Ethnographic Arms & Armour - Islamic bow for I.D. and comment

Ethnographic Arms & Armour (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/index.php)

- Ethnographic Weapons (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=2)

- - Islamic bow for I.D. and comment (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=22868)

Thank you, Timo. Very instructive.

Regards

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timo Nieminen

The tachi was still in use as a cavalry sword. For example, in this picture of the Siege of Osaka Castle, 1615:

As late as the Satsuma Rebellion, art still shows traditionally-equipped armoured cavalry wearing tachi .

Just because a sword was worn in the manner of a tachi does not necessarily make the sword a true "tachi".

There were true tachi, which are swords made during a certain period of time and with certain identifiable traits.

There were swords that were not true tachi which were mounted in a tachi koshirae.

There were swords that were not true tachi and were not mounted in a tachi koshirae but were still worn in the manner of a tachi.

There were swords made at a later date than true tachi which were made to look like true tachi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

it ignores the use of metal lammelar armour and mail used by byzantine cataphracti and the sassanids, and turks, all of which used recurved horsebows, only mentioning the light leather lamella used by some other muslim light cavalry. they also armoured their horses.

Light leather lamellar is a myth, anyway. The lamella need to be thick enough to be effective - about 3mm rawhide or more. All of it is overlapped to give you at least double thickness everywhere (side-by-side overlap), so rows are 6mm thick. If you again double the thickness by vertical overlap of the rows, you have 12mm, for about the same weight as 2mm iron/steel plate (without even considering the weight of the lacing).

Take that 3mm rawhide lamellar, and wear it on top of a mail shirt (as was common), and it isn't light armour at all.