Chad Arnow wrote: | ||
I'm not sure I'd fully discount the artist's rendering. Gutter-shaped iron/steel demi-greaves (greaves that covered basically just the shin and tied around the back of the calf)) were certainly used; we see them on effigies not too long after the Maciejowski Bible was first illustrated c. 1250. These would be about the least elegant pair I'd ever seen, of course, but they could have been exaggerated to better match the story. That leaf, if I recall correctly, is among those penned by the most talented of the artists who worked on the Maciejowski Bible. He got a lot of things right; I'd be surprised if this was entirely off or entirely fictitious. [ Linked Image ] |
I have read somewhere that the artist of the mac bible was likely a soldier himself, given the keen interest in military things apparent in the bible itself.
In any case the centrality and importance of soldiers in the Mac is striking