Ring armour (ring mail) is an assumed type of

personal armour Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by vari ...

constructed as series of metallic rings sewn to a fabric or leather foundation. No actual examples of this type of armour are known from collections or archaeological excavations in Europe. It is sometimes called ringmail or ring mail. In the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

the term "mail" was used fancifully for any form of metallic body armour. Modern historians reserve the term "mail" for armour formed of an interlinked mesh of metal rings. The Bayeux Tapestry has been misinterpreted as depicting several different types of armour. It is generally acknowledged today that virtually all the armour on the tapestry is standard mail armour and not "ring mail", "trellised mail" or "mascled mail" or any other Victorian misinterpretation.

Theoretical construction

Ring armour was believed to be a leather or textile item of clothing (a jacket, or trousers) with a large number of metal rings sewn or tied directly into the foundation garment. Unlike mail armour, the rings are not physically interlocked with each other.

Schiessjoppe (eyelet doublet)

It has been claimed that the garment called eyelet doublet is not a form of ring armour, but an undergarment intended to be used under actual armour. The eyelets are intended as ventilation holes. It was known as a Schiessjoppe in Germany. However, Sir John Smythe, in 1591, recommended that, "Archers should weare either Ilet holed doublets that will resist the thrust of a sword or a dagger and covered with some trim and gallant kinde of coloured cloth to the liking of the captain ... or else Iackes of maile quilted upon fustian." It is clear from this that Smythe's "eyelet holed doublet" was not intended to be worn with mail but as a standalone armour, but this quote from the book titled "The Armourer and His Craft" By Charles John Ffoulkes brings into doubt whether the eyelet doublet was related to ring armour at all.

Notes

References

* Philippe Contamine : ''La Guerre au moyen âge'' (War in the Middle Ages), Presses Universitaires de France, Paris, 1980. *

Claude Blair Claude Blair, (30 November 1922 – 21 February 2010) was a British museum curator and scholar, who specialised in European arms and armour. He is particularly known for his book ''European Armour: circa 1066 to circa 1700'' (1958). He worked in ...

, ''European Armour'', London: Batsford. 1958. {{Types of armour Medieval armour Body armor