CLEARANCE Linen & Wool Pourpoint

 The development of plate armour required arming clothes to evolve into the foundation to which the armour attached. While the gambeson served this role for arm and body defenses, a closer fitting garment was required to support the leg harness. The exact form of such a garment in the 14th century is unclear but by the early 15th century we have documentation for the ‘pourpoint’, a garment worn over a linen shirt and under the gambeson. The form of this garment is like that of a sleeveless cotehardie, a garment whose own development coincided with the adoption of plate leg harness. The large armhole follows the lines of the period with the exaggerated lines of the ‘grande assiette sleeve’. Therefore, while we can not guarantee this is the exact historical solution for earlier portrayals, we offer it as a reasonable solution based a slightly later period. Our pourpoint is made of heavyweight, 7.5 oz linen and has a medium weight cotton canvas lining. In addition the front, bottom quarter is lightly padded over the hip, providing an extra layer of protection in an area often left unprotected in many styles of harness. Much like a later cotehardie, our pourpoint is meant to be worn very fitted and tightly-laced, so as to support your leg harness at the hip rather than having the stress on your shoulders. We have included two sets of arming points to be used to attach leg harness. This garment also makes a nice accessory worn over shirt, braies and chauses when not on the field. We recommend dry cleaning this item in order to extend its life to a maximum. Linen is a very strong fiber but it is also very brittle. Machine washing and drying will break down the fibers over time.  The front lace is available in natural or black.  The arming points are available in natural with plastic tips or a variety of colors with metal tips.  The colored laces and metal tipped laces are available at an additional charge.