9 misconceptions about medieval armor that movies are telling us

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Let's debunk a portion of the myths about armor that has not been removed for months, leather protection, which the assassins allegedly loved, and more.

Myth 1. A military greeting is associated with lifting a visor

There have been many hypotheses about why modern military men "take the bill" by greeting each other.

One of the most popular sounds like this. In those days, when warriors wore armor, when they met, they lifted the visors of their helmets, showing their faces. First, in this way they recognized acquaintances from their class. Secondly, by raising the visor, the knight opened his face for blows, which means that he showed his friend his trust and good intentions. Finally, the helmet was touched with the right hand, which means that it was impossible to take weapons into it.

The theory sounds neat, but there is no convincing evidence for it.

Many types of helmets from antiquity to the Middle Ages were taken away 1.

2. did not have at all, and there was nothing to lift. And since 1700, they have practically disappeared from the battlefields in Europe. In addition, in that era, all knights who respect themselves in the slightest degree had coats of arms on their armor and flags, with which they also marked their subordinates, and it was absolutely not necessary to recognize someone by sight.

17th century English records indicate that "the formal act of a military salute is the removal of the headdress." By 1745, however, the Coldstream Guard had simplified the procedure because they had too big bear hats. The guardsmen were instructed to "touch their headgear with their hand and bow when they pass by their superiors." Apparently, this tradition spread from the British all over the world.

Myth 2. Under armor, you should also wear chain mail

This is one of the most common misconceptions. Supposedly fully equipped knights put on first a gambeson-under-armor, then chain mail (an iron shirt made of many fastened rings), and only on top of that - armor.

It sounds very impressive, but no knight will wear both chain mail and armor at the same time, because it is very inconvenient. Chain-mail fabric really strengthened the vulnerable spots in the joints. Also, a skirt made of it was used to cover the groin and lower back.

But a one-piece iron shirt was not worn under the armor. No historical sources mention such an "armor pie" - this is an invention of modern role-playing and fantasy authors.

Myth 3. Chainmail did not protect from anything

The previous myth goes hand in hand with the next one - supposedly chain mail itself could not really protect from anything. Therefore, the medieval knights quickly abandoned it, switching to full plate armor.

In films, warriors in only chain mail are, as a rule, extras and commoners who are only capable of dying in a rain of arrows. It is believed that a shirt made of iron rings is a very cheap and simple thing, and if it is good for anything, it is only complete with armor.

In reality, the chain mail provided reliable protection from both piercing and cutting weapons, and from arrows. For example, at the Battle of Arsuf in 1191, Saladin's archers fired at the crusaders of Richard I the Lionheart.

And what do you think - the knights did not pay attention to the bows of their opponents at all.

The Muslim chronicler Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad described with horror how the crusaders, with ten arrows sticking out of their chain mail, continued to fight unharmed. Richard won a decisive victory that day.

Over time, plate armor replaced chain mail, not because the latter was vulnerable. Just forging cuirasses turned out to be faster than manually pulling the wire, cutting it and making rings, and then weaving them into a cloth.

Myth 4. The armor shone in the sun

In films and TV shows, as well as at museum exhibitions, armor is often shown polished to a shine. No wonder, when we want to emphasize (or ridicule) someone's nobility and high moral principles, we call such a person "a knight in shining armor."

However, in reality, in most cases, medieval armor is 1.

2. did not shine. Very often it was blackened, that is, covered with scale, or painted to protect it from corrosion.

So to look in real armor, as in a mirror, would not work.

In addition, fabric cloaks and capes, which were called "surco", were worn over the armor. They made it possible to identify the warrior, since the coat of arms was applied to them - their own or the overlord. The clothing also protected the armor from heat from the sun's rays, as well as from rain and dirt.

It was only from about 1420 that armor began to be worn without capes. This was called white armor. The plates were polished with a pumice stone to prevent rust, but they were not dazzling either. "White armor" was very expensive and required serious maintenance, so it served more often as ceremonial attire than as military equipment.

Myth 5. Good armor should have large shoulders

Fans of the Warcraft universe are familiar with this cliché. In modern fantasy, shoulder pads are usually portrayed as very disproportionately huge. And it is completely incomprehensible how their owners wear them, even if they are at least three times muscular orcs.

The dimensions of the real "amice", as this piece of armor is also called, was much more modest.

They did not restrain movements at all and allowed for good fencing, while protecting the shoulders, neck and, in some cases, the chest.

In real history, only samurai loved huge shoulder pads - the Japanese, as always, have their own atmosphere. Only they made their sode from plates flexibly connected with silk cords. When archery or fencing, they moved back so as not to interfere, and covered their hands only when they were lowered.

Myth 6. Knights wore armor without removing

There is an opinion that it is very difficult and time-consuming to put on knightly armor. The process allegedly takes several hours, and several squires help the warrior. After they finish, the knight will literally be clad in armor and will not be able to get rid of them on his own.

This means that all the time on the campaign, the noble Chevalier simply will not take off his armor for weeks, or even months. Because of this, it will naturally stink wildly, and big and small needs will have to be done right in the armor.

In the same "Game of Thrones" the Dog and Brienne Tart carry their cuirasses and chain mail on themselves in any scene, never changing their clothes.

However, this is fiction. Real battle armor with the help of a squire can be put on in 5-7 minutes. If you don't believe me, take a look at this video.

You can do it alone in half an hour, because you have to tinker with the laces. However, there was also armor with a minimum of ties.

The knights and their soldiers had neither the need nor the ability to walk in armor 24/7 - after all, this is not a Space Marine suit with an integrated life support system. If you look at the medieval tapestries, you will see that the warriors wear their usual dress when not fighting.

The armor was put on quickly 1.

2. Immediately before a battle or parade and filmed when not needed. On the march, the knights wore quilted gambesons, which served as both clothing and under-armor. They themselves did a good job of protecting against weapons, especially from cutting blows. It is much more convenient to dissect in gambesone than to carry 25 kilograms of lumbering iron all the time.

Myth 7. There are no armored jackets

A typical protection for a variety of Amazons and elves in fantasy is the so-called armored bra - armor that places a strong emphasis on the chest. Often it is equipped with cutouts to showcase women's charms, and in especially neglected cases it is not even a chain mail bikini.

Probably, there is no need to explain why such an armor in a real battle will not protect from anything.

There are also more modest variations of women's armor in films, TV shows and games, which look like ordinary cuirasses, only with protruding breasts. Looking at them, many fans of "realistic fantasy" authoritatively declare that such armor is, in principle, impossible and no one would create them.

In general, it makes sense. Make extra protrusions on the cuirass 1. 2. E. Oakeshott. European Weapons and Armor: From the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution means reducing its durability. And women in those days did not often command armies and did not fight on the front lines.

But, surprisingly, the protruding bust armor really existed. Take a look at this A bronze breast plate / Christie's from the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. This is an Indian armor of the 18th century, and a man's one. Indian warriors wore female breasts on their armor as a sign of devotion to the goddess Varaha, whom they worshiped.

So "armored lifts" in some way were still available. Another thing is that in medieval Europe they really were not recorded. If any lady wanted to fight in the saddle at a duel or at a tournament (such cases are rare, but there were), she would put on the men's cuirass without any problems.

Even for the most magnificent bust, there would be a place there: the armor does not fit tightly to the body in order to compensate for the impact of armor from any war hammers.

Myth 8. This cool helmet is simply irreplaceable in battle

Take a look at this picture. This is stechhelm, or "toad's head". Very powerful protection for the face and neck. The helmet is firmly attached to the cuirass and completely covers the wearer's face, making it practically invulnerable even to a direct hit with a galloping lance.

In various works of "dark" fantasy, just such a contraption is carried on the head by really bad guys, who are aiming at the post of some kind of Lord of evil. This headpiece adds to the wearer's image, you know.

The “toad's head” looks very ominous and menacing. Only in battles it was not used.

This is a tournament helmet that was worn exclusively for equestrian collision. The shtehhelm design provides safety, but allows you to look only forward and only with your head tilted. It is permissible when a knight gallops along the lists - a track for tournaments with picks, divided along a barrier so that the riders do not bump into each other.

But in a real battle, the "toad's head" will prevent the owner from watching what is happening on either side of him, and will make him practically helpless. This is sports equipment, not combat equipment.

Myth 9. Leather armor is light and comfortable

The typical outfit of some thief or assassin in computer games is leather armor. In the minds of designers, this is such a biker jacket, only arrow-proof and mark-proof.

A fighter in this outfit flutters like a butterfly and stings like a bee. He moves so fast that no can on legs, that is, a knight in armor, can keep up with him. Such is the light, but strong protection.

In the real Middle Ages, almost no one used leather armor.

They were sometimes really made if there was not enough iron and there was nothing to make normal armor. Only typical such armor 1.

2. consisted of a dozen or more layers of skin boiled in oil and covered with wax or resin, and therefore very hard and heavy.

Such a thing was difficult to manufacture and therefore expensive, but it provided no more protection than a simple quilted cloth gambeson. She easily rotted and quickly deteriorated. Unsurprisingly, it was barely used.

However, leather armor still had the only advantage over steel. If you are in a surrounded city and are starving, you can boil it and eat it. According to the historian Flavius Josephus, during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD. NS. the city's Jewish defenders were forced to eat their leather shields and shoulder pads. There is no time for observance of kashrut.