A late-mediaeval three-finger gauntlet excavated in Puck

Abstract

Late-mediaeval iconography indicates that three-fi ngered gauntlets were used in falconry (fig. 1 a, b), agriculture (fig. 1c) and herding (fig. 2a, b), and as part of armour (fig. 2d). They protected and insulated the hand, also allowing the wearer a better hold than a mitten. Remains of such a three-finger gauntlet were found in the course of the archaeological exploration of the market square in Puck, among the remains of wooden market stalls dated to the 1480s–1510s (fig. 3). It was a left gauntlet, with an extended cuff to protect the wrist, a thumb and two even-sized compartments for the first and second, and the third and fourth
fingers (fig. 4b). The two-part trank and the thumb were cut of soft calf leather. The wear of the leather indicates that the gauntlet was used for a long time or very intensively, given the place of the fi nd probably as a protective garment in goods loading and transport. In Puck, a small agricultural and fi shing town, such gauntlets could also be used for net drawing, working in the field or working with livestock.