Detail of a mounted Knight’s leg at Ironfest

Detail of a mounted Knight’s leg at Ironfest

armor, armour, body armour, caparison, combat, Full Tilt, greave, heraldry, horse, ‘Ironfest,’ joust, jousting, kneecup, knight, Lithgow, New South Wales, NSW, plate armour, poleyns, re-enactment, reenactment, Richard Taylor

This close-up image of a mounted knight’s leg was taken at Ironfest in 2008 by the photographer Richard Taylor. It reveals a blend of contemporary customs and traditional workmanship, for modern re-enactments of jousting require utmost mobility with as little weight as possible. The horse, rather than being burdened by plate armour, is heavily padded and covered with an ornamental cloth trapper (or caparison) displaying the riders heraldry. The knight wears plates known as greaves to cover the legs, and rounded poleyns (c. 1350s) to protect the knees. The soft leather shoes are spurred, but not otherwise protected, which is unusual. However, this knight will not be required to dismount and fight on foot, so comfort probably took precedence over veracity in this instance.

Taylor, Richard

26 April 2008

© Richard Taylor. Some rights reserved dicktay2000

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