Armor

Complete, anatomically shaped armor became fashionable in the fifteenth century, both for combat and tournaments. These were very skillfully produced items made by skilled craftsmen, and adapted to the fashion context of a certain time and place.

The armor consists of a visor helmet, a pectoral, and protective coverings for shoulders, arms, legs, thighs, breast and back, as well as a gloves, shoes, and a scrotal shield.

Even though the film industry tries to convince us that the knight armor was heavy and akward, the historical sources tell us quite a different story. The knight in his armor was able to run, jump, and even climb on a horse without any help. The average weight of a medieval maille was about 13 kg, while the weight of the Italian whole-body armor, dating back to the mid-fifteenth century, was 26 to 32 kg. The heaviest shields were the tournament shields weighing over 40 kg.