Enemies jumped on such a warrior, chopped him with sabers, stabbed him with knives, and he sat as if nothing had happened and looked ironically at his enemies. If he was pulled off a horse by the leg, he did not get lost either: he lay on the ground and looked ironically at his enemies. Having fussed fruitlessly over the knight for several hours, the enemies scratched their heads and, cursing, rushed at other enemies, and faithful servants approached the winner and pulled him onto his horse again.

With the invention of gunpowder, the affairs of the brave, reserved knights completely fell into decline. As soon as you pulled such a knight off his horse and put two pounds of gunpowder under him, he immediately opened up, fell into pieces and became completely unusable.

A. Averchenko, “World History processed by Satyricon”

Full armor is a magnificent armor that has amazed the imagination of descendants for centuries, covered in an aura of romance. In the mass consciousness, he is inextricably linked with the image of a knight. But ironically, they appeared too late, at the end of the 14th century, when firearms were already rapidly developing, and in less than two centuries they turned from military equipment into a decorative element of palaces.

How does armor work?

Plate armor, depending on the time and place of its creation, varies quite a lot, but its basic elements are unchanged.

Parts of armor

The warrior's head was protected by a full helmet with visor- usually it was salad, armet or bourguignot, movably connected to a segmented neck necklaces, completely covering the neck.

Chest covered bib, and the back - backrest, which could be solid, bipartite or, occasionally, segmented. Often the breastplate was made convex to make the piercing strike more likely to slip off. A hook was often attached to the breastplate of horse armor on the right, on which a spear held under the arm rested.

The shoulders were protected by massive shoulder pads, arms - solid or segmented bracers with mandatory elbow pad, brushes - plate gloves. Often attached to the shoulder pad axillary discs who protected the vulnerable armpits.

At the level of the belt, it was attached to the breastplate and backrest. skirt, covering the lower part of the body, and legguards, covering the hips in front. In equestrian armor, the skirt had deep cutouts in the front and back; in dismounted armor, it could be longer.

Leggings consisted of nalyadvennikov, covering the thighs from the outside and in front (the inner thighs were almost never covered by them), knee pads, greaves, covering the entire lower leg, and plate shoes. A frequent detail of German foot armor was a huge forged codpiece, which shamelessly exaggerated the owner’s manhood.

A quilted one was worn under the armor gambeson, sometimes chain mail was worn over it, which was quickly abandoned due to its excessive weight. However, chainmail elements were preserved in many types of armor; the chainmail mesh protected the armpits and, in the armor of riders, the groin. Due to the rigidity of the armor, significantly lower requirements were placed on the thickness of the underarmor than in the case of chain mail.

a - helmet, b - visor, c - chin, d - neck,
e—back edge of the crown, f—necklace, g—breastplate,
h — backrest, i — skirt, k — shoulder pad, l — shoulder pad reinforcement, m — anti-decapitation guard, n — bracer, o — elbow pad,
p - glove, q - mount for pike, r - greave, s - knee pad, t - greave, u - sabaton shoe, v - chain mail protection

Assembly

The elements of the plate armor were forged, the thickness of the steel in the combat armor averaged one and a half to two millimeters. The plates of tournament armor, not intended for long-term wear, were often made even thicker. At the end of the 16th century, at the end of heavy cavalry, a futile attempt was made to make armor reliable protection against bullets - the thickness of the breastplate increased to 3-6 millimeters.

The armor pieces were connected either by riveted pins or by strips of thick leather, to which the plates were riveted alternately, overlapping each other. On the warrior’s body, the elements of armor were fixed either with belts with buckles, or by connecting them with detachable pins.

Armor of the Earl of Worcester.

Through proper fitting, high mobility at the joints, uniform weight distribution and overall rigidity of the armor were simultaneously achieved, allowing it to withstand impact. The evolution of armor followed the path of integration of individual parts of armor; in the most successful versions, their parts organically complement each other and, after joining, form a single whole.

Attention - myth: It is believed that the armor was so heavy that a knight who fell from his horse could not rise to his feet on his own and remained lying there, unable to move. And the squires had to put him on a horse. In fact, the weight of combat plate armor rarely exceeds twenty kilograms, the load turns out to be very comfortably distributed, and such problems do not arise. Moreover, the Landsknecht armor intended for infantry, which appeared at the beginning of the 16th century, was practically no different from knightly armor. Perhaps this misconception arose from a superficial acquaintance with tournament armor, which was sometimes really quite heavy (forty or more kilograms) and was in no way intended for real combat.

Usually the armor plates were smooth. Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I invented fluted armor, later called Maximilian or (completely incorrectly) Gothic. Thanks to the corrugated surface, such armor was better able to withstand cutting and piercing blows (and could even withstand a bullet, if not at point-blank range), but it was much more difficult to manufacture and was not widely used.

Many artists, depicting various kinds of villains, abundantly supply their armor with spikes and blades, jagged edges and other sinister but useless additions. In addition to their terrifying appearance, their “use” apparently lies in the fact that the enemy, who manages to engage in a wrestling match with the owner, will find himself pretty scarred. In fact, this is suicide armor: any extra protrusion that an enemy’s weapon can catch on is a potential threat to the owner of the armor, since it has a chance to turn a glancing blow into a penetrating blow or tear off part of the armor. It is no coincidence that gunsmiths tried to make armor as smooth as possible so that most blows would slip off.

This is interesting: perhaps the only somewhat popular variant of a large protrusion on armor is the famous wings of the Polish hussars (they were, of course, worn with incomplete armor). There is an opinion that they protected against... lasso. But the wings were worn from behind, where they are capable of causing relatively little harm to their owner, not like from the front or side.

Not just for people

A warrior in light armor rarely took the trouble to protect his horse as well: after all, the extra load slows him down greatly, and horse armor weighs much more than human armor. In ancient times, however, a horse harnessed to the war chariot of a noble warrior was protected by a head and breastplate (usually leather); sometimes this was done with the horse of a Greek cataphract heavy cavalryman.

An unusual version of horse armor - with holes in the neck and closed sides. However, this armor has never been used in battle.

In the era of armor, an asymmetrical answer was found to overweighting armor: aim not at the rider, but at the horse. It will be hard for someone who has fallen and is wearing armor, and will he still have time to get up? Therefore, it was necessary to protect the horses, and, of course, appropriate horses were needed for this.

In horse armor, the horse's head was protected by a solid headband, or champron, covering her right up to the neck, and in the most complex versions there were ear tubes, protecting the animal's ears, and the eye holes of the headrest were closed eye bars.

The neck was covered finally(aka Crinier), consisting of plates overlapping each other. The horse's chest was covered with a massive bib - forbug with lower edges protruding forward, shaped like the blade of a snowblower.

The horse's croup covered nakrupnik-geliger, whole or consisting of two halves. The kantz and geliger were attached with their rear edges to the saddle, equipped with high bows that helped the rider stay in the saddle during an impact.

Horse sides were protected less often, and even if they were protected, it was more often with leather plates - flanchards. The fact is that, firstly, the side of the horse is exposed to a relatively lesser threat (and is partially covered by the saddle and the rider), and secondly, it is difficult to control through the armor (they control a draft horse without the help of their legs, but not a riding one!).

This entire intricate structure was often covered with a fabric “cover” on top. This, in theory, should prevent you from seeing holes in the horse’s armor (which are almost always there), and then it’s just beautiful.

There is another unusual piece of horse armor: protection... of the bridle. It is difficult to say how often the bits were cut in battle, but, in any case, special guards for them were in use.

Non-combat armor

Plate armor gave gunsmiths enormous scope for artistic creativity - the splendor of the armor of kings and generals amazes the imagination. Ceremonial armor was polished to a mirror shine and decorated with exquisite ornaments, coats of arms and mottos of the owner, flowers and heraldic animals - engraving and blackening, enamel, gilding and inlay with non-ferrous metals were used.

Armor was made even for children... if they were heirs to the throne. This armor does not even reach 130 cm in height.

In the sixteenth century, the so-called “costume” armor appeared, the bracers of which imitated the fluffy slotted sleeves that were fashionable at that time, and the breastplates and legguards were decorated with metal poufs.

No other attire of the ruler, in terms of the degree of impression made, perhaps comes close to the ceremonial armor, emphasizing both wealth and nobility, and the courage and belligerence of the ruler. Therefore, it is no coincidence that in ceremonial portraits of the 17th-18th centuries, many commanders and sovereigns appear before us in armor, which has long lost any practical significance...

Separately, it is worth mentioning tournament armor, which in essence was real sports equipment, as unsuitable for combat as a modern sports sword.

For obvious reasons, these armor reached subsequent generations in large quantities and had a significant influence on the emergence of many modern prejudices. Since they were not required to be worn for a long time, and the knights did not want to receive serious wounds at the tournament, they were made much heavier (the weight reached forty kilograms or more), and were equipped with additional elements that protected them from the most likely dangers. For example, armor for equestrian duels had an extremely reinforced and enlarged left shoulder pad.

As a result, the mobility of individual parts of the body could be severely limited, which could be fatal in a real battle. In such armor, the knight was indeed clumsy and often could not get into the saddle without outside help (although it is worth saying that there were tournament armor for foot fights). Of course, only those who really could afford such equipment wealthy people, the poorer knights competed in ordinary battle armor - and were often injured.

Is it worth wearing armor?

Sure, but only when you can afford it. This is the best armor available, but it requires a lot from its owner. The rider needs to have a horse that can not only support his weight in armor, but also for a long time to stay in shape, and for the kit - and a second, simpler one, for long treks. A personal squire or servant is also very desirable (also on a horse or at least on a “beautiful mule”). A horse, at least a fighting horse, must be fed with oats; it will not last long on pasture, and again the fodder must be carried with you or obtained, which is not always possible. So the hackneyed image of a lone paladin in full armor wandering through the wilderness on his faithful (and also very armored) horse is very utopian.

Charles I of England had a chance to use this armor on the battlefield. True, not for long.

Weapon for breaking through armor.

A foot-at-arms soldier does not need a horse, but must carry, in addition to armor, weapons and supplies - with appropriate training this is quite possible, but it is better to let everything unnecessary ride on a cart. Therefore, full plate armor remained the prerogative of military leaders and the elite: knights and selected, trained heavy infantry. In the “battles” of the Swiss and Landsknechts, only the best warriors in the front ranks were dressed in full armor; those in the rear were content with incomplete armor.

The main advantage of plate armor is, of course, the maximum protection of a warrior. This is perhaps the most advanced of all the armor created by mankind.

Plate armor resists slashing weapons extremely well, and somewhat worse against piercing and impact weapons. It was almost impossible to pierce the breastplate with a blow from a dagger or cut through it with a sword; the solid metal of the armor negated the cutting effect of curved blades.

An important advantage of the armor was that, thanks to the sloping surfaces of the armor, an inaccurately delivered blow was converted into a glancing blow. To cause serious damage with conventional weapons, it was necessary to precisely hit the joint.

It is with the advent of full armor that the spread of special “armor-piercing” types of weapons is associated - klevtsov, stabbing swords, konchars, alshpis, stilettos; Battle axes are becoming popular again.

Plate protects well from arrows, with the exception of heavy crossbow ones. Arrows with leaf-shaped tips practically did not penetrate them - this required special conical or faceted tips. Early bullets firearms often squashed against the bibs without breaking through them.

Of course, the degree of invulnerability of knights in armor is often exaggerated many times over. There are often stories about how rebel peasants or townspeople, having knocked a knight off his horse, could not do anything with his armor for a long time and were forced to deal with him in some non-standard way - for example, by drowning him in a pond. However, the Swiss infantrymen, who feared the knights and were forbidden to take prisoners on pain of death, apparently did not experience such difficulties.

John of Gaunt's armor (kept in the Tower of London). This brave knight was more than 210 cm tall; who said that in the Middle Ages all people were much lower than us?

As firearms developed, the advantage provided by plate armor quickly faded away. Full armor turns into three-quarter armor, then into half armor. First of all, the protection of the legs is abandoned, and finally the reverse evolution of the armor ends with the cavalry guard's cuirass, consisting only of a backplate and a breastplate.

Plate armor that is well tailored to the wearer’s figure somewhat limits, but practically does not impede movement, the weight of the armor is distributed evenly, and it can be worn without taking it off long time. Landsknechts in full armor, which did not differ in weight from knightly armor, made long walks on foot.

Armor significantly limits the speed of movement - you can’t run in it for a long time, and a horse under armor also gets tired quickly. Plate armor cannot be put on or taken off quickly, especially without assistance - it is better to have someone else tighten the numerous straps. When removed, they take up a lot of space; you can’t put them in a bag like chain mail.

British armets.

Making plate armor is a complex and lengthy process, requiring a significant level of skill from the gunsmith, so plates have always been a piece product and were expensive.

The armor should fit well with the wearer's figure and should ideally be made to order. To adapt plate armor to a new owner, the help of a professional armorer was usually required. Although it is difficult to damage such armor, it is no less difficult to repair it: it is very difficult to reforge the severed elements, and often they had to be replaced. The most that can be done in camping conditions is to straighten out dents and replace torn fastening straps.

Plate is armor for temperate climates; in warm weather it is hot, the metal quickly heats up in the sun, and there is a very real prospect of heat stroke. To combat this, they tried to make slots in the plates, but this did not give much effect. In cold weather, and even more so in frost - it’s even worse; with active movements, a person still sweats due to the weight of the armor, and the mass of frozen metal takes away body heat - pneumonia is not far off. Moreover, you can’t wear anything other than a cloak over plate armor.

Finally, the armor must be regularly lubricated and cleaned, which is not at all easy - rust appears first of all in hard-to-reach joints, so cleaning the armor takes considerable time.

Plate of other worlds

World of Warcraft.

In fantasy worlds, armor is usually a standard attribute of noble knighthood and elite warriors of the dark lords. Like any other armor, it can be made from super-strong metals such as adamantite, and the large number of flat surfaces allows it to be abundantly inscribed with sacred writing, ominous runes and mysterious hexagrams, giving it additional strength, fire-resistant and water-repellent properties.

In the worlds of steampunk, somewhat lightweight armor, equipped with built-in arresters, spring amplifiers and patented bisections, serves as both armor, weapons and tools for mad professors and fighters for world domination.

Finally, thanks to the romantic areola enveloping the plate armor, in the distant future it is resurrected again in the form of the battle armor of Space Marines and inhuman aliens.

Full plate is an excellent armor for large creatures, since in this case the thickness of the plates can be increased so much that it will be completely unrealistic for a person not armed with a magic sword or, at worst, a jackhammer. This is why most fantasy authors avoid giving armor to ogres and trolls, limiting it to hides or, say, rusty chainmail.

Warhammer: Mark of Chaos.

In the world Warhammer full plate armor is well known, but available only to a select few - worn by knights of the Empire, "ironbreakers" of the Dwarves, warriors of Chaos and Dragon Princes of the High Elves. But in Bretonnia, famous for its knightly traditions, there is no plate armor, as it should be.

In the world Wheels of Time Full plate armor is worn only by the Shienarans - professional heavy cavalry honing their skills in the ongoing war with the Trollocs.

The armor of the warriors of Gondor, as we see it in Peter Jackson, is also, in essence, almost full plate; judging by the book, however, they are somewhat easier. This is also indicated by the fact that horse armor in middle earth not seen.

Knights of the Temple from armor also love Elenia David Eddings, with the exception of the northern Talesians: such armor is too heavy for their mountains. By the way, they manage to do without squires: in the entire Order of Pandion there is only one squire - for the Queen's Knight.

Plate in games

Neverwinter Nights 2.

IN computer games They love armor extremely much: they look great, and, whatever one may say, they are easier to make than in real life (and it’s not difficult to animate). Therefore, there are a huge number of games in which they exist. At times, they even dress up representatives of peoples who, in principle, had nothing of the kind: Vikings, Russians, even Turks.

It’s just that the armor usually looks so unhistorical that it’s enough to grab your head. All these spikes, protrusions and other decorations in reality would not only expose their wearer to attack, but would not even give them a chance to move at all normally.

So, for example, in World of Warcraft The popular design of shoulder pads is made in the form of raised “wings”: such shoulder pads accurately direct even the most inaccurate blow to the neck of their owner. It is clear why ascetic paladins wear them - this is natural mortification of the flesh in the most literal sense. The real prototype of such wings are small “anti-decapitation” protrusions, which easily bent when hit from above and certainly did not result in a blow to the neck, or at most to the shoulder. They served as a counterweight to the popular sword strike from below and from the side.

In case the blow does not hit the shoulder pad, there is such a wonderful decoration as horns on the helmet. No one has ever worn this either: even if the horn does not deflect a blow to the crown, it has every chance of causing a neck fracture. The Vikings (who are usually credited with such stupidity) wore wings on their helmets, not horns. And these wings were made of natural feathers - they simply fell off upon impact.

The plate skirt is often replaced with trousers made of rings or pipes, carefully covering the inner thighs. It is very uncomfortable to move in such “samovar pipes”, and it is almost impossible to sit on a horse.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Until recently, in role-playing games, armor did little to limit a warrior. They, of course, prevent you from moving silently, but the “tank” is already not comfortable with this, and they also do not allow you to cast spells - which warriors, as a rule, cannot do anyway. Therefore, armor was worn by all sword and ax workers who were able to get it; to preserve other types of armor, armor was only allowed to be worn by certain classes of characters.

In the third edition of D&D, armor slows down movement and also significantly limits the benefits of a fighter’s agility; this is a much more correct model, and artificial frames are no longer so necessary. A number of games quickly embraced this idea. It’s scary to think, but even in the recent “ The Witcher"we are talking quite seriously about heavy armor for Main character!

The protective plus of armor is usually one and a half to two times higher than that of chain mail, and three to five times higher than that of leather armor. Some games (for example, many MUDs) give armor the effect of reducing damage from blows.

The idea of ​​"mysterious metals" for armor was greatly expanded upon by role-playing games. In them you can see such miracles as... bone, wood and even glass armor. But there are no tin ones!

In strategies, the role of armor is most easily described as follows: an almost indispensable attribute of knights and other heavy cavalry. They usually look more modest and decent there than in role-playing games (although the armor of Chaos knights is from Warhammer: Mark of Chaos can compete with any wonders of World of Warcraft). Additionally, armor in strategy games is usually observed from a greater distance than in role-playing games.

It’s safe to say that we will see a lot more armor in games - but, oddly enough, almost all of them will be very little like the real thing. Typical knight helmet designs, for example, are still largely absent from games; fictional ones seem much more interesting to developers. Most likely, this will continue to be the case: after all, armor provides artists with unlimited scope for imagination.

They preferred armor. Chain armor began to lose its relevance when longbows and crossbows were invented. Their penetrating power was so great that the mesh of metal rings became useless. Therefore, I had to protect myself with solid metal sheets. Later, when firearms took a dominant position, armor was also abandoned. The rules were dictated by military progress, and the gunsmiths only adapted to them.

A knight in chain mail with a surcoat over it
There are espaulers on the shoulders (the ancestors of epaulettes)

At first, chain mail covered only the chest and back. Then it was complemented with long sleeves and mittens. By the 12th century, chain mail stockings appeared. So almost all parts of the body were protected. But the most important thing is the head. The helmet covered her, but her face remained open. Then they made a solid helmet that also covered the face. But in order to put it on, a thick fabric cap was first put on the head. A chain mail headdress was pulled over him. And on top they placed a metal riveted helmet on his head.

Naturally, my head was very hot. After all, the inside of the helmet was also covered with suede. Therefore, many holes were made in it for ventilation. But this did not help much, and the knights tried to remove the heavy metal protection from their heads immediately after the battle.

Knight's helmets of the 12th-13th centuries

The shields were made in a teardrop shape. Knight's coats of arms were applied to them. The coats of arms were also displayed on special shoulder shields - espaulers. They were subsequently replaced by epaulettes. The espaulers themselves were made not of metal, but of leather, and performed purely decorative functions. Helmet decorations were made of wood and covered with leather. Most often they were made in the form of horns, eagle wings or figures of people and animals.

The knight's weapons included a spear, sword, and dagger. The handles of the swords were long so that they could be grasped with two hands. Sometimes used instead of a sword falchion. This is a cutting blade similar in shape to a machete.

Falchion on top and two knight's swords

At the end of the 12th century, the first armor for horses appeared. These were first quilted and then chain mail blankets. A mask was pulled over the animal's face. It was usually made from leather and covered with paint.

In the 13th century, leather plates began to be applied to chain mail. They were made from several layers of boiled leather. They were added only to the arms and legs. And, of course, surcoat. This was a very important item of clothing. It was a fabric caftan that was worn over armor. Rich knights sewed themselves surcoats from the most expensive fabrics. They were decorated with coats of arms and emblems.

This type of clothing was required. According to the concepts of Catholic morality, undisguised by anything Knight armour were akin to a naked body. Therefore, appearing in them in public was considered indecent. That's why they were covered with cloth. In addition, the white fabric reflected Sun rays, and the metal heated up less on hot summer days.

Knight in armor

Knights in armor

As already mentioned, in the second half of the 13th century, large bows and crossbows appeared. The bow reached 1.8 meters in height, and an arrow fired from it pierced chain mail at a distance of 400 meters. Crossbows were not as powerful. They pierced armor at a distance of 120 meters. Therefore, we had to gradually abandon chain mail, and they were replaced by solid metal armor.

The swords have also changed. Previously they were slashing, but now they have become piercing. The sharp end could pierce the joint of the plates and hit the enemy. They began to attach visors to helmets in the shape of an elongated cone. This shape prevented arrows from hitting the helmet. They slid along the metal, but did not pierce it. Helmets of this shape began to be called Bundhugels or "dog faces".

By the beginning of the 15th century, armor had completely replaced chain mail, and knightly armor had taken on a different quality. Metal began to be decorated with gilding and niello. If the metal was undecorated, it was called “white.” Helmets continued to be improved.

From left to right: arme, bundhugelam, bikok

The helmet was quite original bicock. His visor did not rise, but opened like a door. It was considered the strongest and most expensive helmet arme. He withstood any blows. It was invented by Italian masters. True, it weighed about 5 kg, but the knight felt absolutely safe in it.

Entire schools of craftsmen appeared who competed with each other in the manufacture of armor. Italian armor was very different in appearance from German and Spanish. And they had very little in common with the English ones.

As the craftsmanship improved, so did the price. The armor was getting more and more expensive. Therefore, armor sets came into fashion. That is, you could order the full set, or you could only pay for part of it. The number of parts in such prefabricated armor reached up to 200. The weight of a complete set sometimes reached 40 kg. If a person shackled in them fell, he could no longer get up without outside help.

But we must not forget that people get used to everything. The knights felt quite comfortable in their armor. All you had to do was walk around in them for two weeks, and they became like family. It should also be noted that after the appearance of armor, shields began to disappear. A professional warrior, clad in iron plates, no longer needed this type of protection. The shield lost its relevance, since the armor itself served as a shield.

Time passed, and knightly armor gradually turned from a means of protection into a luxury item. This was due to the advent of firearms. The bullet pierced the metal. Of course, the armor could be made thicker, but in this case its weight increased significantly. And this had a negative impact on both horses and riders.

At first they fired stone bullets from matchlock guns, and later lead bullets. And even if they did not pierce the metal, they made large dents on it and rendered the armor unusable. Therefore, by the end of the 16th century, knights in armor became rare. And at the beginning of the 17th century they disappeared completely.

All that remains of the armor is individual elements. These are metal breastplates (cuirasses) and helmets. The main striking force in European armies became arquebusiers and musketeers. The sword replaced the sword, and the pistol replaced the spear. A new stage of history began, in which there was no longer a place for knights dressed in armor.

Gothic armor, Germany, 15th century

Milanese armor, Italy, 16th century

Armor of the winged hussars, Poland, 16th century

Different types armor as museum exhibits

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

Because of these difficulties, plate armor, even in the 15th century, was not cheap and was often made to personal order. Of course, only members of the nobility could afford such luxury, which is why 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 a fallen knight could not get up without help.

This is wrong. The total weight of full battle armor rarely exceeded 30 kg. The figure may seem large to you, but do not forget that the weight was evenly distributed throughout the body, and besides, men-at-arms, as a rule, fought on horses. Taking this into account, we get the approximate weight of modern equipment for an army infantryman. Heavier varieties were classified as tournament armor, deliberately sacrificing mobility in favor of increasing the thickness of the armor, which reduced the risk of injury when hit 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 climbing ladders.

Myth 2: Plate armor could be easily penetrated by conventional weapons

And that's a lie. The main distinguishing feature of plate armor is its excellent resistance to all types of damage. Cutting blows do not cause him any harm, unless a knight at full gallop exposes himself to the blow of a bird. Piercing blows could pierce soft, poorly hardened steel, but later armor also withstood the blow of a sharp end quite well. war hammer. In addition, the armor (contrary to the opinion of mass culture, which loves 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. For real effective means against the armored man there were daggers, which, due to the shortest attack distance, are 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 provided in which the tester pierces a plate breastplate with a morning star or Lucernehammer. 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 a perfectly right angle during a battle, and otherwise the man-at-arms has every chance of completely or partially avoiding damage.

Myth 3: It’s enough just to get into a weak spot, and the armored man will be defeated

This controversial issue. Yes, there are several weak points in plate armor (belt garters, gaps in joints and joints), hitting which will actually cause significant damage to the enemy. But this was not at all easy to do:

Firstly, under the armor the knights wore at least a gambeson, consisting of several layers of dense linen material. He provided good protection itself, being surprisingly strong and light, and most knights did not hesitate to put chain mail over it. Thus, the weapon had to overcome several layers of armor before reaching the body.

Secondly, the gunsmiths, who quickly realized the main weakness of armor in a combat encounter, tried to protect the knight as much as possible from the threat. All belts and garters were hidden deep inside the armor, special “wings” (an extension of the cast armor plate) served as a screen for the joints and joints. All parts of the armor fit together as closely as possible, which in the hustle and bustle of large battles significantly increased the chances of survival.

So what was wrong with plate armor?

The main disadvantage is the requirement for care. Due to the large area of ​​the armor itself, the metal quickly rusted and had to be protected from corrosion. Over time, gunsmiths learned to blue the armor, which made it darker and provided 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 material. 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, it was sometimes 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 to death from a trivial wound, which put them out of action for the entire battle.

The end of the golden age of armor came with the beginning of the era of firearms. When firearms appeared in the arsenal of regular armies, armor began to gradually disappear from use. A lead bullet penetrated such armor without special problems, although in the early stages, when the power of firearms was small, they could still serve as very effective protection.

Plate limb protection appeared at the beginning of the 14th century in Spain and Portugal as an improvement on the bracers and greaves they borrowed from the Arabs during the Reconquista.

At first, leather bracers and greaves were borrowed as the easiest to manufacture (in the rest of Europe, these leather bracers and greaves did not gain popularity), and then, as soon as they learned to forge metal ones, which at first were almost flat, slightly curved plates, they were immediately improved by adding the same plates covered the hips and shoulders (the part of the arm between the elbow and shoulder joints), thereby receiving primitive armor protection for the arms and legs. The previously appeared fragile rectangular shields, ailettes, reminiscent of shoulder straps, covered with heraldry and made using the same technology as real wooden shields, were then used as shoulder pads. Soon they learned to forge real tubular bracers and greaves, protection for the hips and shoulders became more perfect, and real metal shoulder pads began to be used instead of ailettes.

Plate arms and legs, which appeared at the beginning of the 14th century, were worn together with the brigantine until the last quarter of the 14th century simply because, due to the fall of Rome, Europe forgot how to forge a cuirass. In this connection, the knights in “buckets” (out of use by the end of the 14th century) with clearly armored arms and legs that appear in some miniatures and frescoes are actually dressed not in armor at all, but in brigantines, dressed with armored arms and legs. . And only at the end of the 14th century, with the advent of the cuirass, the first plate armor appeared (the first plate armor, called white armor), which was a cuirass worn with a plate skirt, plate protection of the limbs and a helmet.

• White armor

White armor- any white armor

White armor- any armor that is not blued, covered with fabric and not painted at the same time

White armor(English) white armor, German alwite) - the first and early full armor, late XIV-early XV centuries, named to distinguish them from brigantines. Evolved in Italy into pot-bellied Milanese armor, and in Germany in angular cast-in-breast.

Early armor, called white armor, show similarities with both Milanese armor, and kasten-brust, while in appearance they are more similar to Milanese armor, and in the design of connecting the breastplate of the cuirass with its navel to kasten-brust. In Milanese armor, the navel is located on top of the breastplate; in white armor, the navel (if there was one) was located, as in the caste-brust, under the breastplate. Moreover, depending on the region, the cuirass could be either pot-bellied, like the Milanese armor, or with a sagging chest (convex at the bottom), like a cast-in-breast, but without the angularity inherent in a cast-in-brest. The plate skirt was similar to the Milanese one, but often without tassets, in some versions showing similarities with short versions of the cast-in-brust skirts. Unlike Milanese armor and caste-breasts, white armor worn not with plate gauntlets, but with plate gloves. The grand bascinet was usually worn as a helmet - a reliable helmet resting on the shoulders, characteristic of both caste-breasts and Milanese armor in the Italic style. alla francese (a la French). But at the same time, the visor of the grand bascinet often had not the classic round shape, but the pointed shape of the Hundsgugel, again combined with a pointed nape, instead of a round one.

Complete early armor has not survived to this day, and individual surviving parts can also be interpreted as parts of early Milanese armor.

• Milanese armor

Milanese armor- full plate Italian armor, which appeared at the end of the 14th century and existed until the beginning of the 16th century. This is the first type of armor in which armor (steel plates) covered the entire body. Design Features:

• helmet of the “armet” type, initially - armet with rondel, later armet, sallet or other versions of the helmet;
• large elbow pads, which made it possible to abandon the shield;
• asymmetrical shoulder pads, in some samples covering each other on the back;
• plate gauntlets with long bells.

• Castaing-Brust (armor)

Kastenbrust(German) Kastenbrust- literally “box-shaped chest”) - German armor of the first half of the 15th century. In addition to the box-shaped chest, this armor was characterized by a helmet - a grand bascinet (a round helmet resting on the shoulders, with a visor perforated below the visual slits), a very long plate skirt and plate gauntlets.

Despite the presence of a large number of pictorial sources that clearly prove the prevalence of this armor in Germany in the first half of the 15th century (that is, before the advent of gothic armor in the second half of the 15th century), very little armor has survived to this day. And until recently it was believed that the only surviving example kastenbrust located in the Vienna City Hall and dating from 1440 (the helmet, part of the arm protection (including gauntlets) and some other parts of the armor are lost). But recently kastenbrust from Glasgow, previously considered a fake, was found to be genuine based on metallographic analysis.

As for the cuirass stored in the Metropolitan of New York, there is no clear opinion whether it can be attributed to kastenbrustam. In addition, some researchers, in particular Evart Oakeshott, who wrote “European Weapons and Armor. from the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution", use a more strict definition of what to count kastenbrust, according to which neither the kastenbrust from Vienna nor the kastenbrust from Glasgow are classified as kastenbrust due to the lack of angularity.

• Warwick armor

The armor from the tombstone of Richard Beauchamp, 5th (13th) Earl of Warwick, gave historians reason to talk about a separate type of armor. However, the presence of an absolutely identical image in the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Mantua suggests that this is most likely one of the options for export armor, made in Italy for English feudal lords and knights. Its main distinctive features:

• Cuirass with characteristic stampings, obviously stiffening ribs;
• Instead of an armet, a “toad’s head” is depicted, but in battle it was most likely the classic armet of that time that was used;
• The legguards are made of five segments. Obviously, this trait was subsequently transferred to greenwich armor English gunsmiths.

• Gothic armor

Gothic armor- German armor of the second half of the 15th century, characteristic feature of which are sharp corners, especially noticeable on the elbow pads, sabatons (plate shoes) and gloves, as well as a salad helmet, in versions without a crest, very similar in outline to the German helmet. In addition, as a rule, this type of armor had conspicuous corrugations and corrugations, which increased the strength of the armor as stiffening ribs. Another feature of the armor that is not striking was that this armor was designed to provide maximum freedom of movement, for example, the cuirass was designed to allow free bending and unbending. The only exceptions were the half-gloves-half-mittens of some armor, which better protect the fingers than a glove, but are more mobile than a mitten, in which the large phalanges of the four fingers of the hand consisted of one relief plate, while the remaining phalanges could move freely.

Sometimes this type of armor is called German Gothic, and its contemporary Milanese armor- Italian Gothic, based on the fact that outside of Germany and Italy, Italian and German parts of armor were sometimes mixed (this was especially often done in England), resulting in armor that had mixed features. The argument against this use of terminology is that Milanese armor existed (with minor design changes) both before and after gothic armor(gothic armor existed from the middle of the 15th century, and in the first years of the 16th century - before the appearance Maximilian armor, A Milanese armor from the end of the 14th century and continued to be worn at the beginning of the 16th century).

By style, Gothic armor is divided into high and low Gothic, as well as late and early. About some misconceptions:

• Some people mistakenly believe that Gothic armor is characterized by the absence of tassets, but in fact this is a feature of the most famous examples - there are lesser known examples of Gothic armor in which tassets are not lost.
• It is usually believed that high Gothic requires abundant fluting, but there are examples of high Gothic that have the characteristic silhouette of high Gothic, but do not have fluting (in particular, such are found both among those forged by Prunner and among those forged by Helmschmidt, who were at that time one of the most famous armor smiths).
• Late Gothic and high Gothic are not the same thing; cheap examples of late Gothic sometimes have signs of low Gothic.

• Maximilian armor

Maximilian armor- German armor of the first third of the 16th century (or 1515-1525, if characteristic corrugation is considered mandatory), named after Emperor Maximilian I, as well as with a hint of maximum protection. Moreover, the name “Maximilian” does not mean that any armor worn by Maximilian I is Maximilian.

In appearance, Maximilian armor is similar to Italian armor in the Italic style. alla tedesca (a la Germanic), but created in Germany/Austria under the influence of Italian armor, famous for its reliability and protection (in return for sacrificing freedom of movement). With external outlines that make it look like Milanese armor(adjusted for the different bend of the cuirass), has design features inherited from the German gothic armor, such as an abundance of stiffening ribs (made by corrugation), allowing for a more durable structure with less weight. At the same time, the armor, unlike the Gothic one, like the Milanese one, was made not from small, but from large plates, which is associated with the spread of firearms, which is why it was necessary to sacrifice the famous flexibility and freedom of movement of the Gothic armor for the sake of the ability to withstand a bullet fired from a distance . Due to this, a knight in such armor could be reliably hit from the handguns of that time only by shooting at point-blank range, despite the fact that very strong nerves were needed in order not to shoot prematurely at an attacking knight on an armored horse, which could trample without resorting to weapons . Also playing a role was the low accuracy of the firearms of that time, and the fact that they fired with a slight and, most importantly, almost unpredictable delay (the gunpowder on the seed shelf does not ignite and burn instantly), which made it impossible to target the vulnerable spots of a moving rider. In addition to creating stiffening ribs by corrugating in Maximilian armor, another method of creating stiffening ribs was widely used, in which the edges of the armor were bent outward and wrapped into tubes (along the edges of the armor), which, through additional corrugation, were given the shape of twisted ropes, as a result of which large plates received The edges have very rigid stiffening ribs. It’s interesting that the Italians have Ital. alla tedesca (a la Germanic) the edges of large plates also curved outward, but did not wrap. In Gothic armor, instead of arching, the edges of the plates were corrugated and could have a riveted gilded edging as decoration.

The immediate predecessor of Maximilian armor is armor in the Schott-Sonnenberg style (according to Oakeshott), which has many of the features of Maximilian armor, and is distinguished, first of all, by the absence of corrugation, as well as a number of other less noticeable features, including the absence of convexity of the edges, made in the form of a twisted rope, like Maximilian armor.

A characteristic feature of Maximilian armor is considered to be plate gauntlets, capable of withstanding a blow to the fingers with a sword, but with the spread of wheeled pistols, Maximilians with plate gloves appeared, allowing them to shoot pistols. At the same time, although the plate gauntlets consisted of large plates, these plates were still somewhat smaller than in the Milanese armor, and their number was greater, which provided a little more flexibility with approximately equal reliability. In addition, the thumb protection corresponded in design to the thumb protection of Gothic armor and was attached to a special complex hinge, providing greater mobility of the thumb.

Another characteristic feature is the “Bear Paw” sabatons (plate shoes), corresponding to the very wide-toed shoes fashionable at the time, from which the expression “living large” came. Later, after going out of fashion, these sabatons and shoes were nicknamed “Duck Paws.”

One of the most notable features that catches the eye is the visor, which had the following shapes:

• "accordion" (English) bellows-visor) - ribbed visor made of horizontal ribs and slits
• "sparrow's beak" sparrow beak) - a classic pointed-nosed form of visor, which was widespread over two centuries - in the 15th-16th centuries
  • classic design with single visor
  • a design that appeared in the 20s of the 16th century, in which the “beak” is divided into upper and lower visors, so that you can tilt the upper visor up (“open the beak”), improving visibility, with the lower visor lowered (naturally, such a visor was found only among the later Maximilians)
• "monkey face" monkey-face), also known as “moskin nose” (eng. pug-nose) - having a protruding grille of vertical rods below the visual slits, similar to a radiator
• "grotesque" grotesque) - a visor representing a grotesque mask human face or the muzzle of a beast

The helmet itself had corrugation and a stiffening rib in the form of a low ridge. As for its design, there were four options for protecting the lower part of the face:

• with a chinrest that flips up like a visor, and is often attached to the same hinge as the visor;
• with a chinrest that was not attached to a hinge, but was simply fastened in front;
• with two cheekpieces closing with each other at the chin like doors (the so-called Florentine armet);
• in which the lower part of the helmet consisted of left and right halves, folding upward like a bomb bay, when closing, they interlocked with each other in front and with a relatively narrow backplate at the back;

of which in Germany the most popular was the version with a folding chinrest and the slightly less popular option with two cheekpieces, while in Italy there were popular options in which the protection of the lower part of the face consisted of left and right parts. In addition, the version with a folding chinrest did not need a disc sticking out like a nail with a huge head from the back of the head, and designed to protect against cutting (with a blow to the back of the head) the belt that holds the lower part of the helmet together. Interestingly, the variants of which the protection of the lower part of the face consisted of left and right parts, in the 15th century (previous in relation to the Maximilian armor), the Italians often equipped them with an additional chin guard on belts.

Throat and neck protection - gorje (plate necklace) existed in two versions:

• Actually consisting of a traditional chinrest and backrest. Unlike the design of the 15th century, the chinrest is not rigidly attached to the cuirass and closes with the backplate, forming a continuous plate neck protection, under which there is a real gorje; so it turned out to be two movable cones.
• The so-called Burgundy, which provides the best mobility of the head; a flexible gorge, consisting of plate rings, capable of tilting in any direction, on which a freely rotating helmet is fixed with a characteristic fastening in the form of two hollow rings (in the form of twisted ropes), freely sliding one into the other.

The increase in the plates of German armor, which led to the appearance of maximilians, was also accompanied by an increase in the size of the shoulder pads, as a result of which there was no need for the mandatory presence of a pair of rondels (round discs to protect the armpits). As a result, in addition to Maximilians with a traditional pair of rondels, there were also Maximilians with only the right rondel covering the cutout in the shoulder pad for the spear hook protruding from the cuirass, since the left shoulder pad completely covered the armpit in front. As for the Maximilians without rondels, there is no consensus whether they had a right rondel (which was later lost), or no rondels at all.

• Greenwich armor

Greenwich Armor(English) Greenwich Armor) - armor of the 16th century, produced in Greenwich in England, imported by German gunsmiths.

Greenwich workshops were founded by Henry VIII in 1525 and had the full name English. "The Royal "Almain" Armories" (literally - “Royal “German” Arsenals”, fr. Almain-French name for Germany). Since the workshops were created for the production of “German” armor, the production was headed by German gunsmiths. The first Englishman to head the production was William Pickering in 1607.

Although the armor was supposed, according to Henry VIII, to reproduce the German ones, they nevertheless carried both German and Italian features, and therefore the Greenwich Armor, although made by German craftsmen (with the participation of English apprentices), are distinguished by researchers into a separate “English” style.

The pattern of borrowings from various styles in Greenwich Armor is as follows:

• The cuirass (including both shape and design) is in the Italian style.
• Helmet (before about 1610) - in the German style with a "Burgundian" gorge.
• Thigh guards and legguards - in the Low German and Nuremberg style.
• Shoulder protection - Italian style.

Armor is a defensive weapon that consists of the armor itself. In this case, the following types of armor are distinguished: soft, ringed, lamellar, lamellar-ringed. Naturally, there are many more types of armor, and today we will look at some of them in more detail. The armor also includes a combat headband, leggings, bracers and other protective equipment.

Gothic armor

The solid armor of the European heavy cavalry of the second half of the 15th century, the predecessor of Maximilian's, differs from the latter in greater functionality, high quality of metal processing and workmanship of parts, elegance of forms and somewhat less precision in joining parts, and the absence of grooves. Based on the totality of its properties, some researchers define it as the most advanced solid armor.

Decorative armor

Interior armor, which is produced for the purpose of designing and decorating various interiors. This type of armor is a copy of combat, hunting and other types of armor, but does not fulfill its original functions.

Heterogeneous armor

Armor that includes elements consisting of parts that are not rigidly connected and are small in size.

Homogeneous armor

Armor, which contains mainly large parts consisting of one material, as well as large ones.

Homogeneous-heterogeneous armor

Armor that combines the properties of both homogeneous and heterogeneous armor.

Gendarme armor

A classic type of solid armor, which was common in the second half of the 15th century. It was first adopted under King Charles VII. Used by the French gendarmes - heavy cavalry from impoverished nobles. As the head of the armor, a salad was used, in which the end of the crown goes into a long nape plate. A forearm screwed to the top of the plate breastplate protects the lower part of the face. The upper part of the face is covered with a fixed visor, in which there is a transverse slit at eye height, providing visibility.

The shoulders are covered with shoulder pads made of overlapping plaques, connected, in turn, to elbow pads. The armpits are covered with a chain mail net and, in addition, are covered with shoulder shields lowered low to the breastplate. A single-plate plate breastplate has a thickening at the bottom, called the “carapace,” which provides additional reinforcement to this part of the armor. The belly and legguards are made in the form of somewhat curved plates, stacked on top of each other like tiles. For a warrior sitting in the saddle, they cover his legs up to the knees.

The hips can be protected only with thigh guards or additionally with side guards (hips). The plate backplate (back plate) also has a “shell”, the continuation of which is the sacral covering, which reaches the saddle when the rider is sitting. Under the armor, the pelvic area is additionally protected by a chainmail skirt.

The knee pads, attached to the pads (lower part of the thigh) and leggings, consist of 5 plates, the central one (superimposed on the side ones like a ridge tile) is strongly curved in the form of a dome. The leggings consist of a greave and a greave, connected by hinges and fastened with inside legs. The shoes are pointed, with a long point and spurs in the form of a wheel with long rays placed on a long shaft.

The points of the shoe and spurs are fastened by the squire after the knight mounts his horse, and are unfastened before he dismounts. The elbows are covered with elbow pads, the forearms are a continuation of plate gauntlets. The armor is relatively light (total weight 15-30 kg), but can only be fully donned and securely fastened with the help of a squire. Worn over soft overalls (pants and jacket), chain mail elements.

First, the shoes are put on, then the pads, connected by straps to the belt. After them, leggings, legguards, knee pads are put on, then armor, belly and shoulder pads. The last to be secured were the shoulder shields, attached to the overalls and passing through special holes in the bib with straps. Additional protection for the right side of the body is provided by the spear shield.

The shield is not provided as an independent weapon and is practically not used. The rider's weapons are a sword, a spear, a dagger, and a dagger; The officers, moreover, are slanderers. The horse also wears plate armor that completely covers the chest, back, croup, sides, neck and head, superimposed on or connected by a chain mail network. By the end of the 16th century. the armor has undergone changes. The spear was removed from service, and instead the gendarme received a sword and dagger, the leg guards disappeared, and the breastplate became shorter and lighter. The cuirass has been replaced by a half cuirass.

Ringed armor

Armor that is made of metal rings, but their sizes are not the same. This type of armor includes chain mail and canopy.

Laminar armor

Armor that includes plates made of hard material. The plates are quite long and arranged horizontally, they are connected to each other.

Plate armor

Armor, the basis of which is a relatively small number of large, flat or curved (often complex relief) plates (armor), connected to each other into a single whole using auxiliary parts, hinges or non-connected, independent ones. Plate as armor that provides protection to the chest, abdomen and back (analogous to a cuirass) is known already in Ancient Egypt, widespread among the Celts and in Ancient Greece, where they were made in the form of two rigid curved plates of forged bronze connected by hinges, accurately reproducing the relief of the customer’s (owner’s) muscles, and therefore were made strictly individually (Hyalothorax).

From simple plate armor (cuirass, greaves, bracers, shoulder pads), this armor later developed into continuous armor by increasing the number of parts, connecting them to each other and precise mutual adjustment. Maximum development and perfection was achieved in Gothic armor of the late 15th century. and in Maximilian armor of the early 16th century, completely covering the entire body. In Russia, armor of this type was called plank or plank.

Plate armor XVII and XVIII

Over time, solid armor becomes simpler, no longer covers the entire body, the number of parts decreases, and first of all, the legs, pelvis, and back lose coverage. The armor, especially the cuirass breastplate, is very heavy and massive to protect against bullets. The breastplate is short, there is usually no paunch, the legguards are in the form of long pads fastened to the cuirass, forming a protrusion of the knee pad with side ears above the knee. Leggings are usually absent. A helmet of the burgignot type often has a nosepiece, characteristic of this era, of the eastern type in the form of a rod, giving a curl at the bottom, and another curl above the protrusion of the visor.

Sometimes there is a similar decoration on the back of the head. The shoulder pads are symmetrical - they, like the bracers, are scaly. The last troops armed with such armor were the cuirassiers of Louis XIV. The armor is blued, the breastplate is even shorter, the belly is short, and the pads are large. The arms are covered with scales, the combat head is a chaplain with a back plate and a nosepiece, reminiscent of a Japanese head. There is a sultan on the crown.

At the beginning of the 18th century. in the armor only the chaplain and cuirass remain, very short, covering the body to the level of the ribs and deeply cut under the arms. Subsequently, the backrest is abandoned, and the breastplate of the cuirass is put on and secured to the body with belts. Sometimes, instead of a half-cuirass, they wear an iron collar, like a plate necklace, with a wide protrusion going down to the chest. Shoulder pads and forearm armor could be attached to this collar.

Maximilian armor

The armor, which became widespread during the Renaissance, was used by knights in Europe. It consists of about 200 large elements, and the outside is covered with ribs and gutters. The total number of parts, including buckles, connecting bolts, hooks and other small parts, reaches 1000. The ribs (veins) and grooves are designed and directed so that the spear blows slide outside the joints of the armor, which increases protective properties armor In addition, they act as stiffening ribs and increase the strength of the armor, while simultaneously reducing its weight. Named after Emperor Maximilian I, for the weapons whose army it was developed. Average weight armor 22-30 kg, helmet - 1.5-4 kg, chain mail - 4-7 kg, shield - 3-6 kg, sword - 1-3 kg. Total weight armor rarely exceeded 40 kg.

The combat headgear - arme - has a pommel with holes near the ears; sometimes the ridge protruding from the pommel is not flat, but in the form of a tourniquet. On the back (crown) there is a tube for the plume. A visor is made of one or two parts, the upper one (visor) protects the forehead, the lower one (blowhole) protects the chin; has slots or is made in the form of a lattice. Sometimes the visor consisted of three or more parts. The chin covers the entire lower part of the face up to the lower lip; it is continued by a throat cover made of several curved plates attached to it. At the back, a butt plate made of several scales is attached to the pommel using scales.

The basis and support for the armor is a mantle-aventail made of three front and rear plates covering the neck; armor, shoulder pads, and armor are attached to it. An aventail is a kind of necklace; it has a hinge on the left side and clasps or cufflinks on the right. It was always made to measure, carefully adjusted in accordance with the anthropometric data of the owner of the armor, as it ensured mobility and strength of joints, and the ability to move the head.

A poorly selected aventail causes pain and deprives a warrior of mobility and the ability to control weapons. Sometimes, instead of arme, they used a helmet with a necklace, with a straight base, which did not have a throat cover and a butt plate. When the head was turned, the lower smooth edge of the helmet slid in a groove or along the upper rounded edge of the neck covering (necklace). The necklace served as a cover for the throat and back of the head; in appearance it resembled an aventail, only very wide and worn over the head, which is why it did not require adjustment to the owner.

However, the lower edge of the helmet and the necklace were adjusted to each other very carefully so as not to interfere with the movements of the head. This design, unlike the previous one, did not allow the head to be tilted or thrown back in battle without threatening the safety of the knight. The armor consisted of a breastplate connected by hinges, equipped with a large rib, and a backrest. The breastplate was usually forged from a single sheet of iron. The rib deflected the blow, the grooves directed it.

The shape of the breastplate changed - convex, pointed at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries, in the middle of the 16th century. it becomes elongated oblong, from the 1570s. made with a point, and from the beginning of the 17th century. - blunt and short. Very rarely, the entire cuirass was made of scales. Axillary scales were attached to the bib in the armpits using straps.

The abdomen consisted of 2-3 plates. Gaiters covered the sides, starting from the waist, and the upper part of the legs (the upper third of the front and lateral surface of the thigh), often being a continuation of the abdomen. Consisted of several scales or plates, at the end of the 16th century. lengthened to cover the thigh from the hip joint to the knee and compensate for the lack of obsolete pads.

The lower part of the back was covered by a sacral cover of 1-3 scales that did not have a cutout, which was made in Gothic armor for a tight fit to the surface of the saddle. On top of the armor, mantles were attached to the aventail with straps. The right shoulder is always smaller so as not to interfere with arm movements; Besides, left-hand side, which is usually hit, requires more protection.

Armor for left-handers is known. Not all armor has neck covers and they are ridges or wings over the shoulders that protected from hooks and prevented the knight from pulling off the helmet. Sometimes round plaques were attached instead. The bracers are divided into two parts by the elbow pad. The top one is a cylinder and several scales attached to it. The lower one, protecting the forearm, was made in the form of a double-leaf cylinder with hinges and cufflinks, and was attached to the upper one with belts. The elbow pad is convex, in early models with a point, and is attached to the bracers with screws.

Tin-lined mittens (gloves) in some Spanish and Italian armor had fingers, then each finger was covered with scales or rings; in other armor, the fingers were covered with common scales, sometimes only indicated on the outside. The thumb in all cases is separated from the others and has a separate scaly covering. The opening of the glove is decorated with a bracelet or edge with a hinge and clasp.

The frame (bracket) is composite, with the lower part (support) fixedly attached to the cuirass, and the hook itself could, if necessary, be lowered on a hinge. The pads consisted of two plates (the front and the outer side) and were fastened with belts. The kneecap consisted of a conical or spherical front part and an outer side, as well as four scales. Leggings for the lower legs are semi-cylindrical, their flaps are called greaves and greaves (spreaders and greaves), connected on the outer surface of the leg with a hinge and fastened on the inside.

Later, the leggings lost the back half and began to be secured with straps. The foot greaves are attached to the greave with a leg joint. Under the armor they wore suede leggings, overalls, chain mail to mid-thigh or slightly shorter, with long sleeves. The armor scales were attached to each other from bottom to top. Large scales were attached on top of smaller ones. The blow of the spear and the tip of the sword slid along the scales until it met the next scale, then with raised ribs and stripes, where it lost power. The weak parts of the armor were doubled with chain mail underneath.

Soft armor

Armor made from fabric and leather. There were varieties that also included reservations.

Hunting armor

Armor that became widespread among hunters who hunted large animals - for example, wild boar.

Ceremonial armor

Armor that was worn only for especially special events. In all cases, it differed from the battle armor of the same time in its lighter weight, lower quality fitting of parts and rich finish. There are known ceremonial armor and armor made entirely of gold and silver, inlaid with precious stones, and the thickness of the armor sometimes does not exceed 5 mm (the earliest gold armor was discovered in a Bronze Age burial). European plate ceremonial armor, in addition, was distinguished by the absence of a fokra (spear hook) and the symmetry of the shoulder guards. Sometimes it was covered with expensive fabrics.

Plate-ringed armor

Armor that consisted of rings and plates. This type of armor includes bakhterets and yushman.

Plate armor

Armor, which includes plates, and their shape and size can be different.

Full armor

Armor, which includes armor, leggings, helmet, bracers, shield and other elements.

Knight's armor

Full armor worn by knights in Europe during the Middle Ages.

Solid armor

One of the varieties of scaly or ring-scale armor that completely protected the warrior’s body.

Sports armor

Armor used to protect athletes during military sports competitions. Tournament armor is also considered sports armor.

Quilted armor

Soft-shaped armor consisting of layers of leather or fabric. Between the layers, a cotton or wool interlining was usually sewn, which was sewn along both straight and oblique lines.

Training armor

Armor that was worn during the training of warriors, that is, when military exercises were practiced.

Tournament armor

Armor worn by European warriors in tournaments. As a rule, it is a solid, heavy armor that greatly limits the mobility of a knight, which over time has been greatly simplified and transformed into incomplete armor, providing protection only for the head, the front surface of the body (mainly its left part) and the left leg, hips. Made from very thick iron.

The armor for the equestrian spear tournament with a barrier (lattice) excluded the use of leggings. To prevent injury from sliding along the barrier, the leg was protected by a special design of the saddle pommel in the form of a box. The guards and legguards were made from a single plate. The hands were usually not protected, the left had a mitten, the right was covered with a shield. The cuirass had one, sometimes two (front and rear) fokras, and later began to be equipped with blow counters.

Later, the back plate of the cuirass was abandoned - thus, only the front surface of the body was covered. An additional shield is often screwed to the left side of the breastplate. The space between the shoulder and chest is covered by armpit covers in the form of discs. If there is only a left disc, then the right shoulder shield is enlarged and often has a cutout for a spear. The left shoulder pad is sometimes integral with the solid helmet. Combat head - lattice helmet, burgignot, early 16th century. a “toad head” headband is used. This helmet is attached to the breastplate, and sometimes to the backrest. At the end of the 16th century. Mostly lettuce was used.

Tarch transformed into a wooden cloak. If the spear did not have a shield, right hand acquired a bracer that protected its front surface. The total weight of the armor reached 80 kg.

Tournament armor for foot combat remained complete (solid) until the cessation of tournaments; it differed from contemporary combat armor in the absence of a belly, leg guards and sacral cover, replaced by a bell-shaped skirt that more reliably protected the pelvic area. The shoulder pads are almost symmetrical. The total weight of the armor ranged from 25-40 kg. Combat head - lattice helmet, burgignot, in the 16th century. - salad.

Knotted armor

Protective weapons in the form of a covering worn on the body, woven from wood fibers, bark, twigs, vines, and tarred ropes. Thick knots, tightly tied close to each other, provided reliable protection from arrows, blow needles, and chopping blows from bronze and even iron blades. Various varieties of this armor were widely used by the natives of Africa, Polynesia, and America.

Scaled armor

The armor, consisting of plates, is shaped like scales.