Valued for flexibility in combat, chain mail was the primary defensive armor in Europe for more than one thousand years, through the entirety of the Medieval Period. To create a 'chain mail' or 'maille' garment, thousands of rings would be punched out whole or riveted from strands of wire. A blacksmith would weave the rings into sheets using a pattern of interlocking rings. Patterns varied by region, dictated by armaments and fighting styles. Given the labor-intensive process of weaving, chain mail garments were costly to purchase but relatively simple to repair.

This authentic, four-in-one medieval chain mail set includes five connected rings, as assembled hundreds of years ago by medieval craft workers. This relatively simple pattern was the standard in Europe for hundreds of years. The rings come from the fragments of several ruined garments, all dating to the 15th Century CE. This period is considered the sunset of chain mail in Europe, as advanced plate armor completely supplanted mail.

Though many battles raged throughout the "long thirteenth century" of the High Middle Ages, scholars often refer to this century as a time of relative peace. This did not mean knights could retire on their estates. Eager kings looking to extend their authority continued military campaigns during the Crusades, and a growing professionalization of warfare all combined to keep the European knight reliant on the tools of their trade: horse, armor, and sword.

This specimen is a fragment of a knight’s sword dating to the late 13th / early 14th century CE. For the last 200 years the sword was held in a private family collection in France until acquired in the early 21st century by a private dealer of antique arms in the United Kingdom.

More than 1,200 years ago the Vikings left the fjords of modern Scandinavia and set out sea. Today, nearly every country in Europe has a story to tell of the Viking expansion, and the complex history of their many societies is slowly being rediscovered.

This specimen is a fragment of a Viking axe head dating to 900 CE. The axe head was restored in the 1960s using the techniques of the time, which tended to focus on the beauty of the finished object as opposed to stabilizing and preserving the material.

Please Note: The Classic Riker Box Specimens are all unique as we crafted each one here from the original material salvaged from the axes. You should still use caution when handling these specimens. Edges can be sharp and the material may flake.