Making Chainmail

During the Middle Ages, one of a knights' most prized posessions was his armor which was very expensive. One book explained it to the children in terms like this.

If we needed to buy a suit of armor today, it would cost as much as a jumbo jet would cost us.

That is how expensive it was back then.

Needless to say, most people didn't go around buying suits of armor however most soldiers wore chainmail. Chainmail is made of small rings linked together in a particular pattern.

Some advantage of chainmail during that time period were:

It was cost effective, while not cheap, less expensive than armor

It was lightweight

It could be put on quickly

It provided some protection against arrows and swords

You begin with rings. You can make them yourself however we chose to purchase them already made. Ours were aluminium ones purchased on ebay. This seller had removed all the sharp edges, to make it a bit easier to work with and more comfortable to wear.

Total cost of this project was about $35.00. It is the type of project that can continue if wanted. Ds has decided to continue it, however he is buying his own links:)

There were some directions included in our curriculum, however we found the best way for ds to understand the design of chainmail was to enlarge the photo and just let him look at it for a while.

When you see how it goes together, you can put it together.

When you get finished with a good size piece of your chainmail, it should have an accordion effect, but only in one direction.

This has been a wonderful project for ds. If you have read our blog before, you know that he is a computer, science and math kid so pulling him into history can be a bit challenging at times. Often, finding a hands on activity to draw your children in takes a bit of creativity on the part of the teacher, but the end result is enthusiasm about the topic of study.

Blessings for creativity with your children,

Suzie