Have you ever wondered when the first-ever armors were invented? Or from where they originated or for exactly were they used? Well, here is the article that is going to enlighten you with answers to such questions and a lot more.
The first-ever armors were used in a war in the eleventh century. Back then they were just thin plates of steel, or gradually armors were developed for more fierce combat in the middle ages in Europe. Over the millennium the armor evolved in a lot of different ways at a rapid rate at times and quite slowly at times as well. In the present day probably the only place we see armor is in an army soldier’s gear.
When we talk about armors we should start from the eleventh century, the time it was first used. The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most essential iconographies of the millennium and that’s where we can spot the soldiers in a war wearing protective gear from head to toe. They used to be rather covered in a suit armor which was made of riveted male armor with splits at their knees to help them get up on the horses.
Moving onto the twelfth century. The armor was still a complete bodysuit but the guards started to cover more of themselves. For example, in the last century, the armor didn’t protect their hands but now they fully cover their arms as well. And then at the end of this century came the metal helmets along with the masks. If you are thinking of it as a star wars costume then you are partly correct!
The thirteen and fourteenth centuries are the times where massive changes took place. In the early years of this century, we have the examples of the great helm, and then moving onto the mid-years we have the fully enclosed and developed flat top great helm. The armor still remained as a full bodysuit until the middle ages or should we say the early fifteenth century where the Europeans took it upon themselves to make better and discrete armors for their soldiers to fight their best.
It was actually in 1420 that we had the development of full plate armor, with the front plate, backplate and shoulder plates all put together. They were usually made out of steel or iron. When making armor with iron they were extra cautious in creating a lightweight one. And then comes into the picture the sixteenth-century armor which was made by putting together many small steel plates and is commented at the front.
Almost every armor invented till the fifteenth century closed at the back unlike this one and people decided to encourage the change because of the level of comfort it provides while fastening their armor.
Since then too, there have been a lot more changes with all aspects of armors in a lot of possible ways. Today in wars our soldiers wear armors to help themselves be safe from the bullets while the soldiers from a millennium ago did it to save themselves from the swords.
