Helpful Links and Sites:
The following is a list of sites or particular pages that I have found helpful in my maille making or research. I provide a link to the site as well as a brief description of why the site is helpful. To the extent possible, I have categorized the various sites together.
General sites:
Blackmaille
A great site with a little bit of everything. How-to blacken maille, how to expand or contract (with great pictures), how to make riveted and butted maille. He also has a lot about the history of maille and the practical side of maille making.
Forth Armoury
Another great general site with articles focusing on experimentation to determine the most probable methods of historical maille making.
How-To Sites:
Butted Mail: A Mailmaker’s Guide
One of the most simple and descriptive explanations for how to make butted mail. I would turn to this site for help with how and where to make expansions, contractions, and how to finish the underarm.
Making Riveted Maille
Good descriptions of the discrete steps involved with good pictures of the process. A Must.
Riveted Maille Tools: Piercing Tongs
How to make a piercing drift with pictures and instructions.
Making Roman-Like Riveted Maille
Although the site give instructions for roman maille, much of what he says is useful for any period of maille. Again, very good description of the discrete steps and helpful pictures of the tools and how to use them.
Lord of the Riveted Rings
Less of a how-to and more of a great resource to look at a gallery of great, completed maille projects. A lot of the maille done for this site is 14th century or later.
Overlapping Slits in European 4 in 1
How to overlap the leg slits in a hauberk so that the rings won’t be under the same level of stress. Plus, I think it looks pretty cool.
Videos:
Making Riveted Maille
Perhaps a little too focused on the small details like polishing a tiny patch of maille at a time. However, this video gets a lot right and is worth the watch.
Solid Maille Ring Punch
A maille punching jig that seems to be pretty effective, if not a little crude.
Niclas making a Korsbeting maille coif
A guy working away making riveted maille. Pretty fun to watch really.
History Sites:
Looking for the Evidence: Extant Mail Armour Finds
A great site that summarizes all currently known maille finds. The site gives brief explanations of the finds and links to any additional information. The site also has a lot of other non-maille information that is very helpful.
Mail: Unchained
One of the best and most well cited sources on the history, development, and effectiveness of maille and its construction.
The Mail Research Society
Erik Schmidt’s new site with tons of great articles of the history and construction of maille
Konservering av ringbrynjehuva
Not sure exactly what language this site is in, but it has a lot of good pictures of period maille in the process of preservation/restoration.
Medieval Iron and Steel
A good, short description of medieval iron and steel production.
Royal Armouries
Their online image library is not operational at the moment, but is expected to be up by 2014. In the meantime, you can still visit the site and glean some useful information or ask a curator a question.
Primary Sources:
Fordham University’s Internet Medieval Sourcebook
Possibly the best resource for primary historical documents from this period. If you can name it they have it. Maps, saints lives, guild laws and apprenticeship contracts, accounts of battles. It’s all there.
The Avalon Project
Right up there with Fordham’s site, this site provides primary documents from 4000 BC right up to the 21st century. Plenty of great stuff here.
Sources of British History
Various primary documents including the Battle of Crecy, Asser’s Life of Alfred, Laws of William the Conqueror, various Assizes, and more.
British History Online
This site has just about everything you can think of from wills, guild agreements, the list goes on.
The Morgan / Maciejowski Bible
This lavishly illustrated bible depicts everyday life in 13th century France from the dress of everyday people, to the armor and equipment of a knight. This site is the official site for the bible and contains many excellent illuminations from the bible.
The Domesday Book Online
This site has some good information on the domesday book and the sites involved. Not the best resource on the actual entries, but still worth a look.
General sites:
Blackmaille
A great site with a little bit of everything. How-to blacken maille, how to expand or contract (with great pictures), how to make riveted and butted maille. He also has a lot about the history of maille and the practical side of maille making.
Forth Armoury
Another great general site with articles focusing on experimentation to determine the most probable methods of historical maille making.
How-To Sites:
Butted Mail: A Mailmaker’s Guide
One of the most simple and descriptive explanations for how to make butted mail. I would turn to this site for help with how and where to make expansions, contractions, and how to finish the underarm.
Making Riveted Maille
Good descriptions of the discrete steps involved with good pictures of the process. A Must.
Riveted Maille Tools: Piercing Tongs
How to make a piercing drift with pictures and instructions.
Making Roman-Like Riveted Maille
Although the site give instructions for roman maille, much of what he says is useful for any period of maille. Again, very good description of the discrete steps and helpful pictures of the tools and how to use them.
Lord of the Riveted Rings
Less of a how-to and more of a great resource to look at a gallery of great, completed maille projects. A lot of the maille done for this site is 14th century or later.
Overlapping Slits in European 4 in 1
How to overlap the leg slits in a hauberk so that the rings won’t be under the same level of stress. Plus, I think it looks pretty cool.
Videos:
Making Riveted Maille
Perhaps a little too focused on the small details like polishing a tiny patch of maille at a time. However, this video gets a lot right and is worth the watch.
Solid Maille Ring Punch
A maille punching jig that seems to be pretty effective, if not a little crude.
Niclas making a Korsbeting maille coif
A guy working away making riveted maille. Pretty fun to watch really.
History Sites:
Looking for the Evidence: Extant Mail Armour Finds
A great site that summarizes all currently known maille finds. The site gives brief explanations of the finds and links to any additional information. The site also has a lot of other non-maille information that is very helpful.
Mail: Unchained
One of the best and most well cited sources on the history, development, and effectiveness of maille and its construction.
The Mail Research Society
Erik Schmidt’s new site with tons of great articles of the history and construction of maille
Konservering av ringbrynjehuva
Not sure exactly what language this site is in, but it has a lot of good pictures of period maille in the process of preservation/restoration.
Medieval Iron and Steel
A good, short description of medieval iron and steel production.
Royal Armouries
Their online image library is not operational at the moment, but is expected to be up by 2014. In the meantime, you can still visit the site and glean some useful information or ask a curator a question.
Primary Sources:
Fordham University’s Internet Medieval Sourcebook
Possibly the best resource for primary historical documents from this period. If you can name it they have it. Maps, saints lives, guild laws and apprenticeship contracts, accounts of battles. It’s all there.
The Avalon Project
Right up there with Fordham’s site, this site provides primary documents from 4000 BC right up to the 21st century. Plenty of great stuff here.
Sources of British History
Various primary documents including the Battle of Crecy, Asser’s Life of Alfred, Laws of William the Conqueror, various Assizes, and more.
British History Online
This site has just about everything you can think of from wills, guild agreements, the list goes on.
The Morgan / Maciejowski Bible
This lavishly illustrated bible depicts everyday life in 13th century France from the dress of everyday people, to the armor and equipment of a knight. This site is the official site for the bible and contains many excellent illuminations from the bible.
The Domesday Book Online
This site has some good information on the domesday book and the sites involved. Not the best resource on the actual entries, but still worth a look.