what appears to be scale armour.The expense of such armour was considerable and the levied soldiers of the Anglo-Saxon fyrd, for example, might instead wear leather tunics or padded jackets or jacks. Flexible armour would ward off cuts, but the wearer might yet be severely bruised or suffer broken bones. A padded jacket known as an aketon was worn under the armour to prevent this.

See also: Bayeux Tapestry ; byrnie ; fyrd ; hauberk ; mail ; scale ; ventail

Related Reading:

• The Normans (Elite 9)
• Hastings 1066 (Revised Edition)- The Fall of Saxon England
  (Campaign 13 )