Buff coat
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The European buff coat is an item of leather
Production, appearance and variation
The buff coat was worn as European military attire from around 1600 through to the 1680s.
Due to the thickness of the leather, the seams of these coats were all butt-jointed, with hidden or partially hidden stitches.[6] Thread holes were punched with an awl before stitching, since needles then in use could not puncture the hide.[2] Extant examples are lined, either with coarse linen or silk.[6] Closures included laces threaded through eyelets, buttons, loops, and clasps.[2] All extant English examples are closed with hooks and eyes. Many high quality examples show apparent fastenings of gold or silver tape at the front, however, these were merely decorative, the real fastenings being hidden hooks and eyes attached to the inside of the join.[6] Some of the highest quality buff coats, typically shown in portraits of officers, had multiple stripes of gold or silver lace running lengthwise down, or hooped around, the sleeves.[7][8]
Most surviving examples have sleeves, but a minority are sleeveless.[7][8] Removable sleeves were common for men's clothing in the 17th century.[2] Sleeves could be of a single thickness of leather from shoulder to wrist, or alternatively of a double thickness from the shoulder to the elbow, with a single thickness, to allow freedom of movement, to the wrist. All buff coats had deep skirts attached, which protected the upper legs of the wearer.[7][8] The thickest parts of the leather were generally placed so as to protect the wearer's legs while on horseback.[2] The extant collection of buff coats preserved at Littlecote House dating to 1649–1660, contains examples with leather varying from 0.06 to 0.22 inches (1.5 to 5.6 mm) in thickness and entire coats weighing between 4 lb 4 oz and 7 lb 8 oz (1.9–3.4 kg).[9]
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English buff coat 1630–1640 showing false fastening of silver tape down the front. Metropolitan Museum of Art
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A Royalist cavalry officer of the English Civil War, wearing a buff coat under a cuirass. The buff coat has sleeves decorated with bands of gold lace. Portrait of Richard Neville, by William Dobson, 17th century
Use
The coat provided some protection against cuts by swords and other edged weapons; however the buff coat was ineffective against thrusts; it was also ineffective as a protection from firearms, possibly excepting spent bullets. The buff coat was often worn under the plate armour cuirass, where it helped to cushion the wearer from chafing or bruising by the armour's edges. It was also worn on its own, as the buff coat was much more comfortable to wear for long periods of time than the cuirass. The finest quality buff coats were expensive, often much more so than the munition armour cuirasses typically issued to common soldiers, which may account for their widespread association with officers and other men of greater than average wealth.[10][11]
The buff coat was used extensively during the
See also
- Gambeson, a padded jacket, worn singly as armor or combined with mail or plate armor
Citations
- ^ Tincey (1990), p. 15.
- ^ a b c d e f Doering (2016).
- ^ Dowen (2015), pp. 158, 172.
- ^ Brzezinski (1993), p. 12.
- ^ Tincey (2002), p. 59.
- ^ a b c Blackmore (1990), pp. 19, 22.
- ^ a b c Haythornthwaite (1983), pp. 25, 37.
- ^ a b c Blackmore (1990), pp. 22–23.
- ^ Tincey (2002), p. 60.
- ^ Blackmore (1990), pp. 18–19.
- ^ Tincey (2002), p. 18.
- ^ a b Nolan (2006).
- ^ a b c Haythornthwaite (1983), pp. 25, 45.
Cited works
- Blackmore, D. (1990). Arms & Armour of the English Civil Wars. R. Hook, illustrator. Trustees of the Royal Armouries. ISBN 0-948092-08-4.
- Brzezinski, R. (1993). The Army of Gustavus Adolphus (2) Cavalry. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-350-8.
- Doering, Mary D. (2016). "Buff Coats, 1600–1714". In F., José Blanco; Doering, Mary (eds.). Clothing and Fashion: American Fashion from Head to Toe, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. pp. 42–43. ISBN 978-1-61069-310-3.
- Dowen, Keith (March 2015). "The Seventeenth Century Buff Coat". Journal of the Arms and Armour Society. XXI (5): 157–188. ISSN 0004-2439.
- Haythornthwaite, P (1983). The English Civil War, 1642–1651: An Illustrated Military History. Blandford Press. ISBN 1-85409-323-1.
- Nolan, Cathal J. (2006). The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000-1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization, Volume 1. Greenwood Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-313-33733-8.
- Tincey, J. (1990). Soldiers of the English Civil War (2) Cavalry. A. McBride, illustrator. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-85045-940-0.
- Tincey, J. (2002). Ironsides: English Cavalry, 1588–1688. G. Turner, illustrator. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-213-X.
External links
Media related to Buff coats at Wikimedia Commons