I used to like fantasy weapons and armor a lot, and to dismiss historical ones for being just boring or not cool enough. However, after two or three years of being interested in historical accurate weapons and armor, now I kinda hate fantasy designs. They look so stupid and silly to me now

Really really fantastic job, thanks for sharing

A really funny thing about Times New Roman incidentally: The font's origin actually go back to the Carolingian Minuscule, which was revived by Italian Humanists in the 15th century because they strongly disliked the Gothic handwriting that was prevalent in Europe at the time. Two German printers, Sweynheym and Pannartz, were the first to set up a printing press near Rome in the late 15th century and rather than use the Gothic printing font that was common in Germany, the chose to adapt the local handwriting font, creating the Roman Type (which was essentially Carolingian Minuscule from the late 8th-early 9th century). This is were Times New Roman gets the 'Roman' part of the name. This Roman Type would be the inspiration for later forms of font, eventually leading to TNR. When you are typing in TMR, you are actually using a 1200y/o font. So while it isn't historically accurate in the least to slap it on bascinets, there is more history attached to it than you might think...

Hey Ian, I don’t know when you’re going to upload again or if you’ll ever see this, but I just wanted to say thank you; thank you for making great insightful videos, thank you for giving good sources and always researching things thoroughly, but above all thank you for bringing something I always thought was only in a museums untouchable never to be worn again to realty. I hope someday after I’ve done my research and created my own piece of living history I can meet you and thank you properly.

It has been 10 months,, please make more videos!!

In medieval music we have a really interesting discussion too. There are several grups of ancient music, that try to replicate the mediveal aestethic. But we don't have audio records of the ancient music to rear, we just have manuscript scores, books, treaties of harmony and interpretation, and descriptions of how he music sounded like. In addiction to this, the musical instruments, materiais and tecnologies were differents then today, and even the music scores are incomplete in terms of interpretation and dinamics marks to guide the execution, because of cultural and regional differences, and the lack of others types of music to thesse people too. To play this sons with a minimum criteria of fidelity, is necessery to know thesse styles and regions, to have ancient like instruments; and to get rid of the modern aestethics to dive deep in this ancient world. It's very common that orquestral musicians that get specialized in this type of music, don't play modern and contemporany styles, because of the big diferences in technical performance and interpretation.

i really miss your videos man

Hey man, you alright? Haven't seen a video from you in a while. I hope you are alright and will continue soon.

I wish Knyght Errant still uploaded :( such a great historical source of information.

A better title for this video: "The Importance of Capturing a Medieval Aesthetic or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Sources."

You mention it but i’d also trying to get into the headspace of the period is very important although probably impossible. I’ve seen great kit ruined by a totally anachronistic lazy performance that plays into common but false tropes about the past.

It's the same with swords as well. People continually hold up Albion swords as the gold standard for various reasons, but they're not really historically accurate: uniformly minimal, always a brushed finish, lacking decoration, cleanly made, etc. They're a modern person's idea of what a high end sword should look like.

Great topic! I've ran into this issue in designing my own harness. Originally I wanted to go for "cool", black accented armor with a another "cool" scabbard design, then realized I didn't see a single source depicting what I had in mind. This video helped me out a lot with overcoming my own modern preferences.

Here from Shadiversity and his recent video regarding 'female armor'. I really liked the point towards the end about understanding the why of things through the lens of the time - I think a lot of people dismiss the past because they only look through their own lens. It is important to keep that in mind, yet to understand the past we must also understand the context, and not just armor design but society as well. It's an important thing to keep in mind when writing pseudo-medieval fantasy and such if you want to bring the less-than-presently-admirable aspects of the society, just as it is important to keep it in mind with armor design and decoration as you showed.

I really hope you can come back to your channel soon! I've always loved your history videos about arms and armor far more than any other KZfaqr.

i discovered your work recently and i just fell in love with your channel ! Every video is clear, detailed, and well illustrated and you can feel the passion emanating from every frame ! being an artist myself its not always easy to refrain from filling my lack of knowledge with fantasy elements or modern interpretations. This video is a great guide on how to search for and capture an accurate medieval aesthetic ! keep up the good work ! (also sorry for my bad frenchy english)

This is an excellent video Ian. Well done and thank you!

Though from a completely different time period and place this reminds me of the Recent Change in the Governor's Palace at Colonial Williamsburg. The original was burnt down long ago but it was remade during the 1930s for the living history museum. When the recreation was made they choose to leave all the paneling unpainted and while unpainted wood was in taste while the rebuilding was being done they just now came to actually painting the panels in a way to imitate marble which was actually in the aesthetic of places like the palace in the 18th century. I Know some people was upset with the change preferring the look of unpainted paneling but it just shows how aesthetic can change over time. Source: www.dailypress.com/features/history/dp-nws-governors-palace-update-20180112-story,amp.html

Yet another greatly in depth video. Thank you.

imo this is still the best channel medieval wise I have found so far. Thank you.

This advice came to me just when I need it most. Thanks Ian!!!

I can't wait for the next video always really enjoy your extremely well made videos

Thanks for this video! Thank you for your time and your work :)

Without a doubt my favourite KZfaqr.

Well said, Ian. This is a message I have been trying to convey for decades. I hope you reach more people than I have.

Lots of good points, nice work. Also can we have more videos about the soft kit? Specifically about leather turn shoes.

I miss this content. Hope all is going well in the world of the Knyght Errant.

Excellent video, and very well put!

I like how you are mentioning an accurate medieval aesthetic. I have spoken before how I work in tailoring, but in artwork in general I LOVE making maps for table top games my friends and I run. Something I have been really trying to analyze and research are late 14th century to early 15th century artworks to gain a perspective on how the artwork was done in order to capture this feel for a game. I agree 100% that the aesthetic and atmosphere of art, music, clothing, etc. of any given time period in any given culture can lend a greater sense of immersion into those blips of time. I feel this is why something like Living History is so important because its not just reading about the history but at least to some extent interacting with it.

Very good explanation of why this is important, thank you. I might use it in a discussion in the future.

Dude, where did you go? Hope everything's ok.

Excellent video, I very much like your approach to the historic. In combination with educating the interwebs without stepping on someone's toes makes your channel unique on this website. Keep up the good work, I'd love to see more.

I still see you post on Facebook a lot, but I have to say I miss your videos. You make some incredible content.

Preach. Very well put.

i had been told before that pics from those galleries were hard to find so i shouldn't bother. and so too this day i never looked! but here i see you vouching for 'em and i go and holy carp thank you! thankyou for breaking that unnoticed veil!

Thank you for a well thought out argument for seeking the original sources. As a person with degrees in history/anthropology, I agree wholeheartedly with seeking how the people you are trying to emulate viewed their world. A big problem I have noticed with modern reenactment is the tendency to use mass produced items which look mass produced. Granted, not all of us can hand make a sword or spear. However, if possible, customizing them based on originals should still be attainable.

Thank you so much for this, Mr. LaSpina. I am a game designer myself, running a role-playing game set in a "medieval fantasy" type world, and I started watching videos on HEMA and medieval history purely to learn more about how to make that world feel more real. I still watch these type of videos for that reason, but I've also come to enjoy them for their own sake as well. You make an excellent point about loving the sources being a good foundation. Even though the world I've created is a fantasy world with magic and monsters and a different history to our real one, it doesn't change the fact that certain weapon and armor designs are the way the are for a reason, and those reasons make them effective in combat. I have learned a lot about how to make combat in my game feel more real thanks to people like Matt Easton, Roland Warzecha, and yourself. And my players have definitely noticed, so thanks again!

I really appreciate this video. I do personally tend towards more of a modern aesthetic myself but I am anachronistic so modern improvements are more desirable anyway. However that bias was not something I was aware of and one I now will put alot more effort into recognizing. Thank you!

Awesome! Good points in a truly inspiring presentation.

Knyght Errant Videos aren't common, but neither are miracles. Awesome as always man

Wonderful video topic. Keep up the great work. I enjoy your videos immensely.

Well spoken!

@ 7:04 -7:12 You need to make that transcript 'widely' available.

A topic which i find quite interesting is what was worn with the armor, accessories, like in your bascinet anatomy video you have done. It would be awesome to see a video from you about the different types, variations (like tabard and suircoat) and styles, ranging from clothing, cloths to jewellery and other things

In the words of Joliet Jake Blues: YES, YES! JESUS H. TAP-DANCING CHRIST YES! now if only everyone else saw the light too... Seriously, I've been talking about this for years and people think I've grown two heads, when I'm trying to explain that there is a stylistic and aesthetic difference between central germany in 1460, and 1485, or 1485 germany and 1485 Italy so often. its part of the reason I focus on a few periods I can dive entirely into understanding the artistic styles of the periods, rather than scratching the surface in superficial ways

You are remarkably well spoken and I could kick myself for finding you years late!!! Time to binge watch and catch up!

good argumentation!!! Missed your video's for some time...

Guy! Upload something! You do really awesome work!

Exceptional video! I am truly guilty of this view of medieval armor but slowly improving everyday.

Love this mate.

Thank you! As an amateur historian and as a Game Master for D&D players I can't thank you enough. I need to show this video to my players. However, I need to dive into more Medieval videos because it's one of the few areas in history that I don't know so much about - apart from the regular fantasy tropes. Again thank you. :) I came here from Shadiversity.

I would add that getting interest in anthropology, ethnology, sociology, also helps grow a more flexible mind, more prone to grasp cultural elements and work them together, as they are, as products of a different but coherent mindset. And though the material culture and artwork is indeed a very precious source, period texts can also be part of it. Best is to at least try to read them in their original condition, with no modernized spelling and no translation. That may mean having to learn another language, but if you're passionate, how could it not be worth it? That way, you also get to see how medieval Europe was so different, in its politic, economic, demographic, cultural configuration to modern nation states. In the end, it's all about learning about ourselves. Medieval people were different in so many ways, but deeply we absolutely haven't changed, and you get to see they liked things just like us, they were moved by things just like us, they could get angry or generous, they could be hypocritical or greedy, or have elevated standards and goals, they could be dumb or clever, they made good and bad choices, and on every aspect of being human, they were just like us, and through that common experience of living life being a human, the more you read what they wrote, examine what they produced, you start to walk in their shoes. And on the way, you might just realize you barely understand your contemporaries more, and when you try to get things at a deep enough level, you realize raising your awareness about the medieval man is also raising you awareness about your neighbour, and vice versa.

Incredible video! Subscribed.

100% on point! Also wouldn't mind seeing more soft kit stuff...

I totally agree. And the most simple example for modern aesthetics is symmetry: I often see recreations of e.g. leather cases with medieval patterns, but they are completely symmetrical, while the originals of the intended time period weren't symmetrical after all, so in a result the cases are formed after originals and have original inspired patterns, but with modern aesthetics.

This was an important topic, and would make a great essay.

Any leaks on when we might be getting a new video? Been missing your info tons.

This very much falls into the same lines when putting together a harness for studying Harnischfechten. By keeping the harness contemporary and having the correct coverage/shaping, you'll learn A LOT about that style when using historical techniques. Great video as always, Ian! We'll be covering a video series soon on building a harness for Harnischfechten and you touched on a lot of the points for this very topic. -Reece

Thank you :)

Nice shirt

One of the biggest influences on my perception of the middle ages without me realizing was romantic and neogothic art and architecture. I started doing some research on furnishings and architecture and was surprised by what I found. People in the late 1800s were OBSESSED with the middle ages and so much art was produced on that theme. While neogothic art is beautiful to look at, contemporary bias made its way into their depiction of history as well. Judging from modern movies and art, I'd say it's fair to think a lot of our ideas about medieval Europe come through a lense of neogothic and romantic art of the late 1800s.

Found you via skallagrim, cool content!

Well done.

Costume through the ages and the age of armour are amazing reference books available.

Hey man! Shad sent me!

Great video. By the way, could you please make a video on jack chains?

I cannot agree more. Aesthetics is massively important.

I love this. I know I'm guilty of this in my outfits too. I think the hardest field of history to look at is medicine. To look at something that back then was proper and normal medicine but now we know better is hard to wrap your mind around.

Gasped when i saw a new vid from you

Shadevirsity sent me. From his womans armour video. I liked his take but am more into costuming and era specific props construction. This is absolutely more what i was looking for. Also cod pieces are hilarious. Like the push-up bra for nads.

I love the art style used for the "modern bascinets"! Are you the artist?

Could you do a video on types of Chainmail? How effective was it? What happens if you add rings, even double them? What happens if you change the weave pattern? How flexible was it if you do certain things to it? Thanks

Yeah, RPGs definitely need a healthy dose of history. So many games are nothing better than childhood fantasies with a big calculator behind them because they're so separated from reality.

Faith. You have to have faith. Even if it doesn't make sense to you while you're making it or studying it, its reasoning will reveal itself eventually. That's my experience, anyway. I've deviated from the sources in the past, and I regret it. I've followed them, even though I didn't want to at the time, and I'm glad I did.

Can you do a tutorial on making the red jacket from your Soft Kit Overview video? All the way down to the basics like what kind of wool weave you used, I've found it impossible to find any guides online that tell you the most basic things about what weave they used back then, they only say "wool" (I'm guessing twill).

Awesome t-shirt

Ian, did something happen? This is an unusually long gap between uploads

People who give dislikes, It's absolutely your right to do dislike something and show it publicly. I'm just interested if you put dislikes because of any particular reason based in any reasonable argument or you just do bad because you can.

I completely agree. For an example; I personally love the fashion of the medieval ages, with the long limbs, tight waist etc. I don't see why re-enactors try to change that aesthetic. It simply does not carry the same charm. But that might be just because I love the historical fashion so much If I would have a button to change everyones fashion sense, I would. We all know everything was much better in the good old days anyway :D

Need some more content

Knyght Errant do you have a Teespring? because that shirt, it's awesome.

Hey man! Do you think we could look at more peasant and lower end armour and clothing? As you said in the soft kit video is that it is easier to start with soft things, and i'm getting into collecting medieval things and clothing, sewing a liripipe

Hey Ian, I've been trying to track down the source for the first picture (0:58) for a while now. Can you please tell me where you got it? Excellent video, by the way.

Looking at Holbein, Brueghel, et al, paintings to get a colour palette/achieve a correct aesthetic. Basically - Pigments and DYES Green clothing! I see it in re-enactors' and history illustrators works (who seem to repeat each other) 'possibly' based on artworks somewhat. However, intense green DYES seem very rare - in fact the strongest natural green dye seems to be produced from Tobacco (so dates it somewhat). Most greens seem to be olive green at best (ref; Bayeux Tapestry). Using double dyeing, it's still hard to achieve Green from available Blues and Yellows. In artwork, The Virgin Mary is usually portrayed in Blue, derived from Lapis Lazuli - a very exclusive PIGMENT (green pigments were also available) - but were such a DYES available? A range of yellows were available but until Indigo became very common, intense blue dyes are quite hard to achieve. I suspect that a range of strong greens (and blues) dyes were less common than contemporary artworks pigments would have us believe.

Hi, Ian. Do you think you can make a video anout the armour in the "Game of Throne" show? There're many different armours in that show.

I'm more of a fantasy guy, and I'm wanting to design and build a costume. I know I don't just want to copy Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, but I know I don't want to be strictly historical either. The historical aesthetic just doesn't really appeal to me that much. That said, I really do agree that we should all be considering what's historically accurate. You can't take artistic liberties if you don't know what you're departing from.

Hey was just wondering if you would consider making a video about Burgonet helmets?

Its very hard to keep up with the source once it gets lost in time. Slonim, for example is one of the commonly used helmet in baltic reenactment and video games. The only source of it i found on internet was in russian and if you have gone to visit the museum where it is presented in belorus, the faceplate would be missing from the display. That means there are no actual sources to prove that baltic people had used any kind of faceplate helmet in 11-13th century. Except they did, but the source is so restricted that it would be safe to say that they didnt.

Ian, I'd still absolutely love a historical authenticity review and critique of KC:D. We all know there are numerous examples of inauthentic clothing and armour items in the game. There are a few forums and Reddit posts on the provenance and historicity of some of these items but nothing comprehensive. Just wanted to throw that out there. I know you're probably super busy and most likely have many video ideas lined up. Cheers!

Picard: _Mr. Data, what type and time period is this helmet of?_ Data: _This is a European knight's great helm from the year 1296, August 8th, __3:54__, 22 seconds and 396 milliseconds pm._ Riker: _Give or take a couple years._ Data: _Very likely, sir._

Hello there Ian. I came to ask you if you're planning to do a video on blunt force against armor. I've seen that a lot of people see blunt weapons as definite anti-armor weapons. I do not agree as most sources suggest that knights preferred swords over blunt weapons. It's my assumption that they would not have used swords if maces were that effective. Personally I believe that the inherent versatility of swords make them better as anti-armor weapons, but my main point (and concern) is that people _severely_ underestimate the effectiveness of armor against blunt force. If not a video, I would appreciate your input on this.

@knyghterrant have you considered coming to a modern armored fighting event? I am with the Armored Combat League and would love to host you at an event to hear your thoughts on the sport

dangit. i watched the new bascinet video you posted and then all your past videos. missed you man. do you have plan to collaborate with UK youtubers like Tod, Matt, or (i really hope this one) jason OBE?

Good day. Any chance you'll do an armour review of Robert the Bruce (netflix).

Hi, thanks alot for the awesome content. Could you recommend some book/books covering evolution of europinian armour and/or weapon i.e why certain designs came to life, their application and why disappeared then? Solid but not pro level

Could at least tell people you are alive. I hope you are. Maybe give just a brief update on whether you're planning to make some more material or not. Whatever you're up to I wish you all the best. This was a fantastic channel.

Great points, and I think the same can be said for movies and the gaming industry - especially games that claim to strive for historical accuracy, such as Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed series. Too often, those games try much too hard to make things look “cool” and contemporary, when it would be simple to just go with the available sources. They often end up looking like a weird mix of history and second-rate fantasy. The upcoming Odyssey looks like a particularly bad example (costumes, buildings, those weird, hollywood-style giant statues everywhere...).

This video so good there only 17 dislikes, maybe that number well changed!

Interesting lecture. My biggest problems with most pseudo-medieval stuff in games and so forth are the way things like mass and weight are ignored. I see these shields--like the one the knight carries in some For Honor artwork--that are these _massive_ chunks of steel that look to be 3+ inches thick. And the swords--! It's like anime has taken over people's aesthetics...I like it, too, but I also like other styles, like a kind of artistic realism that's not influenced by anime. The second thing is the decoration. There's so much. So much non-functional stuff. This..junk...chiseled into armor or haphazardly hammered into swords. It's just ugly. The fine details like the pattern of stitches or rivets bother me less, frankly, though I agree that seeing, say, Comic Sans (I shudder at the thought) as some lordly House motto would be unforgivable. To be clear: I like anime. I like some clearly medieval-inspired design that makes no pretense of realism. It's when games and TV shows pretend to depict a certain time-place, representing a specific style, and then muck it up that I object to. Don't give me clashing ways of suspending my disbelief, please. Be internally consistent at the very least in what you create, be it visual art and design, games, books, comics, movies, TV shows, and all the rest.

Despite how I completely agreed with how we should focus as much as possible on the aesthetics of the century we try to reproduce in our own work, what I personally am worrying about is reader expectation. Will the audience still like it? Writing specifically for an audience who only goes for 100% aesthetic authenticity (for as far that percentage is even possible to reach) would be writing for an audience too slim, in my opinion that is. So, long story short; how to find that tender balance? Or is it more like I have to find a way of writing style that makes it appearing for a broader audience without giving up on aesthetic authenticity?