Medieval Armor--Iconic Versus Historic

Attend any renaissance fair or re-enactment of the middle ages, and you will find no shortage of warriors in plate armor carrying longswords.  For many, it is the only solid image that comes to mind, for the "knight in shining armor" is perhaps the icon of the era.  And though the image itself is grounded in reality, the view of it as the norm for all of Western Europe throughout the entire Middle Ages is grossly inaccurate.

Jousting Match from Gugulix via Flickr

Source: Mykg via Flickr

Weapons, tactics and armor all developed in relationship to each other and therefore development was regional.  In the early middle ages, most armor was leather or cloth, designed to provide some sort of protection against weapons that, for the most part, inflicted damage by cutting.  The Roman gladius was a primarily a cutting weapon with a short blade that could be wielded safely within the tight ranks of the Roman legions. As time progressed, blades seemed to lengthen, one would surmise in the attempt to gain a reach advantage over one's enemy.  The greater length also provided greater force when the blade made contact, increasing the potential for damage.  This became of greater importance with the advent of chainmail (some say as early as the 5th century in the British Isles), which defended quite well against cuts.  It did not, however, protect against concussion, and a blade landing with significant force could cause injury even if it was prevented from actually cutting.

The increasing use of chainmail led to the development of swords with narrower tips that rendered the weapon more suitable for thrusting and cutting.  A blade thrust might pierce less substantial chainmail, and a soldier incapacitated by a forceful blow that failed to cut was then susceptible to a sword-thrust to unprotected areas.

Chainmail did not provide the same high level of protection against arrows or spears, and it's probably no accident that the increasing use of archers in battle seems to have been accompanied by the appearance of plates of metal being incorporated into armor.  As plate armor became more prevalent, so did the use of weapons other than the longsword, even the best of which cannot cut through plate.  Some crossbows might be able to pierce plate, but for the most part, the most effective weapons against plate were hammers, maces, and pikes.  Hammers and maces could dent and cause rents in the armor, and in the process, beat the man inside to a pulp or knock him to the ground where a sword or dagger could be thrust into gaps for the kill; pikes wielded with enough force could actually pierce plate armor.

Because different regions developed at different speeds, it was not uncommon to see weapons and armor of predominately one type in one region, and those of a different type in a different region.  Even moreso, to see all manner of types on the same battlefield even if there was a prevalence of one, as weapons and armor of one sort did not fall into disuse or disfavor all at once.  The truth was, a man wore what he could afford that he thought would protect him most, and he armed himself with whatever he could afford that would enable him to kill his enemy before he got killed himself.

Obviously, plate was the ultimate in battlefield defensive armor, but it was vastly expensive and out of reach to all but a small percentage of elite soldiers and knights.  In the early middle ages, a good sword might cost over a dozen cows (in a time when having one or two was average to well-off).  A full suit of quality plate-armor cost the equivalent of thousands of dollars.

The highly-engraved (and probably for parade-use only)
armor of Emperor Frederick II.

Thus, the image that most modern-day people have of scores of valiant knights encased in plate armor clashing on the battlefield is inaccurate.  They were there in smaller numbers, but the majority of the soldiers, whether archers or pikemen or foot-soldiers, were arrayed in whatever armor they could afford; usually a mixture of leather, cloth, brigandine, and chainmail.