Inventories of war: soldiers' kit from 1066 to 2014

On a winter’s day in 1915 the family of one Capt Charles Sorley – athlete, soldier and poet – received a package. It was his kit bag, sent home by his regiment from the Western Front, where Sorley had been killed, aged 20, at the Battle of Loos. Out of this bag came a life abridged: personal effects, items of uniform and a bundle of papers, from which emerged his now famous sonnet When You See Millions of the Mouthless Dead. A new photographic survey of military kits now illustrates that curious combination. 1916 private soldier, Battle of the Somme While the First World War was the first modern war, as the Somme kit illustrates, it was also primitive. For a full list of the items displayed, click here Picture: THOM ATKINSON

¤ Portail des civilisations anciennes Art of Swords Le site pédagogique This Armored Lady Won The Longsword Competition At a World Invitational Tournament Women who fight in jousting tournaments are awesome. Period. In fact, anyone who combats in a medieval setting earns my admiration but I especially look up to ladies because well, I’m a lady. She has several swords, and she designed* the ones she uses the most. *Update as of 8/27: Samantha clarified she does not design the swords. Photo by Rey Alabastro. Check out a fascinating video interview with Samantha after the break. (Art of Swords via Tumblr) Tagged as: armor, sword L'Histoire de France Medieval Weapons Crossbows A crossbow is a range weapon that shoots projectiles (called bolts or quarrels) consisting of a bow mounted on a stock. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a Roman torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance. Historically, crossbows played a significant role in the warfare of Europe, and the Mediterranean. A crossbow is a bow mounted on a stock (or tiller) with a mechanism that holds the drawn bow string. Early designs featured a slot in the stock, into which the cocked string was placed. A later design implemented a rolling cylindrical pawl called a 'nut' to retain the cocked string. Removable or integral plates of wood, ivory or metal on the sides of the stock kept the nut in place laterally. A trigger system, (usually made of iron or steel from medieval times onwards), was used to retain the force of the cocked string in the nut and then release the nut to spin and the string to shoot the bolt.

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