Many people when they hear the word ´knight´ imagine a man in a shining armour BUT the main point is that the word KNIGHT is actually a title. It´s a noble man that would fight for the king or the ruler or whoever. So a man wearing armour does not actually have to be a knight. It´s just a man wearing armour. So not all men at arms were knights but all or at least most of the knights were men at arms.
Also in germany the knight is called ritter which can be transfered to english as a rider so knights had to be a wealthy men to afford themselves a horse.
No, knights are men admitted to the order of knights. An armored professional soldier would be a man-at-arms or gendarme (an Anglicization of _gens d'armes_, which was actually a plural; the singular was _homme d'armes_).
All great points. One thing I like to explain at demonstrations is that a lot of modern people like to group the entire Middle Ages into one small period of history. They don't realize that it spanned close to 1,000 years from the Fall of Rome to the beginnings of the Italian Renaissance depending on when you date those things. Take for example the 16th century equestrian armors you showed that most people think of when they envision the knight in shining armor. The examples at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC are dated to about 1548, well into the Renaissance. We are only 467 years removed from that armor. To that mid 16th century Knight, a mail-clad knight of the 1st Crusade in 1099 was in turn, 449 years removed from *him*. If you want to talk about a Norman Knight at Hastings 33 years earlier, now we're actually closer in time to the 16th Century 'Knight in Shining Armor' than he is to the mounted Norman warriors under Duke William of Normandy! That usually gives people some perspective. :) Keep fighting the good fight Metatron! p.s. Like I said on your other video, I do late 14th, early 15th century. This photo is the first (and only) time I've had the opportunity to get on a horse in my armor (which is well within the weight range of extant historical survivals), and as you pointed out, all I needed was a stool to get into the stirrups. (farm4.staticflickr.com/3944/15349927327_f575431a79_b.jpg)
Just a quick question, what kind of armor did Spanish soldiers/mercenaries wear in the invasion of the Aztec Empire from 1519 - 1525 . From the paintings it seems inconsistent so I just wanted some clarity on this.
I happened to meet a guy who didn't believe me that kinghts in plate armor were agile and rather fast and not, as he said, sluggish and heavy. I showed him your video. Nothing left to say here. :P
+gargoyleex how about you prove it to me, lets have a sprinting race, you wear a full armor, and i will wear none. Lets see if knights are agile or not. Knights are as agile as a tortoise. This is why no one wears armor these days.
+BeefSoda Plate armor makes you slower than you'd be without it. Nobody is arguing that. But wearing full body plate armor does NOT make you "agile as a tortoise". You become a little less flexible at the joints, and you're probably about 15kg heavier. You can still climb ladders, run, roll, and crawl. Perhaps not as fast as you would be without it, but the fact that you're protected so well makes up for it completely. Sit me in a battlefield with swords and axes swinging, and I'll take the full plate armor over just clothing every time.
But you're simply fantasizing yourself to be a ninja. You also seem to downplay the martial prowess of a knight. Trained from the early age of around 7, they aren't to be taken lightly just because movies portray katana wielding ninjas to be the ultimate warrior, when knights were very adept fighters. People seem to think they only hack and slash like a brute, when their skill with their chosen weapons was often very much on part with any of their eastern counterparts. Not to mention the armor and weaponry of such warriors was far outdated compared to 15th century knights, which is really what most people think of when they think of knights.
That phrase "Knights in shining armour" evoked a poem that I wrote when the moon was full, as it is tonight. Probably nobody will read it, but what the hell. .... Just for a change of pace, fellows - take a walk outside ... The Moon The Moon is feminine - you are quite right She's looking just so cool and beautiful tonight. You look quite hard, you see the knowing spirit; The glowing spirit A thing quite cold and sharp; but righteous: A clean and pure embodiment of light. The Moon is asking us to be With Her: She's lonely, and she hopes to have a mate She watches, and she sorrows; and she waits. Where are those valiant spirits? Where are are those gentle Men? The Questers and the Seekers: The searchers for the truth? Where are the Men of yesteryear: - Those knights in shining armour; Those emissaries of light The crisp and clear and shining dance Of horses white? The moon is waiting patiently for us She's waited now for o so very long She lives the now - and she is waiting still Let's join ourselves with ourselves And go to the moon. Grantland
Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem. I can imagine the feelings and emotions that where provoked within you as you gazed up at the moon. You did such a great job crystallizing those feelings into the medium of words.
This is the oldest of your videos that I’ve seen! It’s amazing how little time it takes to improve your entire presence. Please always know that watching YOUR progression will give others the courage to step up as well. I hope you take this as the compliment it is meant to be.
From my experience when I talk to people, when words "medieval" and "knight" are spoken together, people think "the crusades", so (depending on what movies they saw) what they picture is a knight in full mail and a tunic, with a mail coif and/or a great helm or they picture a 15th-16th century jouster in full plate, but somehow still think crusades at the same time.
I just searched, knight in shining armor and found this! I love it all !! Thank you! It must feel awesome to be all duded up in all that armor. You Rock!!!
Thanks for these videos. There are so many misconceptions and many are ludicrous. Your knowledge is impressive and is deeper than many supposed academics. High Middle Ages was largely mail. My dad was an engineer and kept a suit of armour in his office as he admired the details of said armour. As well, we live with a rather odd perception of time in our 'modern' age. Ordinary persons and even academics don't grasp that the Medieval period was very long, comprising centuries of human history.
Metatron, I just want to say thank you! It's so hard to find good TH-cam channels with such a heavy focus on armor. I've been researching and collecting medieval arms and armor since my teens; I'm glad to have finally found a good channel which analogies and respects armor! I get so many weird looks for focusing on it so much :)
The knight in shining armour and his lesser known comrades the knight in painted armour, the knight in covered armour, the knight in gilded armour and the knight in blued armour.
Yeah, this video was a bit all over the place. The title implied to me that you were going to talk about the modern expression of a knight in shining armor, that is, a man to come and save you while being this big, admirable figure. I especially expected it with you being a linguist, talking about the expression.
I really enjoy your videos, great take on things, especially appreciate the part where you defended the people of the past from theories of idiocy by pointing out the cathedral. As for favored knight, the later ones with the incredible full plate are amazing but for me nothing quite captures the attention, fear, and sense of respect as the garb of the Templar knight. Keep up the great videos, I love the history and knowledge
+Twodogs I actually know a guy (he's the Captain of the Knights of Luxembourg team) who does Medieval Re-enactment and full contact Medieval Armoured Combat that once went swimming in his 16th Century armour! He said it really wasn't that bad especially due to your natural buoyancy! He wore his 16thC armour since it had cloth and felt backing and his breastplate was covered and so there was less exposed plate to rust. Obviously immediate cleaning and drying would still be required.
What boggles my mind more about the horse mounting situation is that took the collective whole of the planet so long to figure out the stirrup. Out of all the insane and complex technology from China to France, and it took until the first few centuries AD to get a stirrup.
I am very glad that the constant camera changes and the side view no longer appear in the newer videos. With the latter, you always get the impression that the speaker is talking past you. Very irritating.
I guess many of the myths around knights and knighthood come from literature. Just read the descriptions made of knights in texts about king Arthur; from Lanzarot du lac, or the ones writen for Eleanor of Aquitain, to Mallory's Mort D'Arthur, to Tennyson's Idyls of the King... and then to Hollywood. The problem is, I think, that these subjects are so far away from common people's daily life that it gets difficult to separate history from fantasy. For example the horned helmets vikings never used in real life. That is why I so much appreciate your channel and the great effort you make in order to teach people about such fascinating subjects. Very warm greetings noble friend.
Now, I have a serious question. When was the LAST charge of the armored knight, with lance and/or sword? Shiroyama is the last stand of the Samurai, but what of the knight equivalent?
Great Vid, I like the Camera work. It gives the thing a dynamic that a lot of other TH-cam Videos dont have. Some Tips tough, I would, if possible use another Camera Angle. The AC in the Corner doesnt really ehance the Image composition ;) Also, I would try to get both Cameras to have the same withe balance. The Front Cam looks fine, the Side cam has a bit of a weird color tone to it that makes everything look dull... Also, I think you should wear a Gambeson underneth your Mail. It looks way more Intimidating with a Gambeson. Other than that, great Vid. Keep em coming
Modern History TV spoke about mounting blocks, a large block that the knight would stand on top of so that he could mount, it makes mounting and dismounting easier on both the rider and horse.
koen langeveld hey there, thank you so much for subscribing and welcome to the channel :3 I always try to answer all comments so feel free to comment my videos with opinions, suggestions and anything :3
All hail he who is known as "The Metatron"! I really enjoy this channel and the content, and I'm glad that I stumbled upon it. We know that cap a pe armor only weighed so much, the knights who wore it were strong and athletic enough to move and fight in it just fine. I have even read accounts of knights who could do somersaults in their armor which tells an awful lot about the armor and the man wearing it. The armor would have been custom fitted so that the fit would have enhanced mobility, while the thickness of the armor would have varied, keeping the weight down while maximizing protection. For me, my favorite knights are prior to the 16th century, before the concept of knighthood as we like to think about it disappeared with the rise of nationalism, stronger kings, parliaments and major changes in armies. The real knights were from before that era. For those of us in the English-speaking world, we also have to keep in mind that a lot of our notions of knighthood, King Arthur, Robin Hood, etc. came from the Victorians who had a fascination with these topics and put their own twists on them. Keep spreading those wings, my friend!
Hi Metatron I really enjoy your videos and find all your videos really fascinating I was wondering if you could do 2 videos. 1 what is your top five armours in history from around the world over the ages from full plate metal to leather. 2 I love game of thrones and was wondering if you could do a video on the different armours and weapons in the series. Again thank you for your videos.
Hi buddy, awesome video. Only two advice, if I can, wear you Mail over your padded jack (gambeson or aketon) and I think that I saw a Great Helm, I know it go over a bascinet.
I beleve that the whole lack of mobility and need for a crane came from the renessance era jousting armour where they made the armour as heavy as possible (limited only by the strength of the horse) often exceeding 50kg or more, with limited flexibility as it was only designed to protect the wearer. I've even seen a few examples where they were built into the horse's armour and the jouster would have to climb in with someone closeing a hatch behind them. btw just a little tip, try to relax more on camera ;) you look like you're infront of a firing squad... (looks at the comment section... well ok it is youtube guess it's the same thing lol)
13:34 holy fcking sht, that set looks absolutely badass O.O it's got to be my favourite. Did anyone ever tell you you look absolutely amazing in armour, Metatron? Cuz you do ;-) especially with the set on the last pic. And that "serious" face you make is spot on. I can't help but notice how much "in character" you are, especially on the last pic, you are both super serious and truly enjoying yourself :-) dressing-up if fun, isn't it? ;-)
From what i understand, There actually were super-heavy armours which would leave the wearer unable to stand up if he would fall, and would need ropes to be put on a horseback and so on. But, naturally, those armours were not used in combat, but in tournaments only.
+Gregor Stamejčič Even then, I think a lot of that would be exaggerated. Perhaps an old, fat noble in *really* heavy tournament armour couldn't stand if he fell but I don't think they ever made armour heavy enough that a strong, fit military-age knight couldn't perform at least basic functions in (walking, standing up, etc.).
Ever reviewed Adorea Olomouc historical fighting choreography videos? I wonder if you would praise them, or if you could also find a few issues. I think they should be hired for movies big time, because they are really putting out great stuff! Im sure you've seen at least one video from them. They also made some more fun/modern oriented videos by the way, but usually historical stuff.
I think that king Louis VI "the fat" is at blame for some of the anecdotes of knights in armor having to be hoisted onto their horses. He was not alone either. Basically old warheroes who had enjoyed drink, food and peace for too long wanting a last great and honourful adventure in battle before their death joining battles they had no business partaking in and making themselves a spectacle. Later years those were the things most clearly remembered, and when jousting went out of fashion it was an easy target for ridicule of the outdated knights...
Great video in general I would just point out that people really believed that knights can not get up and that they need a crane to get on a horse for simple reason-tournaments (jousting) -at events like that knights wore special armour which was twice the weight of a regular one and the neck was fixed so they really were not very mobile I think Shad also mentions it in his videos. In general for tournaments they used two different armour one for jousting and one for melee(which was lighter) so here you go for people that never been in battle this is all they could see (and please note that in 40kg armour with fixed neck you really can not get up from the ground if you fall on your beck)
TheBakaslayer 1420 is the best date for a complete full plate. For the actual suit of armour than it's a difficult question because dating is not always as simple. I'll see if I can gather some and make a list ^^
i have been listining to a few of your video's well i am working on my near strait build scale model of the HGIBO STH-05/AC Hyakuren Amida Custom, and am doing some brush priming of the Mobile suits JEE-202 single edge blade. i am a sword freak so i put far more work into painting any sword that comes with a Gunpla then the rest of the suit its self, so its basically the only part i am bothering to prime as i want it to look like the most noble and deadly of weapons, a king killer aswell as a Art sword is what my painted swords must be even if its but a crude blade there is beutie in that. quoting terms from europe and japan as i have been watching several of your video's on these two topics, and i like the idea of viking and samurai weapons having there own soul/spirit inside them. so i make sure that my gunpla blades are fin vessels for them. i also extends this belief to anything that man eventualy makes wather weapon painting or scale model. your passion for what your talking about gives your video's a great and shining soul.. any way back on topic i like that your presenting historic compairsens on whatever your talking about and am glade you are as i am learing about things about history, and that is always a good thing burning one. keep up the good work and i need to get back to priming. (sorry for my spelling errors i am going on three hours sleep and a bad nap so at this point i dont really feel like spellchecking.)
Dear Metatron, could you please give your sources. For instance the picture with the armor collection was familiar to me but I couldn't remember where it was. Also the melody at the beginning was somehow familiar. PS: I think the idea of the cumbersome heavy armor comes from the very end of plate armor where the breastplate and helmet got thicker and thicker to withstand rifles. At some castle the idiot guide actually proclaimed that one pulley there was for lifting the knights up his horse.
There's a really good video on this on subject, (I believe it was the History Channel), that showed a guy wearing plate armor doing a running back flip!
Hi, I've hypothetical question. As I know you are unable to equip full plate armor without help (if I'm not wrong). But what if you could mix armor with modern technology like clasps or Velcro or similar things. Then could you equip armor alone?
Thanks for answer. But I was thinking if you mix modern technology with plate armor. I understand you can't tie the nods on back plate. But if you could use different ways of fastening? Still no good?
I just recently found your channel, i am happy i found it bro i love medieval history. Is there any chance you can put your hands on armor like the Byzantine armor or the later Conquistador armor i dont know all these armor names i just recently starting to learn more about medieval and renaissance armor i never knew how fascinating it is, we should never forget about this history.
Nr One Chilean Hi there I am glad you like my channel and it's great having you here in the community. If my channel grows my idea is to eventually cover every kind of armour so people can find in my channel all the want if they are interested in armour ^^
Metatron Oh yes do something on the Byzantines please! Mysterious Greek Romans that kept it going against all odds for another millenium after the west fell.
SODEMO2007 I really wanna see them to :) Like the byzantine version of the cataphracts, the byzantine empire is my favorite part of the medieval history they are so fascinating. Greetings from Chile!
One question I always needed to ask someone who really know what they are talking about, Do you need help with putting on the full armor, or a man can do it by himself without a help?
Do you have any idea how common it was for knights of the Crusades Era to paint their helmets? I plan on painting my great helm, when I get one, mainly for some variety in my collection. I have seen a few illustrations of Crusader Era knights with painted helms. I originally wanted to paint it green. Then I read somewhere that green was not a favored color in the Medieval Ages, because it represented sickness and disease. Have you heard that as well?
+gpgpgpgp1000 I do know that painting a helmet was done historically, as a matter of fact painting a helmet was a cheap way of decorating munition level helmets, top class knights particularly in late middleages would have other kinds of decorations such as engravings tec. I did not know about Green being a non favoured colour. What I don't understand though is the tone you are using in your comment , if feels like an attack but I don't understand what you want to prove, Have I said in the video that painting of helmets was never done? (if you want a proof that I already knew about this I speak about it in my video the 10 most eveil looking helmets ever created, so again if you are noth mother tongue than maybe you didn't mean it that way? But if you are mother tongue English or you know English well I ask, what is your point?
+Metatron Let me apologize if there was any misunderstanding. I certainly was not attacking you in any way. I enjoy your channel and find it very informative. It was an honest question. I know of a few examples of painted helms, I was just wondering if it was a common practice during the Crusades time period. I asked the question in this video's comment section because there was a knight shown with a red great helm. I have watched your Evil Looking Helmets video, and liked that one too. I have only read the Green thing one place. I thought you had done a video on heraldry before, so maybe you would have some insight into colors. I'm American, and English is my mother tongue. But I do apologize again if I worded my questions poorly. I never had the intention of appearing rude.
gpgpgpgp1000 Ok no problems, sometimes it's very difficult to understand the tone a person is using as he writes something, and as you know as youtubers we are attacked a lot. So no worries and thank you for watching and commenting, I should make a video about painting helmets ^^
Het metatron im sure u got a plan of videos to release but if at some point u got time a video made by you talking about the fall of western roman empire would just be the best. Thanks brotha. Of course whenever u got time if there is ever time
Great stuff, cannot wait for your next explanation! but i am very interested in why you said it was 1420 at least???? before plate armour. I am assuming there was no plate armour before then, but I have absolutely no idea as to the actual date
+Bryn Noble 1420 is the official date of the development of full plate armour, or full suits of armour. This means that before that there were intermediate stages where you had the arms, for example, or the coat of plates, mail instead of breast plate etc. Even grieaves changed a lot during the centuries, from demi-grieaves to full rounded ones. ;)
+Metatron Thank you very much for replying, But the date still bugs me, maybe you are thinking about the improvement in Armour about this period, which was metallurgical mainly, before this period most Armour (or so I been led to believe) was unhardened etc, i.e. mild steel, later Armour was almost all Hardened and toughened, to resist penetration, I am thinking about a FAMOUS BATTLE such as Agincourt when there was " plater Armour worn by the French knight and I believe the English Knights, this fact is well known, so, I would/ could not now the definition of Plate Armour as you meant it? it seems there was existing full plate Armour before 1420?? Love your Channel
BTW: how about the idea that these pot helmets were used to approach a position while being under fire and then they would discard their helmet because it restricted sight, hearing and breathing too much for actual combat? It sounds stupid, but keep in mind that they were wearing padding, haubwerk and sometimes even another helmet underneath. Moreover, later helmets had visors, or were not covering the mouth (which was covered by a different plate which could be retracted in some cases).
Veltins Pilz Thank you so much Veltins you will find wearing time in all my videos about any kind of medieval or Roman equipment. You can also find a video about each helmet you see in my collection including as rightly said by Siegfired the great helm ;)
Hey Metatron. I just want to say that I learn a lot from your videos. To be honest I never heard of the myth that knights or soldiers needed to be lifted on horses with cranes and plate armor not being agile. It's a interesting myth. Sad to hear that people actually believes that kind of thing and not using common sense like you said.
How I can confirm you're doing well in my book: I used the "I smoke armour" video in a political discussion with someone and I was incredibly excited when I saw this in my sub box. also, stop mentioning vids you're going to make, the anticipation kills me, and I think that the late crusaders were the best. The look of a crusader with the protection of some plate here and there.
The Armored Idiot ahaha thank you for commenting. Ok I will try not to spoiler but sometimes I have to motivate why I don't talk about something because otherwise some people will say that I forgot to mention something where I haven't I just have limited time, as on youtube a video which passes 15 minutes is not likely going to see much success unfortunately.
I have seen two nice documentaries about king Athur. One gave evidence that he is based on two very different historical figures which lived almost 100 years appart. One of which was buried in Avalon (France). This is by the way very similar to the legend of Robin Hood. The other documentary followed the trail of the holy grale, which seems to end in a church in Valencia. You can actually go there and see it. However, no-one can tell the origin of this artefact nor confirm that it is the grale, but the core was made 2000 years ago in the right area, was modified in Byzantine and to make things more bizarre: it features an arabic inscription.
Some time ago i was reading about "black knights" and it said that they painted the armor in black to prevent rust and that they acted as mercenaries or ronin. So i was thinking... Maybe other people have painted their armors in different colors too. But maybe that black paint was the only way to prevent rust since some pigments probably were so hard to get and others were reserved for the kings clothing (like purple). Ah, my favourite knight of course is the late middle ages/early renaissance armor.
RyuFireheart Some sources suggest that painting armor was one of the most common decorations, popular among the less wealthy soldiers. The rich preferred mirror polish because it was extremely expensive back then. And we have a bias because only the high quality stuff was preserved but the low quality was recycled or something.
There is a lecture by Toby Capwell in here called something like "operator's guide" where he talks briefly about painted armour. Actually it was very common, but less so with mirror polished high-grade ones. On some, collectors actually polished off the original paint because they preferred naked steel. Generally, oil paint with some cheaper pigments were widely used, coloring various shades of yellow, orange or grey.
+RyuFireheart Sorry if this late reply inconveniences you, but the black probably wasn't paint, but there's a process called (in my language, don't know the english word for it) pavonado, which was well known in medieval times. It consisted on dipping the metal pieces in boiling "very used cooking oil", which would would create a black patina over the metal that'll prevent rust. More often than not, unpolished armour (and blades too) would allready look like that right from the forge, since quenching and tempering was done with oil (this time the hot element was the metal) rather than water, because they discovered that the cooling was more gradual, thus diminishing the chances of the pieces breaking during this process.
RyuFireheart Matías Tonazzi The traditional process would be "bluing", sometimes referred to as "fire blackening", where you can get a range of colours from an almost black tone of blue to a very beautiful dark violet. Nowadays chemical compounds such as "black magic" exist that create the same oxidizing effect a blacksmith would have with a furnace - or today with a torch for the smaller pieces. Also it has to be said that although mirror polish was extremely expensive (up to 75% of the total cost), blueing, etching and fire gilding are even more expensive, since they all originate from a perfect mirror polish.
I suggest getting your armor on then trying to get on a horse from the ground. Not saying it's impossible but if it is a tall horse even without armor it's not like getting on a bike. I use depressions in the ground, logs whatever to get a little height on the stirrup. If you are in full plate getting on a large horse, on level ground, then best of luck, you better have massive calves and quads. The crane thing would be harder than a good mounting block, freak the horses out more, take a lot of muscle, and be harder to set up. I don't think they got on their horses like the three musketeers jumping over their backs, but the height that a good mounting block provides (or a boost from a couple strong assistants) would do it.
Yet another great video, so informative. I was just thinking though, where are you from? I'm not too good with accents, and kinda thought South Africa or maybe Italy?
Not only was plate armor good with mobility and flexibility, it was excessively flexible in some cases. Not in a bad way, but the armor gave you more than enough motor control
Considering SHINY armour, if I may believe "A Distant Mirror" by Barbara Tuchman, there were French knights in the 14th century who actually wore SILVER harnasses.
actually main purpose of the lance rest was to fix the lance and prevent the backward movement of the hand holding the lance when inpact so there is more penetrative energy in the spike
Many people when they hear the word ´knight´ imagine a man in a shining armour BUT the main point is that the word KNIGHT is actually a title. It´s a noble man that would fight for the king or the ruler or whoever. So a man wearing armour does not actually have to be a knight. It´s just a man wearing armour. So not all men at arms were knights but all or at least most of the knights were men at arms.
Also in germany the knight is called ritter which can be transfered to english as a rider so knights had to be a wealthy men to afford themselves a horse.
+Petr Smolík I take it that's where 'ritterbruder' comes from
Jakub Hanák yeah but knights are still professional soldiers for the king right?
No, knights are men admitted to the order of knights. An armored professional soldier would be a man-at-arms or gendarme (an Anglicization of _gens d'armes_, which was actually a plural; the singular was _homme d'armes_).
And knight in turn has the same etymology as "knecht".
All great points. One thing I like to explain at demonstrations is that a lot of modern people like to group the entire Middle Ages into one small period of history. They don't realize that it spanned close to 1,000 years from the Fall of Rome to the beginnings of the Italian Renaissance depending on when you date those things.
Take for example the 16th century equestrian armors you showed that most people think of when they envision the knight in shining armor. The examples at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC are dated to about 1548, well into the Renaissance. We are only 467 years removed from that armor. To that mid 16th century Knight, a mail-clad knight of the 1st Crusade in 1099 was in turn, 449 years removed from *him*. If you want to talk about a Norman Knight at Hastings 33 years earlier, now we're actually closer in time to the 16th Century 'Knight in Shining Armor' than he is to the mounted Norman warriors under Duke William of Normandy! That usually gives people some perspective. :) Keep fighting the good fight Metatron!
p.s. Like I said on your other video, I do late 14th, early 15th century. This photo is the first (and only) time I've had the opportunity to get on a horse in my armor (which is well within the weight range of extant historical survivals), and as you pointed out, all I needed was a stool to get into the stirrups. (farm4.staticflickr.com/3944/15349927327_f575431a79_b.jpg)
+Knyght Errant Fantastic armour and very good pic :D thank you for commenting ^^
Just a quick question, what kind of armor did Spanish soldiers/mercenaries wear in the invasion of the Aztec Empire from 1519 - 1525
. From the paintings it seems inconsistent so I just wanted some clarity on this.
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I happened to meet a guy who didn't believe me that kinghts in plate armor were agile and rather fast and not, as he said, sluggish and heavy. I showed him your video.
Nothing left to say here. :P
+gargoyleex ahahah good to hear xD
+gargoyleex how about you prove it to me, lets have a sprinting race, you wear a full armor, and i will wear none. Lets see if knights are agile or not.
Knights are as agile as a tortoise. This is why no one wears armor these days.
+BeefSoda Plate armor makes you slower than you'd be without it. Nobody is arguing that. But wearing full body plate armor does NOT make you "agile as a tortoise". You become a little less flexible at the joints, and you're probably about 15kg heavier. You can still climb ladders, run, roll, and crawl. Perhaps not as fast as you would be without it, but the fact that you're protected so well makes up for it completely.
Sit me in a battlefield with swords and axes swinging, and I'll take the full plate armor over just clothing every time.
Ninjutsu. I hope you're being sarcastic.
But you're simply fantasizing yourself to be a ninja. You also seem to downplay the martial prowess of a knight. Trained from the early age of around 7, they aren't to be taken lightly just because movies portray katana wielding ninjas to be the ultimate warrior, when knights were very adept fighters. People seem to think they only hack and slash like a brute, when their skill with their chosen weapons was often very much on part with any of their eastern counterparts.
Not to mention the armor and weaponry of such warriors was far outdated compared to 15th century knights, which is really what most people think of when they think of knights.
That phrase "Knights in shining armour" evoked a poem that I wrote when the moon was full, as it is tonight. Probably nobody will read it, but what the hell.
....
Just for a change of pace, fellows - take a walk outside ...
The Moon
The Moon is feminine - you are quite right
She's looking just so cool and beautiful tonight.
You look quite hard, you see the knowing spirit;
The glowing spirit
A thing quite cold and sharp; but righteous:
A clean and pure embodiment of light.
The Moon is asking us to be
With Her:
She's lonely, and she hopes to have a mate
She watches, and she sorrows; and she waits.
Where are those valiant spirits?
Where are are those gentle Men?
The Questers and the Seekers:
The searchers for the truth?
Where are the Men of yesteryear: -
Those knights in shining armour;
Those emissaries of light
The crisp and clear and shining dance
Of horses white?
The moon is waiting patiently for us
She's waited now for o so very long
She lives the now - and she is waiting still
Let's join ourselves with ourselves
And go to the moon.
Grantland
Beautiful 😁
Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem. I can imagine the feelings and emotions that where provoked within you as you gazed up at the moon. You did such a great job crystallizing those feelings into the medium of words.
This is the oldest of your videos that I’ve seen! It’s amazing how little time it takes to improve your entire presence. Please always know that watching YOUR progression will give others the courage to step up as well. I hope you take this as the compliment it is meant to be.
my knight in adidas t-shirt
Your pfp is great
When I hear the word 'Knight', I imagine a templar in chainmail and with a bucket helmet, and with that big red cross on their chest.
Absolutely agree. I think that chainmail and greathelm is the archetypal look of a knight.
From my experience when I talk to people, when words "medieval" and "knight" are spoken together, people think "the crusades", so (depending on what movies they saw) what they picture is a knight in full mail and a tunic, with a mail coif and/or a great helm or they picture a 15th-16th century jouster in full plate, but somehow still think crusades at the same time.
Damn
*I N F I D E L S*
Killing an infidel is not murder, 'tis the path to heaven.
The thing is templars had a small red cross located around their heart.
Adidas shirt: +2 agility
[H][A][N] Warface every rpg ever
wierdest adidas comercial, ive ever seen
It is very strange
I wish so fucking much that we could comment on TH-cam ads.
Fucking capitalism
I just searched, knight in shining armor and found this! I love it all !! Thank you! It must feel awesome to be all duded up in all that armor.
You Rock!!!
Just wanted to say I just recently found your channel and it's awesome.
***** Hey Gilbert welcome to the channel then I am glad you've found it :D
+Metatron i know, old post...
i just wanted to say that matt easton brought me here and i am enjoying your vids very much.
greetings from germany
Just wanted to say I recently found your comment and its awesome.
the funny moment when metatron gets confused which camera to look at
That thumbnail of the knight in full gothic armor looks so freaking SWEET!
Thanks for these videos. There are so many misconceptions and many are ludicrous. Your knowledge is impressive and is deeper than many supposed academics. High Middle Ages was largely mail. My dad was an engineer and kept a suit of armour in his office as he admired the details of said armour. As well, we live with a rather odd perception of time in our 'modern' age. Ordinary persons and even academics don't grasp that the Medieval period was very long, comprising centuries of human history.
11:50 best argument EVER against those people that call me crazy when I say I admire medieval people!
Metatron, I just want to say thank you! It's so hard to find good TH-cam channels with such a heavy focus on armor. I've been researching and collecting medieval arms and armor since my teens; I'm glad to have finally found a good channel which analogies and respects armor! I get so many weird looks for focusing on it so much :)
The knight in shining armour and his lesser known comrades the knight in painted armour, the knight in covered armour, the knight in gilded armour and the knight in blued armour.
OMGoodness… I just noticed the Elvish swords Glamdring and Orcrist behind you as well as Theoden’s sword, Herugrim. My heart be still!
My favourite kind of knight is the knight in Gothic armour, with sallet. I saw a gentleman with a custom-made one, and he did a somersault wearing it.
same, Gothic armor is de' best
Dareder Kadota Milanese harness for the win!!
Yeah, this video was a bit all over the place. The title implied to me that you were going to talk about the modern expression of a knight in shining armor, that is, a man to come and save you while being this big, admirable figure. I especially expected it with you being a linguist, talking about the expression.
King Arthur's most acuarate personification is that of Monty Python :v
Dank Memeage Even included swallow science.
I noticed your duel camera views 😉
Pretty sweet
hey man really enjoy your videos! Very nice discussion and analysis.
I really enjoy your videos, great take on things, especially appreciate the part where you defended the people of the past from theories of idiocy by pointing out the cathedral. As for favored knight, the later ones with the incredible full plate are amazing but for me nothing quite captures the attention, fear, and sense of respect as the garb of the Templar knight. Keep up the great videos, I love the history and knowledge
The only thing a Knight couldn't do in full plate armor was swim. lol
+Twodogs I actually know a guy (he's the Captain of the Knights of Luxembourg team) who does Medieval Re-enactment and full contact Medieval Armoured Combat that once went swimming in his 16th Century armour! He said it really wasn't that bad especially due to your natural buoyancy! He wore his 16thC armour since it had cloth and felt backing and his breastplate was covered and so there was less exposed plate to rust. Obviously immediate cleaning and drying would still be required.
Unless of course you use modern day stainless steel, which is what he should have done as long as it weights as much.
Niall Black your comments is 1 year old, but I have to ask. Did he wore a gamberson ?
@@AntonDeMorgan I know your comment is now more than a year old too now, but I'm afraid you're not going to get an answer
@@loods2215 maybe, but to be honest I completely forgot that I've commented this and that I watched this video
What boggles my mind more about the horse mounting situation is that took the collective whole of the planet so long to figure out the stirrup. Out of all the insane and complex technology from China to France, and it took until the first few centuries AD to get a stirrup.
I am very glad that the constant camera changes and the side view no longer appear in the newer videos. With the latter, you always get the impression that the speaker is talking past you. Very irritating.
I guess many of the myths around knights and knighthood come from literature. Just read the descriptions made of knights in texts about king Arthur; from Lanzarot du lac, or the ones writen for Eleanor of Aquitain, to Mallory's Mort D'Arthur, to Tennyson's Idyls of the King... and then to Hollywood. The problem is, I think, that these subjects are so far away from common people's daily life that it gets difficult to separate history from fantasy. For example the horned helmets vikings never used in real life. That is why I so much appreciate your channel and the great effort you make in order to teach people about such fascinating subjects. Very warm greetings noble friend.
Now, I have a serious question. When was the LAST charge of the armored knight, with lance and/or sword? Shiroyama is the last stand of the Samurai, but what of the knight equivalent?
Great video and awesome wearing time! Best start of my day in a long time.
TheLordArion ahah Thank you so much friend :)
Great video! Hope we see more like this, especially middle ages and, of course, armor. Hope you follow up on those videos you mentioned had in mind.
Markus Latham Thank you and ofcourse I will ^___^
Great Vid, I like the Camera work. It gives the thing a dynamic that a lot of other TH-cam Videos dont have.
Some Tips tough, I would, if possible use another Camera Angle. The AC in the Corner doesnt really ehance the Image composition ;)
Also, I would try to get both Cameras to have the same withe balance. The Front Cam looks fine, the Side cam has a bit of a weird color tone to it that makes everything look dull...
Also, I think you should wear a Gambeson underneth your Mail. It looks way more Intimidating with a Gambeson.
Other than that, great Vid. Keep em coming
Modern History TV spoke about mounting blocks, a large block that the knight would stand on top of so that he could mount, it makes mounting and dismounting easier on both the rider and horse.
Never heard of your channel before, but the subjects are great. Just subscribed.
koen langeveld hey there, thank you so much for subscribing and welcome to the channel :3 I always try to answer all comments so feel free to comment my videos with opinions, suggestions and anything :3
5:40 That horse armor by Kunz Lochner is SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL! The best 16th century armor i have ever seen.
All hail he who is known as "The Metatron"! I really enjoy this channel and the content, and I'm glad that I stumbled upon it. We know that cap a pe armor only weighed so much, the knights who wore it were strong and athletic enough to move and fight in it just fine. I have even read accounts of knights who could do somersaults in their armor which tells an awful lot about the armor and the man wearing it. The armor would have been custom fitted so that the fit would have enhanced mobility, while the thickness of the armor would have varied, keeping the weight down while maximizing protection. For me, my favorite knights are prior to the 16th century, before the concept of knighthood as we like to think about it disappeared with the rise of nationalism, stronger kings, parliaments and major changes in armies. The real knights were from before that era. For those of us in the English-speaking world, we also have to keep in mind that a lot of our notions of knighthood, King Arthur, Robin Hood, etc. came from the Victorians who had a fascination with these topics and put their own twists on them. Keep spreading those wings, my friend!
Hi Metatron I really enjoy your videos and find all your videos really fascinating I was wondering if you could do 2 videos. 1 what is your top five armours in history from around the world over the ages from full plate metal to leather. 2 I love game of thrones and was wondering if you could do a video on the different armours and weapons in the series. Again thank you for your videos.
Hi buddy, awesome video.
Only two advice, if I can, wear you Mail over your padded jack (gambeson or aketon) and I think that I saw a Great Helm, I know it go over a bascinet.
I beleve that the whole lack of mobility and need for a crane came from the renessance era jousting armour where they made the armour as heavy as possible (limited only by the strength of the horse) often exceeding 50kg or more, with limited flexibility as it was only designed to protect the wearer. I've even seen a few examples where they were built into the horse's armour and the jouster would have to climb in with someone closeing a hatch behind them.
btw just a little tip, try to relax more on camera ;) you look like you're infront of a firing squad... (looks at the comment section... well ok it is youtube guess it's the same thing lol)
+crwydryny ahahah good point on the youtube firing squad xD
But yes it probably comes from the jousting armour it's a good point :)
My favored Knight is a Templar, I don't like all the shiny steel, so I like the coat of arms over the armor.
13:34 holy fcking sht, that set looks absolutely badass O.O it's got to be my favourite. Did anyone ever tell you you look absolutely amazing in armour, Metatron? Cuz you do ;-) especially with the set on the last pic. And that "serious" face you make is spot on. I can't help but notice how much "in character" you are, especially on the last pic, you are both super serious and truly enjoying yourself :-) dressing-up if fun, isn't it? ;-)
Love your content, I am glad I found your channel :)
How about the Kataphraktoi? Could they have the criteria to be considered amongst the first knights?
From what i understand, There actually were super-heavy armours which would leave the wearer unable to stand up if he would fall, and would need ropes to be put on a horseback and so on. But, naturally, those armours were not used in combat, but in tournaments only.
+Gregor Stamejčič Even then, I think a lot of that would be exaggerated. Perhaps an old, fat noble in *really* heavy tournament armour couldn't stand if he fell but I don't think they ever made armour heavy enough that a strong, fit military-age knight couldn't perform at least basic functions in (walking, standing up, etc.).
Ever reviewed Adorea Olomouc historical fighting choreography videos?
I wonder if you would praise them, or if you could also find a few issues.
I think they should be hired for movies big time, because they are really putting out great stuff! Im sure you've seen at least one video from them. They also made some more fun/modern oriented videos by the way, but usually historical stuff.
I think that king Louis VI "the fat" is at blame for some of the anecdotes of knights in armor having to be hoisted onto their horses. He was not alone either. Basically old warheroes who had enjoyed drink, food and peace for too long wanting a last great and honourful adventure in battle before their death joining battles they had no business partaking in and making themselves a spectacle. Later years those were the things most clearly remembered, and when jousting went out of fashion it was an easy target for ridicule of the outdated knights...
I wonder if the mounting block is a vestige hold over from jousting participants mounting their Chargers???
Salve! Thank's for all your effort! I really enjoy your videos! Greetings from germany !
That knight in shining armour is probably ransacking and pillaging your village
Hence why the armour is shining because of the fires around him.
Great video in general I would just point out that people really believed that knights can not get up and that they need a crane to get on a horse for simple reason-tournaments (jousting) -at events like that knights wore special armour which was twice the weight of a regular one and the neck was fixed so they really were not very mobile I think Shad also mentions it in his videos. In general for tournaments they used two different armour one for jousting and one for melee(which was lighter) so here you go for people that never been in battle this is all they could see (and please note that in 40kg armour with fixed neck you really can not get up from the ground if you fall on your beck)
what is the earliest example of full plate.
TheBakaslayer 1420 is the best date for a complete full plate. For the actual suit of armour than it's a difficult question because dating is not always as simple. I'll see if I can gather some and make a list ^^
i have been listining to a few of your video's well i am working on my near strait build scale model of the HGIBO STH-05/AC Hyakuren Amida Custom, and am doing some brush priming of the Mobile suits JEE-202 single edge blade. i am a sword freak so i put far more work into painting any sword that comes with a Gunpla then the rest of the suit its self, so its basically the only part i am bothering to prime as i want it to look like the most noble and deadly of weapons, a king killer aswell as a Art sword is what my painted swords must be even if its but a crude blade there is beutie in that. quoting terms from europe and japan as i have been watching several of your video's on these two topics, and i like the idea of viking and samurai weapons having there own soul/spirit inside them. so i make sure that my gunpla blades are fin vessels for them. i also extends this belief to anything that man eventualy makes wather weapon painting or scale model. your passion for what your talking about gives your video's a great and shining soul..
any way back on topic i like that your presenting historic compairsens on whatever your talking about and am glade you are as i am learing about things about history, and that is always a good thing burning one. keep up the good work and i need to get back to priming. (sorry for my spelling errors i am going on three hours sleep and a bad nap so at this point i dont really feel like spellchecking.)
A knight in shining armour is a knight who has never had his metal tested.
+Terezar
A knight in shining armour is a knight who knows how to maintain his gear. :L
+Ivana Humpalot yeah, by never using it
Shotgun Versus or he just finished a battle went home repaired his armor and cleaned it up
Or he just bought a new suit of armor, probably best not to screw with him
What happened to Lorica segmentata in the middle ages? Wasn't that technically plate armor? Why did they stop using it?
What is the music at 0:12 ?
Holy crap! You look so badass at 13:14 Great helm is such an awesome helmet.
what do you call that helmet beside the chainmail coif, and above the templar helmet? seen in 0:25 onwards? please can anyone tell? it's so cool :D
nih sa I think Maximillien helmet or Milanese helmet
Dear Metatron, could you please give your sources. For instance the picture with the armor collection was familiar to me but I couldn't remember where it was. Also the melody at the beginning was somehow familiar.
PS: I think the idea of the cumbersome heavy armor comes from the very end of plate armor where the breastplate and helmet got thicker and thicker to withstand rifles. At some castle the idiot guide actually proclaimed that one pulley there was for lifting the knights up his horse.
Well done good Sir you have earned yourself a comment like and a sub.Keep the videos coming I'm a die hard fan of everything medieval.
+TheVidMonster Thank you so much I am glad you do and I will I have a lot more medieval and ancient Rome related videos in mind, and I mean A LOT xD
Good to know ill stay tuned
what exactly do you do with the armor you've collected
There's a really good video on this on subject, (I believe it was the History Channel), that showed a guy wearing plate armor doing a running back flip!
I think a lance rest would also help reduce the chance of your shoulder dislocating, which i can say personally is very painful.
Please explain how armour was protected from rust.
Hi, I've hypothetical question. As I know you are unable to equip full plate armor without help (if I'm not wrong). But what if you could mix armor with modern technology like clasps or Velcro or similar things. Then could you equip armor alone?
Thanks for answer. But I was thinking if you mix modern technology with
plate armor. I understand you can't tie the nods on back plate. But if
you could use different ways of fastening? Still no good?
i don't know why but those unprotect forearms bothered me more that they should also have you thought about extenting those arms on that maille
Ok I see several games in your background, distracting because I love games. What do you play?
I just recently found your channel, i am happy i found it bro i love medieval history.
Is there any chance you can put your hands on armor like the Byzantine armor or the later Conquistador armor i dont know all these armor names i just recently starting to learn more about medieval and renaissance armor i never knew how fascinating it is, we should never forget about this history.
Nr One Chilean Hi there I am glad you like my channel and it's great having you here in the community. If my channel grows my idea is to eventually cover every kind of armour so people can find in my channel all the want if they are interested in armour ^^
Metatron Oh yes do something on the Byzantines please! Mysterious Greek Romans that kept it going against all odds for another millenium after the west fell.
SODEMO2007 OK I will also because it's a topic I really like ^^
SODEMO2007 I really wanna see them to :)
Like the byzantine version of the cataphracts, the byzantine empire is my favorite part of the medieval history they are so fascinating. Greetings from Chile!
One question I always needed to ask someone who really know what they are talking about, Do you need help with putting on the full armor, or a man can do it by himself without a help?
when metatron mentioned running in full plate armor my mind went to the imagine moreover just the sound of CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG
King Arthur video please!Oh and i have to admit...you look quite good in full plate armor(14:29!)
Do you have any idea how common it was for knights of the Crusades Era to paint their helmets? I plan on painting my great helm, when I get one, mainly for some variety in my collection. I have seen a few illustrations of Crusader Era knights with painted helms.
I originally wanted to paint it green. Then I read somewhere that green was not a favored color in the Medieval Ages, because it represented sickness and disease. Have you heard that as well?
+gpgpgpgp1000 I do know that painting a helmet was done historically, as a matter of fact painting a helmet was a cheap way of decorating munition level helmets, top class knights particularly in late middleages would have other kinds of decorations such as engravings tec.
I did not know about Green being a non favoured colour.
What I don't understand though is the tone you are using in your comment , if feels like an attack but I don't understand what you want to prove, Have I said in the video that painting of helmets was never done? (if you want a proof that I already knew about this I speak about it in my video the 10 most eveil looking helmets ever created, so again if you are noth mother tongue than maybe you didn't mean it that way?
But if you are mother tongue English or you know English well I ask, what is your point?
+Metatron Let me apologize if there was any misunderstanding. I certainly was not attacking you in any way. I enjoy your channel and find it very informative.
It was an honest question. I know of a few examples of painted helms, I was just wondering if it was a common practice during the Crusades time period. I asked the question in this video's comment section because there was a knight shown with a red great helm. I have watched your Evil Looking Helmets video, and liked that one too.
I have only read the Green thing one place. I thought you had done a video on heraldry before, so maybe you would have some insight into colors.
I'm American, and English is my mother tongue. But I do apologize again if I worded my questions poorly. I never had the intention of appearing rude.
gpgpgpgp1000 Ok no problems, sometimes it's very difficult to understand the tone a person is using as he writes something, and as you know as youtubers we are attacked a lot.
So no worries and thank you for watching and commenting, I should make a video about painting helmets ^^
Het metatron im sure u got a plan of videos to release but if at some point u got time a video made by you talking about the fall of western roman empire would just be the best. Thanks brotha. Of course whenever u got time if there is ever time
Swol BrohamLincoln Yes I will talk about that, it's one of the videos I have in mind about Rome :3
Hello there a bit off topic, but is there a chance that your nickname in the Kingdom Come Deliverance forums is der_Metatron?
What do you know about brigandine armor?
very nice how much was the crusader armor
Great stuff, cannot wait for your next explanation! but i am very interested in why you said it was 1420 at least???? before plate armour.
I am assuming there was no plate armour before then, but I have absolutely no idea as to the actual date
+Bryn Noble 1420 is the official date of the development of full plate armour, or full suits of armour. This means that before that there were intermediate stages where you had the arms, for example, or the coat of plates, mail instead of breast plate etc. Even grieaves changed a lot during the centuries, from demi-grieaves to full rounded ones.
;)
+Metatron Thank you very much for replying, But the date still bugs me, maybe you are thinking about the improvement in Armour about this period, which was metallurgical mainly, before this period most
Armour (or so I been led to believe) was unhardened etc, i.e. mild steel, later Armour was almost all Hardened and toughened, to resist penetration, I am thinking about a FAMOUS BATTLE such as Agincourt when there was " plater Armour worn by the French knight and I believe the English Knights, this fact is well known, so, I would/ could not now the definition of Plate Armour as you meant it? it seems there was existing full plate Armour before 1420??
Love your Channel
Im new to you channel and i love it. Do you own a riveted mail coat or do you only have butted mail?
BTW: how about the idea that these pot helmets were used to approach a position while being under fire and then they would discard their helmet because it restricted sight, hearing and breathing too much for actual combat? It sounds stupid, but keep in mind that they were wearing padding, haubwerk and sometimes even another helmet underneath. Moreover, later helmets had visors, or were not covering the mouth (which was covered by a different plate which could be retracted in some cases).
That last picture was rad.
Is the mail you are wearing steel or alluminium? I ask because it looked rather dull
+Lander Mugica Galvanized steel ;)
Wearing Time! I love this Part.This Armour looks cool. What is the name of the first Helm?
Is this a Crusader Helm?
It's called a Great Helm
Veltins Pilz Thank you so much Veltins you will find wearing time in all my videos about any kind of medieval or Roman equipment. You can also find a video about each helmet you see in my collection including as rightly said by Siegfired the great helm ;)
Metatron Indeed, wearing time is one of the best things about your videos :)
Gamer Garm Thank you :D
Hey Metatron. I just want to say that I learn a lot from your videos. To be honest I never heard of the myth that knights or soldiers needed to be lifted on horses with cranes and plate armor not being agile. It's a interesting myth. Sad to hear that people actually believes that kind of thing and not using common sense like you said.
Was the armour typically shiny? Was keeping armour shiny actually something attempted?
Metal has a natural dull shine to it.
How I can confirm you're doing well in my book:
I used the "I smoke armour" video in a political discussion with someone and I was incredibly excited when I saw this in my sub box.
also, stop mentioning vids you're going to make, the anticipation kills me,
and I think that the late crusaders were the best. The look of a crusader with the protection of some plate here and there.
The Armored Idiot our nickname is awesome xD
Late crusades ? Sounds cool. Nikopolis 1396 :D
The Armored Idiot ahaha thank you for commenting. Ok I will try not to spoiler but sometimes I have to motivate why I don't talk about something because otherwise some people will say that I forgot to mention something where I haven't I just have limited time, as on youtube a video which passes 15 minutes is not likely going to see much success unfortunately.
Metatron Oh, I was just joking, do what you want.
The Armored Idiot ahah np I always listen to my subs, weather you are serious or you are joking, it's always worth to exchange ideas ^^
I have seen two nice documentaries about king Athur.
One gave evidence that he is based on two very different historical figures which lived almost 100 years appart. One of which was buried in Avalon (France). This is by the way very similar to the legend of Robin Hood.
The other documentary followed the trail of the holy grale, which seems to end in a church in Valencia. You can actually go there and see it. However, no-one can tell the origin of this artefact nor confirm that it is the grale, but the core was made 2000 years ago in the right area, was modified in Byzantine and to make things more bizarre: it features an arabic inscription.
The Norman and the One with coats are my favorites
Some time ago i was reading about "black knights" and it said that they painted the armor in black to prevent rust and that they acted as mercenaries or ronin. So i was thinking... Maybe other people have painted their armors in different colors too. But maybe that black paint was the only way to prevent rust since some pigments probably were so hard to get and others were reserved for the kings clothing (like purple).
Ah, my favourite knight of course is the late middle ages/early renaissance armor.
RyuFireheart Some sources suggest that painting armor was one of the most common decorations, popular among the less wealthy soldiers. The rich preferred mirror polish because it was extremely expensive back then. And we have a bias because only the high quality stuff was preserved but the low quality was recycled or something.
RyuFireheart Port answer is very accurate ;)
There is a lecture by Toby Capwell in here called something like "operator's guide" where he talks briefly about painted armour. Actually it was very common, but less so with mirror polished high-grade ones. On some, collectors actually polished off the original paint because they preferred naked steel. Generally, oil paint with some cheaper pigments were widely used, coloring various shades of yellow, orange or grey.
+RyuFireheart Sorry if this late reply inconveniences you, but the black probably wasn't paint, but there's a process called (in my language, don't know the english word for it) pavonado, which was well known in medieval times.
It consisted on dipping the metal pieces in boiling "very used cooking oil", which would would create a black patina over the metal that'll prevent rust.
More often than not, unpolished armour (and blades too) would allready look like that right from the forge, since quenching and tempering was done with oil (this time the hot element was the metal) rather than water, because they discovered that the cooling was more gradual, thus diminishing the chances of the pieces breaking during this process.
RyuFireheart Matías Tonazzi
The traditional process would be "bluing", sometimes referred to as "fire blackening", where you can get a range of colours from an almost black tone of blue to a very beautiful dark violet. Nowadays chemical compounds such as "black magic" exist that create the same oxidizing effect a blacksmith would have with a furnace - or today with a torch for the smaller pieces.
Also it has to be said that although mirror polish was extremely expensive (up to 75% of the total cost), blueing, etching and fire gilding
are even more expensive, since they all originate from a perfect mirror polish.
Is that mail riveted or butted?
dont really have a favorite kind of knight ps im from canada and i love your stuff glad i found ya man
I suggest getting your armor on then trying to get on a horse from the ground. Not saying it's impossible but if it is a tall horse even without armor it's not like getting on a bike. I use depressions in the ground, logs whatever to get a little height on the stirrup. If you are in full plate getting on a large horse, on level ground, then best of luck, you better have massive calves and quads. The crane thing would be harder than a good mounting block, freak the horses out more, take a lot of muscle, and be harder to set up. I don't think they got on their horses like the three musketeers jumping over their backs, but the height that a good mounting block provides (or a boost from a couple strong assistants) would do it.
I like the normans best, and your channel is great by the way
What about the golden knight?
Yet another great video, so informative. I was just thinking though, where are you from? I'm not too good with accents, and kinda thought South Africa or maybe Italy?
Alex Newson Italy yes :3
Cool! Love the video, especially the Skyrim economy one. First class :)
Alex Newson Thank you so much Alex more videos coming soon ^^
No vambraces on most of those suits? I would have thought that at least for the sword-arm they would have had some protection.
Not only was plate armor good with mobility and flexibility, it was excessively flexible in some cases. Not in a bad way, but the armor gave you more than enough motor control
Wooow mi sto facendo una cultura sulle armature!!!!
I love your video :)
Considering SHINY armour, if I may believe "A Distant Mirror" by Barbara Tuchman, there were French knights in the 14th century who actually wore SILVER harnasses.
What type of sword is that at the very top behind your head?
***** I believe that is Thorins ( oakenshield) sword from the hobbit and unexpected journey. Kind of reminds me of a wierd falcata.
don_quichoté No, the one above that.
actually main purpose of the lance rest was to fix the lance and prevent the backward movement of the hand holding the lance when inpact so there is more penetrative energy in the spike
That middle sword on the wall looks so familiar! What is it?
I had already figured it's an elven sword.
It might be the Goblin Cleaver from The Hobbit.
Thorin oakenahield's sword
Raptor King and the bottom one is a sword of Rohan