On the battlefield, the weapons you employ are only one part of the equation for success.
This is why suits of armor came into existence.
Warriors in the medieval period protected themselves with a range of armor types that well cover now.
Leather was readily available, relatively inexpensive when compared to metal forms of armor.
When metal armor of chain mail and plates came into play, the use of boiled leather decreased.
Breastplate Armor
During the late medieval period, you would often see knights donning breastplate armor.
Its a smart move, since the breastplate will protect many vital organs.
Overlapping the two pieces of breastplate armor gave knights more flexibility as well as the added protection.
Brigandine Armor
Brigandine armor is constructed from heavy leather or cloth to which steel plates are riveted.
Wearing brigandine armor protected knights against all types of piercing and thrusting actions.
But for those knights who were unable to obtain full coverage, brigandine armor was a suitable option.
Horse Armor
Keeping your horse safe and alive was a high concern for knights in the medieval times.
Therefore, an industry grew to create special armor for horses.
Its interesting to know that knights called their horses destriers.
Protecting the flanks and breast of the horse was a bard, initially made of just cloth or leather.
Of critical importance was the chamfron, which is armor protecting the horses head.
To safeguard the horses rear, a crupper was used.
Armor plating over the horses chest is referred to as peytral.
You would see horses wearing a large covering of cloth and leather called a trapper.
The little plates were tied together in horizontal fashion.
If you couldnt access any mail armor, lamellar armor would give you a measure of security.
Some knights wore lamellar armor whose plates were made from horns or bones.
If you could afford metal armor, you would typically avoid using the lamellar version.
Mail Armor
Medieval armor is known as mail armor when it is created using pieces of iron.
Its an iconic image from the medieval period.
Plated Mail Armor
Plated mail armor was the precursor to mail armor proper.
Therefore, historians consider plated mail armor to be a kind of transitional armor in the medieval period.
It was implemented for a short period before the advent of the High Middle Ages.
Scale Armor
Scale armor was an interesting form of protection for knights of the medieval period.
image credit:Livrustkammaren (The Royal Armoury) / Erik Lernestal / CC BY-SA/ Public domain
