Ice and Fire Sport and the Medieval Age
With the popularity of Ice and Fire or “Game of Thrones” as it is popularly known on TV, a fantasy series based in the land of Westeros. An interesting mix of medieval, Viking, fantasy and more which can be related back to a few different eras that we can compare to life as we once knew it on planet Earth. Wondering just what the guys wore during battle and during their sports, how they were made, and the costs of it all got me to do a little digging.
Jousting was the main sport and other games that were prestigious were hunting, fighting, hawking or sword play and this all happened during the medieval age on our planet and so to this era we go.
COST OF GEARING UP FOR SPORT
Mock battles and sports were the great sport of early medieval times and these
were fist fought by knights wearing boiled leather or a quilted gambeson underneath a mail shirt (hauberk).
At this time a mail shirt made of 25,000 rings was the equivalent of the entire income of a good sized village! This of course was way beyond the financial means of an ordinary man in the street. In addition a sword was required and these took nearly 200 man hours of labour to produce in the early 1100’s. Lances were also the thing of the day and eventually had a specially fitted holster, for want of a better word, which was built into a saddle to house it. All of the above where then placed on top of a horse which at that time would have cost around a £100, which when the average yearly income was around £40, cost a pretty whack (let’s compare it to the equivalent of purchasing a Ferrari today). The horse being such a huge investment was protected by chain mail itself and had its own set of armour.
MEDIEVAL GEAR ITSELF
In early medieval times open faced helmets were used and these later evolved into a closed steel helmet that was tied at the back with laces. So to be able to identify the jousters, heraldry was added to the outfit so the sportsman could be identified. In later times they were replaced by smaller head gear which sported visors.
One weakness of chain mail is that it did not stop a lance and when lanced or wounded the mail could get caught in the wounds and cause complications. Then from around 1286 plated armour began to be worn underneath the chain mail as a solution.
The 13th Century saw further improvements in the horses armour, steel gloves (gauntlets) and rounded shields made of a combination of wood and steel to better deflect blows.
As jousting developed more rules were brought in and the choices of weapons were restricted and the shield became the target for your opponent. The “vamplate” was developed on lances (a protective plate around the handhold of the lance to protect the hand.) The lances were now made from Applewood or Ash (wood) and had blunt tips, which were made for sport instead of war. Saddles were made higher and offered leg protection. Plate covered leather was replaced with full plate armour and badges replaced surcoats.
MAEDIVAL IRON FASHION
Supplies of Iron grew rapidly in the 14th Century due to bellows being used with water generated power, allowing for the generation of much higher heat temperatures. Swords as a result became stiffer and sharper and armour got lighter and stronger and more able to withstand impacts. Which reminds me of Jaimes sword, beautifully crafted and given to him as a gift from his father, Tywin Lannister in the epic Ice and Fire fantasy novels.
There were two main centres for armour in the day and they were Milan and Augsburg. In Milan they specialised in smoother armour suited to repelling lances and swords. In Augsburg a more rippled finished armour was produced and this armour was intended to deflect arrows and bolts.
As production increased it became possible to rent a suit of armour or even purchase a second hand one.
By the mid-15th C a highly sought after “white Armour” was being produced. This armour had a weight of just 36kg, and when wearing this baby there was no question of not being able to rise again when knocked to the ground.
HAWKING AND HUNTING – MEDIEVAL STYLE
Wealthy knights imported valuable birds and had fine and expensive hawking gloves made from the leather of a particular kind of sheep, the Mouflon. The best of these skins came from Cordoba, Spain, and in England makers of these gloves took the name of “Cordwainers”. Hawks were so valuable that from 1360 that the theft of a hawk was punishable by death.
OTHER MEDIEVAL SPORTS
Interestingly other sports described that were enjoyed by knights were shooting with bows and arrows, rock throwing, hurling the lance, dice (gambling?) and a huge variety of other games.
MEDIEVAL WINTER ICE SPORTS
Although there is not much recorded history about the various other winter sports one “William FItstephen” recorded sledging way back in 1175, sliding and curling on ice skates made of bone. Skates such as these have since been found in the London sewers. In Finland skis over 2 meters in length have been found dating back to 2000BC and a sledge dating back to 6500BC.
SPORT SHOES – MEDIEVAL
Well, if you have ever seen any pictures of shoes from the middle ages you will know that they had extremely long toes and these even curled upward! Not great for playing or participating in any kind of sport. These shoes became known as Cracow’s (in the UK) and Poulaines (in France) and reached such ridiculous lengths that laws was brought in to limit the length. Cracow’s had no heel and the toes reached up to 60cm in length can you imagine playing a game of football in a pair of these?
It is unlikely that ordinary people had special clothing for playing sport. Even after the advent of the spinning wheel in the 14th C, clothing was hard to come by. It was not often that people (commoners) had more than one set of clothing. The same goes for shoes and the custom of sons inheriting footwear from their fathers is reinforced by the sayings “Following in his father’s footsteps” and “filling his boots” all exist from these days.
Clothing for medieval commoners was plain and very simple stuff. The peasant or commoner wore a tight tunic that was short and belted with rope or leather. He might also wear short pants or trousers made of wool and a felt hat (this is the only type of hat he was allowed to wear).
FOOTBALL – MEDIEVAL
The famous game of ball lived in those days and the ball was made from a cow or pigs bladder and stuffed with sad, straw or chalk and roughly stitched together. A pigs head would often suffice too!
In the 16thC a shoemaker presented the Drapers Company with a new ball which was worth three shillings and four pence for their Shrove Tuesday match, which at the price in the day suggests a top quality item.
It is clear that sport over the years has certainly had its costs and also the gear.
Looking at the cost of jousting and the safety developments in jousting way back then, I could not help but compare how it reminded me of the huge costs, safety rules and adjustments that have been made in the modern sport of F1 racing sport over the last years, often a trail of Ice and Fire Sport itself and which is also the most expensive sport in the world today!
It is clear that nothing has changed over the centuries and that man will always strive to create both gear and clothing that will give him the edge in his preferred sport.
It all boils down to the same thing , the World of Ice and Fire Sport and the Medieval Ages all required huge sums of money to make things happen. Fantasy or reality, sport and exciting sport adventures in the history of mankind on Earth or in Westeros!
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