padded / mail trapper 13 th c horse armour

[phil ainsley]

just wondering if anybody has any experience of making, has seen any recreations, or has any information regarding the construction of padded and mail trappers for horses. looking at 13th c recreation of horse armour. i have a few manuscript images of mail trappers and caparisons, im just interested if any one has more details/experience than what i can find currently especially regarding patterns/design.

thanks in advance

[Brother Ranulf]

Possibly the very earliest Anglo-Norman caparison is seen on the seal of William fitzEmpress (known as Longespée). It is known that this seal was used from 1156 to 1164, possibly a few years earlier. This sets the style for horse caparisons well into the 13th century - always looking as if they are two separate pieces covering the front and rear of the horse, usually with a long, decorated saddle cloth closing the gap each side. The French examples in the Maciejowski Bible and the English Luttrell psalter follow this pattern - it is likely that the two sections are joined beneath the saddle, but obviously this detail is always hidden.

seal william fitzempress1.jpg (23.02 KiB) Viewed 1151 times

seal william fitzempress.jpg (15.39 KiB) Viewed 1151 times