# Depicting the Chainmail Hauberk

This metal garment is the knight’s primary piece of defensive equipment.

Before heading into battle, the knight puts on a padded tunic (bliaud), reinforced at the shoulders and chest to support the weight of the chainmail hauberk, which is made of interwoven metal rings. This garment is visible on the lower part of the sculpture. Over it, the knight wears a large hauberk, a full-body chainmail coat that includes a hood (camail) and is slit at the front and back to allow for easier movement on foot and horseback. This knight also wears chainmail gloves (gantelets or mitons) and chausses over leather breeches.

For the sculptors of the cloister, the chainmail provided an opportunity to create a highly regular decorative pattern of crescent-shaped motifs. A similar design can be seen on the depiction of a sleeping soldier near Christ’s tomb.

Capital of the Resurrection of Christ (detail):
Sleeping soldier, inv. 2007.1.75
Photo © Musées de Châlons-en-Champagne, A. Foviaux

A variation of this decorative motif, taking the form of small wave-like patterns, can also be observed on a fragment of a figure displayed in the showcase dedicated to the representation of the human figure in the cloister.

Fragment of a figure wearing chainmail, inv. 2007.1.523
Photo © Musées de Châlons-en-Champagne, A. Foviaux