ECV for Monday, September 14,2015 - University of Mississippi Medical Center

Schwartz Center honors Boyte for compassionate care

Dr. Rick Boyte, professor of pediatrics and division chief of pediatric palliative medicine at Batson Children's Hospital, has been named one of six finalists for the 2015 Schwartz Center National Compassionate Caregiver of the Year (NCCY) Award.

Front and Center: Keith Armstrong

What do chainmaille jewelry and the armor medieval knights wore to protect themselves in battle have in common?

Everything, says a University of Mississippi Medical Center senior systems administrator.

Keith Armstrong crafts beautiful necklaces, earrings and bracelets from metal rings of many sizes, using the very process employed to create heavy chainmaille shirts, leggings and coifs during the Middle Ages for military knights who could afford it.

"It's actually all the same thing," Armstrong said. "Jewelry came about from the leftover rings from the making of chainmaille armor. They'd put the rings together in different configurations to make jewelry out of it. It's one of the oldest forms of jewelry-making."

Armstrong has tried his hand at many crafts, including decorative knots and leather work. Making chainmaille is a great creative outlet, he said.

"I call myself a jeweler, and my specialty is chainmaille," he said. "I had a friend in college 20-something years ago that actually did chainmaille armor as a hobby. I got bored one night and started making the jewelry as gifts and to keep myself occupied. Then I started giving away pieces, and then people started offering to pay for it."

Armstrong uses pliers to fashion rings made of soft metals, including silver, gold, stainless steel and aluminum. "I use a lot of surgical steel. It's hypoallergenic and strong," he said.

The ring sizes vary, with the most common size being about 16 millimeters. "There's no limit on a size, other than it being practical," Armstrong said. "The size of the rings depends on how complicated the pattern is. The thickness of the rings also plays into it."

There are dozens of patterns that chainmaille jewelers can use in making jewelry, but the most common one - the four in one - was also the most common pattern used to make actual armor.

"It's four rings linked into a ring, with four connections per ring," Armstrong explained. "You start with one ring, and you connect four rings to it. Everyone starts with that, because it's the most simple. You use different patterns, because it gets boring to do the same thing over and over."