Mail shirts & scale armour

Chainmail

Chainmail has been worn since the Celtic era. In antiquity, the early Middle Ages, and the Middle Ages, people wore the chainmail shirt as a protective vest consisting of small metal rings. These rings protect against cuts from swords and knives because the blade does not penetrate between the rings. Chainmail offered less protection against axes and other blunt weapons & arrows, whose points often fit through the rings. Therefore, people wore a gambeson under the chainmail shirt.

Chainmail for all price ranges

At Celtic WebMerchant, you will find chainmail for all price ranges to suit every budget. We have chainmail with unrivetted rings, also known as ‘butted rings’. These are the cheapest chainmail. For creating a fully historical reconstruction, you need riveted rings or wedge-shaped rings, and these types of rings are more expensive. The inner diameter of the rings also affects the price. A chainmail shirt with rings having the smallest inner diameter is priced higher than the 8 mm rings.

Hauberk, haubergeon, and halsberg

Hauberk and haubergeon are other terms for chainmail shirt. The halsberg is a variant of a chainmail shirt that was mainly worn by knights. The term hauberk is often used to refer to the long variant of the chainmail shirt that extends over the hips. This is also the English term for chainmail shirt. Haubergeon often refers to a shorter chainmail shirt with short sleeves. View our range for chainmail in all shapes and sizes.