The shape and fit of a medieval armour breastplate is really important to the use of weapons. But also we have to accept that wearing any kind of armour affects how you use weapons and what you can and cannot do.
@@scholagladiatoria That's the sound of a mic on a leather strap against a breast plate...or more precisely the clip of the lav mic on the backside of the strap.
Matt is being forced to create these videos from the dungeon in the Sherwood Forest. Turned out armor is more useful than we thought and Matt is being forced to spread prop pieces. Morse code is crazy! Lemme know what you think it says! I think he wants pizza but only after rescue. Let's storm the castle! In armour!
Little has changed then. In today's meaning of "armor", tanks mostly, there are three factors that must be traded off- armor strength, mobility, and offensive capability. The specific driving elements are a bit different of course- how much armor you can pile on vs available engine horsepower vs how big a gun you want to carry but the final result is the same- it's a tradeoff.
Body armor is still widely used today by military and police and can cover much of the body. Much like in the centuries Matt mentioned we use a degree armor suited to the context it is intended to be used in and its economical practicality. A regular policeman may wear a lightly protective body armor while a SWAT officer would wear near fully-encompassing protection
@@larrybrock6811 And as Matt goes on about, modern body armor is heavy, sweaty and restricting pretty much to match its degree of protection (though it's wildly improved over its WWII and Vietnam-era origins). Another place things haven't changed much.
@@larrybrock6811 Years ago I was issued 3A concealable body armor. It's fitting was less then ideal and as a result it rode up and pressed against my throat while sitting and literally bruised my shoulders when shooting a qualification course.
This principle applies to all equipment, along with a fourth factor: cost of purchase and maintenance. If you can't purchase it or enough of it, the performance of it is no longer relevant. If you can't afford to maintain its performance, then you're throwing your money away in purchasing it.
I gotta say, even though I've seen it in several videos, I still just love that particular winged spear Matt has. The aesthetics of the business end are just perfectly proportioned, like the Victoria's Secret model of spears.
When I'm drawing a bow, the pencil moves the same if I have armor on or not :-). How far the breast plate extends from the chest would have an enormous effect on draw length. Might explain why they put those archers in the back.
@SlowMotionSword Painting and embroidery are time intensive procedures. They may have been done by people who weren't there and supervised by someone who wanted the product out the door.
@@kevinreardon2558 I'd love to get a full suit of embroiderer's armor. I've read that the first Duke of Marlborough started his military career in a fully armed embroidery battalion.
What you're talking about with fit, especially through the pectoral region still rings true today. With modern ballistic armor, the fit of the carrier and correct size plates for body type are very important. The key emphasis of protection being for the lungs and heart, while still having the ability to shoulder and properly seat your weapon into the pocket of the shoulder, and maintain that weld in different shooting positions. As a Soldier and HEMA student, I always find it interesting some of the considerations I share with my predessecors.
Hey now, Mister Easton. "Lots of HEMA people don't necessarily realise is that armour does restrict and change how you move, and every single bit of the armour does that in subtle and different ways." Now, I won't speak for all practitioners over the world, but I'm still fairly sure we all notice the difference in doing various cuts and strikes when wearing no gloves vs. when wearing gloves. And it all adds up, the more gear we pad on. So, from my perspective, the difference between doing stuff wearing shorts and a T-shirt, and wearing a full "tournament gear" - it's very noticeable! When I wore extra forearm protection, it was even worse... So yeah, I think most HEMA people (who've had the chance to try things out) generally understand that armour changes and restricts what you can do. Although sure, we won't REALLY know until we've tried whatever particular type of armour we're talking about.
Valuable information about proper sizing for plate armour. When you mentioned the choice to wear less, lighter armour, I remembered that Alexander The Great wore a classic muscle cuirass made of compressed layers of linen, which has been proved to stop arrows, believe it or not. Thanks, Matt, always a pleasure to watch...
Make a video in full harness already 😤 !!! Between you and Lindybeige, the armor teasing is becoming unbearable! Joking aside, great video as always Matt, looking forward to seeing the full kit in the future 😁👍
I wish I'd bought one of your swords as opposed to cold steel replicas for my memorial wall...I do however have my Great Grandfathers swagger stick with a stiletto dagger inside, that I know for sure he had in the Somme, plus his lead filled bolted mace, like a big heavy truncheon to "brain the Hun" as he used to like saying..I'll nbever sell them, just a fun thing
re - 2:03 The skills are indeed transferrable, but it costs you a either a stat point, or a feat if you want to transfer a skill. Also, if it's not a class skill, then the costs are higher. Ps: There's nothing that I can't twist to fit a DnD narrative :>
This is why experimental history is so important. Only by trying it yourself can you learn that real men at arms in full plate must have worn their lapel microphones with the wire under their breastplate.
Even in modern warfare, armour is a compromise. Example: the German Tiger 2 (königstiger) was awesome in the armour department. But it was not that practical - it was too heavy, to thirsty on the fuel and broke down too much. Right thru all of the history since armour was first thought of, it has been a comprimise between protection, cost and practical use.
A famous example of trading armour for mobility in history was Phillip of Macedon's military reforms of the Macedonian phanlanx. He replaced the short spear with the sarissa (pike), the large hoplon shield with a smaller peltast and replaced the heavy bronze armour of the Greek phalanx with lighter linen allowing for a highly mobile, highly effective, offensive infantry formation.
Hey Matt, could you make a video on head mobility with a bevor? I'm asking because I haven't seen that many videos focused on the neck, a very very important area
It also would be great to hear about the mobility with a gorget. Always wondered how much it restricts one. I bet the gorget is way worse, only reason why I dont want to get a sallet.
So, I have been following your channel for a while, and it is informative and smart, and quite fantastic, I am from rotorua New Zealand and i noticed in this new back ground there is a wahaika (Maori patu or club), or at least what looks like one hanging in the upper left corner, tell me that story as I think I missed it somewhere...
So we will bring seeing more armor videos? Excellent! Do you do/have you done much harnessfeschten? Yes, I'm a bad Fiorest for using German terminology.
One example of limiting armor you've previously discussed was visors on helmets. Often you might want the visor up (less protection), at least outside of a direct charge. While the goal might be visibility and breathing as opposed to movement, you still are trading direct protection for ability to function on the battlefield (and sometimes avoiding dangerous blows).
I once wore my gambeson, then mail hauberk and then brigandine, and sparred my friend, who wore only his gambeson. I found that it was hard to raise my longsword up to block his longsword downward attack.
I have a full harness for full armoured combat, but i have to buy a new one since i gained 30lbs last year, my armorer is rather inexperienced but made a solid set for me last time
I suspect this is why maile was so wide-spread and used for such a long period of time: it offers a good middle-of-the-road compromise between protection, mobility, comfort and weight.
I have an armor similar to yours. I can even do sit-ups without any difficulty. I even wear it under my overcoat and go to streets. I can walk or ride bicycle easily. I think a single breastplate don't interfere much with movement. But,yes,it can inhibits movement a little bit.
I really would like to know your opinion, Master, on what is the BEST armour set ever made (the most protective while less limitating the movements) in the armour golden age (16th century). A video on that would be very appreciated. Thanks a lot for your work!
The guys at PursuingThe KnightlyArts channel mentioned in one of their videos that full plate shifts your center of mass upwards, which makes you more easier to being knocked down.
Clearly the clicking is not static, but is Morse Code for "Context is everything, Context is everything, Context is everything" followed by "Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse."
A good conclusion. As soon as I transfer from Form Training to Sparring, so from Training clothes to Fencing Jacket, Mask, Gloves, you get the gist, then my Fencing and Movement has to adapt of course. As Coach stated this Monday "Schielhau works wonderful from the right shoulder, but as soon as you got your mask on you tend to hit your head, so don't forget to adapt." Same with almost every other form and guard.
I have some bone problems and lots of fusion in the spine. I’ve never noticed any difference between my movements in or out but heat is quick to build up .
Every time I see that heavy-shafted, long-bladed, winged spear behind you I think it's probably the most effective weapon in your armoury. If I ever came to one of your HEMA classes in Ealing that's what I'd want to use. Where can I buy one, Matt?
Brilliant video thanks for that. It explained very nicely why full plate armour was so expensive in medieval times, as they were largely unique pieces made to fit. A couple of questions though, obviously you would need something padded underneath the plate, so presumably that would be where the Gamberson (sorry for the spelling), but you also mentioned the possibility of using mail. So would this be a complete piece of mail shirt or smaller pieces. It was not entirely clear from your video. Secondly, what would you use on your legs, presumably there would be plate armour on the legs, but i am assuming that the padded armour would be underneath with maybe some kind of mail hose?? Is this correct or am i widely off the mark. Finally, in most medieval rpg, you kill the monster and loot their stuff and find armour. My question is, if the armour (particularly plate) was so unique to the individual, how realistic is it that you could find a piece of plate in a dungeon for example and that you would be able to benefit from it? Basically how difficult would it be to get it adjusted to you, if it was within a reasonable tolerance of your size. Brilliant video, and you have just won yourself another subscriber, so thanks.
This is actually and issue I have when sparring. I have a small stature, so wearing the Jacket, Gorget, Mask,and other Armor bits makes it hard for me to move and get into certain stances such as high guard. I think I just need to get used to it, but it would be nice for some instructors to address this when teaching. Doing Longsword sparring in gear is different from Drills in clothes.
That breastplate has coverage similar to my modern ballistic plate carrier. Interesting, guess it's like a futuristic breastplate. I doubt many weapons could penetrate the AR500 plates, if any.
There's videos of rifle rounds going through AR500 plates. A 50 calibre AP round will penetrate two level 3 AR500 plates, which might ruin your day somewhat.
@scolagladiatoria Question: How many people in the 13th and 14th centuries carried swords into battle? It seems to me that a spear or pole arm and dagger would be sufficient and wearing a sword would be too much of an incumberance than the possibility of actually using it warrants. P.S. I suppose if you were a mounted soldier, you could have quite a few more weapons because you could attach them to the horse.
I've always wondered why later armours, lets say Greenwich as an example, tended to forgo the waist articulation and make themselves "too long". Any insight as to the development of this trend?
7:28 now imagine applying what he is saying to a nowadays dubbed "you dont get it, its not bad, its steel and is going to protect you" type games inspired double cup -bo-breastplate.
Are there many examples in european armour where there were very A-Symetric pieces? i know Greek Hoplites would only wear one greave for example, are there situations where people wouldn't mind a lack of mobility on one side of their armour because the way they always held their spear/polearm etc..?
So is Kendo somewhat more realistic to unarmored fencing since the Do would simulate a breastplate? From what I can tell even lower ranking Ashgiru had a breastplate and head protection.
4 года назад
What or how would be the best armour that can be put on by the wearer? I mean without any help.
Hi Matt, I take it that is 15th C armour? Was it the musket ball that brought about the change of the breastplates shape, i.e. from flat to the pointed style, such as those used during the English civil war? In essence it would have been an early form of "spaced armour", especially if there was a void behind the breast plate and the jacket worn underneath. As you alluded to, one of the biggest issues with wearing armour is heat exhaustion. Today we have the Osprey composite front and back plates, issued to all our troops going to a conflict zone. It is a 2cm thick solid plate and is much longer than your breast plate. It does restrict mobility and causes issues when driving vehicles. One of the main issues with it is the amount of heat it keeps in, as there are no air holes to let your body breathe. You do wear a purpose built under armour sweatshirt, that wicks the sweat away, but does nothing for the heat. However, a few years ago a team of chemists developed a new type of steel armour. The brief was to design an armour that had better ballistic capabilities, but was significantly lighter than the standard armoured steel. The armour is a super bainite steel and uses a multi-mode quenching method as part of giving it the required hardness. It is different from normal steel plate as it is covered in laser drilled holes. It is made by British Steel (Tata) under the trade name of Pavise armour. The ballistic performance of perforated Super Bainite steel armour is at least twice that of conventional rolled homogenous steel armour. This is because the introduction of perforations creates a large number of edges which disrupt the path of incoming projectiles, significantly reducing their potency. The laser drilling process also creates differential hardness within the hole, with the surface being softer than the back. The holes reduce the weight by at least 45% over a comparable solid armoured steel plate. This would be great if it could be introduced to personal body armour. The problem being is that most personal ballistic armour is made from either a ceramic composite or a form of Kevlar. With ceramics they can only take a single shot as the crack a break up as part of the ballistic absorption process. Not sure with Kevlar, if a number of small holes would make it weaker. But it would significantly reduce heat exhaustion, as the heat can now vent away from the body.
It seems not totally dissimilar to how a tailor cuts a coat to combine the aesthetics of clean lines following the body and the freedom of movement of the arms and waist.
Blueing in various hues, engraving, etching, gilding, even painting was available if you just had enough money. These things multiplied the price of a nice suit of armor multiple times over, so a great way to distinguish yourself to your friends and enemies in battle!
The arm mobility is a pretty big issue, since even with polearms and spears you still want to be able to do "ox"-like high guards, often with arms crossed. For example Fiore's spear in armor. Which is why I've been for years arguing that boobplate is a impractical design, as the protrusions extend outward and often the design is much wider at chest level. Compare plastic chest protectors for men and women; I've noticed that even smaller sized women's protectors are still much wider than large or evel xl men's protectors. Also note, those are made out of softer plastic which bends. That said it's interesting to compare it to the Japanese/Churburg style breastplate, which rests at the hips while still offering pretty good mobility.
Another Schola video watched en garde. I can't wait to get a custom fit kevlar breastplate to replace the one I wear now. It is cool that the kevlar is flexible and so doesn't restrict movement as much as steel or a non-flexible kevlar would, and the flex lets it cover more area by virtue of just being able to be pushed out of the way lol. My old one will go to a YT channel for testing What the point about fitting the front plate properly reminds me of: www.highcomarmor.com/rifle-armor-plate-cuts-and-how-they-make-a-difference-to-the-operator/ A good reason not to have breastplates come up too high to the throat is because the head can be forced down or the armor forced up to choke the person wearing it. One of the reasons I did yoga in my armor for over a year (beyond testing it's armor check penalty and max dex bonus lol) finding if there way any such things could be a problem. I've seen cases where improperly designed armor was used to kill police officers =( You do make a good point about not doing things as good in armor as without them. I've worn my armor (and other gear) long enough now that I'm as good as I'd normally be without anything, and just go a little bit faster and easier without anything on now lol. It took months and years of slowing adding things and constantly wearing them while doing stuff, and I did/do feel the gap whenever something new is added, but over time the penalty always does diminish significantly if given several months of constant use and refining how the gear is worn - in my personal experience. It never does totally vanish tho, the laws of physics and geometry are inviolable, but the person gets a lot more used to it - and gear breaks in. Fascia is a big factor, not just muscle, and fascia is best trained through repetition. It's to the point that I sometimes forget to put my armor back on after wearing it working out etc, because having it there and not having it there both feel like nothing! My personal goal is to be able to go full on Assassin's Creed mode in my EDC, I can keep up with the hired thieves right now lolz but I'm no parcore expert
What style of armour did you buy Matt? Clearly it has a plackart that extends pretty high up judging by the strip but I've seen that on both Milanese and English styles. The colour is absolutely gorgeous. I love blued steel armour. As far as the "static" is concerned I'm pretty sure it's the mic bouncing off the breastplate because it's attached to the leather strip, so as the strip moves around the mic taps against the metal.
My soft Kevlar body armor I wear for work fits just like this breastplate. Starts right at the top of the sternum, and terminates just above the belly button. No idea how some of my coworkers can stand wearing it touching their duty belts while standing.
Be cool if you had pictures of the many other armors you are describing (on top of the obvious not wearing a mic on your chest when you can have it off screen)
