The cost of a full suit of high quality fitted armour, as opposed to the cheaper munition armour (equivalent of ready-to-wear) was enormous, and inevitably restricted to the wealthy who were seriously committed to either soldiering or jousting. Armourers developed skills in articulating the lames or individual plates for parts of the body that needed to be flexible, and in fitting armour to the individual wearer like a tailor. Gradually the number of plate components of medieval armour increased, protecting further areas of the body, and in barding those of a cavalryman's horse. Single plates of metal armour were again used from the late 13th century on, to protect joints and shins, and these were worn over a mail hauberk. Plate armour in the form of the Lorica segmentata was used by the Roman empire between the 1st century BC and 4th century AD. Parthian and Sassanian heavy cavalry known as Clibanarii used cuirasses made out of scales or mail and small, overlapping plates in the manner of the manica for the protection of arms and legs. Less restrictive and heavy armour would become more widespread in the form of the muscle cuirass during classic antiquity before being superseded by other types of armour.
The Dendra panoply protected the entire torso on both sides and included shoulder and neck protections. Partial plate armour, made out of bronze, which protected the chest and the lower limbs, was used by the ancient Greeks, as early as the late Bronze Age. From the 10th to the 13th century, chain mail armour was so popular in Europe that it was known as the age of mail.īronze muscle cuirass, Italy, c. Typical clothing articles made of chain mail at the time would be hooded cloaks, gloves, trousers, and shoes. Chain mail armour was designed mainly to defend against piercing rather than smashing weapons. It was made this way so that it would be able to follow the contour of the wearer's body, maximizing comfort. Chain mail was made from hundreds of small interlinking iron rings held together by rivets. The use of steel plates sewn into flak jackets dates to World War II, replaced by more modern materials such as fibre-reinforced plastic since the 1950s.Ĭhain mail armour is a layer of protective clothing worn most commonly from the 9th to the 13th century, though it would continue to be worn under plate armour until the 15th century. For infantry, the breastplate gained renewed importance with the development of shrapnel in the late Napoleonic wars. This was due to the development of the flintlock musket, which could penetrate armour at a considerable distance. After 1650, plate armour was mostly reduced to the simple breastplate ( cuirass) worn by cuirassiers. The use of plate armour declined in the 17th century, but it remained common both among the nobility and for the cuirassiers throughout the European wars of religion. The most heavily armoured troops of the period were heavy cavalry, such as the gendarmes and early cuirassiers, but the infantry troops of the Swiss mercenaries and the Landsknechts also took to wearing lighter suits of "three quarters" munition armour, leaving the lower legs unprotected. Its popular association with the " medieval knight” is due to the specialised jousting armour which developed in the 16th century.įull suits of Gothic plate armour were worn on the battlefields of the Burgundian and Italian Wars. The full suit of armour, also referred to as a panoply, is thus a feature of the very end of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. In Europe, plate armour reached its peak in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Years' War, from the coat of plates worn over mail suits during the 14th century. Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer.
Armour for Gustav I of Sweden by Kunz Lochner, c.
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