My name's Dave Neville and I'm a member of Bran Dubh- we're a relatively new outfit based in Cork, Limerick (with Messrs. Trevor McCarthy and S. Shields) and in Kilkenny.
We portray Anglo-Norman infantry in Ireland c. 1250-1290 or thereabouts.
Currently getting my gear in order and on the subject of a cloak on campaign, it occurred to me that the Anglo-Normans have been in the country for several decades at this stage and that from the very beginning the leading nobility took Irish wives (Strongbow marrying Aoife for Leinster being a famous example) Furthermore you see the penetration of the Anglo-Normans deep into Gaelic territory in the early part of the 13th century, all the way to Kerry, deep into Connaught, though of course the conquest is incomplete and the frontiers are fluid.
So, basically my question is what would be acceptable elements of native Gaelic Irish dress to adopt while on campaign?
Would the Irish mothers of the leading barons and knights clothe their children in gaelic dress alongside the accepted 'English' styles?
My reasoning for this is the intermarriage aspect, the fact that by 1500 the Gaelic and Anglo-Irish lords have become nearly indistinguishable from each other (with the exception of when making appearances in Dublin or in the case of in English strongholds), that English soldiers are recorded as adopting Irish shoes and the brat/ mantle of the natives in the 16th century. I'm aware that Irish mantles were admired and considered warm even by the hostile Richard Stanihurst (quoted in Osprey's book on the Gallowglass)
In any case, please feel free to rip that hypothesis to ribbons!
I haven't touched the garment yet and still in the research phase but please feel free to sling your 2 cents in- plenty of knowledgeable folks on this forum, which is why I pose the question.
Cheers!
