Armor

Introduction . . .

Early armor was fairly easy to put on. Usually, a knight's squire could arm him in a few minutes and remove the armor just as speedily, if need be.

Armor was made from steel, iron, and "mail" (small links of chain hooked together to form clothing). These might appear to be clumsy and stiff, however, a man dressed in armor could do just about as much as a man without armor. Some of the plates were attached to one another by rivets which allowed for side to side motion. Leather connecting straps on the inside allowed for easier movement. Tube-shaped plates also had "flanged", or projecting edges which allowed for a twisting motion.

First, a knight would put on an arming doublet. An arming doublet was a padded garment with points to fasten different parts of the armor onto. The rest of the armor could not be put on without the arming doublet. After putting on an arming doublet, a knight would be armed from the feet upward.

Second, he would put on the sabaton, greave, poleyn, and cuisse for the feet and legs. The sabaton was a steel covering for the foot. The greave was used as a shin protector. The poleyn was protection for the knee and attached to the cuisse with a rivet. The cuisse was a defense for the thigh that laced to the torso.

Next, he would secure the mail skirt around his waist to protect the groin.

Fourthly, a backplate would be placed into position. This protected the buttocks and legs. Then, the breastplate would be fastened to the backplate which would then be called the cuirass.

Next, the pauldron, couter, vambrace, and besague would be placed on the upper arm, elbow, shoulder, and armpit. Then, the gauntlets would be fitted with a leather glove so the knight could grip his weapons. His sword would hang from his left side, and his rondel dagger would hang at his right side. For protection of the lower half of the face, a bevor would be added.

Finally, the knight's rowel spurs were buckled to his feet, and a lined helmet with a chin strap was placed on his head.