The Mail Coat and affixed to a polypropylene supporting mesh In 2011 small group of armour curators and (Fig. 3). It was not possible to remove the garment conservators from the Wallace Collection in London from its support, since it was comprehensively travelled to Prague at the invitation of the Castle tied down onto it with a fine clear nylon filament authorities to view and assess the Wenceslaus mail (Fig. 4). This method of securing loose rings and coat. The Wallace Collection had organised an rendering the coat as stable as possible for both exhibition (We’ve Got Mail) on the origins and movement and display was an extremely effective construction of historic mail armour only the year solution to a serious problem, given the age and before, so all those involved were particularly fragility of the piece; however, it did have the absorbed and interested in the subject, and especially disadvantage that once the mail had been secured excited to be granted the privilege of viewing and onto its support it was very difficult to assess handling such an important historic garment out of the ‘flow’ of the material and the more subtle its display case. This was a rare opportunity, since constructional details. As well as making any the mail coat was not normally available for study in detailed assessment of its form and tailoring very this way. Only the fact that it was in the conservation difficult, securing it in this way would also make workshops of Prague Castle for routine conservation it very tricky to carry out repairs or improvements and re-mounting prior to it eventually returning to to the display-mount in future. The one thing its old home in the Cathedral Treasury as part of that the support could not disguise, however, a wholly new display, enabled this visit to take place. was the overall size of the garment… whoever it All those fortunate enough to be present on had been made for, or belonged to, he would this expedition felt a particular sense of awe and not have been a short man, and (even allowing reverence on first seeing the coat… indeed, one of for padded textile underneath) he would have our number felt an almost eerie connection with been quite stockily-built. The overall shape of the past, immediately reminded of armour and the coat, wide-bodied, long, with flaring skirts weapons the names of which have been passed down and wide sleeves, was also immediately evident… in folklore and sagas for the past thousand years… a shape very unlike that of the later medieval the mail byrnie of Harold Hardrada ‘hringserker’, and Renaissance mail garments that we were all for example (of such importance to him that he familiar with from other museum collections. named it in the same way that swords were often Due to the method of its mounting, measurements named, his mail coat’s name being ‘Emma’). were difficult to take with any accuracy; however, When first seen (Fig. 1-2) the Wenceslaus to give an overall sense of the coat’s form and mail coat was mounted on a wooden mannequin dimensions, the following were recorded: Acta Militaria Mediaevalia VIII Kraków – Rzeszów – Sanok 2012, s. 229-242 Abstract: -242 N. Checksfield, D. Edge, A. Williams 2012, Examination and assessment of the Wenceslaus mail hauberk, AMM VIII: 229 The mail shirt kept in Prague Castle which is said to have belonged to Sv. Vaclav (Saint Wenceslaus) has been examined to assess the methods used in its construction. The use of “tailoring” (alterations in the number of links attached to each link in order to alter the shape of the shirt) is discussed, as well as the presence of repairs. A number of features of its construction appear to suggest an earlier rather than a later date. Key words: Mail shirt, riveted links, welded links, mail tailoring, hauberk, ventail, hood, standard EXAMINATION AND ASSESSMENT OF THE WENCESLAUS MAIL HAUBERK KOMUNIKATY – ANNOUNCEMENTS Nicholas Checksfield David Edge Alan Williams