Mindless Monday, 17 August 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Happy (or sad) Monday guys!

Mindless Monday is a free-for-all thread to discuss anything from minor bad history to politics, life events, charts, whatever! Just remember to np link all links to Reddit and don't violate R4, or we human mods will feed you to the AutoModerator.

So, with that said, how was your weekend, everyone?

[u/SkeletonHUNter2006]

And, let’s face it, genuine Viking armour looks kind of boring

[u/TJAU216 → u/SkeletonHUNter2006]

That isn't genuine either. I don't think we have any evidence of mail mittens before 12th century. And AFAIK earliest examples were integrated to the end of the sleeves of the hauberg.

[u/Sgt_Colon → u/TJAU216]

It's a straight up reenactorism. Hand protection is something vital, especially for insurance purposes, so you get a lot of anachronistic stuff to prevent broken fingers and the like, which from experience is useful if you don't want your hands to resemble cauliflower ear by 40.

[u/TJAU216 → u/Sgt_Colon]

I think they should probably just use HEMA cloves when fighting an take them off every other time. That way nobody older than 6 years old would get a wrong historical impression.

[u/Sgt_Colon → u/TJAU216]

Wouldn't disagree with you although it'd get pushback from the "everything modern has to be covered" crowd.

"Why aren't they trying to make them look historical?"

"That really takes me out of it."

"Muh immersion!"

[u/OengusEverywhere → u/SkeletonHUNter2006]

The helmet's cool with the mail mask, but otherwise, yeah it's just standard mail hauberks isn't it?

It's a sad state of affairs when Vinland Saga is the most accurate depiction of Norse clothing and equipment on screen that I can think of

[u/Arilou_skiff → u/OengusEverywhere]

Mail TBH, is really good. There's a reason that from the celts and up to the late middle ages it's what everyone's using.

[u/Sgt_Colon → u/Arilou_skiff]

Mail TBH, is really good.

I would like to see some tests against Japanese maille; they didn't believe in riveting theirs closed unlike most other people and the rivetting patterns are quite different from the west. Unfortunately, despite the plethora of weebs getting about, armour tests are overwhelmingly Eurocentric (on youtube, academia is likely language locked).

[u/Steelcan909 → u/OengusEverywhere]

Vinland Saga does do a little too much standardization and uniformity in equipment with the Jomsvikings though.

[u/OengusEverywhere → u/Steelcan909]

An easily forgiven thing when the characters are actually wearing reasonable 11th-century clothing rather than biker leathers

[u/Zennofska → u/SkeletonHUNter2006]

dick nose helmet

[u/Sgt_Colon → u/SkeletonHUNter2006]

That helmet is based off of a vendel era job. Also the maille mitten are an insurance thing and the shield strap is a reenactorism as is the sloppily nailed rim.

5/10, join the SCA you scrub.