Thief’s Gloves

+1 To Dex – The Thief’s Gloves

These fingerless, thief’s gloves protect the wearer from the rigours of long hours riding, working with hand tools, or climbing rope to access high windows. They won’t, however, interfere with the kind of quick-fingered tricks required to be a master thief. The dyed leather is fully-stitched at every joint and around the wrist and fingers, helping the shape of the glove slowly adapt to the wearer’s hand but preventing deformation over time from exposure to the elements. A further custom fit can be achieved with the cords at the back of the Thief’s Gloves which allow for a perfect fit without the laces getting in the way.

Thieves Guild

Though a prominent feature in RPGs, video games, and fantasy fiction, real historical evidence of organised societies of thieves remains slim. Of course, this could be due to the secretive nature of such organisations which were unlikely to keep records, lists of members, and publicise their exploits. 

Fantasy Only?

The fantasy trope may originate in some of the stories featured in One Thousand And One Nights (often simply called “Arabian Nights” in English) where colourful brotherhoods of thieves display a hierarchy and code of honour. Copies of this book began to appear in Europe in the High Medieval Period, though many stories may have preceded the printed version due to the oral tradition of telling stories and history of trade between the area of the book’s origin and Western Europe. The tradition of the fingerless Thief’s Gloves probably started much later, some might attest it to depictions of thieves in Oliver Twist. 

Renaissance Thief

Cervantes also featured thieve’s guilds in his work. In this case, the guilds were built around the same type of structure and hierarchy as real medieval and renaissance guilds from the period. In Cervantes alternate take on reality, thieves must serve an apprenticeship in the same way as other professions and have their own church which they share with the city’s prostitutes. 

Fantasy Thieves

Perhaps fantasy’s most famous thief (he would say “burglar”), Bilbo Baggins, goes someway in extricating the fantasy thief from the unpleasant reality of actual thieves. In most fantasy universes we read about or play in, real injustice exists. Stealing from the evil using cunning and wit has long been the preserve of smaller, stealthier, luckier characters in video games and RPGs

Technical Specs

Material: Thief’s Gloves are 100% Leather

Colour: Thief’s Gloves are available in Black or Brown

Size: S-XL