Armour through the ages

The armourers' dilemma
Armourers throughout history have had to face the same dilemma: a suit of armour has to offer protection, but loading a soldier with heavy armour reduces his mobility and thus his effectiveness. The balance between these needs has taxed the skills of armourers since weapons were revolutionised by the first uses of copper and bronze about 6,000 years ago.

Early armour
Some of the earliest depictions of armoured soldiers are those of Greek hoplites, or foot soldiers, on pottery dating from the 8th century BC. In Britain, we find Bronze-Age swords, daggers, axes and spearheads fashioned in beautiful shapes with graceful, flowing lines. We know from archaeological finds that Iron-Age fighters in Britain equipped themselves with long swords and wooden shields covered in sheet bronze. But the first regimented armour to be seen on these islands would have belonged to invading Roman legionaries. As the legions disembarked, the sight of well-drilled soldiers encased in plate armour and bristling with weapons must have been daunting.

Roman armour
The Roman plate armour, or lorica segmentata, comprised a cuirass (to protect the torso) and extra plates to shield the shoulders. The typical 'Imperial Gallic' helmet had a broad neck guard to protect against blows from behind and hinged cheek pieces to guard the face. A leather strap running through the cheek plates and tied under the chin made it practically impossible for enemy fighters to pull it off.

Iron body armour was based on metal plates riveted to a leather strap. Although it weighed as much as 22.5kg (50lb), the armour was remarkably comfortable to wear. Once strapped on tightly, it flexed easily and movement remained unhindered. One drawback, however, was that legionaries had to rely heavily on their shields for protection. The legs and arms were exposed and presented obvious targets for enemy fighters.
See also The legionaries' lot

The first knights
Following the decline of the Roman empire, the Franks under Charlemagne in western and central Europe started to employ mounted soldiers wearing armour and carrying shields and spears. This marked the beginning of the developments in armour that culminated in the classic image of the mounted medieval knight, covered from head to foot in a his protective metal casing. By 800 AD, the first knights had begun to prosper under the feudal system that governed much of Europe.

Chain mail
For the next few hundred years armour was based on a helmet, shield and a protective coat of chain mail. This was made by interlinking small iron rings to create a strong and flexible knitted cover. When the Normans invaded Britain in 1066, chain mail armour was the height of military fashion. Worn over cloth or leather underclothes, the mail was heavy and all the weight was carried on the shoulders. A knee-length mail coat could weigh 20kg (45lb) and had a tendency to gain momentum when swung around, making it difficult to keep one's balance. Direct blows could also still cause serious harm because mail offered little protection against the force of a crushing impact. Nor did it protect against arrows.

Advances in armour
The following centuries saw many advances in armour as skilled armourers applied themselves to overcoming such drawbacks. The job of armourer became a highly skilled and prestigious craft, with long apprenticeships and competition for their services.

Innovations in the 1200s included the advent of the classic heaume, or helm. This is the flat-topped, bucket-like helmet that gradually became more popular than the pointed Norman style. Worn during the Crusades, it was often reinforced across the face in the shape of the Christian cross. Later, a more rounded helmet called a bascinet came into fashion, although the helm remained in use and developed a conical top. In some cases, the bigger helm would be worn on top of the bascinet, effectively providing two layers of protection.

Bespoke armour
By the 15th century, a fully encasing suit of armour provided the best protection that money could buy. A suit, or harness, of Italian armour cost £70 – a huge amount in those days, so only the rich could afford it. It was the equivalent, in the words of reconstruction armourer 'Master M', who worked with Time Team on the Greenwich programme in the 2003 series, of buying oneself a top-of-the-range BMW.

As armour advanced, Germany, Italy and England all gained great recognition for the quality and skill of their armourers. Whilst they produced 'off the shelf' armour for the ordinary knight or soldier, the elite would commission bespoke suits, sometimes making use of a range of armourers from different countries. Henry VIII, whose suits of armour were always custom-made, brought some of the best armourers in Europe to work for him exclusively at his armoury at Greenwich.

How did a knight fight?
It took about 40 minutes to put on a full suit of armour, and the mobility of anyone wearing it was severely limited. So how did a medieval knight manage? The answer is that he fought as the hub of a team, supported by other, lightly armoured men and his squire. The squire's job was to make sure that a knight was not left unsupported – and to carry out instant repairs in the field.

The decline of armour
Though different styles of armour came in and out of fashion, the technology changed little from the 15th to 17th centuries, and by the 1600s the use of armour was in decline. It is often said that the advent of firearms resulted in its decline, but research has shown that longbows were just as effective as muskets in penetrating armour protection. Whatever the reason, armour certainly became thicker, heavier and more cumbersome, so that by the time of the English Civil War the trend was for the use of helmets and breastplates and not full plate armour. The leather coat was found to be just as effective against cutting weapons and easier to move in. In more recent wars, helmets have been all that remain of the full-body armour of the medieval knight.

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