This old thesis of mine is a metallographic analysis of rings from three mail armours found in Norway. One is from the famous Viking Age grave at Gjermundbu – yes the one with the helmet. The other two are a medieval mail shirt and a mail hosen, probably from the 15th century. The full english translation of the thesis is called ‘Ring weave’ (download pdf – 2 MB). The original thesis ‘Brynjevev’ (download pdf – 4 MB) is written in Norwegian.
A metallographic plane section of both a riveted and a solid ring from the Gjermundbu mail. Photo: Vegard Vike.
Well preserved fragments of the Gjermundbu mail mounted for display – museum no. C27317/i. Photo: Jessica Leigh McGraw.
Last Updated on May 14, 2023 by Vegard Vike
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Your thesis paved the way to a better understanding of mail armour. And I’m happy that it found an accessible presence here. Outstanding work!
Thank you for those kind words Sebastian, much appreciated.
Thank you Vegard, this thesis means a lot to me. It’s truly inspiring work.
It’s been vital when I was attempting to reproduce a patch of Gjermundbu maille years ago and having revisited it recently I’m hoping to make another attempt at it, first making new tools.
Much appreciated Johan, I remember your great work on reproducing gjermundbu mail rings, both riveted and punched.