The FIRST Medieval Knights' BREAST PLATES - A Triumph of Design 

Nice to see your mail is proper riveted stuff.

The sheer amount of rigidity a domed shape provides would massively increase your level of protection. If you think of, say, a 1mm sheet of steel. You can flex it by hand, but if you form it into a dome it’ll be strong enough to bear your whole body weight.

The coat of plates is probably one of the most underrated historical armors

Interesting. The medieval armourers knew about "shot gaps" which we know from tank armour design: a shot which is deflected because of angle but then directed to a weak part of the armour doing even more damage. Moreover, another similarity with tank armour design: they knew about having some space between armour layers helps protection.

It’s been mentioned already but the globular shape allows the rise and fall of the chest, especially when breathing heavily. It’s all about fighting and that includes wrestling. Having done a lot of that as a copper it’s really important. I tested some lamellar type armour in 1993 made by (I think) Viper UK. It was too stiff longitudinally, with not enough chest space. Similarly any tight armour is tough if you are at all ‘well nourished.’

Just a small practical point (because that confused me for a moment when I first heard it): when at about 1:53 Matt speaks of going back [from the 13th century] to an earlier period, he says Richard III (which would of course be a much later period, 1483 to 1485) but clearly means Richard I, or the Lionheart (1189 to 1199), which fits his mention of "the late 1100s".

Also the high front part of saddle gave protection to the groin.

If anyone's interested in tens of videos about the evolution of Medieval armor in detail I strongly recommend Schwerpunkt's military historical units series

I actually wondered why the simple basically formless breast plates you see on some early Hastatii aren't really seen in other periods/areas.

Granted my main area of study is French armors, but there Germans (per your comment at the end) pretty much universally did what you stated before and doubled up mail, often wearing a separate apron on top of other mail and garments.

Plate pieces have been found in Khazar burials. Encased greaves and Pauldrons. I have to wonder if the Pauldrons were attached to lamellar as it would seem wise to cover the chest as well. It was a pyre cauldron burial so if organic material lamellar was used it's gone and having worn lamellar, I think it is a excellent overlooked armour. Especially if built with differing sized lames depending on the body area. So small and more dense on the torso etc.

Hey Matt. Funily enough, I bought a Churburg Brestplate from Artos Munitorum a few weeks before, and I love it. Thank you for your work. As I'm currently working on late 14th century "Melyador" from Jean Froissart and its depiction of armor, this video will be very helpful. Have a great day. :)

You should make shirts that say “mail, commonly known as chain-mail”

Other thoughts on groin protection at Agincourt is there are many men in front of you. Would make targeting the groin trickier, except for the front rank. Also harder if the arrows are coming from above, and not many people would be standing still and square in relation to the archer, they'll be moving. And the maille and cloth armour over the groin is 'floating', away from the body, so that will absorb the incoming energy to just move the maille skirt, before the arrow gets to any meaty bits.

The many armor types found in the mass grave at 6:00 all look very interesting, but analyzing those might be like the WWII bomber analysis where they were going to reinforce all the damage on planes that returned and a smart guy said they should really reinforce the other areas because planes hit there did not return to base to be analyzed.

I could listen to you talk for hours, you have so much knowledge, I hope to be as wise and as knowledgable as you are!

Excellent video. Please continue being Matt Easton

One feature of the globular breastplate shape mentioned by a number of commentators (including Knyght Errant) is that the pinched waist shifts some of the weight of the armor to the hips and off the shoulders.

My space-age tech frying pan is cutting-edge 1800's cast iron technology...

I'd be very interested in a video on the topic of your dissertation - why did people move away from relying on chain alone. I guess you briefly answered it - better protection against arrows, crossbow bolts and lances. But may be there was a supply side effect - more availability of metals and blacksmithing? Over the whole Medieval period, armour as a whole became more common - perhaps partly because it was handed on, but maybe also more development of mining and industry?

Great talk. I once made a mild-steel cuirass to use in SCA fighting; found it actually *too* protective, as I could barely even feel a body blow. I use a coat of plates now. NOTE: a few times, you referred to Richard I as Richard III (in referring to the late 1100s).

I just want to say that mail with breastplate on top of it looks so cool. My favourite style in armour fashion.

Definitely going to have to incorporate a stoprib into my paladin's breastplate now!

Hey, we can see most of Matt's garage with this breastplate!

Good stuff! I love this kind of practical history.

One thing I do not recall hearing was the total weight one might be wearing once kitted up for battle

11:39 Id say the doublets and cuirasses sharing that shape started by design more than fashion. Both are requiring the closest fit using non-elastic materials, need to pivot where the torso pivots, and needing to breathe. (although the exact level and shape of the waistline and chest curve do change together, with fashion)

I really think the timing of plate armor has to do with construction techniques and economics. I assume forging iron or steel wire for mail is much easier than forging a single large quality plate of steel. Once the technology was there everyone adopted it. And in ancient times the plates were bronze which is a different technology

I wonder why mirror armor in the East (disc armor/klibanion/krug/zertsalo/shar aina etc) evolved straight into brigandine and never adopted similar single globular breastplate design.

Concerning the mail, I've been wearing mail during battles for over 20 years, and I can say that not only does it prevent you from being cut, but unlike many say, it also does cushion the impact. People tend to think that it's the padding that does that only, but I've been in fights where I only wore mail over a woollen tunic, and mail tends to sort of spread the blunt force so it doesn't come in as hard. Of course, if someone were to hit you with a two-handed polearm, you'll get bruises and maybe break a bone. But against swords it's actually pretty alright! So if you were wearing mail covering your groin and upper legs, that might actually do a lot to protect you from blows.

Trapp family The trapps from”Sound of Music?”

Also there's a difference between our modern perceptions of armour and perhaps how they viewed it historicly. Armour was a lifeinsurance, not something that automaticly imunizes you to hits. So if it improved your chances of surviving, it would be worth it, whatever penetrated penetrated less than it would have without armour

the 1100's was richard the lionheart, not the third

I'd love see you, Todd and probably Zack do lances vs armour 😅

Broigne or ring armor is for of primitive brigandine it's a jacket The broigne consists of a garment to which rigid reinforcements called mesh or macles are attached. The difference between a broigne and a hauberk is that in a hauberk, the links (macles) are connected together without intermediate support. The term Broigne (bronie in the Song of Roland around 1080) would come from the Gallic bronia, “breast, chest”, because it is a jerkin which protected the chest. It was reinforced in the High Middle Ages by Old Low Frankish *brunnia "chain mail, armor, protection" (Old High German brunnī, brunni, brunna, brunia "chain mail, armor, protection" modern German Brünne) . Broignes appeared at the time of Charlemagne and were used until the beginning of the 14th century.

The armour from Visby was old fashioned at the time of the battle/massacree in 1361. It was the local millitsia on the island of Gotland who took up a fight against an invading army. At that time a modern knights gauntlet could be made of 40 pieces of steel.

Matt Good segment. In Thomas Asbridge's "The First Crusade" recounting the Crusaders march to Antioch through high mountain passes, I quote, "Not knowing what to do with themselves and their armour, and offering to sell shields, valuable breastplates and helmets". (p. 148). This was in 1097. What kind of breastplates do you think they were selling? Thanks for your channel.

Brunn, Brynn (with a long u or ü), represented in all Germanic languages from Gothic to Old Norse and Old high German, means something like breastplate. You can argue that by Old Norse (really hundreds of years after Old English and almost a thousand after Gothic) this as well as grim (at least in the earlier sense of metal visor) is an archaic term not understood by most people.

I think the sole purpose of the bulbous chest plate is to allow breathing. When being crushed on the ground by another knight you can still breath. It also helps the soldiers mobility because they can breath better. It’s all about breathing.

Another advantage, that I don't think should be overlooked with the globos-shape of breastplate is that the dome shape is very resistant to deformation as compared to something flatter. This might not help so much against things that can actually penetrate, but it will certainly help a lot against denting, especially with the softer iron armour.

The guy who wrote "Sapiens" a bestseller, is also a medieval weapon historian by the way. Matt should drop him a line.

The piece work also says an article of armor could be added as money came available.

Thanks for the video ⚔️

7:24 I imagine nasty crossbows, and possibly early guns.

Yes Matt you should put together a new 14th century armour. In fact you could do a video on splinted and transitional armour and why you think it was phased out

The fabric covering and rivets was probably the main reason why the coat of plates (or brig) didn't have a stop rib (especially on globos coat of plates).

I would absolutely love to hear more about the development of the Coat of Plates through the 1300s. Terms, adaptations, and things that change a circa 1280 Coat of Plates from a 1340 Coat of Plates to a 1380 Coat of Plates, and later into the forms most people address as a mid-15th century Brigandine.

Being related to Matt must be hell. He's the coolest uncle anyone could have.

I always found it curious how the Greeks and then the Romans had breastplates (what we might call cuirasses) that were very common among heavy cavalry and infantry who could afford them, and then towards the end of the Roman period we see this shift towards mail and soft fabric armor(what we might call variants of gambeson). I guess there are always the common 'catch all' 'collapse of the economy' type answers, but I always find those solutions to be wanting, or at the least not the whole story. Another thing that has always fascinated me is the 'linothorax' of the ancient Greeks. I know it's not really your specialty, but that would be an interesting subject for testing. It's a tricky subject because a lot of the 'key' ideas of what a linothorax is are fairly nebulous or seem to be disputed. It's kind of like a different riff on the gambeson, and I always wonder why it might have been adopted when, what I see as the more obvious answer to this problem(ie. how do we make affordable armor out of fabric), the soft gambeson, doesn't appear on the historical record until much later. The only thing I can think is that maybe it was better at dissipating heat in the Mediterranean climate. But, then, we do have Byzantines wearing a variant of gambeson into the medieval period.

You do need to put that early late armour together 😁 German armour in this age rocks. The ulrich lehnart books "Waffen und Kleidung in der Spätgotik" and "Medieval Armour Costume and Weapons", Wagner et al, show the style nicely.

In regards to the breastplate only covering certain parts, I note that those same areas are covered/exposed on a modern bullet proof plate carrier. I think part of this is it is hard to ride a horse or in a car with full coverage, however I also think there is a bit of a cost benefit analysis where at some point extra weight on your waist makes it hard for you to move and therefore more vulnerable. With both the modern and ancient design I think there is also the knowledge that you might survive a wound to the leg with medical attention, but the head, neck, lungs are heart are instant game over.

I read an article explaining why in the UK you drive on the left. Having to do with wearing swords 🗡️ and being right handed. Of course began hundreds of years ago 😮

For years I've been wanting to know, is that Sir Morien at 3:22 or St. Maurice? I've seen both names attributed to that figure

As builder of about everything . I'd say they Breast Plate shape is a design thought best for it's purpose What ever I work on I consider the best method to make the project succeed and last long. To me it is made to slide off direct thrusts.

Late 12th Century...did you mean Richard I?

A friend of a friend knew a bloke at work who used to re-enact, mainly at weekends and lunch breaks, great battles in his mind but he had to make his armour out of cardboard and tinfoil.

I do wonder why you never see any wooden breastplates for lower class troops. Supposing for whatever reason you weren't going to carry a shield, you could make a cheap breastplate with the same techniques as you use to make a shield, to put over a gambeson. If you wanted some flexibility, you could even make it in two sections. One that hung from the shoulders and fit over a lower section that hung from the waist. Wooden splint armor for the arms and legs makes sense too. Outside of tribal armors, I wonder why I haven't seen much like it elsewhere.

This is my groin. Let me show you it's features.

uh-oh, you mentioned scale armor 😳Are there any images of that online? Curious how it looks in this context. I only get fantasy stuff when I search for it 🤔

Any Turtle shell breast plates back then ?

Was there ever a pre coat of plates armour where bronze might have been used? IE "my mail is great but the ancients used bronze as well" so they came up with a bronze cuirass on top of the mail.?

The globular design is also a "one size fits all" approach. Even then, some nobles had a bit more girth than others.

great video

Great video!

Great vid, Matt. Why wouldn't the stop rib be at the highest possible point of the armour? Does it interfere with the aventail?

Did I just mishear? I swear he said Richard III in relation to the late 1100s at around 1:55 and again at 2:05. Or am I just losing my hearing in my old age and he actually said Richard I? I wish I could say my hearing was impaired because I was wearing a great helm, but this is not alas the case. Nor was it the din of battle. Just me I guess.

I was trying to learn about these and would like to get one.

Why did german knights had proto-folds much later: Could it just have been how they fought, or at least how they expected to fight? If one expects only to fight on horseback than one has the saddle to protect the hips and the groin. Morgarten was in 1315. Bevor that Ritter - Knights - in the HRE were very horsecentric.

Where did you get your brigandine and how much did you pay for it? I’m looking for reliable armor makers for SCA and HEMA

Amazing as always.

With those early breast plates being worn, predominantly, for jousting, then it's highly unlikely that a knight would need groin protection beyond that provided by the pommel of the saddle. Also, during battle, knights (except the English) generally charged their opponents on horseback, again having the pommel to protect their groin area. If they were forced to fight on foot, then those things Matt mentioned (maille, padding, etc.) would have been considered sufficient for the purpose.

are lorica segmentatas considered plate armour?

I think at this point it might be more accurate to say, "Chainmail, historically known as 'maille'...." Language changes and I think the change is largely complete here. Thank you (?) Gary Gygax.

Separate point, i often have to explain to people that there is usually more armor than what is visible. Especially japanese armor. "Thats dumb that they just have cloth on their arms, what if they get hit there?" Me: "well akshually, there is chain maille underneath the cloth"

Richard III in late 1100’s? Did you mean Richard I?

Globular breastplate vs Disk/Sun Armour, which of these two is more protective? Why the disk/sun armour outlived the later?

if you know anything about tank armour you understand the importance of angles in it

btw. Churburg.. you should visit the games and joust and the great battle of Calven that take place every year.

Has Matt ever done his Ancestry DNA or 23&Me? I'd love to know where he's from. I've never seen an indigenous Englishman, let alone an indigenous European, with ears that far down their neck. This phenotype is specific to the Levant, mostly Jewish in ancestry. So it'd be really interesting to see where his family is from and when they arrived in the UK and how they got there.

Are there any examples of steel/iron muscle cuirasses from the archaic period?

I was not wondering about Matt's groin......

German SEK(armed police/swat) also uses mail when they have to deal with stabby people.

@13:00 interesting frying pan 🤨

Nice coat mail, but shouldn't it descend on the arms at this late period?

For a standalone breastplate, why does it end so abruptly and seemingly unfinished where the shoulderstraps start? Feels like they could've finished that a little more pleasing to the eye.

I'm confused. You keep saying Richard III, but given his status as a 15th century king, breastplates and more should have been common. Are you misspeaking and intending to say Henry III? Just confused, would appreciate clarification.

I think it's a pretty sure bet that breastplates became curved for entirely pragmatic reasons, they offered greater protection from piercing weapons.

It's all very well and fancy, all these latest models on the show room floor, but where are the vids about the manufacturers ? Had to have been a practical man who suggested a snip here and a tuck there. Who and What, Where and When, Why and How ? All them nifty designs for every purse. Spontaneous, was it all, 'spose ? HOW ? Is the Q? Complaint - need - design - manufacture - stores - materials - producers ? There were a lot of panel beaters banging on about things. Who were they ?

"Choburg" Is the local name, the italian name Is "castel Coira". It Is in Val Venosta, close to Austria. Beautiful places, well worth a visit

you would have thought that they would for sure take all of the armor off of those bodies before throwing them in the grave

If you are building late 14th early 15th century armor you should have a klappvisor

But what about the cataphracts? :(

@scholagladiatoria or anyone in the comments: what were the chains hanging off early breast plates for...other than an interesting Friday night that is?

All I saw was a knight with nipple chains

it sounds like you are saying Richard the third, but I am pretty sure you mean Richard the first, saying the lionheart could eliminate any such confusion. Is it just me that has a maladjusted ear for dialect or did you misspeak?

So when they started to wear those first breast-plates they didn't fasten it on the inside of a coat anymore? It completely replaced the coat of plates?

It's weird how armour has moved to and from plates throughout history. It always makes me think of the roman armor that was so very similar to the visby plates, and hundreds of years of just mail between 🤷‍♂️. I like this breastplate, but the coverage is minimal compared to the coat of plates.

So wait what's the thing in the thumbnail

Whenever you said "skirt" i immediately flashed back to middle school where a girl at my table was excited to see Troy, because Brad Pitt was going to wear a skirt. I just had to interrupt. "Its armor, he isnt wearing it just for looks." She was flabbergasted. It took her a whole 5 seconds to respond. "What? Really?" For the life of me, I can't remember what exactly i said then, but the gist is "its better than getting stabbed in the dick or cut on the thigh" She asked why it looked so much like a skirt. I didnt really have an answer back then...😢

Maybe for the ease of making.... bespoke made to measure of the peg pay your money take your chance 🤔🤔