@@scholagladiatoria That's the sound of a mic on a leather strap against a breast plate...or more precisely the clip of the lav mic on the backside of the strap.
Matt is being forced to create these videos from the dungeon in the Sherwood Forest. Turned out armor is more useful than we thought and Matt is being forced to spread prop pieces. Morse code is crazy! Lemme know what you think it says! I think he wants pizza but only after rescue. Let's storm the castle! In armour!
Little has changed then. In today's meaning of "armor", tanks mostly, there are three factors that must be traded off- armor strength, mobility, and offensive capability. The specific driving elements are a bit different of course- how much armor you can pile on vs available engine horsepower vs how big a gun you want to carry but the final result is the same- it's a tradeoff.
Body armor is still widely used today by military and police and can cover much of the body. Much like in the centuries Matt mentioned we use a degree armor suited to the context it is intended to be used in and its economical practicality. A regular policeman may wear a lightly protective body armor while a SWAT officer would wear near fully-encompassing protection
@@larrybrock6811 And as Matt goes on about, modern body armor is heavy, sweaty and restricting pretty much to match its degree of protection (though it's wildly improved over its WWII and Vietnam-era origins). Another place things haven't changed much.
@@larrybrock6811 Years ago I was issued 3A concealable body armor. It's fitting was less then ideal and as a result it rode up and pressed against my throat while sitting and literally bruised my shoulders when shooting a qualification course.
This principle applies to all equipment, along with a fourth factor: cost of purchase and maintenance. If you can't purchase it or enough of it, the performance of it is no longer relevant. If you can't afford to maintain its performance, then you're throwing your money away in purchasing it.
I gotta say, even though I've seen it in several videos, I still just love that particular winged spear Matt has. The aesthetics of the business end are just perfectly proportioned, like the Victoria's Secret model of spears.
When I'm drawing a bow, the pencil moves the same if I have armor on or not :-). How far the breast plate extends from the chest would have an enormous effect on draw length. Might explain why they put those archers in the back.
@SlowMotionSword Painting and embroidery are time intensive procedures. They may have been done by people who weren't there and supervised by someone who wanted the product out the door.
@@kevinreardon2558 I'd love to get a full suit of embroiderer's armor. I've read that the first Duke of Marlborough started his military career in a fully armed embroidery battalion.
Valuable information about proper sizing for plate armour. When you mentioned the choice to wear less, lighter armour, I remembered that Alexander The Great wore a classic muscle cuirass made of compressed layers of linen, which has been proved to stop arrows, believe it or not. Thanks, Matt, always a pleasure to watch...
What you're talking about with fit, especially through the pectoral region still rings true today. With modern ballistic armor, the fit of the carrier and correct size plates for body type are very important. The key emphasis of protection being for the lungs and heart, while still having the ability to shoulder and properly seat your weapon into the pocket of the shoulder, and maintain that weld in different shooting positions. As a Soldier and HEMA student, I always find it interesting some of the considerations I share with my predessecors.
7:28 now imagine applying what he is saying to a nowadays dubbed "you dont get it, its not bad, its steel and is going to protect you" type games inspired double cup -bo-breastplate.
I wish I'd bought one of your swords as opposed to cold steel replicas for my memorial wall...I do however have my Great Grandfathers swagger stick with a stiletto dagger inside, that I know for sure he had in the Somme, plus his lead filled bolted mace, like a big heavy truncheon to "brain the Hun" as he used to like saying..I'll nbever sell them, just a fun thing
Hey now, Mister Easton. "Lots of HEMA people don't necessarily realise is that armour does restrict and change how you move, and every single bit of the armour does that in subtle and different ways." Now, I won't speak for all practitioners over the world, but I'm still fairly sure we all notice the difference in doing various cuts and strikes when wearing no gloves vs. when wearing gloves. And it all adds up, the more gear we pad on. So, from my perspective, the difference between doing stuff wearing shorts and a T-shirt, and wearing a full "tournament gear" - it's very noticeable! When I wore extra forearm protection, it was even worse... So yeah, I think most HEMA people (who've had the chance to try things out) generally understand that armour changes and restricts what you can do. Although sure, we won't REALLY know until we've tried whatever particular type of armour we're talking about.
re - 2:03 The skills are indeed transferrable, but it costs you a either a stat point, or a feat if you want to transfer a skill. Also, if it's not a class skill, then the costs are higher. Ps: There's nothing that I can't twist to fit a DnD narrative :>
oddly similar to modern warfare body armor. The infantry guys I talk to tell me that they would rather fight with the lightest plates they are allowed than have to wear the most up-armored body armor. Reason being is that getting behind cover or concealment is far better at keeping you alive than the best body armor they have. Sprinting behind a tank or even a curtain well save your life more often than the best and heaviest body armor and you can move faster in lighter armor.
I have a full harness for full armoured combat, but i have to buy a new one since i gained 30lbs last year, my armorer is rather inexperienced but made a solid set for me last time
I once wore my gambeson, then mail hauberk and then brigandine, and sparred my friend, who wore only his gambeson. I found that it was hard to raise my longsword up to block his longsword downward attack.
I have an armor similar to yours. I can even do sit-ups without any difficulty. I even wear it under my overcoat and go to streets. I can walk or ride bicycle easily. I think a single breastplate don't interfere much with movement. But,yes,it can inhibits movement a little bit.
One example of limiting armor you've previously discussed was visors on helmets. Often you might want the visor up (less protection), at least outside of a direct charge. While the goal might be visibility and breathing as opposed to movement, you still are trading direct protection for ability to function on the battlefield (and sometimes avoiding dangerous blows).
A famous example of trading armour for mobility in history was Phillip of Macedon's military reforms of the Macedonian phanlanx. He replaced the short spear with the sarissa (pike), the large hoplon shield with a smaller peltast and replaced the heavy bronze armour of the Greek phalanx with lighter linen allowing for a highly mobile, highly effective, offensive infantry formation.
Even in modern warfare, armour is a compromise. Example: the German Tiger 2 (königstiger) was awesome in the armour department. But it was not that practical - it was too heavy, to thirsty on the fuel and broke down too much. Right thru all of the history since armour was first thought of, it has been a comprimise between protection, cost and practical use.
I really would like to know your opinion, Master, on what is the BEST armour set ever made (the most protective while less limitating the movements) in the armour golden age (16th century). A video on that would be very appreciated. Thanks a lot for your work!
The guys at PursuingThe KnightlyArts channel mentioned in one of their videos that full plate shifts your center of mass upwards, which makes you more easier to being knocked down.
I suspect this is why maile was so wide-spread and used for such a long period of time: it offers a good middle-of-the-road compromise between protection, mobility, comfort and weight.
Blueing in various hues, engraving, etching, gilding, even painting was available if you just had enough money. These things multiplied the price of a nice suit of armor multiple times over, so a great way to distinguish yourself to your friends and enemies in battle!
A good conclusion. As soon as I transfer from Form Training to Sparring, so from Training clothes to Fencing Jacket, Mask, Gloves, you get the gist, then my Fencing and Movement has to adapt of course. As Coach stated this Monday "Schielhau works wonderful from the right shoulder, but as soon as you got your mask on you tend to hit your head, so don't forget to adapt." Same with almost every other form and guard.
So, I have been following your channel for a while, and it is informative and smart, and quite fantastic, I am from rotorua New Zealand and i noticed in this new back ground there is a wahaika (Maori patu or club), or at least what looks like one hanging in the upper left corner, tell me that story as I think I missed it somewhere...
I have some bone problems and lots of fusion in the spine. I’ve never noticed any difference between my movements in or out but heat is quick to build up .
That breastplate has coverage similar to my modern ballistic plate carrier. Interesting, guess it's like a futuristic breastplate. I doubt many weapons could penetrate the AR500 plates, if any.
There's videos of rifle rounds going through AR500 plates. A 50 calibre AP round will penetrate two level 3 AR500 plates, which might ruin your day somewhat.
The arm mobility is a pretty big issue, since even with polearms and spears you still want to be able to do "ox"-like high guards, often with arms crossed. For example Fiore's spear in armor. Which is why I've been for years arguing that boobplate is a impractical design, as the protrusions extend outward and often the design is much wider at chest level. Compare plastic chest protectors for men and women; I've noticed that even smaller sized women's protectors are still much wider than large or evel xl men's protectors. Also note, those are made out of softer plastic which bends. That said it's interesting to compare it to the Japanese/Churburg style breastplate, which rests at the hips while still offering pretty good mobility.
@scolagladiatoria Question: How many people in the 13th and 14th centuries carried swords into battle? It seems to me that a spear or pole arm and dagger would be sufficient and wearing a sword would be too much of an incumberance than the possibility of actually using it warrants. P.S. I suppose if you were a mounted soldier, you could have quite a few more weapons because you could attach them to the horse.
This is actually and issue I have when sparring. I have a small stature, so wearing the Jacket, Gorget, Mask,and other Armor bits makes it hard for me to move and get into certain stances such as high guard. I think I just need to get used to it, but it would be nice for some instructors to address this when teaching. Doing Longsword sparring in gear is different from Drills in clothes.
Clearly the clicking is not static, but is Morse Code for "Context is everything, Context is everything, Context is everything" followed by "Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse."
This is why experimental history is so important. Only by trying it yourself can you learn that real men at arms in full plate must have worn their lapel microphones with the wire under their breastplate.
So we will bring seeing more armor videos? Excellent! Do you do/have you done much harnessfeschten? Yes, I'm a bad Fiorest for using German terminology.
Hi Matt, I take it that is 15th C armour? Was it the musket ball that brought about the change of the breastplates shape, i.e. from flat to the pointed style, such as those used during the English civil war? In essence it would have been an early form of "spaced armour", especially if there was a void behind the breast plate and the jacket worn underneath. As you alluded to, one of the biggest issues with wearing armour is heat exhaustion. Today we have the Osprey composite front and back plates, issued to all our troops going to a conflict zone. It is a 2cm thick solid plate and is much longer than your breast plate. It does restrict mobility and causes issues when driving vehicles. One of the main issues with it is the amount of heat it keeps in, as there are no air holes to let your body breathe. You do wear a purpose built under armour sweatshirt, that wicks the sweat away, but does nothing for the heat. However, a few years ago a team of chemists developed a new type of steel armour. The brief was to design an armour that had better ballistic capabilities, but was significantly lighter than the standard armoured steel. The armour is a super bainite steel and uses a multi-mode quenching method as part of giving it the required hardness. It is different from normal steel plate as it is covered in laser drilled holes. It is made by British Steel (Tata) under the trade name of Pavise armour. The ballistic performance of perforated Super Bainite steel armour is at least twice that of conventional rolled homogenous steel armour. This is because the introduction of perforations creates a large number of edges which disrupt the path of incoming projectiles, significantly reducing their potency. The laser drilling process also creates differential hardness within the hole, with the surface being softer than the back. The holes reduce the weight by at least 45% over a comparable solid armoured steel plate. This would be great if it could be introduced to personal body armour. The problem being is that most personal ballistic armour is made from either a ceramic composite or a form of Kevlar. With ceramics they can only take a single shot as the crack a break up as part of the ballistic absorption process. Not sure with Kevlar, if a number of small holes would make it weaker. But it would significantly reduce heat exhaustion, as the heat can now vent away from the body.
My soft Kevlar body armor I wear for work fits just like this breastplate. Starts right at the top of the sternum, and terminates just above the belly button. No idea how some of my coworkers can stand wearing it touching their duty belts while standing.
mat, i don't think it was static, i think its the sound of the leather strap & mic hitting the breastplate, notice hot if you are standing still its not happening.
It seems not totally dissimilar to how a tailor cuts a coat to combine the aesthetics of clean lines following the body and the freedom of movement of the arms and waist.
Another Schola video watched en garde. I can't wait to get a custom fit kevlar breastplate to replace the one I wear now. It is cool that the kevlar is flexible and so doesn't restrict movement as much as steel or a non-flexible kevlar would, and the flex lets it cover more area by virtue of just being able to be pushed out of the way lol. My old one will go to a YT channel for testing What the point about fitting the front plate properly reminds me of: www.highcomarmor.com/rifle-armor-plate-cuts-and-how-they-make-a-difference-to-the-operator/ A good reason not to have breastplates come up too high to the throat is because the head can be forced down or the armor forced up to choke the person wearing it. One of the reasons I did yoga in my armor for over a year (beyond testing it's armor check penalty and max dex bonus lol) finding if there way any such things could be a problem. I've seen cases where improperly designed armor was used to kill police officers =( You do make a good point about not doing things as good in armor as without them. I've worn my armor (and other gear) long enough now that I'm as good as I'd normally be without anything, and just go a little bit faster and easier without anything on now lol. It took months and years of slowing adding things and constantly wearing them while doing stuff, and I did/do feel the gap whenever something new is added, but over time the penalty always does diminish significantly if given several months of constant use and refining how the gear is worn - in my personal experience. It never does totally vanish tho, the laws of physics and geometry are inviolable, but the person gets a lot more used to it - and gear breaks in. Fascia is a big factor, not just muscle, and fascia is best trained through repetition. It's to the point that I sometimes forget to put my armor back on after wearing it working out etc, because having it there and not having it there both feel like nothing! My personal goal is to be able to go full on Assassin's Creed mode in my EDC, I can keep up with the hired thieves right now lolz but I'm no parcore expert
Brilliant video thanks for that. It explained very nicely why full plate armour was so expensive in medieval times, as they were largely unique pieces made to fit. A couple of questions though, obviously you would need something padded underneath the plate, so presumably that would be where the Gamberson (sorry for the spelling), but you also mentioned the possibility of using mail. So would this be a complete piece of mail shirt or smaller pieces. It was not entirely clear from your video. Secondly, what would you use on your legs, presumably there would be plate armour on the legs, but i am assuming that the padded armour would be underneath with maybe some kind of mail hose?? Is this correct or am i widely off the mark. Finally, in most medieval rpg, you kill the monster and loot their stuff and find armour. My question is, if the armour (particularly plate) was so unique to the individual, how realistic is it that you could find a piece of plate in a dungeon for example and that you would be able to benefit from it? Basically how difficult would it be to get it adjusted to you, if it was within a reasonable tolerance of your size. Brilliant video, and you have just won yourself another subscriber, so thanks.
I've always wondered why later armours, lets say Greenwich as an example, tended to forgo the waist articulation and make themselves "too long". Any insight as to the development of this trend?
Every time I see that heavy-shafted, long-bladed, winged spear behind you I think it's probably the most effective weapon in your armoury. If I ever came to one of your HEMA classes in Ealing that's what I'd want to use. Where can I buy one, Matt?
Are there many examples in european armour where there were very A-Symetric pieces? i know Greek Hoplites would only wear one greave for example, are there situations where people wouldn't mind a lack of mobility on one side of their armour because the way they always held their spear/polearm etc..?
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What or how would be the best armour that can be put on by the wearer? I mean without any help.
I don't think he'd like to talk about Yushman or Krug if he don't have one. On the other hand, he have kilij/shamshir and teaches sabre, so he's confident with his knowledge to discuss about it.
@@penguasakucing8136 i don't know how interested he is on ottoman plated mail, but it's kinda fascinating how they conquered european cities for exemple even tough the byzantines probably had better armor, i want to know how a confrontation between an ottoman Knight and a byzantine would look like, and how they overcame plate armor.
@@Hickokboy Because battles aren't just knights fighting knights and they're not just guys whacking each other with steel clubs. When you're talking about the Ottomons you're talking about a time of firearms and artillery powered by gun powder.
@@Hickokboy Very weird, this comment only just appeared. No talking about 'elites vs elites' is not productive when you're trying to discern the reason for the Ottoman's success for the exact reason seen in your comment. You assume there must have been some fatal flaw to this armour, that the Ottomans must have had the superior design, that the ottoman must have had something that made the armour obsolete or had some perfect strategies to deal with this armour that negated it's advantage. This is very unrealistic, it's not even have 'elites vs elites' go. It's not how any fight goes and certainly not how war goes. It's not 'if we can overcome the armour we win and if we can't we lose', you're describing an armour proof test and not a fight. How would a fight between an Ottoman and Byzantine knight look? Depend on the context, is this a duel? Depend on their equipment and weapons, it would depend on their experience and training. There are ways a very skilled fighter or someone who fights better on the day who is wearing no armour and has no weapons can defeat someone who is fully kitted out. In armour you can still be thrown around, you can still be hurt and all of the same emotions are still there. You can be forced to submit or just beaten to death. Armour is a powerful aid especially for the strong, it isn't a magic equalizer. If you're getting your ass kicked the armour doesn't change that. Armour helps deflect and protect you from the kinds of blows you're guaranteed to take while fighting, everyone gets hit.
So is Kendo somewhat more realistic to unarmored fencing since the Do would simulate a breastplate? From what I can tell even lower ranking Ashgiru had a breastplate and head protection.
is there a sliding plate breastplate, it would be a breast plate made up of smaller plates overlapping and link so they can never reveal a gap in the body but slide about enough to be pretty flexible This would be different to scale armour which each piece is joined to other/s in a static fix.
I don't know the examples well enough to quote one but history gets somewhat close to that. The later suits of armour are often pretty extensively articulated, lots of little overlapping bands for all your joints and so on.
What style of armour did you buy Matt? Clearly it has a plackart that extends pretty high up judging by the strip but I've seen that on both Milanese and English styles. The colour is absolutely gorgeous. I love blued steel armour. As far as the "static" is concerned I'm pretty sure it's the mic bouncing off the breastplate because it's attached to the leather strip, so as the strip moves around the mic taps against the metal.
Nothing to do with this video, but en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges was a really interesting guy. How many fencer-violinists can you think of? Research, and a video? As a classical music fan: I rate his compositions below "knock your socks off", but a very long way indeed above "I do wish that violinist would just go away". He was solid.
Depends on who, and how fast they change shape... Henry's armour gets both fancier and fatter as he tallies up wives, but he could easily afford to just order up a new set.
It depends on what you launch the virus from. This armour will stop the virus if launched from a bow, but if you used a trebuchet, the virus will pierce the armour and almost certainly cause you to sneeze uncontrollably. You should tell your friend to wear a gambeson soaked in petrol underneath full plate. If it gets through the chest plate, set fire to the gambeson and after 20 minutes, the virus will probably be dead. Just remember to wear at least three condoms at all times!
Brilliant. So few creators bother to subtitle in Morse code.
But when decoded it just spells "P E N E T R A T I O N" over and over.
@@johnladuke6475 that's important for context.
@@franciscodanconia3551 I've never suspected context is important for subliminals!
🤣
It sounds like there is a woodpecker on the camera...
Yeah sorry about that. I didn't know until I went to edit it and I couldn't remove the clicking.
@@scholagladiatoria That's the sound of a mic on a leather strap against a breast plate...or more precisely the clip of the lav mic on the backside of the strap.
@@MacAttack001 I would have guessed it's the cable clashing with the plate in an intense battle.
11:50 Matt informing us on how besegew works.
Me: Shoulder nipples...
Matt is being forced to create these videos from the dungeon in the Sherwood Forest. Turned out armor is more useful than we thought and Matt is being forced to spread prop pieces. Morse code is crazy! Lemme know what you think it says! I think he wants pizza but only after rescue. Let's storm the castle! In armour!
You CAN CUT in armoured fighting if youre the only one wearing armor
Which is most of the time
Ironvale really? doesnt it depend? at this time werent most combatants, even foot soldiers, relatively well armored?
The smallsword on the wall behind you ... is haunted!
Nah its just dancing
@@bretalvarez3097 Yeah ... HAUNTED DANCING!
Poltergeist, Good thing it wasn't a polaxgeist
Smallsword and mic have decided to troll Matt.
Little has changed then. In today's meaning of "armor", tanks mostly, there are three factors that must be traded off- armor strength, mobility, and offensive capability. The specific driving elements are a bit different of course- how much armor you can pile on vs available engine horsepower vs how big a gun you want to carry but the final result is the same- it's a tradeoff.
Body armor is still widely used today by military and police and can cover much of the body. Much like in the centuries Matt mentioned we use a degree armor suited to the context it is intended to be used in and its economical practicality. A regular policeman may wear a lightly protective body armor while a SWAT officer would wear near fully-encompassing protection
@@larrybrock6811 And as Matt goes on about, modern body armor is heavy, sweaty and restricting pretty much to match its degree of protection (though it's wildly improved over its WWII and Vietnam-era origins).
Another place things haven't changed much.
@@larrybrock6811 Years ago I was issued 3A concealable body armor. It's fitting was less then ideal and as a result it rode up and pressed against my throat while sitting and literally bruised my shoulders when shooting a qualification course.
This principle applies to all equipment, along with a fourth factor: cost of purchase and maintenance. If you can't purchase it or enough of it, the performance of it is no longer relevant. If you can't afford to maintain its performance, then you're throwing your money away in purchasing it.
A full suit of articulated blued steel armor would be so beautiful, especially with brass rivets and buckles.
Check out Dr Tobias Capwell old armor it was very similar to what u are describing, expect it looked black but could have been dark blue.
It wouldn't be historically correct at all, but image how it would look with a color Case hardened finish...
Ave Dominus Nox
@@richard6133 wasn't armor heated to a blue finish historical?
@@amang1001 color case hardening is the rainbow colored finish that the old firearms had
I gotta say, even though I've seen it in several videos, I still just love that particular winged spear Matt has. The aesthetics of the business end are just perfectly proportioned, like the Victoria's Secret model of spears.
I've also noticed the restrictive effect of armor on drawing a bow. Makes expansion more difficult.
But what about penetration?
When I'm drawing a bow, the pencil moves the same if I have armor on or not :-). How far the breast plate extends from the chest would have an enormous effect on draw length. Might explain why they put those archers in the back.
@SlowMotionSword Painting and embroidery are time intensive procedures. They may have been done by people who weren't there and supervised by someone who wanted the product out the door.
@@kevinreardon2558 I'd love to get a full suit of embroiderer's armor. I've read that the first Duke of Marlborough started his military career in a fully armed embroidery battalion.
@@kevinreardon2558 that's a big presumptive fallacy...
I suggest you watch the Shadiversity videos on right side arrow archery.
Valuable information about proper sizing for plate armour. When you mentioned the choice to wear less, lighter armour, I remembered that Alexander The Great wore a classic muscle cuirass made of compressed layers of linen, which has been proved to stop arrows, believe it or not.
Thanks, Matt, always a pleasure to watch...
What you're talking about with fit, especially through the pectoral region still rings true today. With modern ballistic armor, the fit of the carrier and correct size plates for body type are very important. The key emphasis of protection being for the lungs and heart, while still having the ability to shoulder and properly seat your weapon into the pocket of the shoulder, and maintain that weld in different shooting positions. As a Soldier and HEMA student, I always find it interesting some of the considerations I share with my predessecors.
7:28 now imagine applying what he is saying to a nowadays dubbed "you dont get it, its not bad, its steel and is going to protect you" type games inspired double cup -bo-breastplate.
I wish I'd bought one of your swords as opposed to cold steel replicas for my memorial wall...I do however have my Great Grandfathers swagger stick with a stiletto dagger inside, that I know for sure he had in the Somme, plus his lead filled bolted mace, like a big heavy truncheon to "brain the Hun" as he used to like saying..I'll nbever sell them, just a fun thing
Don't sell them, but pass them on to your children/grandchildren.
You should atleast get them looked at by a professional.
I Always enjoy listening and learning something new from you Matt!!! Cheers!!!
Hey now, Mister Easton. "Lots of HEMA people don't necessarily realise is that armour does restrict and change how you move, and every single bit of the armour does that in subtle and different ways."
Now, I won't speak for all practitioners over the world, but I'm still fairly sure we all notice the difference in doing various cuts and strikes when wearing no gloves vs. when wearing gloves. And it all adds up, the more gear we pad on. So, from my perspective, the difference between doing stuff wearing shorts and a T-shirt, and wearing a full "tournament gear" - it's very noticeable! When I wore extra forearm protection, it was even worse...
So yeah, I think most HEMA people (who've had the chance to try things out) generally understand that armour changes and restricts what you can do. Although sure, we won't REALLY know until we've tried whatever particular type of armour we're talking about.
re - 2:03
The skills are indeed transferrable, but it costs you a either a stat point, or a feat if you want to transfer a skill. Also, if it's not a class skill, then the costs are higher.
Ps: There's nothing that I can't twist to fit a DnD narrative :>
@AlekzHertz
Fuck... errm... OK, but can we do it after my drugs wear off?
@AlekzHertz I'm sure it involves technomages somehow
There is hope one day Matt will make armor videos as good as Ian Laspina.
Keep it up Matt!
Hallo Matt.You are incredible man!Thanks for videos.Many greatings from SLOVAKIA.
Who would win
-An informative video on the fitting of breastplates
-A flappy leather boi
Matt you did the pelvic thrust, but you forgot the jump to the left!
I look forward to seeing the whole harness altogether!
Matt, your Geiger counter is going off. I think your breast plate may be radioactive
oddly similar to modern warfare body armor. The infantry guys I talk to tell me that they would rather fight with the lightest plates they are allowed than have to wear the most up-armored body armor. Reason being is that getting behind cover or concealment is far better at keeping you alive than the best body armor they have. Sprinting behind a tank or even a curtain well save your life more often than the best and heaviest body armor and you can move faster in lighter armor.
I have a full harness for full armoured combat, but i have to buy a new one since i gained 30lbs last year, my armorer is rather inexperienced but made a solid set for me last time
I for one welcome the ASMR tapping in the background
I once wore my gambeson, then mail hauberk and then brigandine, and sparred my friend, who wore only his gambeson. I found that it was hard to raise my longsword up to block his longsword downward attack.
Gorgeous armor. Awesome that you're doing armor related videos more often now!
I have an armor similar to yours. I can even do sit-ups without any difficulty. I even wear it under my overcoat and go to streets. I can walk or ride bicycle easily. I think a single breastplate don't interfere much with movement. But,yes,it can inhibits movement a little bit.
Great! I am excited to see more of it.
I cant wait to see the full harness :)
One example of limiting armor you've previously discussed was visors on helmets. Often you might want the visor up (less protection), at least outside of a direct charge. While the goal might be visibility and breathing as opposed to movement, you still are trading direct protection for ability to function on the battlefield (and sometimes avoiding dangerous blows).
Emperor julian forgot to wear his breastplate. An anonymous persian javelin ended his dreams of reverting the roman empire back to paganism.
This is the US Army big vest vrs plat carrier. History repeats. Dude is 110% on point 👍
Matt there, wearing his arming jumper.
"You can't just simply cut through armour, it doesn't happen... unless you're in Hollywood"
Guy in Hollywood wearing full harness: "I'm in danger"
Tell you what, in Hollywood the best armour (or should I say 'armor'?) available is plot armour rather than plate armour :P
A famous example of trading armour for mobility in history was Phillip of Macedon's military reforms of the Macedonian phanlanx. He replaced the short spear with the sarissa (pike), the large hoplon shield with a smaller peltast and replaced the heavy bronze armour of the Greek phalanx with lighter linen allowing for a highly mobile, highly effective, offensive infantry formation.
Even in modern warfare, armour is a compromise. Example: the German Tiger 2 (königstiger) was awesome in the armour department. But it was not that practical - it was too heavy, to thirsty on the fuel and broke down too much. Right thru all of the history since armour was first thought of, it has been a comprimise between protection, cost and practical use.
Awesome, interesting video. Thank you.
I really would like to know your opinion, Master, on what is the BEST armour set ever made (the most protective while less limitating the movements) in the armour golden age (16th century). A video on that would be very appreciated. Thanks a lot for your work!
The guys at PursuingThe KnightlyArts channel mentioned in one of their videos that full plate shifts your center of mass upwards, which makes you more easier to being knocked down.
I suspect this is why maile was so wide-spread and used for such a long period of time: it offers a good middle-of-the-road compromise between protection, mobility, comfort and weight.
Was blueing the armor something that was done historically in England?
Yes it was.
scholagladiatoria it looks amazing! I can’t wait to see the full kit!
Blueing in various hues, engraving, etching, gilding, even painting was available if you just had enough money.
These things multiplied the price of a nice suit of armor multiple times over, so a great way to distinguish yourself to your friends and enemies in battle!
Bluing, gilding, proper heat treatment... yes indeed!
So I suspect some munition grade armour or looted armour make you feel like you're in a steel box due to ill fit?
A good conclusion. As soon as I transfer from Form Training to Sparring, so from Training clothes to Fencing Jacket, Mask, Gloves, you get the gist, then my Fencing and Movement has to adapt of course. As Coach stated this Monday "Schielhau works wonderful from the right shoulder, but as soon as you got your mask on you tend to hit your head, so don't forget to adapt." Same with almost every other form and guard.
So, I have been following your channel for a while, and it is informative and smart, and quite fantastic, I am from rotorua New Zealand and i noticed in this new back ground there is a wahaika (Maori patu or club), or at least what looks like one hanging in the upper left corner, tell me that story as I think I missed it somewhere...
Why, yes... Trusty Patches, the one and only back at it!!
I have some bone problems and lots of fusion in the spine. I’ve never noticed any difference between my movements in or out but heat is quick to build up .
That breastplate has coverage similar to my modern ballistic plate carrier. Interesting, guess it's like a futuristic breastplate. I doubt many weapons could penetrate the AR500 plates, if any.
There's videos of rifle rounds going through AR500 plates. A 50 calibre AP round will penetrate two level 3 AR500 plates, which might ruin your day somewhat.
@@another3997 I meant more along the lines of a melee weapon. I know the rating of the AR500 plates for bullets.
video advice: don't atachh the mic to a flappy bit that bounces off the breastplate as you move :-P
The arm mobility is a pretty big issue, since even with polearms and spears you still want to be able to do "ox"-like high guards, often with arms crossed. For example Fiore's spear in armor.
Which is why I've been for years arguing that boobplate is a impractical design, as the protrusions extend outward and often the design is much wider at chest level. Compare plastic chest protectors for men and women; I've noticed that even smaller sized women's protectors are still much wider than large or evel xl men's protectors. Also note, those are made out of softer plastic which bends.
That said it's interesting to compare it to the Japanese/Churburg style breastplate, which rests at the hips while still offering pretty good mobility.
@scolagladiatoria Question: How many people in the 13th and 14th centuries carried swords into battle? It seems to me that a spear or pole arm and dagger would be sufficient and wearing a sword would be too much of an incumberance than the possibility of actually using it warrants.
P.S. I suppose if you were a mounted soldier, you could have quite a few more weapons because you could attach them to the horse.
This is actually and issue I have when sparring. I have a small stature, so wearing the Jacket, Gorget, Mask,and other Armor bits makes it hard for me to move and get into certain stances such as high guard. I think I just need to get used to it, but it would be nice for some instructors to address this when teaching. Doing Longsword sparring in gear is different from Drills in clothes.
I had captions on so I didn't see the disclaimer about the tapping and I thought Matt was sending a Morse code message plea for help lol
Clearly the clicking is not static, but is Morse Code for "Context is everything, Context is everything, Context is everything" followed by "Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse."
This is why experimental history is so important. Only by trying it yourself can you learn that real men at arms in full plate must have worn their lapel microphones with the wire under their breastplate.
Hearted? Senpai noticed me!
I don't think it's static, Matt. I think it's your mic bouncing off your armour! The rattling is what's being picked up.
So we will bring seeing more armor videos? Excellent! Do you do/have you done much harnessfeschten? Yes, I'm a bad Fiorest for using German terminology.
Again you can draw comparisons to modern soldier equipment effect shooting.
Sir Easton the Black Knight hoping to prevent mere scratches.
I did not find the noise coming through the mic distracting at all. The constantly swaying smallsword on the barn door however...
Hi Matt, I take it that is 15th C armour? Was it the musket ball that brought about the change of the breastplates shape, i.e. from flat to the pointed style, such as those used during the English civil war? In essence it would have been an early form of "spaced armour", especially if there was a void behind the breast plate and the jacket worn underneath. As you alluded to, one of the biggest issues with wearing armour is heat exhaustion. Today we have the Osprey composite front and back plates, issued to all our troops going to a conflict zone. It is a 2cm thick solid plate and is much longer than your breast plate. It does restrict mobility and causes issues when driving vehicles. One of the main issues with it is the amount of heat it keeps in, as there are no air holes to let your body breathe. You do wear a purpose built under armour sweatshirt, that wicks the sweat away, but does nothing for the heat.
However, a few years ago a team of chemists developed a new type of steel armour. The brief was to design an armour that had better ballistic capabilities, but was significantly lighter than the standard armoured steel. The armour is a super bainite steel and uses a multi-mode quenching method as part of giving it the required hardness. It is different from normal steel plate as it is covered in laser drilled holes. It is made by British Steel (Tata) under the trade name of Pavise armour. The ballistic performance of perforated Super Bainite steel armour is at least twice that of conventional rolled homogenous steel armour. This is because the introduction of perforations creates a large number of edges which disrupt the path of incoming projectiles, significantly reducing their potency. The laser drilling process also creates differential hardness within the hole, with the surface being softer than the back. The holes reduce the weight by at least 45% over a comparable solid armoured steel plate.
This would be great if it could be introduced to personal body armour. The problem being is that most personal ballistic armour is made from either a ceramic composite or a form of Kevlar. With ceramics they can only take a single shot as the crack a break up as part of the ballistic absorption process. Not sure with Kevlar, if a number of small holes would make it weaker. But it would significantly reduce heat exhaustion, as the heat can now vent away from the body.
It's not static its the cable or clip taping against the breast plate when you move.
I'd like to see you equipped WITH the Pauldrons!
My soft Kevlar body armor I wear for work fits just like this breastplate.
Starts right at the top of the sternum, and terminates just above the belly button. No idea how some of my coworkers can stand wearing it touching their duty belts while standing.
mat, i don't think it was static, i think its the sound of the leather strap & mic hitting the breastplate, notice hot if you are standing still its not happening.
It seems not totally dissimilar to how a tailor cuts a coat to combine the aesthetics of clean lines following the body and the freedom of movement of the arms and waist.
Good video. How are sword techniques different between fighting in a battle and fighting one on one?
Termites eating your mic. Liked the vid. Good work. 😀
Thanks for posting, Matt!
Pretty sure the microphone is tapping the plate and its not static
Another Schola video watched en garde. I can't wait to get a custom fit kevlar breastplate to replace the one I wear now. It is cool that the kevlar is flexible and so doesn't restrict movement as much as steel or a non-flexible kevlar would, and the flex lets it cover more area by virtue of just being able to be pushed out of the way lol. My old one will go to a YT channel for testing
What the point about fitting the front plate properly reminds me of: www.highcomarmor.com/rifle-armor-plate-cuts-and-how-they-make-a-difference-to-the-operator/
A good reason not to have breastplates come up too high to the throat is because the head can be forced down or the armor forced up to choke the person wearing it. One of the reasons I did yoga in my armor for over a year (beyond testing it's armor check penalty and max dex bonus lol) finding if there way any such things could be a problem. I've seen cases where improperly designed armor was used to kill police officers =(
You do make a good point about not doing things as good in armor as without them. I've worn my armor (and other gear) long enough now that I'm as good as I'd normally be without anything, and just go a little bit faster and easier without anything on now lol. It took months and years of slowing adding things and constantly wearing them while doing stuff, and I did/do feel the gap whenever something new is added, but over time the penalty always does diminish significantly if given several months of constant use and refining how the gear is worn - in my personal experience. It never does totally vanish tho, the laws of physics and geometry are inviolable, but the person gets a lot more used to it - and gear breaks in. Fascia is a big factor, not just muscle, and fascia is best trained through repetition. It's to the point that I sometimes forget to put my armor back on after wearing it working out etc, because having it there and not having it there both feel like nothing!
My personal goal is to be able to go full on Assassin's Creed mode in my EDC, I can keep up with the hired thieves right now lolz but I'm no parcore expert
New for 2020, the crop-top cuirass!
I kept thinking something was tapping on my window.
Brilliant video thanks for that. It explained very nicely why full plate armour was so expensive in medieval times, as they were largely unique pieces made to fit. A couple of questions though, obviously you would need something padded underneath the plate, so presumably that would be where the Gamberson (sorry for the spelling), but you also mentioned the possibility of using mail. So would this be a complete piece of mail shirt or smaller pieces. It was not entirely clear from your video. Secondly, what would you use on your legs, presumably there would be plate armour on the legs, but i am assuming that the padded armour would be underneath with maybe some kind of mail hose?? Is this correct or am i widely off the mark. Finally, in most medieval rpg, you kill the monster and loot their stuff and find armour. My question is, if the armour (particularly plate) was so unique to the individual, how realistic is it that you could find a piece of plate in a dungeon for example and that you would be able to benefit from it? Basically how difficult would it be to get it adjusted to you, if it was within a reasonable tolerance of your size. Brilliant video, and you have just won yourself another subscriber, so thanks.
I've always wondered why later armours, lets say Greenwich as an example, tended to forgo the waist articulation and make themselves "too long". Any insight as to the development of this trend?
Every time I see that heavy-shafted, long-bladed, winged spear behind you I think it's probably the most effective weapon in your armoury. If I ever came to one of your HEMA classes in Ealing that's what I'd want to use. Where can I buy one, Matt?
Are there many examples in european armour where there were very A-Symetric pieces? i know Greek Hoplites would only wear one greave for example, are there situations where people wouldn't mind a lack of mobility on one side of their armour because the way they always held their spear/polearm etc..?
What or how would be the best armour that can be put on by the wearer? I mean without any help.
Lol with the Clicks it sounds like Matt is wearing DU Armour and the Camera is a Geiger Counter
You should have done this video with Jason Kingsley.
He's not in my garage unfortunately.
The "Bloß" part in "Bloßfechten" has the same origin as the english "blessed" or rather "bless".
Our languages are so connected if we look closer.
So are you going to do Harnischfechten or will you focus on Living History?
Hello, Matt could you talk about Ottoman armor, and how they compared to european harness? Cheers!
I don't think he'd like to talk about Yushman or Krug if he don't have one. On the other hand, he have kilij/shamshir and teaches sabre, so he's confident with his knowledge to discuss about it.
@@penguasakucing8136 i don't know how interested he is on ottoman plated mail, but it's kinda fascinating how they conquered european cities for exemple even tough the byzantines probably had better armor, i want to know how a confrontation between an ottoman Knight and a byzantine would look like, and how they overcame plate armor.
@@Hickokboy Because battles aren't just knights fighting knights and they're not just guys whacking each other with steel clubs. When you're talking about the Ottomons you're talking about a time of firearms and artillery powered by gun powder.
@@7dayspking i understand but comparing the elite of both armies would be more productive, taking into consideration both used firearms.
@@Hickokboy Very weird, this comment only just appeared.
No talking about 'elites vs elites' is not productive when you're trying to discern the reason for the Ottoman's success for the exact reason seen in your comment.
You assume there must have been some fatal flaw to this armour, that the Ottomans must have had the superior design, that the ottoman must have had something that made the armour obsolete or had some perfect strategies to deal with this armour that negated it's advantage.
This is very unrealistic, it's not even have 'elites vs elites' go. It's not how any fight goes and certainly not how war goes. It's not 'if we can overcome the armour we win and if we can't we lose', you're describing an armour proof test and not a fight.
How would a fight between an Ottoman and Byzantine knight look? Depend on the context, is this a duel? Depend on their equipment and weapons, it would depend on their experience and training.
There are ways a very skilled fighter or someone who fights better on the day who is wearing no armour and has no weapons can defeat someone who is fully kitted out. In armour you can still be thrown around, you can still be hurt and all of the same emotions are still there. You can be forced to submit or just beaten to death. Armour is a powerful aid especially for the strong, it isn't a magic equalizer. If you're getting your ass kicked the armour doesn't change that. Armour helps deflect and protect you from the kinds of blows you're guaranteed to take while fighting, everyone gets hit.
So is Kendo somewhat more realistic to unarmored fencing since the Do would simulate a breastplate? From what I can tell even lower ranking Ashgiru had a breastplate and head protection.
is there a sliding plate breastplate, it would be a breast plate made up of smaller plates overlapping and link so they can never reveal a gap in the body but slide about enough to be pretty flexible
This would be different to scale armour which each piece is joined to other/s in a static fix.
I don't know the examples well enough to quote one but history gets somewhat close to that. The later suits of armour are often pretty extensively articulated, lots of little overlapping bands for all your joints and so on.
What style of armour did you buy Matt? Clearly it has a plackart that extends pretty high up judging by the strip but I've seen that on both Milanese and English styles.
The colour is absolutely gorgeous. I love blued steel armour.
As far as the "static" is concerned I'm pretty sure it's the mic bouncing off the breastplate because it's attached to the leather strip, so as the strip moves around the mic taps against the metal.
It's a Milanese export harness, of the sort found after 1450 right across Western Europe.
@@scholagladiatoria Awesome, my favourite harness style! I'm excited to see it!
Nothing to do with this video, but en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevalier_de_Saint-Georges was a really interesting guy. How many fencer-violinists can you think of? Research, and a video?
As a classical music fan: I rate his compositions below "knock your socks off", but a very long way indeed above "I do wish that violinist would just go away". He was solid.
Matt: I need to test this armour... Bring out the rolling pin!
Interesting, if I had armour made it would have to take in account my asymetricality, essentially a bespoke suit of armour as per Richard III
About how often did plate armoured people had to refit their armor or even buy new set or pieces of a set, as they got fatter or slimmer?
Depends on who, and how fast they change shape... Henry's armour gets both fancier and fatter as he tallies up wives, but he could easily afford to just order up a new set.
8:15 "There was a choise made ... to wear less armor, so they can have more mobility."
[ insert obligatory comment about bikini armor ]
Ah, the little-known arming sweather
That man has armor! Being up the musketeers.
SuperDry now make armour?
Hi Matt, what do you do about coronavirus?
I'm sure he was talking at some point in the video but all I heard was "tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic" lol
How much protection does this offer against coronavirus? Asking for a friend.
It depends on what you launch the virus from. This armour will stop the virus if launched from a bow, but if you used a trebuchet, the virus will pierce the armour and almost certainly cause you to sneeze uncontrollably. You should tell your friend to wear a gambeson soaked in petrol underneath full plate. If it gets through the chest plate, set fire to the gambeson and after 20 minutes, the virus will probably be dead. Just remember to wear at least three condoms at all times!
@@another3997 Thanks, sounds like too much work, will try with essential oils instead.
The mic is bouncing against the plate.
Is mail and an arming dublet going to fit under the brest plate? Looks pretty snug even with just a jumper
The sword swinging went longer than i expected. Its like a pendulum. Is it a sidesword?
Anyone know Morse code to work out the secret message?
I could hear: "I want to be with the rest of the full suit"
I can understand it. :D
I think it just spells "P E N E T R A T I O N" over and over.
Where did you get that breastplate from?
The whole harness is from St. George Armoury (Mark Vickers)