#almain rivet

[armthearmour]

A set of Arm Splints or Almain Rivets,

Length: 29.1 in/79 cm

Width: 5.9 in/15 cm

Depth: 3.5 in/9 cm

Weight: 2.25 lbs/1020.6 g

Germany, ca. 1520-1530, housed in the Higgins Armory Collection at the Worcester Museum of Art.

[its-spelled-maille]

What is an Almain Rivet ?

An Almain rivet is a suit of European armor made en masse in the late 15th and 16th century to equip foot soldiers. The word Almain is derived from the Alemanni tribe, the name of which is used in French and old English to call German people. Rivet in this context is derived from the use of rivets to link the articulated sliding plates covering the thighs and shoulders of the wearer, and came to be used to refer to the entire suit of armor.

Almain rivets in storage at the Styrian armory in Austria.

These plate harnesses were often made of iron and produced in large numbers at little cost to equip the new armies of the early Renaissance, based on professional standing armies wearing standardized equipment for specific roles. They consisted of a breastplate and back plate, articulated tassets and spaulders and a gorget. It was usually coupled with an open faced helmet like a cabasset, morion or burgonet.

-mod Burgonet

[armthearmour]

An exceptionally decorated Almain Rivet with a Peascod breastplate, Nuremberg, Germany, 1609-1610, housed at the Germanisches National Museum.

[armthearmour]

An etched suit of Almain Rivet attributed to Michel Witz the Younger,

Weight: 29.8 lbs/13.5 kg

Innsbruck, Austria, ca. 1555, housed at the Wallace Collection.

[armthearmour]

A lovely black and white Almain Rivet,

Weight: 27.1 lbs/12.3 kg

Nuremberg, Germany, ca. 1540, housed at the Wallace Collection.

[armthearmour]

Elements of a black and white Almain Rivet with a bullet proof, German, ca. 16th century, housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[armthearmour]

A black and white Almain Rivet, South Germany, ca. 1580, from Czerny’s International Auction House.

[armthearmour]

A lovely suit of Almain Rivet made for Duke Julius of Brunswick-Wölfenbüttel, Germany, ca. 1560-1565, housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.