“Visby” Hourglass Gauntlets

Description of the Product

Most swordtypes are designed to give some protection to the hand, but for example in a melee blows can come from anywhere, leaving your fingers badly injuried. This is why gauntlets were and still are considered indispensable in any swordfight.

By the 1300’s chainmail was being slowly replaced by plate armor, and this transition is clear in gauntlets. At first the metal plates were small and attached to either leather or fabric glove. By 1350 a larger single piece of armor had been introduced that protected the wrist. This piece was narrow at the wrist and flared out -in a hourglass-shape- towards the fingers and elbow. At first the gauntlets tended to be jointless and short bodied as the flared hourglass shape allowed for movement of the wrist. Different types of finger guards (lamellar, scales and jointed plates) were then added to the cuff. Examples of this type of gauntlet are present in various representations throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, demonstrating the reliability of its design.

These gauntlets are made of 1.6 mm
steel. The sturdy leather glove inside enables a good grip of the weapon. These types of gauntlets with scales or small plates to cover the fingers, have been found on all of the major 14th C. European battlegrounds. They were undoubtably worn by those German mercenaries who in 1361 laid siege to the Hanseatic city of Visby on Gotland, suffering minimal fatalities themselves but leaving the defendants decimated.

Original gauntlets are part of the funeral achievement of Sir Edward Blackett at Ripon Cathedral.
Steel thickness may vary due to the handcrafted methods used on its manufacturing. Made by Marshall Historical.

Sizes: 9 (23,5 - 26cm) and 11 (26 - 31cm).
For best fit measure around the nuckles with the tape inside your fist.