I've been thinking to make this page to show some pictures of armors and weapons used in the story.

You may skip this and return later when you want to since it's not necessary for the story.

a bit of disclaimer first, the pictures I used for reference are in Public Domain and have: unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

First, let's go with the quintessential Knight in plate armor

Equestrian figures, Bloomberg Court, Arms and Armor View 3; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The John Pierpont Morgan Wing: The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Arms and Armor Court (Gallery 371)

While this one is obviously the top grade of the era, made for a Duke who was usually part of the royalty, I found the style to be representative of what I envisioned in the story.

This is a good piece that shows a balance between form and function. What the Knights character used in the story is less stellar. Same functionally but without the extra engraving and gilding.

If you want to see just how sturdy and flexible plate armor is, you can search youtube: Le combat en armure au XVe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hlIUrd7d1Q&t=34s

I can't link a video in here so... anyway, you can see just how well they could do aerobic moves, jumping, even climbing up and down a ladder in full armor. It also shows how half-swording technique works.

The second piece is about Brigandine

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/23205

Distinctive features are the early form of brigandine (a torso defense constructed of numerous overlapping plates riveted inside a doublet) with two large breast halves and brass borders at the edges of the exposed plates.

Portions of the brass at the top edge of the left cuisse (thigh defense), the lower edges of the right greave (lower leg defense), and the visor are genuine; the remainder is restored. The helmet, a visored bascinet, is associated with the armor. The velvet covering of the brigandine dates from the early 20th century.

The Brigandine is the red piece that covered the torso. The ones shown are combined with early plate armor for the arms and legs portions.

Generally, Brigandine can be used alone with other parts of the body protected by gambeson (layered padded jackets).

The helmet is a Bascinet type that is used by many Knights characters in the story.

Next is the weapon that's heavily used in the era, Halberd

Halberd, also spelled halbert or halbard, weapon consisting of an ax blade balanced by a pick with an elongated pike head at the end of the staff. It was usually about 1.5 to 1.8 metres (5 to 6 feet) long.

The halberd was an important weapon in middle Europe from the 14th through the 16th century. It enabled a foot soldier to contend with an armoured man on horseback; the pike head was used to keep the horseman at a distance, and the ax blade could strike a heavy cleaving blow to finish the opponent. (Brittanica)

Imagine a pike mixed with an axe. You can thrust, chop, but also hook a target. This weapon is heavily used by Knights, Men-at-arms, and regular footmen.

Next is the Crossbow

Crossbow. Date: late 15th or early 16th century, and later; date 1584 engraved probably during the 19th century. Culture: Central European, possibly southern Germany. Medium: Steel, wood, staghorn, hemp

Obviously, this is one of the top tiers with beautiful engraving on the wood. The one used in the story is similar, just with less engraving and more basic looking.

Look at the trigger, unlike modern trigger, medieval crossbow used such lever mechanism which I imagine is not really intuitive.

They are hard to reload, mostly using a foot and both hands, or in need of a special tool to pull back the string in place.

However, crossbows are affordable, require little training, and are able to penetrate even the best armor of the era.

Hopefully, this little bit of information is useful. I wish to share more but it's not easy to find good Public Domain images and I'm not sure about the policy regarding sharing video links.

Anyway, if you need to ask about anything, just leave a comment.

Thank you

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