A Wee Challenge ~ Armour

After a late night conversation with CB last night I rather rashly suggesting I'd blip to a subject today!

;- )

The subject chosen was armour. After a moment's panic (well a couple of hour's actually) about what the hell I was going to photograph I calmed a little when I realised I had a ready made back-up blip (which I didn't use - yet!). After a while I realised that the perfect place for a visit would be the refurbished Museum of Scotland which just re-opened a couple of months ago.

So off I went. As you can imagine, there were plenty of opportunities for blipping (although not so much 'traditional' armour as you might think). This was one of a couple of images that I considered using and if I'm completely honest it wasn't the one I finally decided on. However, the gallery composite I was going to use went to moderation so I decided to just put it in my blipfolio, along with the other shortlisted. Details at the bottom of the blip.

Although the Morion is generally associated with the Spanish conquistadors, it was common amongst the foot soldiers of many European armies. They became popular due to their inexpensive production costs and many officers and elite units would have them elaborately engraved to display their wealth and status. The comb on top of the helmet was designed to strengthen it.

This example is of late 16th century German origin and is etched with a warrior holding a two-handed sword.

Blipfolio images below. Blipping isn't just fun. It's an education!

Gambeson is a quilted armour jacket (also known as a "padded jack"), common in the 14th and 15th century as a cheap alternative to mail or plate for those less well off. The widespread introduction of firearms lead to it's discontinuation (or the demise of it's wearer as demonstrated by the bullet hole to the middle left of this example).

Glyptodon Clavipes is a distant relation to the armadillo that lived in the Pleistocene period. They were roughly the size of a Volkswagen Beetle and were protected with a shell composed of over 1,000 2.5cm thick bony plates.

The gallery consists of 11 images associated with armour or protective equivalents. Don't worry, not too much detail!. Left to right...

Hematite ~ iron ore formed by slow precipitation of iron from a shallow sea.

Triceratops skull ~ armoured plate behind the skull protected the beast's neck from attack.

Amethyst ~ formed from erupting volcanic gas bubbles trapped inside molten lava. Seeping mineralized solutions form the crystal lining inside the cooling lava which in turn forms a perfect protective chamber.

Glyptodon Clavipes

Sarcophagus ~ funeral receptacle commonly carved from wood or stone offering protection to the enclosed mummified corpse.

Targe ~ ceremonial shield boss depicting a Gorgon, the mythological figure whose gaze would turn man to stone. Used for a long time as a device to avert evil.

Cavalry armour ~ Roman equine head armour.

Lamellar armour ~ small iron plates (or lamelle) fastened together with leather thongs. Tibetan armour dating from the 14th - 17th century.

Gambeson

Morion

Plate armour breastplate ~ 17th century pikeman's armour.