The Armour of the Clifford Household.
The Kettle helm.
Usually made from a single piece of metal this helm has a deep bowl and a broad brim. In its simplest form it very closely resembles the helmet used by the British Army during the Second World War and more closely the helmet used by Air Raid Precaution (ARP) staff. During the middle ages the helmet could have a raised brim (or comb) to add extra strength to the helm and would often have the brim turned down to cover more of the head/face. In this case they would have sights (vision slits) cut into the brim. This helmet was very common at the time of the Wars of the Roses (The Cousins Wars) since it was simple and therefore relatively cheap to make.
Usually made from a single piece of metal this helm has a deep bowl and a broad brim. In its simplest form it very closely resembles the helmet used by the British Army during the Second World War and more closely the helmet used by Air Raid Precaution (ARP) staff. During the middle ages the helmet could have a raised brim (or comb) to add extra strength to the helm and would often have the brim turned down to cover more of the head/face. In this case they would have sights (vision slits) cut into the brim. This helmet was very common at the time of the Wars of the Roses (The Cousins Wars) since it was simple and therefore relatively cheap to make.
Sallet.
Slightly more sophisticated than the kettle helm, this style of helmet became hugely popular in 15th century England. The sallet is more closely fitting to the head than the kettle helm and does not have a brim, some forms are actually very similar to the 'kettle helm with a turned down brim'. Sallets come in a number of forms ranging from open faced, full face versions with sights (vision slits) cut into them or have a moveable visor. The visors can be fairly short affairs that reach to just below the nose or can completely cover the front of the face.
One of the main differences between a sallet and a kettle helm is the back of the helm. On a sallet this can either follow the form of the back of the head in a smooth curve that reaches down to the back of the neck or a 'tail'.
Slightly more sophisticated than the kettle helm, this style of helmet became hugely popular in 15th century England. The sallet is more closely fitting to the head than the kettle helm and does not have a brim, some forms are actually very similar to the 'kettle helm with a turned down brim'. Sallets come in a number of forms ranging from open faced, full face versions with sights (vision slits) cut into them or have a moveable visor. The visors can be fairly short affairs that reach to just below the nose or can completely cover the front of the face.
One of the main differences between a sallet and a kettle helm is the back of the helm. On a sallet this can either follow the form of the back of the head in a smooth curve that reaches down to the back of the neck or a 'tail'.
Bevor
A cup like plate that sits on top of the breastplate and protects the throat, chin and lower face
A cup like plate that sits on top of the breastplate and protects the throat, chin and lower face
Padded Jack.
The precise construction method of padded jacks is not definitively known as there are no surviving examples, although there are a number of surviving garments that ‘may’ be padded jacks. It is currently believed that the ‘jack’ would have been made from stout linen and stuffed with some soft material which could have been layers of wool cloth, horse hair, tow (the soft material from the flax plant before it is turned into linen) or hay (dried grass). They may have also been made from many layers of linen. The exact appearance of the jack would have varied greatly depending on the whim of the maker but as a rule they probably had sleeves and reached to below the loins, but shorter than similar garments in earlier periods. One contemporary source (Dominic Mancini 1483) makes a supposition that”... the softer the jack the better do they withstand the blows of arrows and swords”. The same source also describes them as “comfortable tunics”.
It may have been the case that during the later period of the Wars of the Roses the humble jack may have become less common as the only armour worn by professional soldiery of the noble lords due to the availability of additional armour such as brigandines. Nonetheless the jack is the most basic piece of armour for the common soldier.
The precise construction method of padded jacks is not definitively known as there are no surviving examples, although there are a number of surviving garments that ‘may’ be padded jacks. It is currently believed that the ‘jack’ would have been made from stout linen and stuffed with some soft material which could have been layers of wool cloth, horse hair, tow (the soft material from the flax plant before it is turned into linen) or hay (dried grass). They may have also been made from many layers of linen. The exact appearance of the jack would have varied greatly depending on the whim of the maker but as a rule they probably had sleeves and reached to below the loins, but shorter than similar garments in earlier periods. One contemporary source (Dominic Mancini 1483) makes a supposition that”... the softer the jack the better do they withstand the blows of arrows and swords”. The same source also describes them as “comfortable tunics”.
It may have been the case that during the later period of the Wars of the Roses the humble jack may have become less common as the only armour worn by professional soldiery of the noble lords due to the availability of additional armour such as brigandines. Nonetheless the jack is the most basic piece of armour for the common soldier.
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Brigandine.
A brigandine is a (generally) front opening garment that reaches to the waist and is made from an outer of stout cloth to which small rectangular steel plates are fixed by rivets to make a flexible armour. The plates were shaped to provide a degree of tailoring to the brigandine which would have had a discernible waist and rivets were commonly arranged in decorative patterns. 
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By the second half of the 15th Century brigandines were a very popular form of defence and were worn by all classes, although the higher classes would make them from more expensive materials. The brigandine was more comfortable to wear than a full breastplate and was therefore popular with the higher classes as a garment for protection when travelling or not expecting to have to fight. For less wealthy knights it was a cheaper alternative to the breastplate.
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Maile.
Although commonly called 'chain mail' today, strictly speaking this should be referred to as just maile (old french for chain). Maile was ubixutous to the middle ages and although the long knee length hauberks of earlier times had fallen out of use it was still prevalent throughout the 15th Century and beyond. For knights, advances in the armourers skill had made it unnecessary to wear full shirts of maille and it had been relegated to smaller pieces where flexibility was required that was difficult (although not imposible) to achieve with rigid metal plates. In practice this included 'voiders' that covered the arm-pit and inner bend of the elbow. 'Standards' which were a standing collar of mail around the neck. 'Skirts' around the loins, also fashioned in the style of a maille shorts which were common in German fashion. 'Chauses' of mail that covered the legs were also used under plate leg armour.
For the more common soldiery the maille 'standard' was popular as were 'splints' which was the name given to complete sleeves that covered the arms. Noting that the body was often protected by a brigandine.
Maille was made in a range of sizes from rings of around 6mm diameter upwards to around 10mm in diameter. The rings had a flat rather than round section and were individually riveted together, in maille of larger diameter there were also 'endless' rings used to speed up production and possibly provide better protection by making the maille stronger. However, maille only provided limited protection against the arrows and fine pointed weapons of the time (daggers, some swords, and the 'dague' of pole weapons) but it was effective against less determined blows from edged weapons and glancing hits. Although quite heavy to wear and expensive to make it is not restrictive to movement and therefore it was still advantageous to wear.
Older maile armour would have still been used from earlier times. It would not have been at all uncommon to see items of maile that had been repeatedly repaired and re-used although on the whole the shape of garments would have been altered to the [then] current fashion. In the illustrated fighting manual by Paulus Kal (A German fight master circa 1460) there is extensive illustration of maille armour ranging from the small patches in vulnerable areas not covered by steel plates to much more extensive covering of the body, including the face.
Although commonly called 'chain mail' today, strictly speaking this should be referred to as just maile (old french for chain). Maile was ubixutous to the middle ages and although the long knee length hauberks of earlier times had fallen out of use it was still prevalent throughout the 15th Century and beyond. For knights, advances in the armourers skill had made it unnecessary to wear full shirts of maille and it had been relegated to smaller pieces where flexibility was required that was difficult (although not imposible) to achieve with rigid metal plates. In practice this included 'voiders' that covered the arm-pit and inner bend of the elbow. 'Standards' which were a standing collar of mail around the neck. 'Skirts' around the loins, also fashioned in the style of a maille shorts which were common in German fashion. 'Chauses' of mail that covered the legs were also used under plate leg armour.
For the more common soldiery the maille 'standard' was popular as were 'splints' which was the name given to complete sleeves that covered the arms. Noting that the body was often protected by a brigandine.
Maille was made in a range of sizes from rings of around 6mm diameter upwards to around 10mm in diameter. The rings had a flat rather than round section and were individually riveted together, in maille of larger diameter there were also 'endless' rings used to speed up production and possibly provide better protection by making the maille stronger. However, maille only provided limited protection against the arrows and fine pointed weapons of the time (daggers, some swords, and the 'dague' of pole weapons) but it was effective against less determined blows from edged weapons and glancing hits. Although quite heavy to wear and expensive to make it is not restrictive to movement and therefore it was still advantageous to wear.
Older maile armour would have still been used from earlier times. It would not have been at all uncommon to see items of maile that had been repeatedly repaired and re-used although on the whole the shape of garments would have been altered to the [then] current fashion. In the illustrated fighting manual by Paulus Kal (A German fight master circa 1460) there is extensive illustration of maille armour ranging from the small patches in vulnerable areas not covered by steel plates to much more extensive covering of the body, including the face.
Gauntlets
armoured gloves either in the style of mittens or with individual armoured fingers.
armoured gloves either in the style of mittens or with individual armoured fingers.
