Period from 1050 to 1250
Period from 1250 to 1360
Period from 1300 to 1600
Period from 1600 to 1650
During history the protective cloth of the knights and lansquenets went through profound technical developments.
The climax of this deployment was the full armour suit, covering the whole body by metal plates.
In this chapter I describe the armour´s evolution from the 11th to the beginning 17th century.
Also the funcion of the armour suit was enriched due to this development.
While the armour was predominantly designed for protection at the beginning of its history, lateron
its meaning as a peace of art for representative purposes increased. This function will be described more in detail below.
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A useful source which tells us more about the knight´s armour of the eleventh century
is the carpet of Bayeux, showing the conquest of England by duke Wilhelm. You can see a big variety
of knights, weapons and armour suits on this carpet. These informations are very valuable because other
sources of information regarding the knights cloth and armour are often limited to the rare archeological
discoveries.
As you can see on the picture, the protective cloths of the knights consisted of
a coat of mail that was long enough to cover the thigh.
These coats were made of thousands of little iron rings and due to the required high expenditure
of human labour extremely precious. The value of a coat of mail could easily be as high as 70 sheep so only liege lords could afford such a coat.
Irrespective of this fact it was a knight´s privileg to wear a coat of mail while it was forbidden for lansquenets. Also the protection for the head
was initially ensured by the chain mail, which covered the head as a hood. Above the coat of mail a colourful tunic was worn which showed the knight´s
heraldry, thus his crest. Beyond the coat of mail the knight wore a lined doublet made of wool or leather, to avoid excoriating. As an additional protection
served a shield, which was initially almond shaped, later triangle shaped. At all times in the technics of war innovation of defensive weapons led to
innovation of offensive technologies, what again resulted in improved defensive weapons. As a consequence the mail hood was soon replaced by a helmet that
was initially conical shaped. It had a stripe of metal above the nose and did not protect many parts of the face. Therefore lateron the pot shaped helmet became
popular which covered the whole head and was equipped with trenches for the view and wholes to allow breathing. Both helmets had to be tied firmly to the head.
Together with the cushion worn beyond the helmets this way a single unit could be formed. This was absolutely necessary to garantee the maximum protection.
Also regarding the coat of mail improvements soon became unavoidable. Due to the development of new arrowheads which were very thin and acute, somehow nail-shaped
, the coat of mail did not provide an optimum of protection. In those days (like today) developments in both civil and military clothing was influenced by
fashion.
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During this period the coat of mail slowly transformed to the full plate armour. Initially they began to cover exposed body parts like
forearms, shins and knees with plates made of horn, wale bone, leather or iron. Later there were further plates added which were attached to the tunic and
were worn above the coat of mail. This continuess development process bit by bit let to the protection of more and more body parts. Finally the coat of mail
was reduced to the little rest of the body uncovered by plates - the full body plate armour was born. Beyond the armour the knights wore a doublet that was
lined with wool or fur. The grooves between two metal plates were protected by strengthening the doublet beyond these parts.
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These three centuries marked the climax of the knight´s plate armour and
the handicrafts involved in its production.
Armour suits coequal to the European ones could only be found in Japan. There were several necessary conditions only available in Europe that were indispensable for the production of
such an extensive product: For the existence of the armourer´s handicraft there had to be a minimum of economic prosperity, trade relationship and a well
developed handcraft in general.
In the occident armours have been constructed since the ancient world. However it was during the late Medieval Age when there were technical innovations
that finally allowed the production and use of the full plate armour. The invention of the saddle with high lips provided foothold - an important requirement
for the fight in a plate armour. Also it was the breeding of stronger horses that allowed the use of a plate armour, because the weight of a knight in his
armour was immense. In the course of these new possibilities it came to the application of heavy lances as well. These were hanged to the armour by a hook
on the breast plate. Therefore the knight did not need to throw the lance against the objective with his muscular strength. Instead he could fight conveying
the full vehemence of his horse and the weight of his body and armour to the lance. Fighting this way the knight could abdicate to use a buckler, because the
plate armour provided an equally high protection. Furthermore the left hand that was not necessary for the buckler could now support the horse´s moveability by
working on the reins. Last but not least it was the invention of the stirrups that improved the fighting tecnics. Instead of apliing the legs to control the
horse the knight was now able to adjust the posture ideally to the necessities of the fight.
However a somewhat heavy plating was used primarily in the cavalry - for the knights of the infantry armour of thinner material and less quality was used.
On the one hand a landsquenet could only afford a "mass product", on the other a minimum of moveability was inalienable in the fight on feet. This
weight reduction was gained at the expense of the protective function. This conflict between the optimum protection and the weight reduction of the armour
was settled by the great skills of the
armourers.
While the metal was thick at the most vulnerable body parts and where the majority of hits could be expected,
it was reduced to the less important parts to save weight. For the most part the left side of the armour was kept particularly strong and equipped with additional
protective items, because the knight handled his weapon with the right hand, so the left side was especially in danger to be hit. For this reason many armour
suits were constructed asymmetric. While it was important to keep the right side very flexible, the left was less flexible but protected by thicker metal plates.
Often there was a big metal collar attached to the left side. This object should avoid a sword flourish that was directed to the shoulder to slide into the neck.
The metal collar was also an element that supported an awesome look. This was a major goal in the design of armours. The oponent should become frightened looking
at the plate armour. This ambition was constitutive for the shaping of many different parts of the armour. For example there were many plate armours decorated
with the portrayal of wild animals and grotesque mythical creatures.
Among the skillfull armours of the sixteenth century there were helmets that looked like the heads of creatures. Also visors in the shape of a lion could be
found. The intention using these artistic ornaments however was not only limited to communicate fear. At the same time these precious plate armours marked
exceptional pieces of artwork that should demonstrate the status of their owners. In this manner the knight was able to allegorise a totally different
personality so you can consider wearing a plate armour as masquerad as well. These precious plate armours were not constructed to serve in combat. The inducement
of there creation were representitive purpuses like weddings, jousts or parades.
Paradoxically precious armours that could only be afforded by the wealthiest princes outlasted the centuries more often than the many thousand simple armours
that were produced quasi industrially for the landsquenets and simple knights. These peaces were often melted when the plate armour fell into desuetude, so the
iron could be used for other purposes like cannons. Fortunately there are some peaces that can be admired in the armoury of Graz.
Ambition for status was an important influence in the design of armours during the hole medieval age. Therefore it was always fashion and respective style in a larger
time horizon that had a strong impact on the
armourer´s handicraft
.
In Europe the armour production was dominated by the centres in South Germany, like Nürnberg and Augsburg, and Northern Italy, like Milano and Brescia.
Simplyfiing you can distinguish between "German" and Italian styles. In both cases there were interdependences between the armourer´s handcraft and
the actual vogue in civil fashion and arquitecture.
That way the armour suits of the late 15th century had acute metal feet and were close-fitting, for example. This imitated the actual civil fashion and adopted
the linear accent of the Gothic. However in the fifteenth century in Italy there was a slight drift towards independence in the design of plate armours where
the armour as a piece of art stood in the center of attention. In contrast in Germany it was the gothic armour which was in vogue during this time period. Its
helmet was a very distinctive element due to its long tapering off to the back. At the early 16th century when the Renaissance initiated there was a sudden
change in taste that led to the development of the Maximilian armour.
This armour was distinctive and flamboyant. With its stripe shaped plates it marked the beginning of a period in the construction of plate armours when
the armoures started to increasingly ornament their handcrafts. In this manner the armourers used grotesques (see above), religious themes and scenes from legends
or heroic characters. These development continued during the whole 16th century and finally led to the manufacturing of precious armours. For the latter
the best
artists of the period
were involved. For instance the famous Nuremburg artist Albrecht Dürer was embraced in the development of ornaments for these armours. Within the scope
of individual costly assignments, these artists implemented the stylistic forms of the Renaissance in the design of precious plate armours.
This way, extremely precious pieces of art were created that seem to be a little bit too flamboyant for our modern taste. However
pompous art was ment to impress and an expression of an ostentatious culture. Althoug these precious
armours were very rare in those days, also simple pieces have been decorated to some extend. Even a few parts for the landsquenet´s armour had
some decorations, often showing the godhoods Mars and Venus or scenes of Adam and Eva.
In Italy people constructed precious armours during the sixteenth century as well. And they also served for representative purposes only. The Italian style
however got its bearings from the ancient world. This manner there had been breast plates forged, showing the human body. Of course, these pieces had never
been used for combat, but serverd as a status symbol. Apart from the price for such a piece, a breast plate, showing every human muscle could not be formed
in the thickness necessary for combat.
Another category of armours among the ordinary one for combat and the precious armour was a piece, especially designed for the knight´s joust.
Why was there a particular plate armour for the fight in a
joust
?
In combat the armour had to meet different needs than in a tournament. The knight in combat was endangered to fall off his horse. His horse could be injured
(in spite of the horse´s plate armour) or he could get adjoined by the enemy´s lance. In such a case it was vitaly important that the knight could
continue the fight on feet. To retain a minimum of flexibility in the fight against the lightly protected and therefore highly moveable landsquenets
it was necessary for a combat armour not to exceed a certain weight limit. Therefore the armourers had to find a compromise between protection and weight.
Additionally it was often necessary in a battle to wear a plate armour for several days, so it must not be too heavy and the helmet had to have a visor that
could be opened. Altogether a plate armour that was designed for combat rarely was heavier than 25kg during the time period between 1450 to 1550.
In contrast in the knights joust the fight was relatively short so the weight of the armour was not that important - especially in the fight between knights on horses.
This led to the construction of extremely heavily protected joust armours.
Special helmets were produced that were made of such thick iron plates that the weight increase made it impossible to hold the helmet with the head. Instead
it was firmly attached to the breast plates by screws. The shape of this helm was tapering off to the front, so the lance would slide away in the case of a hit.
Due to the fixation of the helmet, the visual field was so reduced that such an armour could never be used for combat but exclusively for the joust on horses.
Either the other parts of the armour were heavily protected so the weight finally increased so much that the knight could not ascend his horse on his own.
Instead special platforms had to be used. The horse was protected in a joust by a plate armour as well. Sometimes the knight bought combination armours to save money
These plate armours were designed like a combat armour. When the knight wanted to join a tournament, he could attach an additional plate on the breast that covered
parts of the head as well. This manner the
armour could easily be transformed to a joust armour.
Also for the joust on foot there were special armours constructed. For example in some jousts only blunt armours and even wooden clubs were used.
Then the armour suits had a leather covering on the helmet and a fence shaped visor was used that allowed a bigger view field than ordinary observation slits
did.
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In this time period the armour fell into desuetude due to a changing technique of war. Firearms became increasingly precise and easier to use, so their
usage rose continuously. In order to protect against bullets, such an amount of iron had to be used that the weight increased dramatically. A cuirassier armour
had already 40kgs at the beginning of the 17th century. As a consequence infantery wore only a helmet and at best a breast plate. The plate armour was only
worn by the heavy cavalry any more.
Regarding the bullet proofness, it could be assured at best for the breast plate, so people started to leave the arms, hands and legs uncovered. After the climax
of armour production around 1500, when thousands of simple armours were produced for the masses of landsquenets, the plate armour finally fell into desintuedue.
Stylistically this development began around 1600 when the rich decorations disappered.
around 1600.
Instead at the beginning of the 17th century chunky forms dominated that underlined the brutality of the thirty year war. Now it was en vogue to blacken the armour suits
by burning in an oil solution.
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