The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 31, 2023

Hauberk

1400s

European, 15th century

Riveted steel rings; close woven

Overall: 110.5 cm (43 1/2 in.)

Gift of John L. Severance 1916.1552

Location

210A Armor Court

Fun Fact

Mail provided excellent defense against the sword cut, though only limited defense against crushing blows from weapons like the mace or the battle axe.

Description

By the early 1400s the hauberk was being worn as an accessory to supplement full or partial plate armor. It offered a secondary level of protection for areas not fully covered by plate armor, such as the armpit and groin. The making of chainmail involved the linking of thousands of small rings of steel.

Provenance
?-1916
Frank Gair Macomber; Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1916-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. Mentioned: p. 79, D6 archive.org
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. cat. no. 83, p. 166
Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. cat. no. 85, p. 186
Exhibition history

Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1552