Artwork Page for Hauberk

Details / Information for Hauberk

Hauberk

1400s

European, 15th century

Medium
riveted steel rings
Measurements
Diameter: 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); Overall: 128.3 x 91.4 cm (50 1/2 x 36 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1817
Public Domain
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Location
210A Armor Court
Print
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Did You Know?

A hauberk might include as many as a quarter million steel rings.

Description

A hauberk is a mail shirt that generally reached to the knee and was the predominant form of metal body defense throughout Europe until about 1350. Knights wore mail over a padded undergarment known as an aketon and would have been supplemented by a metal helmet and a shield. After the development of full plate armor, mail continued to be a linking element or accessory well into the 1500s.
A silver-gray steel mail shirt hangs in the shape of a human torso. Each ring is individually riveted, interlocking to create a flexible mesh texture. A high, stiff collar includes a single metal fastener on the right. The sleeves end at the mid-forearm and, like the long bottom edge, appear jagged and incomplete. Metallic highlights glint across the surface of the thousands of tiny, circular links.

Hauberk

1400s

European, 15th century

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