Medieval Knight's Armour: mobility & design of the 15th century cuirass
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- Опубликовано: 14 авг 2020
- Looking at the 15th century cuirass (breastplate, backplate, plackart and fauld) - how it is worn, but more importantly how the breast is designed to allow good arm mobility for combat.
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With every video you make on Medieval cuirasses, the lives of heavily armored player characters in my D&D campaign gets more and more complicated.
Aye, WFRP too. Time to hire minions.
Just let them get brigandene armor. Can be put on alone, has steel plates.
Great topic and video. I can't wait to see Matt in his full hardness... I mean *harness*
Having the breastplate too low was the biggest problem with my costume armour I made as a teenager. It looked pretty good, but I couldn't bend well. My main inspiration was video games, which was part of the problem.
Video games tend to get [male]plate armor as some sort of overgrown muscles , mostly in order to look cooler.
For obvious reasons, this approach doesn't work.
@@neniAAinen Looking cooler is the point of video game armour (although they usually look hideous) as their defence is generally slightly better than torn cloth.
I always thought that the best way to describe wearing armour was you suddenly start aging and gaining weight after putting it on. You suddenly tire quicker, can't exorcise for as long, get hotter and ache more. When I was in my 20's, fighting for 10 minutes made me feel like I do now at 45!
Hi Matt, Yes, even today we have issues with armour plates. The front and back plates we used in the Osprey body armour were solid 1" thick heavy Kevlar panels. They do have some shaping to them, but when you wear the plate carrier with the full blast protection mobility suffers massively. A lot issues we had, were when you put ammo pouches on the front. These became a major issue when you hit the dirt and trying to crawl around, they just get in the way and snag on things. The other issue is that in certain positions you had to change the way you aimed, as the butt of the rifle would slip off the armour, not great when firing. Then there was the issue of firing from the prone position and the back plate catching your helmet and pushing it down over your eyes, again not great. The Osprey is in the process of being replaced by a new lighter system called Virtus, this has been designed from feedback of using the Osprey system.
There are always compromises to be made with body armour. Weight, mobility, protection, comfort, cost and durability are all factors in their design. Watching today's fully equipped soldiers, and even police officers, when running, jumping and climbing etc, I get the feeling they are often overburdened for many situations, with a consequential loss of effectiveness. A slower and less agile target is a better target.
Matt: It's quite difficult to explain to someone who hasn't wore armour what it's actually like.
288K subscribers: We're waiting to see you, in full armour, in a video doing all sort of activities and than we'll understand.
Cheers! =D
In the meanwhile, Knyght Errant did a video with the Metatron comparing mobility in a Medieval European plate harness compared to a Japanese set of armor.
@incinerator950 It's always interesting to see things from a slightly different perspective, even if it's just minor stuff. Over at Modern History for instance, Jason Kingsley talks about never having washed his arming doublet, and why.Makes me speculate that if perhaps the most difficult part of being armed may not have been putting on that doublet.
@@philhsueh4860 While the comparison of over-all mobility in armor, and between European armor and Samurai armor is helpful, there are still unique differences that come from wearing armor that you don't get in clothing. I think that was what he was trying to say. Having worn both types of armors personally, I can attest that it's a different experience and even explaining it to someone (eg. you can't slouch your chest) it's something that they won't appreciate until they've worn the suit for a day.
I'm now imagining a very hardcore order of knights using the "two knights can dress each other" idea as a training speed drill, like stripping and re-assembling a firearm is sometimes a speed drill now.
squires and page boys dress thier knights not other knights unless theres no ther option
You know there probably was a group that did.
Huh. Who'd of thought that Superdry doesn't make an arming doublet.
Thank you for answering those questions in detail. I'm really enjoying this series of armour videos
I think you can relate wearing medieval combat armor to proper motorcycle racing gear; i.e. full face helmet, heavy leather jacket (with elbow, shoulder, and back armor), gauntlet gloves (with armor on the wrist, knuckles, and back of fingers), heavy leather pants (with knee and hip armor and knee pucks), and protective boots (again, with armor around the achilles, metatarsels, toe, and ankle). It's a bit warm, but allows plenty of movement for its intended purpose. It's only when you climb in a car or try to hop a fence that it's really limiting, so long as it's properly fitted. It IS possible to dress yourself completely, but a bit of help is nice.
Agreed, probably as close as normal folk will get. For military, it's a little like wearing a plate-carrier.
Arm armour - with some versions of arm armour, you can tie it to the padding, and then let them stay tied on.
And then you get it on when you put on your padding.
Some models of breast and back plate can similarly be stored partly strapped together. And if needed you can put it on, and only use one strap or even take a belt and use that to keep the front and back together.
Sooooo, does this mean we get to see you and Lindybeige going at it at fight camp next year in full harness?
The finish on your armour is beautiful. Is it some sort of mild bluing?
Thanks, yes it is blued.
@@scholagladiatoria Can you put a link to the armory you aquired the cuirass? I couldn't understand what you said. Much thanks!
@@afterzanzibar I think he said it was made by someone from Saint George Armory
Might be arrowproof.
Is this a Knyght Errant advertisement?
10:57 I see you've masterd the Picard manoeuvre.
To address one of the early topics, in an emergency, wouldn't a knight swiftly don a brigandine jack rather than faff around donning plate?
Quite possibly, but I also recall Matt talking about "higher status" brigandines fastening at the back, as opposed to more regular ones fastening on the side.
could you make a video about viability of protecting only different parts of bodies? On medieval artwork I often see people only covering chest without shoulder or arm protection, even no leather gloves, why? And if you're fighting mostly with side of your body, is there any reason to wear for example only mail on torso and full plate protection on arms? Kinda like gambeson+metal strips on arms for infantry
Another thing you never see in movies is the "beer gut" looking front of armour. Its always tapered in to the waist.
The bellied shape is period/place/fashion-specific.
JonMacFhearghuis The belly shape causes a lance strike to deflect up and out instead of down into the saddle. Nothing good comes from a lance staying on target.
@@natehammar7353 or deflecting down into your danglies, for that matter. The armor in the shortlived History Channel show 'Full Metal Joustin' was not bellied like this, and the number of groin injuries on that show was astonishing.
Tyler Stone Ouch! Who would have thought that making armor similar to that used by actual jousting knights from the Middle Ages would be a good idea when trying to be like knights from the Middle Ages? 😏😏😏
There's a mod for the Witcher 3 that gets rid of the beer gut look for the Griffin Witcher armour set. It's funny to think that while it would make the armour look prettier (subjective) it would make it worse as an actual piece of armour.
I used to be a retainer for a couple of guys involved with something akin to HEMA, but using blunt, thick rattan rather than steel blades to mitigate injuries. Yes, I had to help them with their cuirasses, gorgets and vambraces. The spaulders were permanently attached and the vambraces had articulated elbow cops. Rounding out the armor was a gambeson underlayer, a weightlifting belt to help protect the kidneys and short ribs which also supported thigh plates, knee cops and greaves, gauntlets, athletic cup and helm with a suspension system.
Keep these armor videos coming - really appreciate them. Thank you!
I did not expect Buzz Lightyear. 👏👍
Two people can definitely help armor each other up, my group is fairly small so we end up squiring for each other a lot.It is definitely sub-optimal. With a helper or 2 I could get my friend fully geared in half the time it would take just me.
Most interesting! Thanks for these detailed explanations and demonstrations.
Great video one of your most instructive from my point of view, thx.
Super interesting, thanks a lot Matt!
Another video about pauldron construction regarding the need for movement and protection.
And why certain designs became more used than others.
What gauge and material is your set of armor made from?
It is indeed gorgeous craftsmanship.
If you do a video of the shoulders, would you be so kind as to show the internal articulations and how it is equiped?
Would you be willing to make a video discussing fantasy armors? As far as (realistically) changing the aesthetic of the shape, for example removing the pot belly look? I think it would be an interesting discussion and a video I for one want to watch
Matt you really should show us the full armour, an idea that i have never scene be done is showing us how you cut while wearing full armour, like test cutting in armor! Im really curious how the body mechanics of arming sword and longsword while cutting in full armour, i think you have alot to say about that topic!
Matt were why Napoleonic French Cuirassier breastplates not shaped like the Mediveal ones ?
I have no idea :-)
If you mean the belly, that's a period thing. The peascod or pigeon-breasted thing, with the very pointed front, was a later addition to armor to better defend against bullets. And I believe that Matt (or some other big time RUclipsr) did wear a cuirassier plate for a video and explained that they have wider breasts and higher collars because you're often sitting on a horse and swinging a 1-handed weapon to just one side of your body, so you don't need as much "cross-ways" mobility.
Have been waiting for defense this maxed out version of you.
Main question: how first aid to wounded knight looks like?
Probably involves cutting straps to get the armor off
Probably involves a can opener
Taking it off is actually pretty quick in comparison to putting it on.
Amputation :D
Alcohol, bandages, and prayer.
many thanks, a very useful video
Even in the 20th Century, Royal Navy sailors needed someone else's help to get properly dressed. (That is true, but totally bizarre - all they wore was clothes, FFS.)
Some American Navy officers too, as shown in (of all places) the movie "Battleship".
some clothes in the past,were difficult to be put alone,so,that would explain.
That disappointed zoom at 1:37 I'd say, speaks for all of us here.
Nice moves man.
In addition to the augmented protection from the shoulders, it looks like the protruding lower stomach portion might actually help protect the higher bit. If the stomach were close fitted, the whole torso might present a fairly flat (vertical) face, rounding only at the very top of the pectorals and shoulders. But with the stomach extended, the whole harness takes on a sloped shape (visible at 16:36) to encourage glancing blows.
Had to comment before even watching it. Didn't want to miss the train. Gonna watch it now.
Have a duel with Modern History TV
Matt has confirmed he doesnt ride, it wouldnt be fair. i'd still watch it though. Both of them smilling all the way and being super polite
@@apokos8871 He doesn't ride, but once on the ground, he is the one who knows how to handle weapons
@@MrSam1er chill, its not a "who would win" thing. its all about education
@@apokos8871 A duel is necessarily a "who would win" thing. It's kind of the point of it.
I'd like to see a yearly tournament where all the HEMA youtubers fight for bragging rights and have a little sword trophy that gets passed around.
WOW, do you have a picture of you in your full kit somewhere? It looks awesome.
Kendo has a very front on stance, but older kenjutsu styles have postures which are much closer to the side-on stances you talk about here.
Samurai armor also has wider arm holes, going from nipple to nipple across the front tateate.
Imagine doing this video and get interrupted so you greeted your mailman in these.
It is time to admit how much you influence my skyrim modding. ;) Thanks for knowledge!
Servants are useful.
One of my armours i can put on myself,
Brigandine with the arms and paldrens pre attached.
Don’t even need a servant. If you’re going into battle, you could just ask the guy you’re camped next to to help.
@@Specter_1125 thats wat we usually do at our reenactment groups
You can hang samurai armor from a tree and literally drop it onto yourself, lol. I'm not brave enough to try, because it seems like a good way to knock yourself TF out, but I can put that armor on alone and am 99% positive that I'd be able to fit through it if it were hanging; i'm just worried that i'd catch a shoulder-strap to the head, lol
@@SlyBlu7 once i finish my samurai armour i may try. (But I'm building it with con's in mind so i plan to make it 100% self dresseble)
@@knutzzl I'm working on a new suit currently. You doing steel lames or cosplay stuff? My first uses steel, the new one is mostly hardened leather scales; more like the rawhide they used. Steel scales are too expensive to buy or time-consuming to make.
10:14 :D Matt, you're a buzzing source of inspiration ;)
If you happen to see this Matt, could you show us that sword between the schola shield and the hand axe? I can't remember if that's been in a video before, and it always catches my eye.
Just Another smallsword
@@jeanpaulgartier3404 It's still neat though. And many of the other smallswords don't have the knuckle bow and the finger rings, they often just have the shell guard. So if it is a smallsword, then it's atypical for those features. At least from my limited exposure to them.
@@mtgAzim just search 'Smallsword' on Google images then keep saying it's atypical xD
@@jeanpaulgartier3404 Thats why I said "from my limited exposure". Im sure there are others. "I" just haven't seen many of them, is all.
Matthew, have you ever researched the Spanish conquests or conquistadors of the Elizabethan era? Your black armour reminds me of the portraits of Hernan Cortez and Francisco Pizarro. There is an interesting photo of Pizarro's skull as the result of his murder or 'overthrow'. I thought I read somewhere that he was rushing to put on or look for his breast plate when the assassins caught up to him in the night in his house. His wounds look mighty painful, similar to those of King Richard III maybe? Horrible ways to die in those days!! Anyway, thanks for your videoes. You should maybe review the weapons of the Aztecs against the Spanish armor and swords and guns. 😉 Bernal Diaz, a soldier in Cortez's ranks gives many first hand accounts of their engagements.
Yet another fascinating, educational video! Thank you Matt! Hey, are you & Lindybeige still thinking about training some people in the use of spears for a test against swords?! Be well brother!
I've heard a good deal about gussets (distinct from voiders) and particularly sliding gussets as a means of adding protection and mobility at the armholes, but it's difficult to find solid info on it.
when it comes to getting into arm harness on your own, couldn't you leave it pointed to the arming doublet but unbuckled then buckling it once you get the doublet+arm harness on?
Good evening! Could someone put the links of the videos Matt mencionate in this video, please?
That sabatons really messed with me. I have a repro. 1420 Burgundian Gothic armor, and my first time wearing it one of my spiky toes caught some earth and I went down. I did get up pretty fast and did the usual look around to see if anyone saw.
So, you emphasize the importance of the fit of the armor a lot in this video. My question is, how did
mercenaries or other soldiers who couldn't necessarily afford carefully fitted armor deal with the resulting mobility issues?
I'll bet they weren't as well nourished as the typical nobility so the armor was probably too big on average. That's certainly easier than trying to slip on armor that's too small.
They may have used different types of armor: mail or brigandine.
There is margin for variation - this armour was not actually made for me, but for someone with similar stats to me and most of it fits very well.
"....should be able to hug yourself.." like a Frenchman remembering Agincourt.
It needs to be high enough too, so you can pull up your knees and rock back and forth!
That armor looks terrific! But is it super dry?
I love learning about HEMA have never practiced it. I do practice other martial arts though. So this is coming from a genuine curiosity and naivety of not knowing. Matt mentioned kendo being very frontal in their attack/defense and HEMA treatise turning to the side more, especially when using weapons two handed. What is/are the advantages/dangers to the gaps in armor, ability to attack/defend ect when turning to the side? The comments on movement and stricking make sense to me. Clearly both have a methodology behind them and success or they wouldn't have been used.
It it popped into my head because of modern armor and fire arms training vs what was taught around WWI and before. Soldier for a long time turned to the side to produce a smaller target and fire. Now days it is taught to present as much more straight on silhouette to the target. Even if "your" plate carrier has side sapi plates. What I have been told about the methodology change involved limiting the amount of vital organs a single round could hit. For example Side shot could hit 2 lungs, but front shot will hit 1. Assuming no tumbling or fragmenting. Human body is still the same so the damage profile would still be the same back then.
Would love to hear some ideas/answers from people that actually study this.
The idea if squaring up to the target to minimize the potential hits makes some logical sense but I disagree with it. Even wearing level 4 plates you are going to feel those rounds...and armor doesn’t protect the face. In my classes we stress mobility...not getting hit at all is better than getting hit in the armor.
Most firearms training also happens on a square range, with strict rules about staying on the firing line, always keeping the chest square to the targets, doing the sideways crab walk. This is an outcome of slavish adherence to range rules that unfortunately condition both trainers and students to treat the real world like the range (the real world is a 360 degree range). People forget that training must make concessions to safety...but the lazy instructor doesn’t modify the drills or use additional drills to overcome the gaps in training. Use of angular movement, natural walking/running with the feet pointed in the direction of travel result in much greater speed and mobility. This does usually present less of the armor facing the target, but again the goal is to avoid getting hit at all rather than squaring up and hoping rounds hit the armored chest.
Armored gunfighters are not tanks.
@@northwestmartialarts348 All fair points and none that I disagree with. I really wan't trying to discuss gun fighting in a HEMA channel though. My intent was using a rough comparison of a methodology/theoretical change in training that happened. When I say I am naive it was meant in HEMA.
Your channel has has a demo of using the bokken and you stance is very square on in that. Matt mentioned the side stances in European treatises. Both are two handed, could be used in armored, but use different methodologies. That is where I was hoping to get more insight.
Sorry Eli, was just replying with regards to the gunfighting aspect, mainly to share that there is disagreement today with regards to tactics/techniques/methodologies. As has always been the case of course.
With regards to the sword videos on our channel - our emphasis is on practical empty hand martial arts, and the sword work we do is not so much to become better swordsman but to develop particular empty hand skills that are enhanced through the practice of sword work. This is particularly useful in Aikido training, though I see a lot of benefits for striking systems as well.
As to why Kendo and other kenjutsu systems are more square, honestly I don’t know. What I do know is that a lot of Japanese systems emphasize the straight downward vertical cut (cut #7 in most European systems I have seen). I know in our aikido system we emphasize the square hips because we are trying for even (roughly) develop on both sides with the drop of the cut (because that drop is useful for developing throwing techniques).
As for how technical Japanese swordsmanship differs from historical European or HEMA work...sorry, I am no help there. Which is what you were looking for. ;)
@@northwestmartialarts348 No worries. I very much got what you were saying. Like any martial system fire arms has an abundance of disagreement, nuances, and depth. I have very close friends that wore armor all the time and others didn't when they served in combat zones.
Good insight on to the sword and empty hand work for empty hand techniques. I have studied Shito Ryu and then Shotokan for going on 22 years. I would agree there is merit there. Even more with Aikido which I only dabbled in for a few months. It's history and swordsmanship are certainly intertwined.
Thanks for the thoughts though even if it wasn't what I was trying to hone in on. Still one of the better and polite conversations i have had on youtube.
When fighting with a saber, you stand profile not only to present a smaller target, but also because it increases your reach with the tip of your blade. As you're only using a 1-handed weapon, you can extend your arm to the fullest and lunge over the leg. Your 7 directional attacks all come from the wrist.
When fighting with a two-handed weapon, you have a choice between flexibility and range, or power and defense. To demonstrate, simply hold your arms out straight in front of you with your finger tips touching. Now, hold your dominant arm out straight and try to touch your fingertips - you can't do it.
If you are standing straight-on, you can make all of the 7 cuts at maximum range and equal power. If turned to profile, you can't make all of the cuts, or make them all with power.
The difference between Kendo and Kenjutsu is the difference between Olympic Fencing and actual saber combat. Kendo is for unarmored fighting, and doesn't worry about the power behind the hit. Therefore, it is better to be quick and have a long reach. If you can attack your enemy first, then you don't need to worry about presenting a small target. Kenjutsu is a battlefield practice - it expects powerful strikes and is less concerned with maintaining range. In fact, you often want to close range in kenjutsu and apply grappling techniques. Because of this, you present at profile to give your attacks more power and yourself more defense.
Matt can you talk a bit about 16th/17th century armors? i know they are not medieval but i think it might be interesting to compare what you show here with its later evolutions.
Now I wonder if there were different armour specifications for different weapon sets. Like: I always use sword or mace and shield, I can live with smaller arm holes. Gimme that sweet, sweet protection.
hey matt and other experts, i was wondering: how much of a vulnerability are the straps?
Nice stick
Cheers
In the picture at 6:52 it appears that the skirt is suspended by a knotting of two strings of leather attached round the top of the skirt. Do you know the year of the picture, @scholagladiatoria, and what do you think of it?
I'm curious to know why the piece covering the stomach bulge out that far. Is there a specific reason why it's made that way?
Those SHIELDS on the wall, where can i find them?
I love the bluing on your cuirass, it looks very much like what you see in art. Is it just heat bluing? (As in, a layer of oxide)
Thanks, in hindsight it's actually a pain in the butt, when it comes to repairs, changes and adding new/different pieces. I am considering having it all polished bright. The blue was done chemically, but I must admit that it does look pretty much like real heat blue, which I've done myself lots of times with a blowtorch.
@@scholagladiatoria How do you repair the finish then? Do you have some of the bluing product that you can use?
It seems like mobility would be most important while grappling in armor, which would of course have been a common occurrence in the age of plate armor.
It would still be give and take as once in the grapple, the two knights or men-at-arms would draw their rondel daggers and look to plunge them into the gaps. Large gaps equal better mobility but easier for the opponent to hit. Small gaps mean the opposite.
@@natehammar7353 - True, but getting immobilized would probably end in death or capture, while immobilizing an enemy would neutralize any attack.
Matthew Zito Of course getting immobilized would lead to death or capture. I didn’t say it wouldn’t. I’m pointing out it is give and take and there are consequences to moves in either direction.
Can you please do a video where you tell us about each of the weapons you have on your wall there?
I ask especially because I was curious about your type 10 sword that is exactly the style of sword that i lovr
Just wondering if plackart ever worn without top breast-plate and just over a brigandine or gambeson?
Where are the straps on you armor to close it? On the side?
So this is the breastplate of Argon, hmm.
Would it by any chance by possible to see what happens if Lucy tries it on?
Maybe it is to large for her, but if it was her size there would be no difference. Armour is gender.neutral. Shadiverity made a video about it.
@@alicelund147 It's an inside joke from Epic NPC Man, where a breastplate turns into a mail bikini as soon as a female picks it up.
The spear in the background, could you tell me what is it and where you got it from please?
Hanwei viking era winged spear.
@@scholagladiatoria perfect, thank-you
*sees Matt in armor with a big stick* I know what's going to happen here
11:24 "Better get some corticosteroids for that laryngeal fracture."
Breastplate, back and fauld? Put on by yourself?Challenge accepted.
A front opening corazzina would be the best bet. You can put that that on by yourself becasue the buckles are on the front! In a pinch you could leave the pauldrons tied to the rest of the body harness if you wanted to be able to put full harness on yourself. you might not get vambraces on, so mail and big pauldrons may have to do, but it's better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick. Probably not great practice leaving pauldrons tied to your breastplate straps, but if you're worried about getting armour on quick...
Can I have a question? It seems that the top corner of you upper part is digging into the inside of your armour. That is a common mistake on an armor. Or do it only look like that? Don't get me wrong, I'm asking mostly because I have a lot of experience wearing armor (I have few hundered hours spend in mine, sometimes over period of a few days) and I know this is a common problem with this kind of curaiss we have had to solve on more than one set.It can cause quite problems over longer periods of time...
I remember getting measured for arming clothes them asking if my measurements were right. They where my ankylosing spondylitis makes me a bit like Richard the third .
Should redesign the medieval armor for use in modern combat. Use restructured armor so it can be put on by one person, is designed to destroy or deflect .50cal bmg ammo, and lower caliber ammo. Maybe use a composite of titanium, depleted uranium, with lead lined sheets. If you want real crazy create mini reactive armor scales or blocks like on tanks that use explosives to reduce rpg and tank hit force
They're called plate-carriers. We already use them. Any body armor thick enough to stop a bullet or high velocity shrapnel is too heavy and cumbersome to wear over anything but your vitals.
Also, good anime
when he starts moving with the wooden shaft he looks dead on donatello ninja turtle
Thanks! Made my day :-)
Where did you get that armor my dude?
How long did it take the armourer to make your Cuirass?
For my birthday i want nothing more than a fully stocked armoury
All, as of 13/08/2020 RUclips is no longer sending notification e-mails for subscription vid uploads. This was an intentional decision as apparently 0.1% of people open them, and people should use Chrome or Mobile App notifications instead. Creators, please badger them to re-enable this.
Do you oil your armour or is it stainless steel? It is the esquires job to arm the knight.
If squires had to help their lord put his armour on (while consoling themselves that it could be worse, they could be Spartans) presumably if they went on to become knights then if need be they'd be we practised at helping another person arm themselves, should the occasion arise.
It was also very important the knight know how to help put the armor on so they could correct their squire if something was done incorrectly. As they noted in Matt’s video with Destrier, if the squires made mistakes it could get their knight killed, either by something locking in place and ruining mobility or by creating a gap the opponent could breach and kill them. They noted, knights likely didn’t abuse their squires because of how much they relied on them doing a good job.
Spartans didnt have squires. they had helots aka slaves, that would never rise in social class or become hoplites. squires would become proper soldiers after a number of years
apo kos Kevin is joking that being a Spartan was worse than being a squire. Being a squire wasn’t that bad actually especially compared to the life of a common farmhand in the Middle Ages.
@@natehammar7353 if they were spartans they wouldnt be helping someone put on their armor, that's the point. i understand this as a comparison between the warrior's assistant in the middle ages compared to ancient Greece. yes, being a squire wasnt a bad job for the middle ages but that is irrelevant to the comment about the spartans.
apo kos That isn’t what Kevin was saying. He was just saying being a Spartan was brutal. It has nothing to do with being an assistant.
I wish i could afford all that armor
Dang, do you have a complete harness?
Can you explain a bit about the peascod breastplate. It looks like it ends on a person's hips instead of their waist. Wouldn't that kind of breastplate restrict movement?
It ends at the waist, it's just styled to look like your hips are all the way up at your waist. It's more a cavalryman's armor, or a lighter armor towards the end of the era. Basically, if Matt's tassets were just shaped to look more like leg armor. Makes you look like your butt starts at your belly-button, lol.
Great video Matt. One thought I had as you showed the side-on stances and switched back and forth as opposed to a chest-on stance is the side-on stance allows the shoulder and arm protection to cover the gaps under the arms and in the side of the cuirass greatly narrowing the lines to strike them. This would seem to also follow through with the tendency the reenactors at Destrier noted in the left side of the armor usually being heavier while the straps are on the right. Very much a left foot forward approach to fighting.
That sort of relates to pistol shooting stances adopted by the military prior to the adoption of modern body armor. Prior to the adoption of modern bullet resistant body armor, the military favored shooting stances where you stood sideways in order to present as small a target as possible. Fast forward to today, you see military personnel shooting pistols directly facing their opponent in order to present as much of their body armor as possible.
My wife helps me get my kit on. Without her I get half way and I’m stuck. Lol.
So the real question I would like to know the answer to, did Lucy help him out of the armor when he was done with the video, or did she he make him wait a while just for fun?
Why would you take the arm/shoulder protection off of the doublet in the first place? I would think as long as you leave the various straps loose, you could get a doublet on with the steel already attached.
Cleaning for one thing. The cloth is going to hold sweat, body crud, and any moisture / dirt from the ground. You need to get all of that off the steel or you quickly end up with a pile of rust. Rusted steal is FAR weaker than well cleaned and oiled steel. It's also rougher, which increases friction between components and reduces mobility.
A M so once a week, when you don’t need your armor on or near to hand, have two of your pages clean it. If they do a poor job, cuff them and make them do it again.
In a modern context, how often you wearing yours? After a tourney, wash/clean it thoroughly, and reattach.
Getting in early! Hello peoples
Perhaps it's a trick of the lighting but that armor appears very dark. Has it been blued? Was armor ever blued? it seems like it would be a good method of rust prevention and should have been within the technological ability of any society that could produce steel armor.
Can you take a moment and help out Icy Mike at Hard2Hurt? He's doing a reality-based modern buckler fighting-thing - I think you're the man to weigh in on this.
As far as a cuirass I think it might feel similar to a well designed paddling PFD for canoe and kayak.
Ah yes, ye olde arming t-shirt!
Fun fact about "ye." Strangely enough it's pronounced "the."
How did that get fudged up when English was changing?
@scholagladitoria - Do you know if Martin Austwick is going to start putting out RUclips videos again? I recently started getting into pugilism and really like his videos but it appears he has either hung-up the gloves or taken some time off the last few years.
I doubt he will, but you never know. He pretty much stopped all training a couple of years ago due to a bad injury.
@@scholagladiatoria Makes sense, thank you for the reply. Whether he comes back or not I hope he recovers well, he seems like a decent guy.
With armor like this where pieces are suspended from external leather straps, can you attack the armor by cutting at the straps, or is this impractical in application?
For a properly worn, well-maintained armor - mostly impractical, these aren't that easy to cut and cutting won't produce instant effects, plate armor won't just disintegrate. Going for those straps instead of a kill might get you killed yourself, instead. For many other armors(for example, munition grade ones, designed for ease of wearing by a single person), it might've worked.
In less than ideal cases, however, it could easily become dangerous or fatal(as with any protective equipment), and we have enough examples of such events in real life(Charles the Bold, for example).
During longer campaigns etc, these issues easily mounted and snowballed, and at this moment - yes, they most certainly could kill you.
Very difficult - most of the cords and straps are covered over. In later/better armors they were sometimes even shielded by metal coverings.
Your question is one of the chief criticisms of Samurai armor - that slashing apart the fastenings would destroy it. The issue is that no armor would ever see combat if it were so fragile. Samurai armor goes to great pains to make sure that the lacing holding the parts together is VERY hard to hit with a blade; tucked into corners, tucked under other pieces, shielded, or there are redundant straps and laces elsewhere.
Plus, on either armor - if you cut the strap at my shoulder, my entire arm protection doesn't just fall off. You could even do this with a t-shirt sleeve. Cut loose a long sleeve and it doesn't just fall off your arm in an instant. Cutting the straps on armor would only open small gaps.
The more immediate effect would be the armor falling into itself and limiting movement. That is something that WAS done, but often with heavy weapons like hammers and picks, or through the course of regular wear and tear fighting. Blunt weapons bend and misshape the armor, causing it to no longer telescope, or causing pieces to snag, or press into the wearer so that he cannot breathe or move freely.
Dragonskin cuirass....hmmm. How much would that weigh? And how would a brigandine fair against a grenade?
Anyone else watching this after Matt's knife defense video and thinking they should get a cuirass?
makes me wonder where Henry hid his squires all this time
- So, how did he die?
- It was a nasty dinner accident.
- A deadly dinner accident? What's that?
- He sat down in an ill fitted suit of armor, and decapitated himself at the dinner table.
- Oh. That does sound nasty.