The list emerges

In my quest to outfit myself as one the Admiral’s division at Flodden, 1513, I’ve been digging through cupboards, braving spiders in the attic, and burrowing through piles of junk in the shed to figure out what kit I already have that can be part of the portrayal. The shed yielded up the cuirass and splints of my almain rivet armour, two bills, and a pair of mitten gauntlets in need of some tlc. Out of the attic came some long medieval boots but on reflection I think they’re unsuitable for the portrayal and in need of too much repair. In cupboards and corners I managed to find various blades and assorted bits and bobs that might be useful…

But first things first! I really ought to begin with a list of what’s needed.

The equipment for soldiers in the fleet can be ascertained to some extent by surviving supply documents relating to the equipment issued to the soldiers and mariners of the Henry Grace a Dieu in 1513 and 1514.

In 1513 the Henry Grace a Dieu was manned by 400 soldiers, 260 seamen, and 40 gunners, but carried supplies including 2,000 bows, 1,500 bills, and 1,500 pikes, but only 500 sets of ‘harness’ or armour. There’s clearly a discrepancy, which can probably be explained best if the majority of the bills, bows, and pikes were intended for use by Henry’s army in France, rather than the soldiers who made up the complement of the ship. To some extent this is borne out by the records of the equipment left in the ship after the army had disembarked, which included:

‘Bowes of Ewe – cxxiiij…

Hole chests of arrows – iij

Billys – cxliiij

Moryspykes – lxxx

Backes and Brestes of Almyne Ryvettes of ether – cc

Splentes – clxxxxviii payer

Salettes – cc

Standardes of Mayle – cc’

[Quoted in M. Oppenheim, A History of the Administration of the Royal Navy and of Merchant Shipping in Relation to the Navy, vol. 1, MDIX-MDCLX (London, 1896), pp. 56, 380-3810]

Antonio Bavarin, representative in London of the Venetian firm of Pesari, wrote to his employers in April 1513, describing the fitting out of the fleet for Henry’s expedition to France that year.

‘Besides a double complement of sailors to work the ships, there was a body of 16,000 picked soldiers, well supplied with provisions and the like. The King had given a coat of green and white damask, his own colours, to each of the captains; a coat of camlet to each of the pilots, pinnaces, and masters; and a coat of good woollen cloth, green and white, to each of the sailors and soldiers’. [CSP Venetian, vol. 2, item 237].

Roughly then, this suggests that the 400 soldiers who remained aboard the Henry Grace a Dieu as part of her complement were divided between unarmoured archers and armoured men armed with either bills or pikes. The billmen were equipped with a livery coat of green and white, corselet of almain rivet, splints, mail standard, and helmet. Curiously, no mention is made of sidearms – swords, bucklers, daggers etc – but it’s most probable that the soldiers had them and they were simply overlooked in the inventory.

So, here’s the list:

Clothing.

At this stage I have a rough idea of what clothing I’m going to need for my own impression (Mrs the Fox and the cubs will be dealt with in a future blog), but I’m not at all certain on the details. The Tudor Tailor publication The King’s Servants has been highly recommended so I think the first thing is to get myself a copy. At the least I’m going to need:

Shirts

Hose

Doublet

Hat

Shoes

Military Equipment.

Almain rivet corselet

Splints (arm armour)

Mail standard (neck protection)

Sallet – difficult tell for certain what is meant by the word “sallet” in period documents. Sometimes it meant the style of helmet specifically referred to as a sallet, but at other times it just meant “helmet”. Several different types of helmet would be suitable for my portrayal, but I’m going to take the Henry Grace a Dieu document at face value and go for an open faced sallet.

Coat – Woollen base coat in green and white livery

Bill – or pike, but I already have a bill

Sword

Buckler

Accessories and other kit.

Although the above list of kit would be enough to take part in the battle element of a Flodden recreation I’m personally much more excited by the living history side of re-enactment than by combat, so I also need to consider kit that doesn’t directly relate to the battlefield. Stuff to do in camp, stuff to talk to the public about, stuff to make me more comfortable, and the little touches that finish off a good kit…

Dagger

Belts

Pouch

Bedroll

Plates and other eating equipment

Water bottle

Cold weather clothing

Firelighting kit

Personal items – personal hygiene, games, money, knife… that kind of thing.

A bag to carry it all in.

I'm confident that this won't be the end of the list. Over the coming months some of these items might be dropped, and I'm sure that other stuff will be added... but it'll do to be going on with.

I remain etc. etc.,

A Story

Back in the dark days of 1998 I bought a cuirass, a back and breast plate. At the time, I was involved with 15th century medieval reenactment and needed the armour to keep my insides safe. But, instead of buying a replica cuirass suitable for the Wars of the Roses period (which would have been sensible) I was offered, and bought, a square topped cuirass, commonly described as "Almain Rivet", more suitable for the early 16th century.

Why did I do such a thing? Simply, I harboured a dream that one day I'd be able to wear it for reenacting the early 16th century. Back then it was a bit of a pipe dream. Nobody else seemed very interested in the period and I didn't fancy doing it by myself. A few years later I stopped doing 15th century reenactment, but for the last decade the armour (with its associated arm splints) has followed me from house to house, living in a succession of sheds and attics. I've kept it in the hope that one day I'd get to wear it.

Well, back in 1998 it seemed an awfully long time to 2013, but now it's not so far off and a few people have begun to explore the possibility of putting an event on to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Flodden. So, it's time to dust the almain rivet off and get the rest of the kit together to ride North and defend the border against those rascally Scots who have seen fit to invade while the King is away putting the French in their place.

So, over the next year it is my intention to put together a complete set of kit to represent a soldier at Flodden - arms and armour, clothing, accessories. Since my wife and kids will be joining me I suppose I'd better sort kit out for them too... this blog will be a record of my (our) progress.

I've chosen to portray a soldier of the Lord Admiral, Lord Thomas Howard's, division: one of the thousand or so soldiers that he brought from the fleet to augment the Northern army. There are a handful of reasons for this decision:

• By profession I'm a maritime historian, so it seems fitting to serve in the Admiral's division
• I've already got some information about the equipment of soldiers in the fleet in 1514, the year after Flodden which will help me to create a realistic impression
• Soldiers in the fleet seem to have worn liveries of green and white, which were the most common colours for soldiers in Henry VIII's service, so the kit will be easily adaptable to other portrayals.
• Sir Thomas Howard was involved in various actions and campaigns, from the defeat at sea of the Scottish pirate Andrew Barton in 1511 to an expedition through northern France in 1522, so it's a good portrayal for other early 16th century events too.

In the next post I'll make a list of all the kit I think I need (which will doubtless change over time), work out what I've already got (and how much of it needs overhauling), what I will need to buy, and how much of it I can make.

Til then, I remain etc etc.