How Historically Authentic Is The Uruk-Hai Armour?

In a video which will almost certainly get a copyright strike - I explore the features of Uruk-Hai armour from Lord of the Rings (mostly the Two Towers and the siege of Helms Deep), and discuss how functional the armour is, comparing its similarities with some real historical armour.
For the purposes of this video, I may not be using the most accurate Lord of the Rings terms (calling the fortress of Helm Hammerhand 'Helms Deep', for example).
Enjoy
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[@yeahnahman4217]

I remember seeing in the special features they actually designed the Uruk Armor to be "forward facing" to give the effect of a force that with relentlessly push forward, i love that. They actually thought about who these troops were and their different roles, like the berserkers fill their helms with men's blood before donning them so when they wear the helmet they get covered in the blood of men and sent into a frenzy, that sort of thought doesn't go into movies anymore

[@mnk9073]

What Lord of the Rings got right was that everything "makes sense" in it's context, nothing looks forced, out of place or artificial. Everything flows right under the willing suspension of disbelieve and nothing breaks the immersion in any way. The Hobbit strayed a bit from this with an excursion into "plastic-y" looking arms and armour.
Elven armour looks ancient and regal, perfected over centuries. Ork armour feels rough, salvaged and/or home made, worked and re-worked for countless short lifetimes. Rohan gives this ancestral armour vibe of various generations of equiptment handed down through families. Isengard is full on industrial, efficient, high quality and churned out en masse. Gondor is it's more aesthetic equivalent, standartised arms and armour shaped by decades of war with Mordor while calling back to better days. Even the armour of the Easterlings tells a story of a strange but rich, well organised culture.

[@ArmourArtist]

Great. I loved it. I didn't know those demi sabatons had their own name. I think those gauntlets are more eastern as they exten over the elbow. I have been planning to make my own video and I will ask my viewers to check your video out to. We came to many of the same conclusions but I still think I have some more to add. thank you for the video. I would rather see more armour videos.

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

Thank you :) I was considering extending the discussion to armour outside medieval Europe but I'm not too clued up on it so figured I'd keep it just to Europe haha. Looking forward to your video though :)

[@dmr6640]

Great video. Are you going to do elvish armor?

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

I will see if this video gets demonetized for possible copyright first due to using footage of the movies haha (under fair use, may I add!) So if this video stays okay, I'll consider doing future movie/TV videos

[@richardhinton3801]

Really interesting video Alex. Great how you described all the different types of armour into the mix. 🙂

[@spencercarr5204]

Definitely do it.

[@rella.3505]

Does anyone know the purpose of the flat plate at the top of the helmet?

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

I don't think they have a purpose, the crests are just added to make the Uruk Hai look more fierce and larger

[@rella.3505]

@@AlexTheHistoryGuy okay that makes sense, thanks man !

[@Yusa_Beach]

This is just speculation, but could it be possible that the flat plate above could for a small shield that protects whoever is in the back from getting shot in the head or upper part of the body?

[@Scipionyxsam]

The function would be to make blows that come from above glance off more easily instead of transferring their entire energy into the uruk hai's neck. Historically many helmets had very pronounced ridges like that (Morion, Burgundian helmet, Armet etc.) the only difference being that those ridges would align alongside a wearer's profile.

[@jasmijnariel]

Next week the weapons 😂 hell yeah!❤

[@mikebelcher7244]

"Historically Authentic"?
No.
Functional is the more logical/reasonable standard to assess the armor.
But you can't judge "historical authenticity" of a purely fantasy based work of imagination. Especially one where magical and pseudo-magical creatures and items exist.

[@AlexTheHistoryGuy]

The purpose of this video is just a bit of fun trying to relate some of the elements of Uruk Hai armour to real life examples since so much effort and research was put into making the original props.
I usually wouldn't bother with most movie stuff since most movie armour is so far removed from anything decent and historical haha

[@FuknKms]

Id like to add some additional info on the armor worn by the 7 different types/corps of the army of isengard, being the uruk hai pikemen, swordsmen, crossbowmen, beserkers/captains, scouts and engineers (based off the movie.)
Pikemen:
-have a distinct, strapped shield-like vambrace for their left arm. It has a lobster like gauntlet covered in stout spikes in case an enemy gets past the tip of their pike.
-Their helemts are similar to that of the swordsmen but they (tend) to lack the tusks, and have a slightly wider crest.
-Although not armor, their pikes have a distinct two-pronged head, one prong protruding further than the other. I presume that this is intended to act similarly to the lugs of a boar spear, preventing getting your pike stuck via over penetration.
-Their helmets are the only ones with a small headbutting fin positioned a few fingers above the eyeslit; intended as an additional close quarters weapon.
Beserker/captain:
-these two are lumped together since the captain helmet is just a beserker helm with rivetted cheekplates and a very wide crest. The beserker helm specifically is intended to be filled with human blood and dumped onto the wearer, the smell driving its wearer into a beastial-frenzy. This is unwise for a commander so theyre presumably similar for logistics.
-i shoukd note that the crests are so that the uruks in the rear of the army can see which direction the crests in the front of the masses are facing to prevent the chaos of battle from turning uruks around, and also serve to intimidate the enwmy as looking up triggers a primal fear reaction that goes "big thing=dangerous".
Swordsmen:
-have tusks protruding from the front of the helm at chin-height. In the behind the scenes footage one of the set worker's reasoning for this was to "headbutt" the enemy, but thats bullcrap, and im conviced he was thinking about the pikemen helmets. The real benefit is that any downwards strikes sliding off the top of the helmet will be deflected to the side instead of into the shoulder/neck. They are also intimidating.
-I cant remember if all uruks have this or just the swordsmen, but on their right gauntlet are two spike-like talons that not only provide some finger protection, but ensure that every uruk always has at least 1 deadly weapon on hand, pun intended.
Crossbowmen:
-typically use pikemen helmets, but ive caught glimpses of them using the engineer helmets too, either that or engineers using crossbows.
Nothing else notable about them that ive seen.
Scouts:
-no standardized weapons, typically sword and shield but also bows and sometimes two handed axes.
-wear light, leather clothing with only the metal torso armor and no mail.
-either leather or metal helmets, cant really tell, with a long headbutting ridge. Also have wide leather strips attatched around the bottom in a mantle-like fashion, i assume for protection from the elements.
Engineers:
-characterized by having a large neck plate and brow gaurd (strangely underneath the eyeslit instead of over), similar to roman helmets, intended to protect from falling objects/weapons.
-only eyeslit with a nasal gaurd like piece in the center.
-only type of helmet to never have a crest, excluding the beserker helmets that are not upgraded to captain ones.
All uruks:
-have completely unarmored backs to encourage them not to flee battle
-have helmets exposing their inhuman maws and sharp teeth, intended to intimidate.
-have some form of protection for their rear neck, typically a slightly flared out section of the back/bottom of the helmet.
-Not armor related, but is super overlooked with orc/half orc armies: they can eat man flesh and even comfortably cannibalize, potentially being a huge benefit to their logistical needs. This is also intimidating for their opponents, but could backfire in making them less likely to surrender.