Armor Summary

By Jon Longabuco

Plate armor came into use during the mid 13^th century. By the 14^th century plate armor was universally used. Plate armor was developed to protect knights in battle. Mail which is what was worn during the 12^th century, was being pierced too easily with the use of small sharp weapons, like arrows, the tips of daggers, and swords. Plate armor stopped this from occurring. The idea of plate armor was to totally protect a person.

Plate armor consisted of many pieces. A knight during the 15^th century might wear a suit of armor like the one below. Depending on where the knight is from some pieces might be slightly different. (p.139 Blood Red Roses, Fiorato, Boylston, and Knusel)

I had the opportunity to actually wear a suite of armor and mock fight while in the suite. This unique chance has given me in-depth knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of armor. It also helps me to understand the choices of what armor the knights wore into combat, depending on what the weather was like and how long they were expected to be in battle for.

Wearing armor for an extended period of time is tiring, especially if you are standing the whole time. The armor weight is between 40-60lbs. This is less then what an infantry soldier carries today. You would need great endurance to be able to fight in a full set of armor for extended lengths. The armor gets very hot when moving around. It is also hard to breathe in with the visor down on the helmet.

It took us about three hours to film the armored combat sequences. This is mostly due to the fact that we need to take two or three breaks. We needed to drink lots of water and cool down a bit. Being able to sit down, take our helmets off, and catch our breaths was very welcomed.

Included below is a picture of the weak points in the armor, or the points at which you would be able to strike your opponent. There are points in the armor that are not protected by plate but instead are protected by mail under the plate. Getting around the plate armor and forcing through the mail protection is possible and how one knight would usually kill another.

Armor, although protecting the body against most attacks using weapons, does very little when you are fighting using wrestling techniques, or hand to hand combat. It is just as easy, or easier to take down your opponent while in armor. The joints of the armor are meant to bend and flex with the body and because of this breaking the arm at the elbow or wrist is very possible through the armor. More advantages and disadvantages to wearing armor can be found in our IQP document.