Further 14th Century Kit Considerations
Hello everyone!
I am making a new post about the 14th century footsoldier kit I had previously been trying to put together. I have now decided to further narrow down my timeframe, specifically to the Battle of Visby 1361, as a gutnish defender.
As part of this kit I intend to acquire a kettle hat, short sleeved riveted hauberk with a split front and back (8mm flat rings, alternating solid and flat rings) and a mail coif with the same setup. For the soft parts I intend to acquire a gambeson of some kind, as well as a pair of proper hose and preferably a pair of turn shoes. I am in the EU, for the purposes of availability, taxes and shipping.
In order to research this I have been looking over at manuscript miniatures and on account of being fluent in Swedish ive found a few papers on the subject, as well as two volumes of Armour from the Battle of Wisby 1361 by Thordeman. I intend to do quite a bit more reading before I actually purchase stuff. In particular, good sources on medieval shoes and clothing would be greatly appreciated, as this is an area I am largely unfamiliar with.
What I am really looking for right now is some advice on how get the most bang for my buck when balancing historical accuracy with the fact that I dont have infinite money. My main use case for the kit would still probably be LARP, medieval markets, and all that. But being a historian I would also love to be able to have a bit of pride in the attempt at historical accuracy when people inevitably ask questions about the kit. I am aware that the strive for historical accuracy is a never ending prospect, but I would love to see how far I could get without bankrupting myself.
When it comes to kettle hats, ive been looking at different options. This one (picture 1) is cheap and to my untrained eye looks fine enough.
For the mail, I am probably gonna order from Habibi Armoury. Got a quote for 600 dollars including shipping for the hauberk and coif.
For a gambeson Ive been eyeing this one from aketon.pl (picture 2), either in white, or if I could get a picture of their other colours, maybe a red or green, always been a sucker for madder. It would probably have to be machine sown, as to not obliterate my wallet entirely. Would this be super noticeable? My other question on this is if it would be historical enough with buttons. Ive seen both buttons and lacing on miniatures, but lacing seems the most common. Just for personal comfort, having buttons to enable you to get it on/off quicker in warm summers, would be a plus.
When it comes to hose and shoes I am a bit more clueless tbh. I have been eyeing these from medieval market (picture 3) with mixed hand and machine work. As for shoes, I am quite frankly lost. I am generally looking for the most generic, time agnostic turn-shoe available. Ideally one that could sort of work for anything from late viking age (where most of my other kit lies) up until the 14th century. I aware that this is most likely not possible, but a man can dream. I am willing to pay more to get a pair of handsown turnshoes. One caveat is that I would like a modern rubber sole on the bottom, I wear medieval clothing for work and would need something stronger and non-slippery for safety reasons.
I am very open to feedback and ideas. Thanks in advance for any help, reading posts here has been supremely useful.
TLDR: Need opinion on my idea for a Battle of Visby 1361 kit. Looking to buy short sleeve hauberk (Habibi Armoury), kettle hat, gambeson, hose and shoes. Looking for literature on medieval garments and shoes as my knowledge there is lacking. Based in EU for the purposes of shipping and availability.