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Handbook for Legionaries: Lorica
Hamata - mail
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Mail was the "standard" armor before the introduction of the lorica segmentata, and it continued in use among auxiliaries and
legionaries throughout the imperial period. It is not known what
the ratio of hamata to segmentata might have been in the mid-first
century AD, but mailshirts in the ranks is
certainly acceptable, especially depending on the period of 1st
Century impression a member intends to portray. Mail was also worn by
standard-bearers, musicians, and centurions, and of
course by auxiliary
troops.
Roman mail was generally made of iron, with rings as small as 1/8" in
diameter, in the common "4 in 1" pattern. Usually, half the rings
were solid--either punched from sheet metal, or cut from wire and
welded shut--while the rest were riveted shut. The solid rings
were roughly square in cross-section, i.e., the difference between the ring's inner and outer diameter was the same not
much greater than the thickness. The wire for the riveted rings
could be round (usually) or square. While it was long believed
that some Roman mail rings may simply have been butted shut, closer
analysis of surviving fragments has not revealed any definite proof of
that. There is evidence that the rings could be tinned or even
gilded!
Roman rings with an inside diameter of c. 6 mm and an outside diameter
of c. 7 mm were apparently very typical. An outside diameter of
10 mm or 3/8" seems to have been about the maximum, but for our
purposes an inside diameter of about 8mm will be accepted. Steel
wire of about 16 gauge is typical for
reproductions, though thinner is better particularly for smaller or
riveted rings.
Note that wearing mail does NOT mean that you are limited to wearing a Coolus helmet! This is a modern
stereotype, and any acceptable Imperial-Gallic or Italic helmet is an
option. |
While galvanization protects
against rust,
especially during construction, it should be removed when the shirt is
done,
for a more authentic appearance (zinc galvanization is NOT the same as
tinning!). This can often be done by soaking the mail in vinegar
for 12
to 24 hours--do this outside, as hydrogen
gas can be
given off. Rinse the mail VERY WELL immediately upon removing it
from the
vinegar, dry it off as much as possible, and oil it against rust.
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The typical mailshirt is sleeveless or has
short sleeves (c.5"), and reaches to about mid-thigh. The
shoulder doubling, shaped like a square-bottomed U (at right), was
probably backed by leather (c. 2-3 ounce), which is folded over the
edges and stitched through. On most modern reconstructions the
doubling is attached to the body by a row of rings along the back
bottom edge, but two surviving Roman shirts from Britain have small
buckles riveted to the back, presumably to secure the shoulder doubling. |
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There does not seem to be
any direct evidence that the Romans "tailored" their mail, adding or
subtracting rings from certain rows to shape the shirt. Since
mail
naturally conforms to the body, any hamata
will fit a
number of different-sized people, even without tailoring.
The chest hooks were
sometimes cast brass, but they were also made from sheet brass or
iron.
Studs were often cast as well, but can be made simply by riveting discs
in
place, not tightly but with some extra length on the shaft of the
rivet. .
You will need a subarmalis
to wear between
your hamata and your tunic. Not only
does this
keep your tunic clean, but it has become clear that some fairly stiff
padding
and/or leather is essential to allow mail its full protective
potential.
When properly made and properly padded, mail has been shown to be a far
more
effective defense than was once thought. It is extremely
difficult to cut
or break any of the rings under battlefield conditions, though of
course it is
possible to damage the wearer without actually cutting through the
mail.
The shoulder doubling may have been backed with leather (or padding),
which
would have to be cut so that the flaps flair outwards in a slight curve
as on
the ancient Greek linothorax (linen cuirass). This
prevents them from
sticking up strangely at the shoulders. (The mail itself can be
cut
straight because it flexes easily to the proper shape.)
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For a PDF file with
DETAILED analysis of several original pieces of Roman-era mail, click
here:
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/andersh/Reenactment/Joutij%e4rvi.pdf
For a brief article
about a complete lorica hamata excavated
in
The Construction and
Metallurgy of Mail Armour in the Wallace
Collection,
by David Edge, http://www.wallacecollection.org/i_s/publications/mail_construction.htm
Photos
of original pieces of lorica hamata on the
Roman
Hideout site, http://www.romanhideout.com/armamentarium.asp,
and at the Online Collection of Roman Artifacts, http://www.roman-artifacts.com/.
Find-It
Armory --http://www.finditarmory.com.
Offers the best off-the-shelf hamata
on the market, made of proper alternating rows of riveted and solid
rings. One version is made from 8mm
inner diameter
(c. 10mm outer diameter) rings and sells for $425.
The other, more accurate version has 6mm
inner diameter rings and sells for $800.
Both feature proper shoulder doubling with leather edging, and
reasonable brass chest hooks. Unless
ordered otherwise, both shirts come with a galvanized finish (although
it is
easy to order them without galvanization).
My recommendation with these shirts is to order them ungalvanized,
without the leather, and add the leather yourself.
The
best
reproduction mail available at the moment is custom-made by Erik D. Schmid, though it is very
expensive. Unfortunately, he
is not taking new orders at the moment.
Excellent page on tools (for sale!) for making riveted mail, with instructions, http://home.tiscali.be/klauwaer/malien/. Another mail-making tutorial is at http://66.66.131.145/roman/RivetedMaille/MakingRomanLikeRivetedMaille.html.
Legio XI/11th Legion
Clavdia Pia Fidelis