10 ArmStreet Modern Medieval Designs

Over the years, we’ve noticed that a lot of social media commenters are quick to point out that our products aren’t very historical. We know this more than anyone - in fact, when we make things that deviate from extant pieces and historical patterns, it’s no mistake at all! Rest assured that our lack of accuracy isn’t from a failed historical education, but is a considered design decision.

We’re Medievalists: we’re inspired by the middle ages, and we want to make beautiful things more accessible to everyday medieval fans. Even though we have great respect for history, we aren’t necessarily looking to re-enact it or present it in the way that a historian might, and instead lean towards applying our own creativity to produce items that perhaps didn’t exist, but could have. We are interested in exploring historical concepts and applying medieval design to our modern technologies and creating amazing new things!

To demonstrate this, we thought that we would walk you through a few of the items we’ve created by taking our modern brains and applying them to medieval items, to make life around the encampment easier, more comfortable and more fun for everyone. Most of these items are meant to blend into a medieval aesthetic and not look out of place but bring along modern conveniences.

Footwear

Medieval shoes have many key differences from modern shoes, one of the most noticeable being that they are flat and have very little support. While this may look great from an aesthetic point of view, your feet and back don’t really thank you for it after a long event! That’s why we’ve crafted boots that look medieval but are actually made using modern lasts and support materials on the inside. This means you get your badass look, without the usual pain that would accompany it! The best example of this is our Forest Boots.

Belts with Hidden Pockets

We’ve designed a few different belts with convenience in mind. I hate bringing my wallet to medieval events - it looks modern and stands out, and is also easy to lose. That’s why we started making a few of our belts with hidden credit card pockets! Instead of bringing your whole wallet, you can just stick your most vital cards into the slots, and carry them with you in style.

Laser Cut Helmet Visors

Safety is the most important part of medieval combat! We don’t think that safety has to be ugly, though. Many SCA and heavy combat helmets are customized with a bar-grill visor, which consists of metal rods instead of just a solid visor to give the wearer added airflow and visibility while still remaining safe. We decided to come up with a better-looking bar grill design, with ornate laser cutting to give a medieval vibe instead of the more modern looking hockey mask style ones.

Finger Bucklers

While we didn’t invent the finger buckler, we’ve sure done a lot of work to make them popular! These are a great thing to add to gauntlets to give you extra protection and keep your fingers safe. In order to make them magnificent, we’ve designed a number of beautiful etching patterns for our finger bucklers.

Modular System Viking Belt

This style of fantasy Viking belt has become very popular! We based this design on modern modular tactical belts, which allow wearers to carry gear with them by feeding things through the straps. We thought that this would be an excellent thing to add to our Viking collection, as our customers often have weapons, drinks, accessories and other bits to carry with them.

Multi-Purpose Bracelets

We have a few bracelets that we’ve designed to be multi-purpose. This leather design looks great as just a piece of jewelry, but can also be removed and used as a strap to attach a mug, weapon, or other things to your belt when you need to be hands-free!

Two-Piece Gambeson

After years of medieval combat, a lot of us started to realize that when we raised our arms up, it would cause our gambesons to lift as well. This was especially inconvenient when we had leg harnesses and other things attached to them and could get in the way of combat. This is why we decided to make a two-piece gambeson, with the arms and vest part separate. It means you have a greater range of motion, and the whole thing is more comfortable! We've made similar designs for both male and female bodies so that everyone can benefit from this great design.

Padded Gloves

It can be so difficult to find the correct sized glove to go under your gauntlets. That’s why we started making our bestselling padded gloves with extra fabric around the fingers to give you room to sew them into the gauntlets of your choice.

Layered Dress

Everyone loves the beautiful layered look of medieval clothing, but sometimes wearing multiple layers isn’t practical. That’s why we designed this dress to look like it is two dresses when really it is just one. Having only one garment helps us to get the positioning right in the middle of the dress, and the lacing sitting perfectly. With a shifting chemise underneath, it just wouldn’t have looked as nice!

Whisky Glass

Ah - probably the most important item of all time! You don’t want to be caught at Pennsic party without a glass, and this case allows you to carry a classy whiskey glass with you wherever you go, without fear of it breaking. It also allows you to carry it hands-free, so it’s easy to finish your drink, tuck it away and hit the dance floor!