Ring armour is an assumed type of personal armour constructed as series of metallic rings sewn to a fabric or leather foundation. No actual examples of this type of armour have ever been found on European archaeological findings. It is sometimes called ringmail or ring mail. In the Victorian era the term "mail" was used for any form of metallic body armour. Modern historians reserve the term "mail" for chain mail and its varieties, specifically an interlinked mesh of metal rings.
The Bayeux Tapestry depicts some of these methods and this has been misinterpreted as different types of armour. It is generally acknowledged today that virtually all the armour on the Bayeux Tapestry is standard chain mail and not "ring mail" or "trellised mail" or "mascled mail" or any other Victorian construction.[1]
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Ring Mail or Ring Armour is essentially a leather or textile item of clothing (a jacket, or trousers) that has a large number of metal rings sewn or tied directly into the foundation garment. Unlike chain mail, the rings are not physically interlocked with each other.
The garment called eyelet_doublet is not a form of ring armour, but an undergarment intended to be used under actual armour. The eyelets are intended as ventilation holes. It was known as a Schiessjoppe in Germany.
Ring armour, however, seems to have also been used in Asia but was rare (see External Image).
| External images | |
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| Asian ring armour on leather[1] | |
| Linen Schiessjoppe, 15-16th C | |
