Lion Armour Legs

This is the oddest armour I have ever seen, at least insofar as feet and legs are concerned. There are no Sabotons at all, just toe caps for his shoes. I don't think the unknown owner would have even worn boots...if he did, they would have been boots which were really tight to the leg. Actually, most people wore shoes rather than boots, contrary to common modern renaissance fair practice....and for that matter, stage and screen both then and now.


There was an photo of a painting showing this armour being worn, the man in the painting was wearing a sort of chain mail boot over top his shoe, under his leg armour, and under the toe cap. It seemed to be a footed hose made of chain mail. Not unexampled in paintings and brass effigies though I don't remember such an item of clothing so late in the history of armour.


If you click on the above image, you will see a beautiful articulated knee cop, in which the cop itself is sculpted into a lion face. Great work on so many levels.

.click on these images to enlarge. above you can see the lovely flow of the calf, the feet look sort of big and clunky by comparison. Many armour makers have told me that they reserve all judgement of another armour maker until they have seen how they curve the calf. The medieval people liked that curve, and one wonders if they were really skinny in the legs, or if it was just the way the armour sits on its stand.


Above,you can see the nice articulation work the armour make did over the ankles. The usual complaint when inheriting or winning an armour apparently was that it rarely fit properly in the ankles. They liked them as close and tight to the ankles as they could get it. I think it was a fashion thing.