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The Medieval Suit of Armor

The plated suit of armor was an evolution from the early days of chainmail, which consisted of tens of thousands of interlocked metal rings. While chainmail provided a good defense against blades and other weaponry through a “bend but don’t break” philosophy, it proved to be less and less effective as weaponry was developed to circumvent its protective barrier.

Unlike chainmail, a suit of armor offered a better layer of protection against blunt force blows, stronger weaponry, and even the archer’s arrows. Comprised of many parts, a medieval suit of armor gradually evolved from a few metal plates to protect the most vital parts of the body to entire suits of carefully crafted works of art.

Some suit of armor terms that you may see include:

Breastplate – A plate of armor covering the chest and abdominal area.

Cuirass – A combination of a breastplate and backplate worn together.

Greaves – Designed to protect the lower leg and shin areas from blows and vicious kicking.

Gauntlet – Metal gloves to protect the hands and fingers.

Vambraces and Arm Greaves – Metal plating to protect the forearm from weapon blows.

While movies and cartoons make it a look as though a suit of armor was a cumbersome and inflexible collection of clanking metal plates, it actually allowed the wearer to be quite agile. The average weight of a medieval suit of armor was about 45-55 pounds, very similar to its chainmail counterpart, and it was actually more comfortable because it was more evenly distributed and didn’t just hang on the body.

In almost all cases, a suit of armor was worn with a layer of padding or extra clothing to help absorb some impact and protect from extreme heat or cold. As with any arms race, medieval weaponry became more immune to the protective nature of the medieval suit of armor and some chose to wear both chainmail and body armor. While certainly more resilient to weapons, the wearer was often left fighting to stand if knocked down because of the extreme weight.

Over time, even as the suit of armor improved, its effectiveness was obliterated by the arrival of gunpowder-based armaments such as guns and cannons.

Looking for a Suit of Armor?

Whether you want a decorative reproduction of a medieval suit of armor or want to add a new class of realism to medieval festivals and battle reenactments, we have a full line of options available. From the Lorica Segmentata introduced to Roman soldiers in the first century to the 16th century Italian Suit of Armor and beyond, we have a wide range of styles throughout our site. Click here to view all available suit of armor products.