FYI: Armors Historical vs Istaria
Armor...well, here's a topic full of myth, historically inaccurate terms, misconceptions, and a whole gamut of misguided thinking. While none of it has any bearing whatever on the game, or anything else for that matter, I thought I might offer some information for those who enjoy such reading. If anyone learns anything or even says to self "Well, I'll be damned, I never knew that" I shall be well pleased.
Armor as 3 primary uses, parade, tournament and battle(field armors). The 3 ARE NOT interchangable. I am primarily concerned with field armor for this article.
First off, terms:
chainmail...no such thing. It was called MAIL or Mail Shirt.
ringmail...an armor without any historical counterpart whatever, pure fantasy
scalemail...wrong again Coat of Plates a lighter version was known as a Brigandine
platemail...probably the most abused term ever it is actually called Plate Armor
padded armor...close Actually padded armor, as we know it in game, is a collection of garments that was worn under metal armors. They were known by a variety of names including Acton, Arming Cap, Arming Doublet being but a few.
A Brief History of Armor...
The earliest armors were made of whatever the 'armorer' had to hand. This included animal hides worn as garments, or dried and stretched over a crude framework of wood to serve as a shield. Wood was also used for armor, as was bark. Basically whatever the wearer thought he could wear or carry that might offer some protection, he wore it or carried it.
The earliest known true armor was a wide leather belt worn to protect the abdomen. The Egyptians further developed this belt around 3000 BC into a wraparound garment that extended from shoulders to knees. It was supported by shoulder straps, was supplemented with quilted fabric for additional protection and comfort, and a wooden shield was often carried as well. Around 1400 BC the ancient Syrians and Sumerians began sewing on over-lapping rectangular or scale shaped bronze plates to this armor to provide additional protection. Further delevopments led to lamellae. Lamalla are long, thin, oblong shaped strips of iron or bronze. As they were quite pliable, they could be sewn to a quilted garment in such a manner as to over-lap and these were the earliest form of the Brigandine and the Coat of Paltes.
Greek and Roman armors furthered the development of armors. Both scale and lamellar armor was used and improved by the Greeks. Greek armor was a wraparound garment of reinforced guilted fabic, wide at the shoulders and sporting a skirt of strips. A hammered bronze brestplate and backplate were also worn, These were often artistically embellished to resemble the musculature of the naked male torso. The Greeks also used Greaves, a metal plate to protect the lower legs. Greek helmets encased the entire head and in their most advanced form the only opening was a Y or T shaped slit for vision and breathing. A shield of hide, wood or metal completed the armor set. The Romans, as they always did, took the best of Greek armoring technigues and improved on them. Romans wore 3 basic styles of armor, scales sewn to an undergarment, mail consisting of thousands of interlocking small iron rings and lamellar armor consisting of over-lapping horizontal iron plates. The large rectangular Roman shield made Greaves unnecessary.
Early European armor initially borrowed heavily from Roman developments in armor technology, especially the Mail Shirt. By the 12 century Mail Shirts reached the knees, had full length sleeves, were accompanied by Chausses to protect the legs and a Coif, a mail hood. To understand the complex task of creating a Mail Shirt with coif and chauses one need only count the rings. Upwards of 400,000 rings, each conected to 4 other rings, were needed for the entire set. This weighed about 40 pounds.
While Mail was quite good at protecting the wearer from sword strokes it offered little protection from spears and arrows and none whatever from crushing blows. Padded undergarments were worn to provide some shock resistance from this type of attack and shields were also used for the same reason. Soon armorers realized the need for greater protection and small iron plates began to be attached to shoulders , right arms and chest. This led to widespread use of the Coat of Plates and Brigandines...and the development of Plate Armor. By 1425 or so Plate Armor as we know it today reached its zenith of development barring only some advances in articulation of joints and the weight and hardness of the armor. These last developments reached their zenith by the mid 1500s. Thereafter, firearms rendered armor more and more obsolete with reach passing year.
In it's most advanced form, Plate Armor was light, very hard, very resiliant, and so well made and articulated a knight could actually mount a horse without the aid of stirrups. A full set of Field Plate Armor consisted of some 20 different pieces of armor weighing about 60 pounds. This was worn over a Mail Shirt with additional Mail reinforcement in areas not adequately protected by plates. The entire set, Mail and Plate Armor, was worn over an arming cap and arming doublet. Total weight reached 90-100 pounds with weapon and shield.
Field armor was used in battle. Protection and mobility were the primary concerns in the developemnt of armors throughout history. Great mobility always meant a sacrifice in protection and great protection always meant a sacrifice in mobility. The most highly developed medieval Plate Armor offered the wearer the best possible compromise between protection and mobility. In this, the medieval armorers proved themselves more than adequte, indeed they were admirable.
Tournament armor differed little from field armor in appearance. It had all the same pieces for all the same reasons. However, it was far heavier than field armor, sacrificing mobility for safety. Tournament armor was also much more asthetically appealing.
Parade armor was just that...Parade Armor. Lots of artistic appeal, lots of gilt, fillagre, engraving, scroll work, fluting and all the rest. And it was utterly useless on the battlefield and at the tilts.
I fully understand that game armor and historical armor can never even come close to getting on the same page. I just thought folks might enjoy a little history to compare with the game. Some aspects actually agree, others aren't even in the same hemisphere. I leave to the reader to choose...
Originally Posted by Kwinn
