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Right. the 15th century, the English

became involved with Burgundy on

multiple occasions, both as opponents

and allies. During the various conflicts

between the two countries, the Beandians

developed a high level of respect for

the English archers. So today we will be

looking at a Beandian archer. However,

to be more accurate, we are actually

looking at an English captain of a

typical mercenary longbowman company.

Average archers looked fairly similar

across Europe and didn't necessarily

have to be wellarmed to be hired in the

service of various militaries. So by

looking at a captain, we see all the

related archery kit as well as some fine

examples of high status armor which is

of a typical beandian style.

First the soldier wears his arming

jacket. This is a padded coat which

provides a base layer of protection

while also serving as a tough fabric

base to tie his armor to if he wants to

be better armored.

The arming jacker is emlazed with the

heraldry of the county of Suffukk, a

crown and two crossed arrows, showing

that this military captain is paying

homage to his home county in East

Anglia, England.

You will note that this archer is

wearing 3/4length riding boots. This is

because despite the English longbow men

typically fighting on foot, the English

mercenaries were expected to provide

their own horse and were paid extra for

doing so.

Secondly, the archer wears a male collar

or standard to provide neck protection.

Male standards are constructed in a

certain way that they provide a good

level of overlap around the throat where

the weave of the male links is much

denser and usually larger lengths are

arranged around the shoulders and chest

known as the mantle. This is one of the

first examples of this man's higher

status armor as the male collar features

a decorative trim of brass or gilded

links.

Next, a curass is worn.

While at first glance this may look like

a type of brigundy, this is actually a

full breast plate [music] consisting of

an upper breast plate, plaque art and

folds.

The black art and folds have been blued

which is achieved by a process of

polishing the steel then applying

linseed oil. Then a lick of flame is

carefully applied to the metal which

turns the color of the steel a blue

purple color.

This is a historical process and

requires great skill as too much heat

will turn the steel a dull gray or

black. Blueing the armor makes it more

rust resistant and also greatly elevates

the status of the wearer due to the

extra talent required to make such a

harness.

The upper breast plate is covered in

burgundy dyed velvet.

The velvet sheet is tailored to the

breastplate and then riveted in place.

Again, it provides an additional layer

of protection for the armor, but also

helps soften the blows of incoming

strikes just a little bit, aiding the

soldiers chances to prevent a serious

injury during combat.

Above all, this makes the armor more

fancy and high status. And the beandians

were famed for their experimental

artistic styles of armor, featuring

multiple mediums of colored plate, silk,

and velvet fabrics, gilding, plumage,

and tassels. featuring on their armor

during the 15th century and beyond.

Now, the captain wears his belt with

kidney pouch and dagger.

This is a quillon dagger. It was quite

popular throughout the entirety of the

Middle Ages and served as a vital

component of any archers ensemble.

Archers weren't necessarily required to

own a sidearm to be recruited as a

mercenary, but hand-to-hand combat was

expected amongst the English Bowman

companies.

The lower status archers would carry a

wooden club or mallet as a minimum

likely to hammer stakes into the ground

as well as being utilized as a melee

weapon. But knives and daggers were also

commonly used by archers. The bollock

dagger being a particularly popular

choice amongst the lower classes.

This quillon dagger is more of an upper

class style of weapon. And either this

or a Rond dagger would be more favored

by a soldier with the rank of captain.

Next, the arming belt with sword and

scabbard is worn.

The beandians began hiring English

mercenary companies, paying top dollar

for the well armored and highly

experienced archers for the English

provided.

These longbowowmen had proved themselves

throughout the hundred years war against

France on the doorstep of Burgundy. and

the beandians were keen to utilize these

well-trained soldiers within their

ranks.

The archer now removes his hat and wears

a padded arming cap.

The final piece of plate armor that the

archer will wear today is the bisus

salot.

Again, this helmet has been given a

brass finish, making it exceedingly high

status and more than adequate for a

captain in charge of a company of long

bowmen.

The salot features a reinforced plate on

the brow and a curved tail to protect

the nape of the neck. A blue dyed

feather plume is also present to give

the armor an extra level of typical

beandian flamboyancy and artistic flare.

This salot is a reproduction of an

excellently preserved original currently

on display at the Metropolitan Museum in

New York.

in the ordinance voncal den kernan

translated to ordinances of Charles the

Bold who was a prominent Duke of

Burgundy during the late 15th century.

The text gives us a vital insight into

what the beandian military were

expecting from the English longbow

mercenaries.

An abridged version of the text reads,

"The mounted archer must possess a horse

and should wear a visorless salot, a

gorette, a brigandine, or a sleeveless

male shirt under a 10-layered jack. He

should carry a long, sharp, two-handed

sword, and a double-edged dagger." So

here we see the long sword in all its

glory, hinting that these English

archers were expected and likely paid

with the assumption to engage in melee

combat when required.

A quiver full of arrows is handed to the

archer and is attached to the belt by

the use of a forged metal S-shaped hook.

Of course, no archer is complete without

his bow. The squire hands the captain

his long bow, which importantly does not

have its bow string attached yet.

Keeping long bows, or indeed any bow

string, for long periods of time,

weakens the bow and makes them more

liable to breaking. So, the archers kept

their bow strings separate, usually

stowed away under their caps to keep

them dry and out of rainy weather.

Then just before a battle, they would

knock the bow and do a few dry pulls on

the string to warm up the bow ready for

shooting.

Finally, the archer wears his gloves.

Leather gloves like these are an

alternative to wearing a brace and

finger guard. And archery gloves could

also be made of deer skin.

Now the longbowman is fully armed and

ready for war.

He is standing in front of a church,

specifically All Saints Church at

Crowfield, Suffukk.

In England, it was a soft law that men

were required to practice archery after

church service on a Sunday, either in

the churchyard or at the village green.

And so, as a tip of the hat to this

medieval law, this archer looses a few

arrows to hone in on his skills, ready

for the campaign ahead.

At this point, I would like to thank the

reenactors featured in today's video,

both the archer and his squire.

They are members of the Suffukk Swords

reenactment group in East Anglia and are

doing great work portraying alternative

styles of armor during the 15th century.

I have left a link to their social

medias in the video description below,

and I urge you all to support them by

giving them a follow.

Supporting these reenactors allows us to

make more armoring videos just like this

and get more people involved on the

channel to show off highly authentic

arms and armor throughout various

periods of history.

Showing our support also helps preserve

the great hobby of reenactment and

allows future generations to learn about

hands-on history and perhaps be inspired

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themselves.