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An illustration from:
Mamuka Tsurtsumia, The Evolution of Splint Armour in Georgia and Byzantium, Lamellar and Scale in the 10th-12th Centuries
St George on the Mravaldzali icon, Georgia, latter half of the 10th century


Fig. 10. St George clad in the linear lamellar with double riveting on the Mravaldzali icon. (photo by Ermakov).
    The representations of St George and St Theodore [fig. 10] on the Mravaldzali icon dating from the latter half of the 10th century, and the Parakheti icon of St George of the end of the 10th century [fig. 11] show lamellar plates with double riveting and a double suspension on the leather lining; the plates do not overlap, but are arranged very close together side by side. Practically here all the basic components of the evolution of lamellar armour are present; the only component that is lacking is a wide band, due to which these suits of armour may be grouped with the category of linear lamellar.

Source: Byzantina Symmeikta




by Giuseppe Rava
THE GEORGIAN CAMPAIGN, 1020
Plate H4: Abasgian armoured cavalryman
This messenger from the Georgian prince’s army is taken from the Mravaldzali
and Parakheti icons of the late 10th and early 11th centuries, and is essentially identical to his Byzantine counterparts. Yovhannes Draskhanakertc describes the host of Western Georgia (the Abkhazian or ‘Abasgian’ kingdom) in the 10th century as ‘A numerous army, with steeds prancing in the air, the warriors wearing iron armour, formidable helmets, cuirasses with nail-studded iron plates [i.e. riveted lamellae] and sturdy shields, adornments, spears and swords’.
Source: pp.58-59, Byzantine Imperial Guardsmen 925-1025: The Tághmata and Imperial Guard by Timothy Dawson



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