Well I decided to start the year out strong with two movies and two trips to the Detroit Institute of Arts.
The DIA brought in Dr. Daniel Jaquet to demonstrate how a knight would be dressed in his medieval armor--as well as dispel a number of myths propagated by Hollywood over the years, history versus Hollywood and all that. Apparently, knights in plate mail armor didn't need a block-and-tackle setup to lift them onto their horses. And when discussing the weight of medieval plate armor, Dr. Chaz Kirchhoff stated that it's around 40 to 50 pounds--comparable to a fireman wearing his kit, or a modern solder wearing his kevlar.
Additionally, Dr. Jaquet stated that his record for donning the armor, with the assistance of two squires, was around four-and-a-half minutes. For his Ph.D thesis, Dr. Jaquet had this replica suit of armor custom built from a 15th century design to his own physical specifications, including the underclothes that a knight would wear to provide padding between his body and the armor. He also spent six months training his body to wear the armor wearing it two hours per day five days per week--much to the chagrin of his wife. For more info on how the armor was built, I recommend this article over on the Open Culture website.
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| Dr. Daniel Jaquet |
Well after dressing in his armor (sans some of the chainmail undergarments), Dr. Jaquet also showed off the flexibility of wearing this armor by doing calisthenics, push-ups, a short jog, and sprinting.
Demonstrations like these do more than just feed my imagnation while playing Dungeons and Dragons, they provide a rare glimpse into how the human body moves and reacts when wearing restrictive and heavy covering. It's one thing to watch films like Lord of the Rings or Conan the Barbarian, however it's another thing entirely to be in the front row watching a man in armor go through his paces. It's more than just "history comes alive", as an animator, you really get a feeling for how this kind of distributed weight affects and restricts human motion. You just can't beat watching something like this in person.
And, while at the DIA, I made sure to carve out enough time to enjoy some art and a bowl of their chicken soup at the Cafe DIA. While it's still the best chicken soup in Michigan, I'd still have to say it's running neck-and-neck with Pesto's restaurant over in Flint, Michigan.
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| The Letter, ~1905 William Churchill |
And, while at the DIA, I made sure to carve out enough time to enjoy some art and a bowl of their chicken soup at the Cafe DIA. While it's still the best chicken soup in Michigan, I'd still have to say it's running neck-and-neck with Pesto's restaurant over in Flint, Michigan.
Part two coming soon...
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