Heavy List portrayal of a

5-7th Century Byzantine Cataphract

(Late Roman Kataphraktoi) y !iome"es #e astianus
(!$ #e astian)

% Byzantine Roman of the &th Century servin' the Court of (ustinian ) an" *heo"ora in Constantinople$ % +Cataphract+ (or heavily armoure" horseman), ) am presently attache" to the %rmy of #yria un"er Belisarius, on its -ay to .'ypt to reclaim %le/an"ria as part of +Rome+$ 0y turn-on1s inclu"e re" -ine, -alks alon' the Bosphorus, an" cavalry char'es that crush the enemy1s flanks$ 0y turn-offs inclu"e schisms an" the pla'ue$

) elieve you shoul" not sacrifice lookin' 'oo" for protection$ ) elieve you can achieve oth$ )n that vein, ) have attempte" to portray the "ress armour of a &th Century 'uar" to the Court of Constantinople, as it is elieve" some aspects of their armour -oul" have een influence" y the more classical Roman styles, an" still e contemporary for the perio"$ %s much of the evi"ence is a sent an" con2ectural, ) have "ra-n from art to inspire much of the armour$ ) feel this allo-s me to conform to #C% stan"ar"s, an" still present a plausi le stylistic representation$ Though the similarities of Byzantine armours and styles throughout the centuries changes little in Iconic and other surviving artwork, the combination of helm, greaves, and shield tie the kit to the 5th - 7th Century

Byzantines in the 5th to 7th Century use" several types of armours inclu"in' pa""e" cotes, chain maille, pieces of scale, an" lamellar plates$ 8ften, several types of armour -ere layere" to provi"e etter protection$ *he #yllo'e *acticorum an" Leo 7)1s *actica (Byzantine tactical manuals) oth refer to the use of mail corselets an" lamellar kil anions ein' -orn to'ether an" in"epen"ently$ .ach ro- of my lamellar kil anion (or corsett) has a leather strip lace" et-een each ro- of lamelae (f$3), (f$4), (f$5)$ *his is not universal, in fact it seems to e the e/ception$ ) prefer it this -ay as ) fin" that this makes the kil anion a it stiffer than -ithout, yet still allo-s for plenty of fle/i ility$

(f$3) 33th century steatite icon of #t 6eor'e$ 7atope"i monastery, 6reece

(f$5) 'am lin' sol"iers from an 33th century 'ol" an" enamel icon of the Crucifi/ion$ Hel" in 6ermany

(f$4) 33th century carve" icon of #t *heo"ore

(f$9) #aint *heo"ore *yro from the monastery of Hosias Loukas, 6reece (3>th-33th Cent)

(f$5) #aint !emetrios from the monastery of Hosias Loukas, 6reece (3>th-33th Cent)

(f$&) 6ol" #assini" "ish, sho-s Kin' 6roz (%! 95: -;9)

% +7aran'ian Bra+ (chest an" shoul"er straps - possi ly ?ersian orro-e") an" a Herakles1 Knot (chest sash) e/emplify the early Byzantine look (f$3), (f$9), (f$5), (f$&), (f$3>), (f$34)$
(f$7) )con of #aint !emetriosca$ 33th cent$ 0etropolitan 0useum of %rt, <e- =ork

(f$;)0ar'inal from :th Cent Byzantine Bi le$ <at$, 0s$ 6r$ :45, f$3>7v, ?aris

*he shoul"er cops are e"'e" -ith -hite 'arment leather an" rass "ecorative an" (ma"e from -all mounte" "rapery hol"er), com ine" -ith short rass ptru'es ma"e from rass furniture terminals (mounte" on sole leather) (f$5), (f$9), (f$7) (f$35)$ *hese short ptru'es also a"orn the ottom of the kil anion (f$5), (f$9), (f$5), (f$7), (f$;), (f$3>), (f$35)$ Raymon"1s @uiet ?ress cast ronze uckles secure the corset on the shiel" si"e$ % trauma-plate is lace" insi"e to protect the sternum (anachronistic)$

(f$35) #t <estor fresco in the Katholikon at the monastery of ?ana'ia 0avriotissa, Kastoria, 6reece "ate" 34&>

6reave y *ruehearth -ith Raymon"1s @uiet ?ress cast ronze uckle$ Horizontal stripe theme (f$9), (f$5), (f$;), (f$3>), (f$33) a""e" usin' ronze$ %lthou'h the use of soli" 6reaves ha" fallen out of favor, there is a plethora of evi"ence "epictin' their continue" use in art an" sculpture$ *here is also the elief that some +elite+ an" +para"e+ troops use" armour that ha" a more classical feel$ ) 2ustify the use of 'reaves -ith this kit, as ) am a mem er of the 'uar" to the Court of Constantinople, an" -oul" e a com ination of 'uar" an" piece of "ecoration$ *he attache" knees are a convention of #C% com at an" anachronistic, or at least -ay out of perio"$

(f$33) Aourteenth century mural from a church in Cyprus

*here is some controversy a out re" oots throu'hout Roman times$ )t is a'ree" that at "ifferent times, +re" shoes+ -ere reserve" for the .mperor$ #ome research su''ests that it is not 2ust a color, ut often a C8L8R an" a #*=L. to'ether that -as re'ulate"$ #ome pieces of -ar"ro e -ere often outla-e" at the -him of the .mperor, it seems thou'h that this -as spora"ic an" not a s-eepin' "ecree that encompasse" all styles or laste" for the life of the .mpire$ *hese are com at oots covere" -ith 'arment leather$ *he oots tie normally$ *he covers hi"e the laces an" secure on the si"e -ith ma'netic purse claps$ Cosmetic uttons hi"e the clasps$

*he #yllo'e *acticorum an" Leo 7)1s *actica oth refer to the use of splinte" an" manica arm an" le' "efense$ *hese Cheiropsella (vam races) are flat stock over leather$ 6arment leather strap -ith R@? cast ronze uckle$

% "eerskin 'love pa""e" -ith 3B4 inch of plastic reinforce" close" cell foam protects the han" from transfer throu'h the asket hilt an" overlaps the vam race to protect the -rist, 'ivin' an unencum ere" +'love+ look$ % rin' over the 'love hints at the opulence of the Byzantines$

% Chite 0ountain %rmoury RomanB#assini" Ri"'e helmet in the style of Late RomanB.arly Byzantine Cavalry$ *he ri"'e helm, elieve" to e assimilate" from #assanian ?ersian mo"els, appeare" in Duantity in the 9th century %! an" -as seen late into the 7th$ Ese" in the 0i""le .ast, .urope an" Brittan, the most famous helm of this construction is the #utton Hoo$ *his helmet replace" the 6allic style helmets for the Romans$ )t consiste" of t-o curve" plates connecte" y a central ri"'e$ Cheek pieces, a neck 'uar", an" a nasal -ere normally a""e"$ Both infantry an" cavalry use" the Ri"'e Helm$ (f$39), (f$35)
(f$39) 9th Century Ri"'e Helm

(f$35) 9th Century 'il"e" Roman helmet from Helenaveen (!eurne),<etherlan"s$ Currently preserve" in the Ri2ksmuseum voor 8u"he"en in Lei"en

Ainally, the shiel" completes the kit$ 8val an" roun" shiel"s are prevalent in oth art an" statuary "urin' the perio"$ (f$9), (f$5), (f$7), (f$3>), (f$3&)

(f$3&) 9th-century silver relief (&$5 / &cm) "epictin' #t$ !emetrius an" #t$ 6eor'e

0y oval shiel"$ *he Latin translates to +) am not "ea", therefore ) am not "one+ an" the !uchy motto F*ruth - (ustice - AaithG$

0y roun" shiel" *he Latin translates to +0y conscience means more to me than all speech (Cicero)+ an" the !uchy motto F*ruth - (ustice - AaithG$

(f$3>) 3>th century Byzantine ivory chest - #kutatoi -earin' 7aran'ian Bra over lamellar$ 7ictoria an" %l ert 0useum, Lon"on, EK

!dditional "eading#
- 0ilitary #trate'y+ Htranslate" yI (Eniv$ of ?enn$ ?ress, 3:;9) )#B<J >-;344-3774-3 - Calter K Calker +*he Carrior #aints in Byzantine %rt an" *ra"ition+ (%sh'ate ?u lishin' 4>>5) )#B<-3>J 3;9>39&:9L, )#B<-35J :7;-3;9>39&:95 - C$ *rea"'ol" +Byzantium an" )t1s %rmy 4;9-3>;3+ (#tanfor" Eniv$ ?ress 3::5) )#B<J >-;>97-53&5-4 - 6$ *$ !ennis +*hree Byzantine 0ilitary *reatises+ (!um arton 8aks Research Li rary an" Collection 3:;5) )#B<-3>J >;;9>439>;, )#B<-35J :7;->;;9>439>7 - )$ ?$ #tephenson +Romano-Byzantine )nfantry .Duipment+ (*empus ?u lishin', Limite" 4>>&) )#B<-3>J >75494;;&3, )#B<-35J :7;->75494;;&9 - <icolle K 0cBri"e +Romano-Byzantine %rmies 9th-:th Centuries+ (8sprey ?u lishin' 3::4) )#B<-3>J 3;55544494, )#B<-35J :7;-3;5554449>

$ore at my websites#
0atty"s$com Carriors8fHistory$com

) hope ) have faithfully represente" the style of armour, in spite of the necessary anachronism1s necessary for fi'htin'$ Recently ) have retire" this kit$ Currently ) am in the process of completin' a 34 century representation of Byzantine armour$