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Medieval Armor


In the early Norman times, the Medieval Armor was mainly the chain-mail, quilted-work, jazerant, scale, and a small proportion of plate used as an additional protection to the breast. The scale was a type of armor made of small metallic scales overlapping, and fastened upon leather or cloth, while the jazerant was a body defense made of small plates of metal sewn upon linen. The materials were iron, leather, and horn, with wool, tow, or cotton for quilting defenses.

Medieval Armor, Norman Period
Hauberk-12th Century


The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most valuable sources in establishing what was the standard Medieval Armor of the period. The ordinary series of body-garments worn by the knight were the tunic, the gambeson and the hauberk. The gambeson was a defensive garment made of stuffed and quilted cloth.  The surcoat, though found in same rare instances at the close of the 12th Century, does not become a characteristic part of the knightly equipment till the 13th Century.

The hauberk was the chief part of the Medieval Armor of the period. It reached to the knees.  The skirt sometimes opened in front, sometimes at the sides. The sleeves usually terminated at the elbow, but occasionally extended to the wrist.  Sometimes the hauberk reached as high as the neck only, but more generally it was continued so as to form a coif, leaving only the face of the knight exposed.  In most cases it was of a uniform structure.  The picture on the left depicts a hauberk with lateral openings.  It is remarkable also for the way the sword is carried partially beneath the hauberk.  The defense is continued over the head as a coif.  This feature of the Medieval Armor of the period is also known as the "continuous coif" and is surmounted by the usual conical nasal helmet.

Medieval Armor, 13th Century
Hauberk-13th Century
The hood of mail made separately from the hauberk does not appear till the 13th Century.  At the beginning of the 13th Century, the hauberk of chain-mail was made with continuous coif and gloves, the coif somewhat flattened at the top of the head, and the gloves not divided into fingers. It descended nearly to the knees, and at the face opening left little more then the eyes and nose of the knight in view.  In the second half of the century, the round topped coif became more usual.  The sleeve of the hauberk was sometimes secured at the wrist by a lace or strap.  In order to liberate the hands occasionally from their fingerless gloves, an aperture was left in the centre of the palm.

The Medieval Armor of the 14th Century offers the most brilliant and striking combinations encountered during the Middle Ages.  The mixture of chain-mail, glittering plate, embossed leather, and rich heralding decorations, offers an ample field for the display of color, and variety of form.  The medieval knights, dissatisfied with their old panoply of chain-mail, searched for substitutes, and in the end accorded their preference to the armor of plate. 

Medieval Armor-14th Century
Plate Armor-14th Century
The body-armor was composed of the breast-plate, continued under the waist with chain-mail, or metal strips covered with cloth or velvet. 

The long surcoats of the old fashion proved to be a serious impediment when the knights descended from their horses to fight on foot.  The garment underwent a clipping in front, in which case the evil was but half remedied.  But, because the full skirt, a necessity of the long dress, had now no meaning, it was abandoned, and the garment became the short, tight surcoat. 
In the early years of this period, the legs were protected by the chain-mail chausses. As an occasional occurrence, we find them until the middle of the century. The legs defense, like the arms defense, made a steady progress to the complete equipment of plate.

During the 15th Century, the Medieval Armor is entirely of plate.  It had shoulder and elbow guards, and gauntlets formed of broad overlapping plates.  The breast plate evolved from one piece to the two parts construction, lower overlapping the upper, and contrived, by means of straps or sliding rivet, to give flexibility to this defense.

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