A late 14th c. (1380-1400) cuisse from Croatia with gothic lettering

[Reventlov]

Originally Posted by AHorsa

Thank you! That fits perfect. Looking at the images on a mobile / at wider distance I totally agee with your Interpretation! Are other inscriptipns documented and can be translated? I can't identify the letters ob the single strip that Leonymus posted

You're welcome.

One common inscription is the bible verse Luke IV:30, Iesus autem transiens per medium illorum ibat ("Jesus passed through their midst and went on his way"). This can be seen on many items, including armour, weapons, and jewelry, because it was believed to be a protective charm. You can see portions of this phrase on two of the pieces Leonymus shared. The inscription on his cuisse does seem to be nonsense though, and purely decorative.

[AHorsa]

Great. Thank you very much!

[fernando]

Welcome to the forum, Leonymus .
... And so good that our members helped you with your question .

[Raf]

It looks as if the edge bead in Ahorsas fragment has been formed by wrapping it over a iron wire reinforcement. Looking at the arm harness posted above there is a bold edge moulding to the top of the arm which could have been formed in the same way .

[AHorsa]

Originally Posted by fernando

... And so good that our members helped you with your question .

Sorry for abusing this thread a bit, but it is really an interesting topic. I´ve never seen this sort of armour with inscriptions before.

To come back to the initial question on the authenticy of the river find: In my humble opinion I do not see any "red flag" on the iron part of the cuisse (I cannot judge the brass part): We have traces of hammer, we have laminated iron and we have the fact that it was found in a river, not in an historistic castle . In my eyes it is very unlikely that this is a copy.

[LeonymusBosch]

Originally Posted by AHorsa

Sorry for abusing this thread a bit, but it is really an interesting topic. I´ve never seen this sort of armour with inscriptions before.

To come back to the initial question on the authenticy of the river find: In my humble opinion I do not see any "red flag" on the iron part of the cuisse (I cannot judge the brass part): We have traces of hammer, we have laminated iron and we have the fact that it was found in a river, not in an historistic castle . In my eyes it is very unlikely that this is a copy.

Thank you for the opinion on the iron part !

Sorry I didn't answer before. Tough few days, I didn't get the chance to look at the thread at all.

I'm glad Reventlov helped, he's 100% right on the inscription I think.

[LeonymusBosch]

Originally Posted by fernando

Welcome to the forum, Leonymus .
... And so good that our members helped you with your question .

Thank you! I'm glad they found the piece interesting. Hopefully, I'll publish a paper on it this year and put Croatia on the extant plate armour map finally.

[LeonymusBosch]

Originally Posted by Reventlov

You're welcome.

One common inscription is the bible verse Luke IV:30, Iesus autem transiens per medium illorum ibat ("Jesus passed through their midst and went on his way"). This can be seen on many items, including armour, weapons, and jewelry, because it was believed to be a protective charm. You can see portions of this phrase on two of the pieces Leonymus shared. The inscription on his cuisse does seem to be nonsense though, and purely decorative.

Can you remember where the single strip from the picture is from? Thanks!

[Edit]

Nvm, found it...