The World Of Medieval Armor
The people of the middle ages may have witnessed the most wars of civilization. While fighting medieval armor is a must for a knight in order to protect himself. During the 13th and 14th century they did this by wearing chain mail. The less wealthy of the people could only afford to wear leather and padded armor. After centuries of chains full body metal suits were created.
The price of safety for these knights did not come at a cheap cost. Being extremely expensive to produce only the wealthy could afford such suites. They needed to have the ability to move with the wearer so it was extremely important that the suits fit exactly. This important factor meant that each outfit had to be mad individually to fit exactly. These separated the civilians with the military.
While the combination of little circles used for the chain provided great protection, they still had their weak spots. Sometimes during battle areas in between the circles can become available and an arrow can fit through to cause injury. The only parts of the knight covered by plate metal were the chest and the back. The proven safety of these areas may have influenced the whole body suite.
Eventually in the 15th Century plate was turned into full body suites. A padded garment known as ‘aketon’, or ‘gambeson’ was worn under as reinforcement. With these new suites chain is now used only to protect smaller vital areas that plates can not cover. It is also used on a knights helmet as a skirt to protect the neck. All of this protection has an approximate weight of 50 Lbs covering from their head all the way to their toes.
Medieval armor contains separate pieces of plate for each section of the body. There are at least seven pieces that cover just one arm and leg alone including fingers to toes. The three piece helmet consisted of the helmet, a necklace-like chain to protect the neck and a detachable visor. Add a breast plate and back-plate and that’s a lot of weight for one man to wear while riding a horse who is also wearing its own protective clothing.
Knights were not alone while in a battle, they were never without their trusted horse. Barding is armor worn by a Warhorse. A padded cloth covers their rear and metal plates cover the head, neck, chest and body. A horse in this time had to carry the weight of his protection, a knight and the knights protective suite all while being able to run and fight.
However the change in armor did not come soon enough. Not long after the full body armor suite was invented, gun powdered weapons were also invented. The suites proved to be no match for the newly created weapons. Presently medieval armor is used for ceremonial purposes and decoration. The items available now are more decorative with more extensive fluting and very ornate with intricate engravings. The prices to purchase these items range anywhere from a $150 to the thousands of dollars.
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