The History of Medieval Armor & Weapons

The Middle Ages were turbulent times and knights had the duty of protecting the kingdom and maintaining the peace. Medieval European countries were broken into territories and fifes, warring among territories was common, as were wars between countries. The history of medieval armor and weapons go hand in hand; a knight's armor was strong enough to protect against the weapons of the times, and as the weapons improved, the armor followed suit.

Knights and Armor

In the early Middle Ages, a knight would purchase his own armor. The armor was expensive and highly valued, but well crafted. High-quality armor (chain mail or plate armor) was only affordable to wealthy nobles, leaving the common knight to settle for padded leather or a lower grade chain mail. Besides protection, armor was also a status symbol, both militarily and socially, especially in the later Middle Ages.

Chain-Mail and Plate Armor

The most basic and essential form of body armor was the chain-mail shirt, sometimes called a hauberk or byrine. Chain mail was good general protection, but it could not withstand a direct hit from an arrow or lance. Many improvements and refinements of chain mail occurred during the Middle Ages.
During the 10th century, the chain mail shirt became knee length. The mail hauberk was worn over a tunic of tightly padded wool, called a gambeson. Arms, hands, legs and feet were also protected with chain mail. In the 11th and 12th century, mail mittens were replaced by fingered gloves, the padded gambeson was reinforced with leather and poleyns (plate armor) covered the knees.
By the 13th century, stiff leather plates (ailetts) attached to shoulders. Mail also covered the neck area. Plate armor appeared, and was strapped over mail on arms, legs and feet. Later, breast plates appeared, and over them, the knight wore a fitted tunic (jupon) displaying his coat of arms.
All body parts covered in plate armor by the 15th century, with chain mail as an undergarment for added protection. Mail gloves were replaced by plate armor gauntlets.

Helmets

The helmet was another essential form of protection, which protected the face and neck without impeding breathing or movement. From the 10th century through the 13th century, helmets varied from conical with nasal guard, to round or conical with a full face shield, which had eye slits and perforations for breathing. By the 14th and 15th centuries, the helmet was molded into one piece with a flip-up visor.

Hand Combat Weapons

The basic weapons of knights in the Middle Ages were the sword and the lance. Swords were forged out of iron and were single or double edged. The most important improvement of the sword was the development of the cross guard, just above the handle.
Lances were used when on horseback; they were made of wood with a length of 72 inches. Other medieval weapons included axes, pikes, maces and falling stars (a spiked ball connected to a chain) which could penetrate plate armor.

Bows and Crossbows

The most effective and deadly weapon of the time was the bow and arrow. They could be used at long range, they were accurate and they could pierce armor.
During the 10th century, bows were short and effective against mail. In the 11th century, the crossbow was developed, it had a target range of 250 to 400 yards, but had a shot rate of two bolts per minute.
The longbow was the premier weapon of the Middle Ages, it could pierce armor at 250 yards and the shot rate was 10 to 15 arrows per minute. A longbow took years to build and archers had extensive and extended training to properly use this weapon.

References

• Medieval Castle Siege Weapons: Medieval Armour
• All Things Medieval: History of Medieval Swords