![]() Plate mail did not appear overnight and was developed gradually over the course of the 14 th century, achieving its complete form around the beginning of the 15 th century.įrom then until the early 16 th century, plate armor reigned supreme, and was the best form of protection available to a knight. The response to the widespread use of the crossbow was the development of a new type of armor that could withstand the weapon’s deadly power. (Worldantiques / CC BY-SA 3.0 ) Medieval Knight Armor Gets Upgraded Ancient Chinese Paper Armor Put to the Test – You Won’t Believe How Strong It Is!Ĭlose up of chain mail used as knight armor.Game of Thrones Creates a Romantic and Grotesque Pseudo-Medieval World, Revealing Modern Perceptions of the Past.The Iron Maiden: This Medieval Torture Device Was Used as Recently as 2003!.Thus, the crossbow came to dominate the battlefield of Late Medieval Europe, and the knight, in his hauberk, was no longer safe. Moreover, the projectiles fired by these weapons were capable of piercing through the hauberk. Unlike the bow, little training was required to master the use of this weapon. This weapon first appeared in Medieval Europe around the 10 th and 11 th centuries in the technologically advanced city states of Italy.īy the 14 th century, the crossbow was commonly used on the battlefield. By the Late Medieval period, however, the hauberk no longer provided enough protection, due to the extensive use of the crossbow. ![]() The hauberk protected Medieval knights adequately on the battlefield for many centuries. This was made by boiling pieces of leather and treating it with other substances. A wealthier commoner may be able to afford a more expensive type of armor known as hardened leather. The cheapest and most readily available type of armor was the quilted jacket (known also as a gambeson), which was simply a padded jacket. While the armor used by the lower classes may not have been as good as those used by the nobility, it afforded them some amount of protection during battles. One of the common misconceptions about warfare in the Middle Ages is that armor was worn only by knights. Nevertheless, wearing armor was not an exclusive right of the nobility and the lower classes had access to them as well. ![]() The upper class was set apart from the rest of society as only they were able to afford this type of armor. Outside of the battlefield, the hauberk served as a status symbol for the elites. The part of knight armor covering the chest and back was call a hauberk. The hauberk was completed with a coif, a hood made of interlocking iron rings (like the hauberk), and a helm, both of which provided protection to the head. One of the best-known images of the hauberk can be found on the Bayeux Tapestry, where the Norman Knights are shown wearing this type of armor. The hauberk was also flexible enough to allow movement, which was especially important for a mounted warrior. The hauberk was strong enough to withstand blunt force attacks by spreading the impact and was able to block both stabbing and slashing blows. The Medieval armorers made this innovation possible by interlacing the rings and closing them firmly by welding or riveting.Īs the creation of the hauberk was laborious and time consuming, it is little wonder that that only the elite were able to afford them. This type of armor existed in Europe as early as the late Roman period and was made by sewing rings of iron onto a piece of fabric or leather.ĭuring the Medieval period, this design was improved, and shirts of mail that did not require a piece of fabric / leather beneath it were created. Prior to this period, knights relied on the hauberk for protection. The First Version of Medieval Knight ArmorĪlthough plate armor is the armor associated with the knights of Medieval Europe, it was in fact created only during the last phase of the Middle Ages, i.e. Plate armor slowly fell out of use and was relegated to the history books and our popular imagination. Since only the heaviest of plate mails could withstand these weapons, the knight’s armor lost its usefulness once more. The emergence of firearms changed the face of battle once more. ![]() ![]() Therefore, plate mail was developed as a means to protect the knights from this new weapon. Prior to that, the hauberk (a shirt of mail or chain mail) was normally used by knights and was the best protection available to the warrior.īy the 14 th century, crossbows capable of penetrating the hauberk rendered this type of armor obsolete. While it is true that this type of armor (known as plate armor or plate mail) was used by the knights, it only came into existence during the Late Middle Ages. The knight in this mental image is often a warrior wearing the iconic ‘ suit of armor’. The knight in shining armor is undoubtedly the first image that comes to mind for most people when they think about warfare during the Middle Ages. ![]()
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