"Banded mail" is a
neologism
A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
, coined in the 19th century, describing a type of composite armor formed by combining the concepts behind the Roman ''
lorica segmentata
The ''lorica segmentata'' (), also called ''lorica lamminata'' (see Lorica segmentata#Name, §Name), is a type of personal armour that was used by soldiers of the Roman army, consisting of Laminar armor, metal strips fashioned into circular band ...
'' with
splint armour
Splint armour (also splinted armour, splint armor, or splinted armor) is armour consisting of strips of metal ("splints") attached to a cloth or leather backing. It is most commonly found as limb armour such as greaves or vambraces.
Description
L ...
. Its historicity is doubtful. It has become entrenched in the popular consciousness as a result of its inclusion in the armor list for ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...
''.
Terminology
Confusion arises because of the wide variety of terms by which similar armors are known. Banded mail has been described as "a form of
mail
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...
reinforced with bands of
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...
", as "overlapping horizontal strips of laminated metal sewn over a backing of normal chain mail
icand soft leather backing" and as "many thin sheets of metal are hammered or riveted together". The last description more closely fits
splinted armor, which consists of long metal splints connected by mail/leather used for arm and leg protection. The final description of metal plates riveted to a sub-strate describe a
coat of plates
A coat of plates is a form of segmented torso armour consisting of overlapping metal plates riveted inside a cloth or leather garment. The coat of plates is considered part of the era of transitional armour and was normally worn as part of a full ...
or
brigandine
A brigandine is a form of body armour from the Middle Ages. It is a garment typically made of heavy cloth, canvas, or leather, lined internally with small oblong steel plates riveted to the fabric, sometimes with a second layer of fabric on t ...
, all of which consist of metal plates riveted to a leather or cloth fronting. Finally, armor constructed of rows of plates or platelets sewn or laced together, without backing/fronting, would be considered "laminar". Another source described banded mail as a type of armor that consists of "alternate rows of leather or cotton and a single chain mail
ic. It was also referred to as a kind of mail featuring leather thongs threaded through every or every alternate row of links.
The current term for small metal plates joined by chainmail is
plated mail
Mail and plate armour (plated mail, plated chainmail, splinted mail/chainmail) is a type of mail with embedded plates. Armour of this type has been used in the Middle East, North Africa, Ottoman Empire, Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Central ...
.
History
Although banded mail was considered real during the 19th century, later books on history claim that banded mail arose due to a misinterpretation of medieval manuscripts and tomb effigies.
While there have been some attempts at modern reconstructions of banded mail, there are no known historic examples. Existing manuscript and effigy representation has generally been interpreted as covering a variety of methods for depicting chainmail. However, Ffoulkes claimed that banded mail did exist, pointing specifically to an illustration in the ''Romance of Alexander'' where the depiction of mail changes on different parts of the same illustration. He asserted that banded mail was simply chainmail with leather thongs threaded through, and suggested that no specimen survives because the leather would have disintegrated between the armor's heyday in the 13th century and today, leaving conventional chainmail.
See also
*
Laminar armour
Laminar armour (from la, lamina – layer) is an armour made from horizontal overlapping rows or bands of, usually small, solid armour plates called lames, as opposed to lamellar armour, which is made from individual armour scales laced together ...
- a historical armour from horizontal strips of plate.
Notes
References
*http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/65/Arten_von_Panzerhemden.jpg
*https://web.archive.org/web/20120425232355/http://www.fantasy-workshop.com/faw/image-files/banded-mail-4.jpg
*http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/87/Wartburg-Ludwig_der_Eiserne.jpg
Medieval armour
Body armor
{{Medieval-armour-stub