![]() While it looks heavy, a full plate armour could be as light as only 40 pounds if well made, and so well spread over the body that a fit man could run, or jump into his saddle. Plate armour could have consisted of a helmet, a gorget, pauldrons, couters, vambraces, gauntlets, a back and breast plate with a culet, a fauld and tassets, a skirt, cuisses, poleyns, greaves and sabatons. The armpits could further be protected by round plates called besagews. Because of that weakness, it was common to wear a shirt of chainmail beneath a plate armour. In the armoured techniques taught in german school of swordsmanship, the attacker concentrates on these cracks, resulting in a fighting style very different from unarmoured sword-fighting. ![]() The weak points of plate armour (compared to chainmail) were the joints, where the plates overlapped, but would expose unprotected gaps in certain stances of the wearer, through which gaps sword and dagger blades could penetrate. Maces could be used not to pierce the armour, but to inflict blunt traumata in spite, and through, the armour. While they were effective against cuts or blows, they could be pierced by bolts fired by powerful crossbows, and also by long-taperedĭesigned for the purpose. Many of the latter were decorated with biblical or mythological motifs.Įvolution of plate armour also triggered developments in the design of offensive weapons. From the 16th century on, armour specifically designed for jousting (rather than for battle) and parade armours also became popular. Reduced plate armour, typically consisting of a breastplate, a burgonet, morion or cabasset and gauntlets, however, became also popular among 16th century mercenaries. The slotted head screw and correspondingly the screwdriver were invented at the same time in Germany to make production and maintenance of these armour suits practical.įull plate armour was very expensive to produce and remained therefore restricted to the upper strata of society, and lavishly decorated suits of armour remained the fashion with 17th century nobles and generals, long after they had ceased to be militarily useful due to the introduction of firearms in the battlefield. During the early 1500s the helmet and neckguard design was reformed to produce the so called Nürnberg armours, many of them masterpieces of workmanship and design. By the end of the 14th century, full plate armour had been developed, first in the so called gothic style. It came into fashion again from the late 13th century on, at first as single plates protecting joints and shins, worn over the full chainmail armour current in the 13th century. Plate armour protecting the chest and the lower limbs was worn by the ancient Greeks and Romans, but it fell into disuse after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Plate armour is personal armour made from large metal plates, worn on the chest and sometimes the entire body. In feudal Japan, laquered odoshi armour, a form of lamellar, was popular. In European history, common armour types were the lorica segmentata, the chainmail hauberk, the gambeson and later the full steel plate armour used by late medieval knights. light infantry/cavalry.)Īll through history, the development of weapons and armour have literally been an arms race, leading to different developments in different civilizations. Armour, historically, was used to refer to any heavily armoured unit (heavy infantry/cavalry vs. Armour has been primarily a way to protect oneself from harm in combat and military engagements.Īrmour was also commonly used to protect war animals, such as war horses and war elephants, from intentionally inflicted harm. Armour has been in use for all recorded history, beginning with hides, leather, bone, progressing to bronze, steel, ballistic cloth, ceramics, and depleted uranium. Armor (also spelled Armour), is protective plates or clothing meant to shield a human from intentionally inflicted harm.
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