Another academic like Dr Capwell whom I introduced in my previous article about arms and armour videos who combines scholarly academic research with being a HEMA exponent is Dr Daniel Jaquet from the University of Geneva and the military museum at the Castle of Morges in Switzerland.
His videos are particularly engaging, combining as they do athleticism with academia in a most impressive way. There are several that can be found online via his name
( including a images of him flying in armour to an academic conference in the US or simply walking around the town of Morges in full harness ) but there are three I would particularly recommend. These will disabuse anyone of the idea that a medieval armoured man was lacking in manoeverability, let alone having to be winched or hoisted onto his horse.
The first shows combat one to one, and links to later medieval instruction manuals on fighting techniques. It can be seen at Le combat en armure au XVe siècle
The second has Dr Jaquet recreating the fitness routine of the French Jean II Le Maingre, Marshal Boucicaut (1366-1421). The Wikipedia account of the Marshal is at Jean II Le Maingre and I have posted about him previously on this blog at St Catherine and Marshal Boucicaut. Daniel Jaquet’s video is accessible at Can You Move in Armour?
The third is a comparison between a medieval knight, a modern soldier and a modern firefighter - they all carry a similar weight of protection and equipment - in a run over a Swiss Army obstacle course. Add to that the fact that Daniel Jaquet was ten years older than the other two contestants when the film was made. This can be seen ( warning - it becomes a bit addictive as viewing ) at Obstacle Run in Armour - a short film by Daniel Jaquet
His work is a splendid combination of research work on the history of armour and fighting techniques with practical tests as to how it actually worked when in use.
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