This 15th century knight is wearing one of the most advanced suits of plate armor ever created. Developed in the late 1400s, Gothic armor was crafted in Germany and derived its name from the architecture its tall, lean shape mimicked. An English knight like those portrayed in WARRIOR CHALLENGE would have needed to spend at least a quarter of his yearly income for such a suit, crafted by armorers in Hapsburg or Milan. The knight shown here wears a padded jacket under his armor called an arming doublet that has straps for tying on pieces of the armor. In the field, this knight would stand apart from the metalled masses thanks to his coat of arms - displayed on his helmet, horse's surcoat or carried as a banner by an attendant. Shields, by this time, were rarely used except in tournaments.
1. Helmet By the 15th century, the knight's steel or iron helmet was tapered and often sporting a crest to deflect blows. (A plume could be attached at the back.) This knight is wearing a popular German helmet called a sallet. Earlier helmets - those sported by the Crusaders in the 12th century, for instance -- had been flat-topped, meaning that if a blow split the helmet, it could also split the wearer's skull. Pads were often worn under the helmet to steady it on the knight's head. Air holes in the visor let the knight breathe. One catch - the eye slots were still wide enough to let an opponent's sword slip through. Such a technique managed to slice through the forehead and brain and kill many a knight.
2. Bevor Shaped like half of a vase, this metal plate, known as a bevor, protects the lower part of the face left exposed by the helmet.
3. Cuirass The cuirass - the breastplate and the back panel - provided essential protection. The rear was tapered so that a knight's buttocks and upper thighs would be secure against sword slashes. The German style of this armor featured a very narrow waist; the Italian style had a much rounder cuirass, often made all of a piece. Straps at the waist and shoulders connected the breastplate to the back panel.
4. Mail Mail protects the knight's groin and facilitates movement. Good, heavy-duty mail such as this knight would have worn was a tight net of riveted metal links. A century earlier, knights would have relied mostly on mail for their protection. But with the advent of the crossbow in the 14th century, greater protection was required. The mail hauberk, or a long shirt, became a secondary piece of equipment, ceding place to the plate armor that was covering knights from head to toe by the early 15th century.
5. Pauldron, Vambrace, Couter & Gauntlet The knight's shoulders, arms and hands were protected by four different pieces of armor:
Pauldron: This shoulderplate reached over the knight's breastplate by the late 1500s and was cut up under the arm so that he could comfortably hold a lance at the ready.
Vambrace: These arm guards were fastened together with thongs and tied to the hauberk of mail that the knight wore underneath his armor. The vambraces protect the knight's upper and lower arm.
Couter: Elbow-guards, the couter is fastened by laces running through holes in the armor.
Gauntlet: Though they resemble mittens, gauntlets provided plate armor protection only on the outside of the hand. Leather gloves were worn underneath so that a knight could keep hold of his weapons. Earlier knights had relied on their shields to protect their hands in battle, but as the nature of warfare changed, more secure protection was needed.
6. Leg Greave & Sabaton Lacing up a knight is no easy task! At the top is an armor cuisse (French for "thigh"), decorated with cusps, and designed to protect the thighs. The back of the thigh was usually left unprotected. The poleyn, laced to the cuisse, defends the knee. The leg greave - a concept also seen on gladiators - shields the lower leg and a steel shoe, the sabaton, is worn over a heavy leather shoe. It was not uncommon to see some knights with sabatons with very long, pointed toes, based on the shoe fashion popular at the time.
7. Sword A knight's sword was his most important weapon, an implement blessed by the Church and a symbol of the vows he had sworn upon his investiture. This knight carries the standard long sword used in battle. The sword would be carried in a leather scabbard, or case, attached to the knight's waist. Weighing about 5 lbs., it was designed to be used on horseback. With the advent of plate armor, knights would often carry a second, shorter thrusting sword as well or a dagger, weapons that were easier to slip in between an enemy's plate armor at close range. One popular thrusting sword in the late 15th century was the Italian cinqueda, so named because it was five fingers wide at the hilt.
8. Mace The steel mace was a back-up weapon, used after a lance had been lost or broken. This mace has projections from its head that make the blow's force more effective - an essential consideration when used against plate armor. Medieval mace shafts were usually made of wood, but by the mid-1400s had already started to be manufactured in steel. Maces were capable of crushing plate armor and helmets and splintering or smashing any and all bones of the wearer.
9. Lance Though made of breakable wood (ash or pine), the lance was among the most daunting weapons a knight could use. Using the combined force of his weight and that of his horse, he could ram the lance through plate armor, mail, shields, most anything that stood in his way. A metal cover called a vamplate protected the bearer's hand. Lances used in "jousts of war" were fitted with a sharpened tip. Lances used in "jousts of pleasure" were blunted or had a crown or "coronel" on the tip that diffused the impact of the thrust.
10. Horse & Horse Armor A horse was the knight's most important purchase - costing as much as an entire year's income. The medieval warhorse was called a destrier (based on the Latin word dexter for "right-hand side") and needed to be able to carry not only the knight with his roughly 60 lbs. of armor, but that of his own, as well. The most prized destriers came from France, Italy and Spain. Horses frequently also wore trappers, decorated cloth coverings, that displayed the knight's coat of arms. The armor was designed to protect the horse's rear side, as well as his neck, back and face. When rearing up, well-trained warhorses could also use their iron horseshoes to attack any foot soldier underneath.
11. Dagger Once primarily the arm of peasants, daggers by the 15th century were an essential weapon for knights. They could be thrown, like a mace, to engage a line of dismounted enemy knights before swordplay began. They could also be used at quite close range to force a wounded fallen knight to surrender himself as a prisoner - the blade was handy for slipping in between the joints of plated armor. Among the most frequently used daggers by the 15th century was a rondel dagger, worn by the knight here. Rondel daggers had discs at either end of their grip and could be nearly two feet (20 inches) long.
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