Norman Conquest Encyclopedia

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Scale Armour

Most of the knights and housecarls who fought at Senlac Hill in 1066 wore ring mail, often spoken of as chain mail, and referred to as "mail" for short. Other forms of armour were lamellar and scale mail. Scale mail consisted of small pieces of iron, horn or even leather which were sewn to a canvas backing and overlapped like the scales of a fish.

See also: Housecarl; knight; lamellar mail; ring mail; Senlac Hill

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Scale mail, overlapping. (© Osprey Publishing Limited, from Warrior 1 Norman Knight 950-1066 AD, by Christopher Gravett, artwork by Christa Hook)