History of Medieval Armor Through Time Long Video

Plate armor is a historical type of personal body armor made from bronze, iron, or steel plates culminating in the iconic suit of armor entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armor developed in Europe during the late middle ages, from the coat of plates popular in late 13th and early 14th century worn over male suits during the 14th century, a century famous for the transitional armor in that plate gradually replaced chain mail. Full suits of Gothic plate armor and Milanese plate armor were worn on the battlefields of the Burgundian Wars, Wars of the Roses, Polish-Teutonic Wars, Eighty Years War, French Wars of Religion, Italian Wars, Hungarian-Ottoman Wars, Ottoman-Hapsburg Wars, Polish-Ottoman Wars, a significant part of the Hundred Years War, and even the Thirty Years War. The most heavily armored troops of the period were heavy cavalry, such as the gendarmes and early cuirassiers, but the infantry troops of the Swiss mercenaries and the lance canaks also took to wearing lighter suits of three-quarters munition armor, leaving the lower legs unprotected. The use of plate armor began to decline in the early 17th century, but it remained common both among the nobility Emperor Ferdinand II, Louis XIII, Philip IV of Spain, Maurice of Orange, and Gustavus Adolfus and the cuirassiers throughout the European Wars of Religion. After the mid-17th century, plate armor was mostly reduced to the simple breastplate with the exception of the Polish hussars that still used considerable amounts of plate. This was due to development of the musket, which could penetrate armor at a considerable distance. For infantry, the breastplate gained renewed importance with the development of shrapnel in the late Napoleonic Wars. The use of steel plates sewn into flak jackets dates to World War II and was replaced by more modern materials such as fiber reinforced plastic since the mid-20th century.