Cod. 11093, fol. 40v: Fecht - und Ringbuch

Cod. 11093, fol. 43v: Book on Swordsmanship and Wrestling, Full page: wrestling scene, pen and brush drawing, Southwestern Germany, mid-15th c. from Österreichische Nationalbibliothek - Austrian National Library

Gambesons were produced with a sewing technique called quilting that produced a padded cloth. They were usually constructed of linen or wool; the stuffing varied, and could be, for example, scrap cloth or horse hair. An arming doublet worn under armour, particularly plate armour of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Europe, contains arming points for attaching plates. Fifteenth-century examples may include mail goussets sewn into the elbows and armpits, to protect the wearer in locations not covered by plate. German gothic armour arming doublets were generally shorter than Italian white armour doublets, which could extend to the upper thigh. In late fifteenth-century Italy, this also became a civilian fashion. Men who were not knights wore arming doublets, probably because the garment suggested status and chivalry.