Macedonia, c.1295AD. The church of St. Clement and St. Panteleimon in Ohrid  A larger image of this Mural of Saint Mercurius in Ohrid, Macedonia, c.1295AD. Picture source |  Plate C1 |
Referenced for plate C1: Byzantine soldier, c. 1295 in Byzantine Armies AD 1118-1461 by Ian Heath & Angus McBride
The type of armour worn by this soldier from Byzantine Macedonia (based largely on a church mural in Ohrid) flourished in Byzantium and neighbouring Serbia during the period 1280-1330, and perhaps until c. 1350. It typically comprised a mail-lined 'waistcoat' worn over a leather corselet and, under that, scale or lamellar body-armour and a separate, rigid collar of vertical laminae. Sabres and sabre-hilted swords began to make an appearance amongst Byzantines and Serbs alike at about this time.
In Saint Clement of Ohrid, Saint Mercurius brandishes his sword, which proudly bears the name of the master Eutychios Astrapas. Qantara
