Help in finding sources

[pavaro]

Can you recommend me some sources on the topic of the appearance of the army in the medieval and the XVII century? Can be literature, internet, paintings etc.

[Sirrob01]

Junior generals a good first start, they have heaps of pixel art based miniatures.
www.juniorgeneral.org/load.php?Period=2

My second go to tends to just be a google image and wikipedia search for whatever topic it is eg
www.google.com.au/search?q=medieval+armies&rlz=1C1EODB_enAU549AU549&espv=2&biw=1600&bih=1096&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=TwpDVJzzOOG_mwWE6IKoBg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ

From those I'll normally end up trawling through specifics on deviant art, muesum websites and history websites.

Hope that helps a little

edit forgot to mention historic wargaming websites/forums are also very handy, those guys tend to be all about he little details

[mesper]

I know - everybody knows Osprey Publishing The Destination For Military History - so just reminder...
Osprey Publishing - Medieval Words

[pavaro]

Thanks for help and of course I wait on more proposals.

[wyvern]

Many of the contemporary illustrated sources for the medieval period are freely available online now. Try searching for illustrated medieval bibles and psalters, for example, which tend to show contemporary combatants, not ones which we'd now consider historically accurate for the ancient period in which the biblical texts were written. Also other original illustrated sources like the Bayeux Tapestry. You may need to narrow the date range and the geographic area, because things like armour especially tended to change over fairly short intervals and in different places. If you follow Mesper's suggestion and find one or more Osprey titles that cover the particular period you're interested in, you'll likely find information about more specific illustrated sources there, which can in turn lead to other discoveries.

It's a huge subject overall, so you may find there's a need to narrow your focus to make sense of it all! Good luck.

[pavaro]

Thank you again. At the beginning I mean middle ages total, because I want have anchor point. I will try to use your advice. I found something, some time ago. What do you think? Osprey Men-At-Arms: A Celebration
And what with XVII century? Any ideas?

[Cardstock Dane]

^ Try and google keyphrases such as "seven years war", "thirty years war", "great nordic war" or "marlburian" - that should give you plenty of references. Furthermore, this is an era that is well covered by lead/plastic miniature manufacturers, so there should be some inspiration for you there, as well. Try, for instance, Foundry Miniatures, they have a plethora of historical ranges, including the ones you're looking for.

[pavaro]

Thanks for help.

[eran]

As the others noted, the range of time and culture and armor styles for both of those periods is way too broad - for a good portion of the medieval period in Europe, the standard kit would consist of a mail hauberk, helm, (possibly vambraces and greaves), shield and spear, and sword. Roman loricas were in use until the 7th century; lamellar was used by the eastern Romans (Byzantines) until the 1400s - and was used by the Ottomans as late as the 1750s; coat of plates (aka brigantines) were worn from 1200s to the late 1700s; and each region/country had its own styles of helms and breastplates. If you could narrow it down, I could probably help you find some good resources.

Eran
whose alter-ego is a 12th century Varangian Rus

[wyvern]

Oct 19, 2014 6:50:40 GMT -9 pavaro said:

At the beginning I mean middle ages total, because I want have anchor point. I will try to use your advice. I found something, some time ago. What do you think? Osprey Men-At-Arms: A Celebration
And what with XVII century? Any ideas?

The difficulty with the term "middle ages" is it effectively means the period in Europe after the Western Roman Empire withdrew from parts and then collapsed, through to the Renaissance around the 14th to 16th centuries in different places, and the increasingly widespread use of gunpowder weapons in warfare. Depending on which part of Europe you look at, that can mean a period lasting a few hundred to 1000 years or more (for example, in Britain, the medieval period effectively runs from the Roman army's abandonment of Britain circa AD 410, through to the 16th century). That makes it very difficult to define a single appearance for warriors and the higher social strata of society, even in a limited geographic area, throughout such an extended timespan, although for the peasants, relatively little changed for them in places even through to the 20th century.

The Osprey publications can be a valuable guide, though it pays to do your own research as well, because being human like us all, they're not infallible

I'm not familiar with the particular Osprey volume you linked to, though I'd guess it only has selected items from a few of the Men-at-Arms series, whereas there are other series' which may be of similar usefulness, such as the Warrior and Elite series', which deal with very specific types of combatant.

Seventeenth century isn't one of my particular interests historically, so I can't advise you further with that unfortunately.

[pavaro]

I have many plans about future sets. Currently I'm working on foot soldiers of sleepless. I hope well translated... Hence my search about medieval weapons.
Medieval weapons and armor will be useful when I will be doing series historical. The same applies to the seventeenth century.