Gambeson
Quilted padded defensive garment
A gambeson is a thick padded garment made of many quilted layers of cloth such as linen or cotton. Two layers of cloth are stuffed with wool, tow (scrap flax or hemp fiber), or rag, and quilted in close vertical channels so that a blow is spread and absorbed across the whole garment. It could be worn alone as the armor of a light footsoldier, or under mail or plate as a padded undergarment (the aketon) that cushioned the shock the metal passed through. It came into wide use in Europe around the 11th and 12th centuries and was worn by soldiers of every class throughout the Middle Ages, its protection varying with the quality of the quilting and the number of layers. Surprisingly resistant to cuts and arrows, it was the cheapest and easiest armor to make and yet remarkably cost-effective. In cold country it gave warmth as well, so everyone from levied peasants to knights wore it.
Origin
The gambeson is thought to have appeared in earnest in Europe around the 11th and 12th centuries and to have spread widely through the era of the Crusades. The name 'gambeson' is said to derive from a Germanic word for the belly, while 'aketon', used for the same garment, comes from an Arabic word for cotton or padding. The idea of quilted cloth armor itself is older, for layered textile defenses existed in many cultures, such as the linen armor (linothorax) of ancient Greece. In medieval Europe, as metal armor developed, the gambeson took its place both as the underlayer beneath it and as cheap standalone armor, and was used until the end of the Middle Ages, some forms lasting into the 16th and 17th centuries.
Features
- Padded structure of many quilted layers of linen or cotton
- Worn alone or as the underlayer of metal armor
- Surprisingly effective against cuts and arrows
- The cheapest and easiest armor to make
- Gave warmth in winter as well
- Protection adjustable by quilting spacing and layer count
Stories
The gambeson served both as the basic armor of every medieval soldier and as the shock-absorbing underlayer of metal armor. Worn alone, it was the main armor of poor footsoldiers and levies, turning cuts and arrows; worn under mail, it softened the impact of the rings and the blow of a blunt weapon. In the 15th century it developed into the arming doublet, fitted with laces (points) to tie on mail gussets at the elbows and armpits and pieces of plate, becoming the indispensable undergarment for wearing plate armor. Cheap and easy to maintain, it was worn by all ranks, from levied peasants to wealthy knights.
Weakness
The weaknesses of the gambeson are the thrust, blunt impact, and water. Though its close quilting turns cuts and arrows well, a narrow point such as an awl-like blade driven persistently at a single spot could work its way through between the layers. Made only of cloth and stuffing, it could not fully stop the blow of a heavy blunt weapon, passing some of the shock to the body. Soaked with rain it took up a great deal of water, grew very heavy, and dried slowly, and being cloth it was vulnerable to fire.
Cultural Significance
The gambeson was the most common and universal armor on the medieval battlefield. Though splendid plate armor is remembered as the symbol of the knight, what the footsoldiers and levies who made up most of any real battle actually wore was this cheap, practical quilted armor. So cost-effective in defense that it was sometimes called the poor man's armor, it was at the same time worn by knights without fail beneath their metal armor, the unseen foundation that upheld the battlefield regardless of rank. Often underrated for the simplicity of being mere cloth armor, its usefulness in real combat was by no means small.
In Popular Culture
The gambeson appears in nearly every film, drama, and game about the Middle Ages. It is drawn as the quilted undergarment worn beneath mail or plate, or as the standalone armor of a poor soldier, and in games it commonly appears as the most basic early-game armor. Overshadowed by splendid metal armor, however, its importance is often not made clear, and as cloth armor its protection is frequently depicted as lower than it really was. In recent works that value historical accuracy, the gambeson's role as the foundation of all armor is sometimes portrayed comparatively faithfully.
Trivia
- The name 'gambeson' is said to derive from a Germanic word for the belly, while 'aketon', for the same quilted armor, comes from an Arabic word for cotton or padding, and the idea of quilted cloth armor itself reaches back to the linen armor of ancient Greece.
- The gambeson was both standalone armor and the indispensable underlayer of mail and plate, and in the 15th century it developed into the arming doublet, fitted with laces to tie on pieces of plate, becoming the undergarment for wearing plate armor.
- Thanks to its close quilting it was surprisingly strong against cuts and arrows, but it was weak to the persistent thrust of a narrow point and to heavy blunt blows, and its chronic weakness was that soaked with rain it took up water and grew very heavy.