What weapons and armour would a knight from the mid 13th century have access to in western Europe? Was there much variation in style between, say, Scotland and Germany, or Denmark and France? Links to sources with pictures would be fantastic. This is for a picture I'm planning on drawing BTW, so any tips you've got on drawing high medieval armour would be brilliant. Also, what would a horse be equipped with (ie blinders, a coat, armour etc)? Thanks in advance!
Fair warning: I'm going to be generalizing here, and for the sake of clarity, I will eliminate some of the "probablies" and "usuallies." For the sake of answering your question, let us assume that at this point in European history, a more-or-less common standard of equipage existed among the warrior aristocracy.
Our stereotypical knight could be expected to go into battle wearing a thick padded gambeson as his base layer, and possibly a pair of quilted leggings. Over that, he would wear a knee-length mail coat, probably with long sleeves and integrated mittens and an integrated coiffe covering his head, neck, throat, and possibly mouth. He probably wore a pair of mail leggings tied on above the knee. He would wear some variety of metal helmet. This could be a large enclosed helmet such as this, but he could also wear an older nasal helmet or a round cervelliere. The enclosed helmet is obviously more protective, but it also restricts breathing, sight, and hearing, so it would come down to situation and personal preference. The outermost layer would take the form of a surcoat, either sleeved or sleeveless, and possibly emblazoned with the wearer's arms. We have some evidence beginning around or just after 1250 that some knights were reinforcing their mail with iron plates, described variously as being worn under the mail or sewn to the inside of the surcoat, but I'm very skeptical as to how common it was this early. I suspect that mail remained the primary defense until 1300 or so.
As with armor, weapons would vary with individual taste and economic circumstances, but a few commonalities exist. Our stereotypical knight would have worn a sword and dagger on his person. The sword would vary in style, but generally be a relatively short (35-40 inches, perhaps) weapon with a relatively broad blade balanced more for cutting than stabbing. The dagger is for close fighting - that is, rolling around on the ground trying to stab the other fellow - and probably have a tapering blade suited for stabbing. He would also almost certainly have a long lance, or more than one. He might possess other weapons, such as a long two-handed axe for fighting on foot or a mace. It's likely that his servant or servants would have responsibility for those weapons not actually carried on his person.
We have plenty of artistic evidence for horses being dressed in caparisons (that is, cloth garments rather like the knight's surcoat), but as far as I am aware, there is no evidence for metal armor or blinders being worn by horses in western Europe at this time.
As far as reference goes, have a look at the various leaves of the Morgan Bible. It's actually from the mid-13th century and depicts armor and weapons in great detail.
This is all great thanks. Just wondering, how common would it be for a knight to paint their helmet? And what style of shield was in use at the time? I imagine it would be a kite shield, though I'm unsure if this is correct, to what size it would be. Cheers again!
