Who let it in?

No idea - scuse me whilst I get a brush and case that cat OUT.....

IanS 

Case out the joint - that I understand. How do you case a cat out? I resemble that remark.

I have had a response from Bretwalda.

'I fear that you may be correct. The reference was from a very learned, but rather old and therefore possibly out of date, work on medieval armour that was talking about the 11th century. On checking more up to date works I see that there is no talk about the painting of mail at all, though there is reference to coloured helmets, shields and plate. I suppose that since I can't find a reference to the fact that mail was not painted does not necessarily mean that it was not - "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" and all that - but it does make it very much less likely.'

I am slightly saddened, but it is nice to see the author responding positively.

What the hell, there are always surcoats.

What a remarkably reasonable and swift reply!

PurrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I always understood that "mail" was, by definition, interlocking rings. So "chainmail" is a redundancy. Rings sewn to a leather backing was known as "proof".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_%28armour%29

There's chainmail, ring mail, banded mail, splinted mail, plate mail .... Sheesh! Did NOBODY here play D&D but me?

As I understand it mail simply refers to the wearing of armour of some sort. Plate mail is completely different to chain mail but the word mail on its own does not convey which mail is being worn. What I think has happened is that as armour itself became redundant people simply referred to plate mail as plate and chain mail became shortened to mail.

Quote from: Ithoriel on 25 January 2015, 12:34:31 PM
.... Sheesh! Did NOBODY here play D&D but me?

Me, sir.....I did !
Cheers - Phil.

Original D&D must be right, it had stats for Jesus and everything!

I understand that the "C"-word for mail was first used in the 19th century. That doesn't count.

Quote from: Leman on 25 January 2015, 12:41:22 PM
As I understand it mail simply refers to the wearing of armour of some sort. Plate mail is completely different to chain mail but the word mail on its own does not convey which mail is being worn. What I think has happened is that as armour itself became redundant people simply referred to plate mail as plate and chain mail became shortened to mail.

Not according to Wikipedia.

Because Wikipedia is of course Gospel.