av Admin » 19 september 2003, 09:13
Lite källor:
I det engelska dokumentet "The Assize of Arms" (1181) kan man läsa:
"3. Item, all burgesses and the whole community of freemen shall have [each] a <b>gambeson</b>,[3] an iron cap, and a lance."
Vad gäller Bayeuxtapeten kan man läsa så här i Arms and Armor of the Medieval Knight an Illustrated History of Weaponry in the Middle Ages, authors David Edge and John Miles Paddock, page 21, ISBN 0-517-10319-2, 1995 edition, published by Crescent Books. Visserligen ingen direkt källa men en bra tolkning:
"Odon, Bishop of Bayeux (William's brother) and William the Conqueror
both wear a hauberk composed of large, differently-coloured triangles, a quilted <b>gambeson</b>."
Encyclopedia Britannica (väl pålästa i regel):
"Then, during the 11th century, the sleeves of the knight's mail shirt, or byrnie, became longer and closer-fitting, extending downward from the middle of the upper arm to the wrist; at the same time, the hem of the byrnie dropped from just above to just below the kneecap. Knights began wearing the <b>gambeson</b>, a quilted garment of leather or canvas, beneath their mail for additional protection and to cushion the shock of blows. (Ordinary soldiers often wore a <b>gambeson </b>as their only protection.) Use of the surcoat, a light garment worn over the knight's armour, became general during this period. Both gambeson and surcoat may have been Arab imports, adopted as a result of exposure to Muslim technology during the Crusades. "
Alltså: Belägg finns före 1200-talet både skriftligt och bildligt (det sistnämda lite beroende på hur man tolkar bilderna). Bruket i 1100-talsskrifterna tyder på att plagget i fråga var bekant för de skriften var riktad till, det är alltså inte någon fullkomlig nyhet vi talar om.
/Henrik