Weight of medieval armor. Knight's helmet: types, descriptions. Knight armour. Armor as a symbol of the era

The armor of the knights of the Middle Ages, the photos and descriptions of which are presented in the article, went through a difficult evolutionary path. They can be seen in weapons museums. This is a real work of art.

They surprise not only with their protective properties, but also with luxury and grandeur. However, few people know that the monolithic iron armor of the knights of the Middle Ages is dated to the late period of that era. It was no longer protection, but traditional clothing, which emphasized the high social status of the owner. This is a kind of analogue of modern expensive business suits. From them it was possible to judge the position in society. We will talk about this in more detail later, we will present a photo of knights in the armor of the Middle Ages. But first, where did they come from.

First armor

The weapons and armor of the knights of the Middle Ages developed together. This is understandable. Improving lethal means necessarily leads to the development of defensive ones. Even in prehistoric times, man tried to protect his body. The first armor was the skin of animals. She protected well from non-sharp tools: sledgehammers, primitive axes, etc. The ancient Celts achieved perfection in this. Their protective skins sometimes even withstood sharp spears and arrows. Surprisingly, the main emphasis in defense was on the back. The logic was this: in a frontal attack, it was possible to hide from shells. It is impossible to see the blows in the back. Flight and retreat was part of the military tactics of these peoples.

cloth armor

Few people know, but the armor of the knights of the Middle Ages in early period were made of matter. It was difficult to distinguish them from peaceful civilian clothes. The only difference is that they were glued together from several layers of matter (up to 30 layers). It was light, from 2 to 6 kg, inexpensive armor. In the era of mass battles and the primitiveness of chopping guns, this is an ideal option. Any militia could afford such protection. Surprisingly, such armor even withstood arrows with stone tips, which easily pierced iron. This was due to cushioning on the fabric. The more prosperous instead used quilted caftans stuffed with horsehair, cotton wool, and hemp.

The peoples of the Caucasus until the 19th century used a similar protection. Their felted wool cloak was rarely cut with a saber, withstood not only arrows, but also bullets from smooth-bore guns from 100 meters. Recall that such weapons were in our army until the Crimean War of 1955-1956, when our soldiers died from rifled European guns.

leather armor

The armor of the knights of the Middle Ages made of leather replaced the cloth ones. They were also widely used in Russia. Leather craftsmen were widely valued at the time.

In Europe, they were poorly developed, since the use of crossbows and bows was a favorite tactic of Europeans during the entire Middle Ages. Leather protection was used by archers and crossbowmen. She protected from light cavalry, as well as from brothers-in-arms of the opposite side. From long distances, they could withstand bolts and arrows.

Buffalo skin was especially prized. Getting it was almost impossible. Only the richest could afford it. There were relatively light leather armor of the knights of the Middle Ages. Weight was from 4 to 15 kg.

Armor Evolution: Lamellar Armor

Further evolution takes place - the manufacture of the armor of the knights of the Middle Ages from metal begins. One of the varieties is lamellar armor. The first mention of such technology is observed in Mesopotamia. The armor there was made of copper. In a similar protective technology began to be used from metal. Lamellar armor is a scaly shell. They have proven to be the most reliable. They were only pierced by bullets. Their main disadvantage is their weight up to 25 kg. It is impossible to put it on alone. In addition, if a knight fell from a horse, he was completely neutralized. It was impossible to get up.

chain mail

The armor of the knights of the Middle Ages in the form of chain mail was the most common. Already in the 12th century they became widespread. Ringed armor weighed relatively little: 8-10 kg. A complete set, including stockings, a helmet, gloves, reached up to 40 kg. The main advantage is that the armor did not hamper movement. Only the wealthiest aristocrats could afford them. The spread among the middle class only occurs in the 14th century, when rich aristocrats donned plate armor. They will be discussed further.

armor

Plate armor is the pinnacle of evolution. Only with the development of metal forging technology could such a work of art be created. The plate armor of the knights of the Middle Ages is almost impossible to make with your own hands. It was a single monolithic shell. Only the richest aristocrats could afford such protection. Their distribution falls on the Late Middle Ages. Knight in plate armor on the battlefield - real armored tank. It was impossible to beat him. One such warrior among the troops tipped the scales in the direction of victory. Italy is the birthplace of such protection. It was this country that was famous for its masters in the production of armor.

The desire to have a heavy defense is due to the battle tactics of the medieval cavalry. First, she delivered a powerful swift blow in close ranks. As a rule, after one blow with a wedge against infantry, the battle ended in victory. Therefore, in the forefront were the most privileged aristocrats, among whom was the king himself. Knights in armor almost did not die. It was impossible to kill him in battle, and after the battle, the captured aristocrats were not executed, since everyone knew each other. Yesterday's enemy turned into a friend today. In addition, the exchange and sale of captured aristocrats sometimes amounted to main goal battles. In fact, medieval battles were similar to them. The “best people” rarely died, but in real battles this still happened. Therefore, the need for improvement constantly arose.

"Peaceful battle"

In 1439 in Italy, at home the best craftsmen blacksmithing, there was a battle near the city of Anghiari. Several thousand knights took part in it. After four hours of battle, only one warrior died. He fell off his horse and fell under his hooves.

The end of the battle armor era

England put an end to "peaceful" wars. In one of the battles, the British, led by Henry XIII, who were ten times fewer, used powerful Welsh bows against French aristocrats in armor. Marching confidently, they felt safe. Imagine their surprise when arrows began to fall from above. The shock was that before that they had never hit the knights from above. Shields were used against frontal damage. A close formation of them reliably protected from bows and crossbows. However, the Welsh weapons were able to pierce the armor from above. This defeat at the dawn of the Middle Ages, where the "best people" of France died, put an end to such battles.

Armor - a symbol of aristocracy

Armor has always been a symbol of aristocracy, not only in Europe, but throughout the world. Even development firearms did not put an end to their use. The coat of arms was always depicted on the armor, they were the ceremonial uniform.

They were worn for holidays, celebrations, official meetings. Of course, ceremonial armor was made in a lightweight version. Last time their combat use was in Japan already in the 19th century, during the time of the samurai uprisings. However, firearms have shown that any peasant with a rifle is much more effective than a professional warrior with a cold weapon, dressed in heavy armor.

Armor of a knight of the Middle Ages: description

So, the classic set of the average knight consisted of the following things:

Weapons and armor were not uniform throughout the history of the Middle Ages, since they performed two functions. The first is protection. The second - armor was a distinctive attribute of a high social position. One complex helmet could cost entire villages with serfs. Not everyone could afford it. This also applies to complex armor. Therefore, it was impossible to find two identical sets. Feudal armor is not a uniform form of soldier recruits in later eras. They differ in individuality.

Judging by historical sources, the most common type of armor in the 13th century was chain mail, consisting of iron rings connected to each other.
However, despite its wide distribution, only a few chain mails dating back to the period before the 14th century have survived to this day. None of them are made in England.
Therefore, researchers rely mainly on images in manuscripts and sculptures.
To date, the secret of making chain mail has been largely lost, although descriptions of some procedures are known.

First, an iron wire was pulled through a board with holes of different diameters. Then the wire was wound on a steel rod and the resulting spiral was cut along, forming separate rings.
The ends of the ring were flattened and a small hole was made in them. Then the rings were woven so that each of them covered four others. The ends of the ring were connected and secured with a small rivet.
To make one chain mail, several thousand rings were required.
The finished chain mail was sometimes cemented by heating in the thickness of burning coals.
In most cases, all chain mail rings were
riveted, sometimes alternating rows
riveted and welded rings.

There were also large chain mail, which reached the knees in length, had long sleeves ending in mittens.
The collar of a large chain mail turned into a chain mail hood or balaclava.
To protect the throat and chin, there was a valve, which before the battle went up and was fixed with a ribbon.
Sometimes such a valve was absent, and the sides of the hood could overlap each other. Usually the inner surface of the chain mail, in contact with the skin of a warrior, had a fabric lining.
In the lower part, the large chain mail had cuts that made it easier for the warrior to walk and get on the horse.
A quilted hat was worn under the chain mail balaclava, which was held with strings under the chin.

Around 1275, the knights began to wear a mail balaclava separated from chain mail, but the old chain mail, combined with a balaclava, continued to be widely used until the end of the 13th century.
Chain mail weighed about 30 pounds (14 kg) depending on its length and the thickness of the rings. There were chain mail with short and short sleeves.
Around the middle of the 13th century, Matthew of Paris depicted combat gloves separated from the sleeves of chain mail. However, such gloves met
infrequently until the end of the century.
By that time, leather gloves with reinforcing overlays made of iron or whalebone appeared.
The lining could be located outside or inside the mitten.
Leg protection was provided by chausses - chain mail stockings. Chausses had leather soles and were tied at the waist like traditional stockings.
Linen underpants were worn under the choise.

Sometimes, instead of chausses, the legs were protected by chain mail strips that covered only the front side of the leg, and were held on by ribbons at the back.
Around 1225, quilted cuisses appeared, which were worn on the hips. Cuisses were also hung from the belt, like chausses.
In the middle of the century, for the first time, the use of knee pads was noted, which were attached directly to chain mail or to quilted cuisses.
Initially, the knee pads were small, but then they increased dramatically, covering the knees not only in front, but also on the sides.
Sometimes knee pads were made of hard leather. The knee pads were held in place with lacing or rivets.
Elbow pads were very rare.
The shins were covered with metal leggings worn over the shosses.

Quilted aketon or gambeson were usually worn under chain mail.
Aketon itself consisted of two layers of paper fabric, between which was placed a layer of wool, wadding and other similar materials.
Both layers, together with the lining, were sewn with longitudinal or sometimes diagonal stitches. Later, aketones made of several layers of linen fabric appeared.
According to some descriptions, it is known that gambesons were worn over aketones. Gambesons could be made of silk and other expensive fabrics.
Sometimes they were worn on chain mail or plate armor.
Sometimes a long, loose shirt was worn over chain mail. Shirt
was too mobile to be quilted.
Although chain mail, due to its flexibility, did not hinder the movements of a warrior, for the same reason a missed blow could cause serious damage from bruising and concussion to breaking a bone.
If the chain mail could be pierced, the fragments of the links could get into the wound, which caused additional pain and threatened infection.
In some manuscripts of the XIII century, you can find images of foot soldiers in leather armor, reinforced with metal plates.

In some illustrations in the "Matsejovskaya Bible" you can see warriors with a surcoat on their shoulders that has a characteristic bend. It can be assumed that under the surcoat in this case they wore a shell.
There is another explanation.
Fawkes de Breotet's list (1224) mentions an epauliere made of black silk. Perhaps here they meant a shoulder-shock absorber or a collar that goes over the shoulders.
Indeed, there were special collars, they can be seen in several drawings depicting warriors with open aventails or removed balaclavas. Outside, such a collar was sheathed with fabric, and inside it could be iron or whalebone. Separate collars were quilted.
It is not known whether the collars were a separate item or were part of the aketon. It is also unknown how the collar was put on.
With equal probability, it could consist of two parts connected on the sides, or have an articulation on one side and a fastener on the other.

At the end of the century, gorgets began to be used to protect the neck, which came to England from France.
A surcoat was a cape worn over armor.
The first surcoats appeared in the second quarter of the 12th century and spread everywhere by the beginning of the 13th century, although until the middle of the 13th century there were knights who did not have a surcoat. The main purpose of the surcoat is unknown.
Perhaps it protected the armor from water and prevented them from heating up in the sun.
It was possible to wear your own coat of arms on a surcoat, although most often surcoats were of the same color.
Surcoat lining usually contrasted with the color of the outer layer.
On the belt, the surcoat was usually intercepted with a cord or belt, which simultaneously intercepted the chain mail, shifting part of its mass from the shoulders to the hips.
There were surcoats reinforced with metal plates.
In the middle of the thirteenth century there appeared new genus armor - a plate shell that was worn over the head like a poncho, and then wrapped around the sides and fastened with ties or straps.
In front and on the sides, the shell was reinforced by a plate of iron or whalebone.

The scaly shell was rare. Scaled shells are sometimes found on book miniatures, but they are almost always worn by Saracens or
any other opponents of Christian knights.
Scales were made from iron, copper alloy, whalebone or leather.
Each scale was attached to a cloth or leather shirt in such a way that the top row of scales overlapped the bottom row.
There were several main varieties of the helmet.
A conical helmet could be forged from a single piece of iron with or without reinforcing pads, or it could consist of four segments connected by rivets, like the old German Spangen helmet.
Such segmental helmets were used in the middle of the XIII century, but even then they were considered obsolete.
By 1200 there were hemispherical and cylindrical helmets. All helmets had a nose plate and sometimes a visor.
At the end of the 12th century, the first primitive great helmets appeared. Initially, great helmets were shorter at the back than at the front, but already on the seal of Richard I there is an image of a great helmet that is equally deep both in front and behind.
Closed great helmets became more and more popular throughout the 13th century. In front there was a narrow horizontal slit for the eyes, reinforced with metal plates.
The flat bottom of the helmet was attached to it with rivets. Although the bottom of the helmet, for reasons of strength, should have been made conical or hemispherical, this shape of the helmet took root and became widespread rather late.

In the second half of the 13th century, the upper part of the helmet walls began to be slightly conical, but the bottom remained flat. Only in 1275 did large helmets appear, in which the upper part is a full, rather than a truncated cone.
By the end of the century, helmets with a hemispherical bottom also appeared.
By 1300 helmets with a visor appear.
In the middle of the 13th century, a bascinet helmet or cervelier appeared, having a spherical shape. The bascinet could be worn both over and under the mail balaclava.
In the latter case, a shock absorber was put on the head.
From the inside, all helmets had shock absorbers, although not a single sample has survived to this day. The earliest extant - shock absorbers
XIV century - represent two layers of canvas, between which horsehair, wool, hay or other similar substances are laid.
The shock absorber was either glued to the inside of the helmet, or laced through a series of holes, or secured with rivets.
The upper part of the shock absorber was adjustable in depth, allowing the helmet to be adjusted to the wearer's head so that the slots were at eye level.
At the big helmet, the lining did not fall to the level of the face, as there were ventilation holes.
On the head, the helmet was held by a chin strap.
At the end of the 12th century, a crest appeared on helmets. For example, such a helmet can be seen on the second seal of Richard I.
The crest was sometimes made from a thin sheet of iron, although wood and cloth were also used, especially on tournament helmets.
Sometimes there were voluminous combs made of whalebone, wood, fabric and leather.

In the Middle Ages, a helmet was an invariable and most important attribute of knightly armor. In addition to its main purpose ─ to protect the head of the owner, it also served to intimidate opponents, and in some cases it was a distinction during tournaments and battles, where it was difficult to make out who was who in the general crowd. For this reason, gunsmiths tried to endow each of their products with features inherent only to it, and often real works of art appeared in their workshops.

Helmets of the inhabitants of the Ancient World

The oldest prototypes of future knightly helmets dating back to the 3rd millennium BC. e., discovered during the excavations of Ur ─ largest city Sumerian civilization. Their appearance in that era was made possible thanks to enough high level metal processing technologies.

However, helmets made of gold and copper were extremely expensive and out of reach for most warriors. Therefore, the bulk of the warriors used special headdresses made of leather and linen, reinforced with copper plates only in the most vulnerable places.

The birthplace of iron helmets, which appeared in the VIII ─ VII century BC, were two states Ancient World- Assyria and Urartu. There, for the first time, gunsmiths began to abandon bronze and preferred cheaper and durable material- iron. The workshops made steel helmets of a spherical shape, however, they were able to completely displace their bronze predecessors only in the 1st millennium BC. e.

Armor as a symbol of the era

Historians note a very paradoxical fact: the heyday of the production of knightly armor, and in particular helmets, falls on the period of the Late Middle Ages, that is, the XIV ─ XV century, when chivalry itself has already lost its significance as the main fighting force.

Thus, the numerous armors presented in various museums of the world and sometimes being true masterpieces of weapons art, for the most part, are only decorative attributes of the era and indicators of high social status their owners.

The advent of steel helmets in Europe

The beginning of the widespread use in Europe of protective equipment made of iron is considered to be the Early Middle Ages, which, as is commonly believed, came after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. Combat helmets, created in the early period of this era, were distinguished by a characteristic feature ─ they were based on a frame of thick steel strips, on top of which metal segments were attached. Such a design provided them with reliability and simplified the manufacturing process, but also significantly increased the weight of the product.

Only in the 6th century, European gunsmiths abandoned the frame structure and switched to the manufacture of a new type of helmet, riveted or soldered from several segments. Often, the craftsmen supplemented them with nose guards ─ narrow, vertically arranged metal strips that protected the face of a warrior. This novelty was first used by the Scandinavians and Anglo-Saxons, and only over the next two centuries did it become widespread among other European peoples.

The emergence of new models of helmets

In the XII century, knightly helmets with a cylindrical crown came into use, which soon transformed into a new independent view who received for his characteristic shape the name "topfhelm", which means "pot helmet" in German. They survived until the 14th century.

Approximately in the same period, another peculiar type of helmets appeared - hats, which were metal caps with fields, the shape of which often varied depending on the taste of the master and the desire of the customer.

Since the main advantage of the hats was their relative cheapness, they were used mainly by infantry and poor mounted knights. By the way, in the 15th-16th centuries, one of the varieties of this type of helmet was used by the conquistadors ─ the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors of the New World.

Further developments of gunsmiths

The most widespread were the so-called cerveliers ─ iron hemispherical helmets, tightly fitting the head and resembling a modern helmet. They were deprived of any external protective elements, with the exception of the nasals, but at the same time they had an important advantage: pads made of thick shock-absorbing material and covered with fabric were attached to their inside. They softened the blows received by the warrior in the head.

The cerveliers remained in service with the largest European armies until the beginning of the 14th century, after which they were supplanted by domed or hemispherical helmets, bascinets, equipped with chain mail, and having many varieties. It is known that initially they, like cerveliers, were intended to be worn under the larger topfhelm helmets, which were discussed above, but over time they received independent use.

Many original helmets of this type, equipped with visors of various designs, have survived to this day. Some of their samples are equipped only with nose pads or generally have a design that did not provide for face protection. A common element has always been a chain mail frame that protected the neck and shoulders of a warrior.

Knights sung by poets

Modern researchers receive information about knightly armor and its transformation over the centuries not only on the basis of those specimens that make up the collections of the largest museums in the world, but also from the literary monuments of the Middle Ages, among which French poems occupy a special place.

Their authors paid great attention to describing not only the exploits of the heroes, but also their armor, the decoration of which sometimes had both a decorative and heraldic character. For example, not only plumes of feathers, but also rather complex designs in the form of horns and crests of fantastic animals, as well as elements of the family coats of arms of their owners, often flaunted on knightly helmets.

The appearance of helmets equipped with a visor

An important stage in the history of protective weapons was the appearance in the first quarter of the 13th century of helmets that completely protected the head and were equipped with only narrow slits for the eyes. The effectiveness of this design pushed the gunsmiths to her further development, and about a century later, knightly helmets came into use, equipped with a visor - a movable part designed to protect the face of a warrior. In the middle of the XIV century, they became an integral part of any battle armor.

When studying helmets from different eras, it catches the eye characteristic difference inherent in Western European samples. It is noted that Asia in all ages was characterized by open structures that provide soldiers with wide visibility, the same can be said about helmets. ancient rome. In Europe, on the contrary, the knights preferred reliable deaf protection of the head and face, even in cases where it created certain inconveniences.

"Dog Hood"

Gunsmiths sought to combine reliability with comfort in their products. An example of this is the type of helmets that appeared in the 14th century and was firmly established, wearing characteristic name hundsgugel, which means "dog's hood" in German.

Its peculiarity was the presence of a cone-shaped visor extended forward, in shape it really resembled the muzzle of a dog. This design served two purposes. Firstly, it made the warrior’s head more protected from arrows and spears of the enemy, which ricocheted down an inclined surface, and secondly, it made it possible to make a visor on an enlarged surface large quantity ventilation openings to make breathing easier.

Models of helmets of the Late Middle Ages

In the 15th century, despite the fact that the importance of heavy cavalry in battles declined significantly, the design of armor continued to improve, as the custom of jousting was preserved throughout Europe. At this time, the most interesting novelty was a helmet with a visor, called "armet".

Unlike the cone-shaped structures that existed at that time, this helmet had a spherical shape and a chin rest that opened into two halves, fastened during the battle with a pin. In addition, he was equipped with a second visor that moved to the back of the head and special devices that reliably protected the throat and collarbones.

Another knightly helmet, which became widespread in the era of the Late Middle Ages, is also very interesting. It is called "salad" and is a distant relative of the bascinets described above. characteristic feature These structures had a backplate ─ a part of the helmet extended back, which not only protected the warrior from blows from the rear, but also did not allow him to be pulled off the horse with special hooks designed for this purpose. Salads were made both with and without visors. In the first case, they were intended for mounted warriors, in the second, for infantry.

Combat and tournament helmets

The helmets of the Middle Ages, like all protective weapons, developed in two different ways depending on their purpose. For tournaments, heavier and more durable samples were forged, providing greater security, but not allowing them to stay in them for a long time. In particular, the widely used "toad's head" tournament model, which was one of the most reliable in the history of chivalry, but lacked proper ventilation, was designed only for short-term use, not exceeding 5 minutes. After this period, the supply of air in it dried up, and the warrior began to suffocate.

Combat weapons, which included the entire set of armor, were made in such a way as to allow the owner to be in it. long time. Based on this, in its manufacture, gunsmiths tried to give all the details the least weight. This requirement fully applied to helmets. Without sacrificing reliability, they had to be extremely light, well ventilated and provide good visibility.

In medieval times, life was not easy, clothes played an important role, in the flesh to save life.
Simple clothes made of fragile fabric were common, leather was considered a rarity, but armor was worn only by wealthy gentlemen.

Armet of Henry VIII, known as the "Horned Carapace". Innsbruck, Austria, 1511

There are several versions regarding the appearance of the first armor. Some believe that it all started with robes made of forged metal. Others are sure that wood protection should also be considered, in this case we need to remember the truly distant ancestors with stones and sticks. But most think that the armor came from those difficult times when men were knights, and women languished in anticipation of them.

Another strange shell-mask, from Augsburg, Germany, 1515.

The variety of forms and styles of medieval shells should be devoted to a separate article:

Or armor or nothing
The first armor was very simple: roughly crafted metal plates designed to protect the knight inside them from spears and swords. But gradually the weapon became more and more complicated, and the blacksmiths had to take this into account and make the armor more durable, light and flexible, until they began to possess maximum degree protection.

One of the most brilliant innovations was the improvement of chain mail. According to rumors, it was first created by the Celts many centuries ago. It was a long process that took a very long time until it was taken up by gunsmiths who took this idea to new heights. This idea is not entirely logical: instead of making armor from strong plates and very reliable metal, why not make it from several thousand carefully connected rings? It turned out great: light and durable, chain mail allowed its owner to be mobile and often was key factor how he leaves the battlefield: on a horse or on a stretcher. When plate armor was added to chain mail, the result was stunning: armor from the Middle Ages appeared.

Medieval arms race
Now it's hard to imagine that long time the knight on horseback was truly terrible weapon of that era: arriving at the scene of battle on a war horse, often also dressed in armor, he was as terrible as he was invincible. Nothing could stop such knights when they, with a sword and a spear, could easily attack almost anyone.

Here is an imaginary knight reminiscent of heroic and victorious times (drawn by the delightful illustrator John Howe):

freaky monsters
The battle became more and more "ritual", leading to the jousting we all know and love from movies and books. Armor became less useful in practice and gradually became more of a mere indicator of high social status and wealth. Only the rich or noble could afford armor, but only the truly wealthy or very wealthy baron, duke, prince, or king could afford fantastic armor of the highest quality.

Did they become especially beautiful from this? After a while, the armor began to look more like clothes for dinner than equipment for battle: impeccable metal work, precious metals, ornate coats of arms and regalia ... All this, although they looked amazing, was useless during the battle.

Just look at the armor that belongs to Henry VIII: Aren't they a masterpiece of the art of that time? The armor was designed and made, like most all armor of the time, to the size of the wearer. In Heinrich's case, however, his costume looked more noble than intimidating. And who can remember the royal armor? Looking at a set of such armor, the question arises: is it designed to fight or to show off? But to be honest, we can't blame Henry for his choice: his armor was never really designed for war.

England puts forward ideas
What is certain is that the suit of armor was a terrifying weapon of the day. But all days come to an end, and in the case of classic armor, their end was simply worse than ever.
1415, northern France: French on one side; on the other hand, the British. Although their numbers are debatable, it is generally believed that the French outnumbered the English by a ratio of about 10 to 1. For the English, under Henry (5th, forefather of the aforementioned 8th), this was not at all pleasant. Most likely, they, using the military term, will be "killed". But then something happened that not only determined the outcome of the war, but also changed Europe forever, as well as dooming armor as a primary weapon.

Plate armor has long been one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages, being calling card knights and personifying the power and wealth of the owner. The most incredible and ridiculous myths constantly arise around armor.

Armor - armor from large metal plates, anatomically repeating the male figure. Compared to other types of armor, the manufacture of such armor was the most difficult and required a considerable amount of steel, and therefore the art of making armor began to develop actively only from the middle of the 14th century.

Because of these difficulties, even in the 15th century, plate armor was not cheap and was often made to order. Of course, only representatives of the nobility could afford such a luxury, which is why the armor became a symbol of chivalry and high birth. So how effective is such armor and was it worth the money? Let's figure it out:

MYTH 1: THE ARMOR WEIGHED SO MUCH THAT THE FALLEN KNIGHT COULD NOT Rise WITHOUT HELP

This is not true. The total weight of full combat armor rarely exceeded 30 kg. The figure may seem big to you, but do not forget that the weight was evenly distributed throughout the body, moreover, men at arms, as a rule, fought on horseback. With this in mind, we get the approximate weight of the modern equipment of an army infantryman. Heavier varieties belonged to tournament armor, deliberately sacrificing mobility in favor of increasing the thickness of the armor, which reduced the risk of injury when struck by a spear or falling from a horse.
Modern reenactors have repeatedly proved that in a replica of full armor you can not only run fast, but even fencing and climb stairs.

MYTH 2: PLATE ARMOR COULD BE EASILY PUNCHED WITH CONVENTIONAL WEAPON

And this is a lie. Main distinguishing feature plate armor - excellent resistance to all types of damage. Cutting blows do not cause him any harm, unless the knight at full gallop is substituted under the blow of the reed. The piercing blows could penetrate soft, poorly hardened steel, but later armor also held the blow of the sharp end of the war hammer quite well. In addition, armor (contrary to the opinion mass culture, who likes to decorate armor with spikes and ribs) was made as smooth and streamlined as possible in order to evenly distribute the energy from the impact and thereby increase the strength of the entire structure. The really effective weapons against the man-at-arms were daggers, which, due to the shortest possible attack range, were the easiest to hit the joints of the armor, and two-handed swords, specially created as countermeasures against heavy infantry and cavalry.

In contrast, video recordings are often cited, in which the tester breaks through a plate breastplate with a morning star or a lucernhammer. It should be noted here that theoretically this is indeed possible, but it is very difficult to deliver a direct blow with a wide swing at an ideal right angle during a battle, otherwise the man-at-arms has every chance of completely or partially avoiding damage.

MYTH 3: IT IS ENOUGH TO GET INTO A VULNERABLE PLACE AND THE ARMOR WILL BE DEFEATED

That's a moot point. Yes, in plate armor there are several weak points(belt garters, gaps in the joints and joints), hitting which will in fact cause significant damage to the enemy. But it wasn't easy to do so:
Firstly, under the armor, the knights wore at least a gambeson, consisting of several layers of dense linen. It provided good protection on its own, being surprisingly strong and light, and most knights did not disdain to pull chain mail over it. Thus, the weapon had to overcome several layers of armor before reaching the body.
Secondly, gunsmiths, who quickly realized the main weakness of armor in a combat clash, tried to protect the knight from the threat as much as possible. All belts and garters were hidden deep inside the armor, special "wings" (a continuation of the cast armor plate) served as a screen for joints and joints. All parts of the armor fit together as tightly as possible, which in the crush and turmoil of major battles significantly increased the chances of survival.

SO WHAT WAS BAD PLATE ARMOR?

The main disadvantage is the exactingness of care. Due to the large area of ​​the armor itself, the metal quickly rusted, and it had to be protected from corrosion. Over time, gunsmiths learned to burn armor, which made them darker and gave good protection against oxidation. In field conditions, the armor was lubricated with oil, and in peacetime it was stored in isolated conditions, usually wrapped in several layers of cloth. Otherwise, the armor was much more effective than any analogues - frayed straps can be quickly and easily replaced, and straightening a dent on a solid plate is much easier than repairing chain mail or replacing segments in lamellar armor.
However, sometimes it was almost impossible to put on plate armor on your own, and if you were wounded, it was just as difficult to take it off. Many knights managed to bleed out from a trifling wound, which put them out of action for the entire battle.

The end of the golden age of armor came along with the beginning of the era of firearms. When the firearm appeared in service with regular armies, armor began to gradually disappear from everyday life. A lead bullet pierced such armor without any problems, although in the early stages, when the power of firearms was not great, they could still serve as a very effective defense.