Have you ever seen a horse equipped with air bags, crumple zones, and seatbelts? Yeah. Me neither. But when you consider the armor worn by knights-of-old, that’s essentially what it was. Fender-benders were still pretty serious back then, and the horses generally ended up getting a raw deal, but the armor did a pretty good job of protecting the driver, er, rider.
Armor can be considered the ultimate result of necessity being the mother of invention. There’s no real need for armor in a fist fight, but the minute swords come into play, all bets are off and something’s got to change. Here’s a look at the history of a knight’s armor.
Chain mail
No, not the kind you have to send to 10 of your friends or some unspecified “bad” thing will happen to you. The first protective gear to hit the scene that was actually worth the “weight” (55 pounds or so) was called chain mail. Chain mail is made entirely of small rings of metal woven together in such a way as to provide knights with near-impenetrable protection. In fact, the Royal Armory in Leeds, England concluded that chain mail is almost impossible to penetrate with any typical weapon from medieval times.
The real beauty of chain mail lays in its sartorial splendor. Because of how it was made, painstakingly by hand, it was very easy to tailor to specific body parts. Want to protect your legs? Not problem. Knights had options with chain mail known as chausses. These were essentially pants that could be tailored to only protect the thighs, or they could reach all the way to the ankles if one desired protection for his knees, shins, and ankles.
One could order a small poncho of chain mail called a pixane if the desired outcome was to protect the chest, shoulders, and upper back. Stylish to be sure, it was the perfect undershirt that added just the right amount of additional protection to vital organs like the heart and lungs.
The invention of chain mail was quite ingenious and is on-par with some of today’s more effective bullet proof materials. Given the day and age, and overall lack of engineers and research facilities, it’s quite an impressive accomplishment. Chain mail proved without question it had the ability to save lives, and compared to other forms of armor that would hit the scene latter in the Middle Ages, it was relatively lightweight.
Full Body Armor
Sure, it looks great, and it cleans up nicely and holds a shine, but it’s a form of self-protection that was ultimately shown to be a step backwards from chain mail.
Developed later in the Middle Ages, in the late 13th century, plated body armor no doubt was a conversation-starter for any knight who left the house all gussied up. More important, however, was its ability to save a knight’s life, and for the most part it succeeded.
The idea behind full body armor, or plate armor, was to protect every last square inch of a knight’s body, where possible, and accessorize with chain mail where not possible. Literally, knights were dressed head to toe in this stuff. A suit of armor could weigh anywhere between 65 and 100 pounds, depending on the options chosen at the dealership and how it would be used.
On the Battlefield
For battle, knights chose body plates that were lightweight because of the need for agility. Body armor bent and hinged in the same places knights bent and hinged: neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, etc. It proved to be a very effective design.
At the Games
Armor, worn by knights who were performing crazy acts of bravery for Royal onlookers at the Knight Olympics, was much heavier than battle armor. After all, it was designed to essentially protect a knight who was intentionally going to engage in head-on a crash with another knight, all the while trying to skewer his opponent with a lance!
Jousting armor was made up of layered plates of armor, reinforced by thick pads of leather between. It was a good design for jousters sitting on horseback that weren’t worried about agility, and who would otherwise have been run-through if wearing nothing but battle armor.
The overall design flaw of the plate armor wasn’t its inability to protect a knight from traditional weapons. It did an adequate job against traditional medieval weapons, particularly when it was paired with chain mail. Knights probably got a discount from their insurance company for choosing this full-coverage protection. Its limitations became immediately known against non-traditional weapons that were just hitting the scene in the late 15th century. Namely, bullets and other iron projectiles fired from weapons fueled by gunpowder.
What’s the old saying? All good things must come to an end? This was true for full-plated body armor, which largely became ornamental after gunpowder proved its mettle on the battlefield. Like airbags today, armor was good in a crash and did protect against bumps and bruises, but it proved equally as lousy at stopping flying object hurled with tremendous velocity.
It was impractical for knights to wear bulletproof armor as the weight alone would have proven to be a hindrance in battle, and quite taxing on their horses. In the end, armor was a great idea that simply ran its course, but paved the way for better and more effect protection for battlefield warriors.
About the Author
Kit Pierce loves to read classic literature and blogs about human rights. In her spare time, she writes for
www.attsavings.com. She’s interested in steampunk, likes watching funny cat videos, and enjoys discussions about philosophy.
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