Fabulous Knight that is my point, where did the D&D maker came up with the studded leather? lack of knowledge/information + brigandine = studded leather
This is what Columbus and his men must have looked like when they went ashore on San Salvador in 1492. A common misconception we have about Spanish explorers are that they all looked like late 16th/early 17th century soldiers, equipped with the typical, renaissance ''Morion helmet''. That ''look'' didn't become a thing until the mid/late 1500's. The early Conquistadores, adventurers like Columbus, Cortez, Vasco Núñez de Balboa etc. had a more ''medieval'' type of look than we generally tend to think. Brigandines, Sallets, Kettle helmets (which evolved into the Morion eventually), and ofcourse early versions of matchlock muskets (known as arquebuses) must have been in use by those explorers. A fascinating transition-period, from the old medieval world into the more, early modern era. Thanks for the video Matt!
I do not doubt that they wore a cuirass, this is the end of the 1400s we are talking about. The helmets however were probably sallets or kettlehelms of some sort.
Gripen-going off with what you said. Yes, and I want to point out that this was practical for conquistadors as well. For example, warfare and armies of the late medieval period were changing drastically as we know, and Spain was forming armies of Rodeleros (sword and buckler men), Arquebusiers, and other troops. The men Cortes brought to the new world were mostly made up of Rodeleros, and some arquebusiers. And what is great about this set of armor being used by conquistadors was that it offered good protection, though obviously not the best, but enough to protect vital parts, but also at the same time good maneuverability, Spain used lots of sword and buckler men, and great amount of skill and movement was needed to use a sword and buckler, the freedom of the arms and legs is great for this. Also for matchlock or gun infantry, the freedom of the arms will help with reloading and holding the firearm up, with less restrictions, we need to remember at the time firearms were bulky and heavy. And the freedom of the legs allowed for better marching in lines, as gun infantry were used. So this armor works well for the armies of this time and that is exactly WHY this TYPE of armor was used in this TIME as opposed to later armor types. Just wanted to spread some more knowledge with you guys, thanks! :)
Obviously, while i may add that Cortez, Pizarrro, etc... They were generally low hierarchy nobles, therefore you could make a case for them being able to afford better armor than the soldiers at their command.
I imagine brigandines would be much easier to produce than plate cuirass, since you're working with a bunch of little plates; mess up a plate in the fabrication process --no big deal. Just make a new one. Spreads out the risk. Probably a lot easier to repair or recycle than a one-piece breastplate as well.
Actually...*ahem...puts on glasses*...um...the term "hose" stems from the Old Norse word "hosa" and Old High German word "Hose" which are both simply etymological affectations for "pants." I'm no fun at all, am I? *gunshot noise*
So is it safe to say that the brigandine is the source of the misconceptions people have toward the usage and viability of studded leather armor? Looking at it from the outside I can see where movie/game developers get that misconception form not seeing the plates.
Yes, I'd imagine that in combination of mail worn under a coat of plates or gambeson would lead to similar confusion from an conceptual artist's perspective.
Yeah if you look at manuscripts you can really tell where they get the studded idea from. The art looks closer to video game studded leather than this or the historical finds are.
Sure, but you also have to spend absolutely zero time thinking about it to believe that those studs would make it more protective on their own. What exactly would sticking rivets on that stops any damage getting through?
It is really interesting to think about the change in relative levels of armor across the middle ages. In the 1000's maybe 10-20% of your army would have what at the time counted as "full armor" i.e. mail and helmets, but by the 14th century pretty much all soldiers had upwards of at least mail and a helmet, and by the 15th century rigid plate defenses in the form of brigandines were common as well. A common billman in the year 1450 would be more heavily armored potentially than a lord in the 1000's.
You see this even today. Look at the typical protection of a WW1/2 US Soldier vs Vietnam vs today. Armor technology is catching up to arms technology again.
1337penguinman not even technology. As long as you maintain your equipment it can last for a good while, so I suspect that over time a lot of this stuff was grandfathered
Wow! First Lindeybeige showcases his authentic shirt of Moghul armor, and now you have a replica brigandine vest. So ... when are you two going to duel?
That would certainly be a rather one sided fight, lol. I mean, this guy is a HEMA instructor! Besides, he'd strike down Lindy with the power of Context.
Your armor looks awesome Matt. I don't understand why films portraying Medieval warfare just keep making shit up while they could put amazing looking armor like yours on their actors.
Hi Matt! I've noticed that the trefoil stud pattern appears repeatedly on brigandines of this period. Is there a reason for this particular arrangement or is it for decoration?
a lot of history teachers do not know what they are talking about and do not understand nuance. If anything soldiers are more disposable in the modern era of the world wars.
You probably already know this and simplified it for the sake of time/efficiency/etc, but a man-at-arms was not always a knight. However, all knights were men-at-arms.
Certainly in the high middle ages, all knights were men at arms. However, we have to remember that by the end of the middle ages and the early modern period, knights were as much a social class as a military rank. Many knights bought their way out of the service that they owed their liege lord, and did little to no fighting throughout their lives.
Mat keeps pointing out that our image of a Knight is a popular myth so he commonly points out that Knights were much fewer in number than we'd think and most of whom we assume were knights were actually men-at-arms. For instance, Sir John Hawkwood is perhaps England's most famous knight...... But he wasn't a knight. Or at least not the conventional knight we think of - but a man-at-arms who became knighted.
Yes, inventories as early as the beginning of the 14th century show sets of mail sleeves being paired with coats of plates since the redundancy of mail under a coat of plates or brigandine could be unnecessary. There is still plenty of evidence for the use of a full shirt of mail under such defenses as well, but the alternative configuration of just mail sleeves and a skirt of mail is documented thoroughly.
+Knyght Errant I can't see the mail under the plates doing much though, except against projectiles or maybe a stray stab that somehow managed to get in the gap between the front sections. I would think that the cost and weight reduction of not wearing an entire shirt of mail would make it more common than the full shirt.
ActionCow Well, it's hard to say what was more common since the artwork doesn't show us underneath the torso protection. They're just snapshots in time, but Thom Richardson's thesis on the Tower of London Armoury Inventories offers some insight into the proportion of mail shirts to mail sleeves at least during the 14th century. While pairs of sleeves are very common, they are always significantly outnumbered by the number of full shirts (hauberks or haubergeons, both are listed). This is of course only a look into one armoury, in England, over the course of the 14th century. At least to some individuals, they seem to have preferred the redundant protection. It's also a distinct possibility that individuals had multiple configurations of armor, or built up their kits over time. A full mail shirt is more versatile in that it can be worn with different styles of torso protection or by itself or with a padded armor, whereas a pair of sleeves requires more specific types of torso protection to be truly effective.
I guess that does make sense, as a pair of sleeves is somewhat useless on its own. If I was the next guy in line when they ran out of brigandines, I'd much rather have a full shirt than some fashionable sleeves.
That is indeed a beautiful piece of kit you have on there Matt and a very nice explanation of why that level of protection was worn by whom and due to cost restraints.
im sorry if this is a dumb question but who would provide this for the army ? would the kingdom or state give armor to the troops or would the individuals need to pay for it them selfs?
There were different types of soldier - many would have to provide their own equipment. Some were equipped by the lords in charge of retinues that men would be recruited to. In this case the lords would provide their equipment and sometimes those lords would be the monarch or other members of the royal family. So essentially it is the basis of modern armies who are equipped by the state.
"I'm too sexy for my mail, too sexy for my mail, so sexy it hurts. And I'm too sexy for Milan, too sexy for Milan, I prefer the Bolognese sauces"-Matt Easton 2016
Hey Matt or anyone reading, I plan on getting this type of a setup with a Gambeson as my base layer, and a long sleeved mail shirt and a brigandine similar to yours. My problem comes with not knowing wether I should wear my brigandine and then the mail shirt over it or my mail shirt and then my brigandine over that.
Seems to match the historical evidence better. The brig holds the mail in place nicely, so it's much more comfortable. Getting into a mail shirt while you're wearing a brigandine is a right faff.
Brig always over mail. Mail being most flexible it is always the best thing to wear closest to the gambeson. What I would advise is to get a thin gambeson, if you're intending to put other armour over the top. A thick gambeson obstructs the armour over the top and causes excessive heat.
just watched a bunch of your videos and i have to say i am so happy you have a bernie of riveting mail. to a mail armorer such as myself seeing people actually stating riveted mail as opposed to the other non-historical types makes me happy :)
A demostration of full body mobility of the brigandine would be fantastic to see. Like how Metatron made the comparison on samurai's and knight's armours.
For those wondering about what armor this is. Please correct me if I am wrong Matt, but I believe it is the Brigandine "Leeds," by Aleksey Perebeynos as shown here facebook.com/aleksey.perebeynos/media_set?set=a.381987935296910.1073741857.100004571209362&type=3
Thank you for your response. Question: how would you compare the mobility of amour of pikemen with breastplate or buff coat/cruiass to that of brigandines with chainmail and gambeson. What cause the fall in popularity by the 16th century?
I have read somewhere that bullets from firearms could rip off rings from chainmail, which could follow into the wound. This would had made chainmail much less popular when firearms became more usual.
interesting, I would think that the popularity of plate cuirass emerge because by the late 15th-16th century, plate armor was easier to make and less time consuming than piecing together small pieces of plate. However, plate still required a skilled armourer where as piecing together plate was less skilled abeit took lot longer time
Sweet, another armor video. Also it's great to know more about the common soldier. They are glossed over so much for playing such an important role in battles.
Hey Matt, I was wondering where you bought this brigandine? I've been meaning to get myself one so I'd like to know what the best place to get one is for someone in Europe.
Awesome, I've been looking forward to this video since you posted that Brigandine to your Facebook page! Great, informative stuff as always, thanks Matt!
what about Jack Chains? I want to hear more about Jack chains by an informed expert such as yourself, sure I can and have googled them extensively but its quite not the same, perhaps you own a pair you could show off as well :D
This is one explanation for the heavier armour favoured by English knights compared to their Italian and French counterparts lol. We go over 40C in summer where I live... yeah, we don't do a lot of re-enactment that time of year.
putting a full coverage of mail under the plates doors seem like an inefficient set up, I can see the logic for mail around the periphery but under the brigantine seems unnecessary, just put thicker plates on it.
What leg and arms armor would common soldiers wear, if they would decide to wear it? was it the same as the knights armor, like the ones in Knyght Errant's videos?
What most of them would be lacking were greaves, since those generally has to be well shaped to personally fit to your legs. Or if they do have greaves, it would be a strap on version that covered only the front part of their shins.
I imagine gauntlets would be a high priority for troops expecting to engage in close combat, the good ones are probably expensive but having fingers is nice. there are pictures of even archers carrying a pair on their belts.
If you look at the casualties of the battle of visby (it´s 14th century but i think it should not be that different to 15th) it seems like targeting the legs was one of the, if not the main tactic of the attacking forces who pretty much slaughtered the defending forces. Many have multiple cuts to the legs or even both feet cut of in addition to multiple strikes to the skull. Do you think this is because the attackers, being mainly professional german mercenaries, were more experienced or could it be possible that they had leg armor which the defenders, who were mainly farmers, didn´t have?
Dude, the Visby locals were definitely the under-dogs in that battle, with functional but dated kit and very limited military experience. By contrast the victors were very experienced and well equipped. It was a very one-sided battle. I don't think there was necessarily a specific tactic at play here other than striking where there wasn't armour; pretty logical and simple really. Even old-fashioned armour was pretty good, so the quickest way to down an opponent was the legs and arms, and as discussed above, commoner militia types aren't protecting the limbs well. So your speculation the victors probably overall had better limb protection and were better fighters more accurately targeting their opponents' vulnerabilities sounds reasonable to me. I couldn't find any decent sources describing the fighting in detail, so unless someone else can chime in with better info, your speculation sounds good.
Well during the crusading period mail was the common type of armor and mail, unlike the rigid defence, allows heat movement. Coats of plates only started to appear in the late 13th century.
There is very little mention of heat exhaustion because of armor. Heck, the fully armored cavalrymen is a Middle Eastern invention after all, so it could not have been so much of an issue.
yep it does allows heat movement. including the sun heating up the chainmail to the point where it would burn skin off if you didnt have padded cloth under it.
Would you say that when your gambeson i soaked either by sweat or by rain the mail starts to function as a radiator dissipating the heat faster and making the whole thing cooler (or colder)? That's what I heard anyway and wonder if its true.
From experience, yes. Even my lamellar started doing that. Guys in mail would get under shelter if we were in the mountains and they got rained on as it could cause one to get uncomfortably cold.
Yes, wet arming garments can cool you off considerably, even in more complete plate harness. From my experience when it's hot, armor makes you hotter, when it's cold, colder. When it's hot and you're wet, the 'radiator effect' offers some relief. Then when you strip your armor, and are left in wet arming clothes, you can end up cold even in hot weather if there's a good breeze.
Knyght Errant Hmm, was it common to wear "overcoat" or "raincoat" over an armor in cold weather? You always see knights standing in the rain in movies. And I am thinking that must suck, get an umbrella or something. Metatron just talked about samurai wearing straw raincoats over armor if I am not mistaken. (unless it was an old video I watched recently) Did knights used such? Was it documented? Hmm maybe you should do a video of it. Crap I want to know now, but I also want you to make a video.
+Adam Koncz I believed just about every european man before the modern era who expected to spend any amount of time outside would have a woolen cloak with him. +Knyghterrant as well as +Lindybeige covered this in their soft kit and cloak video, that a thick woolen cloak acted like a medieval rain coat, because wool has a tendency to bead off rains (due to its lanolin) and could really hold a lot of water before it got soaked through.
Matt, your brigandine finally came. It looks wicked great. It looks a lot stiffer than I had imagined. I love the way it looks though. Thank-you for showing us this historically important piece of armour. Dante.
How come they put the plates on the inside, rather than the outside? Also, why did they bother with the double layer of mail under the brigandine? If cost was a factor for a soldier, why wouldn't they just wear mail sleeves and use the money saved from all that mail under the brigandine and use it on something like additional armour for their limbs.
1) Plates on the outside means gaps when you move - on the inside the plates are held closed under the outer covering. 2) Some people did just use mail sleeves, but by the 15thC there were a lot of mail shirts around.
Didn't the english court at the time speak french, or norman? the two words are obviously related, and I don't think anyone can definitively say what the correct pronunciation of a word is given all the regional dialects.
Karl Toth Sure but if they were talking about that type of helmet in French they would have said "salade". Possibly they would have had French accents when speaking English (although I doubt it) but that doesn't make it the correct pronunciation.
I think my point is that is silly to argue about.. is it a tulwar or a pulwar, is it a dussack or a dussage or a tessack? Or is it a sword. There was no standardized pronunciation or spelling of anything, thats a modern hangup we've created trying to classify everything into neat little boxes.
You cannot get a mail shirt on if they are not fairly wide. Not unless the mail shirt has an opening in the back anyway. However, these could probably be somewhat narrower than they are.
Yes kettle hats were still worn in the late-15th century, although they tended to look somewhat different than earlier versions. The best thing to do is go to 'Manuscript Miniatures' database and search through original images by date and location.
+scholagladiatoria Off the top of your head, which is in your eyes the most interesting medieval century when it comes to arms and armour (ranging from say the 800s to the 1400s)?
13th century. it was the time of the mongols, who encouraged trade and development in all areas in the west and the east. bringing the west out of the dark ages and eventually up to and then surpassing the eastern countries in war and trade and medicine and mathematics etc
Matt, can you on occasion talk about triage and wounding in medieval times if thats not to grim for your show? I am interested in what soldiers had to expect back then and how they got treated. Love your channel!
I`d say that depends on your role . If you are armed with a bow/crossbow gloves may not be practical or needed. Whereas a bill-man may well want some stout gloves at least to protect his hands .Having no shield it would make sense to have at least some modest hand/arm protection . Troops have been issued armour many times and they sold it off .Troops are always looking for that happy medium between cost, weight and protection .Another factor is the lack of any real uniformity until relatively recent history .And even then troops will use what works and ditch whatever isn't needed .
Just look at medieval art. Many medieval soldiers who were not wearing full armour, seem not to have worn gloves or gauntlets. For the purposes of this video it is irrelevant though - I also wasn't wearing a belt, neck protection of carrying any weapons. This is a video about a brigandine ;-)
Quite possibly not. Modern day folks (who have access to TH-cam) tend to do a LOT less manual labor with our hands than your average medieval soldier, most of whom would have pretty rough skin on their palms. You don't need leather gloves as much in this case, since small splinters aren't a problem, and sword or spear don't care 'bout no leather gloves. Us dainty modern day folks need the gloves a lot more unless we have new polearm, those splinters are no fun at all if they strike mid-swing, or worse, mid-parry.
Usually knights or men-at-arms wearing a sallet helmet would wear a bevor which is plate armor that covers the throat and the lower half of the face. The sallet and bevor combo did not offer as much protection as fully enclosed helmets like the armet or the great bascinet but it gave better overall visibility.
Lot of medieval art shows no protection for the neck - as mentioned, if the face is uncovered, then protecting the neck doesn't make a huge difference. However, mail collars and bevors were sometimes worn with open-faced helmets. I actually have both a mail collar and a bevor, but neither were important to this video. This video is about a brigandine.
+scholagladiatoria thank you Matt for the clarity and thank everyone else for the additions it's nice to see a well educated community on TH-cam, it's a rare and precious sighting
Great video. Once again felt that I learned something new. With any level of basic knowledge, I find that the normal TV documentaries are nearly always stuff I've seen before. Obviously, a kind mention to BBC4 for often bucking that trend. Recent show called 'Illuminations' about medieval illuminated manuscripts was great - check it out, as it parallels a lot of the history covered by Matt.
+Scholagladiatoria would a dedicated blow from a halberd or war hammer seriously injure the person wearing brigandine ? Im referring to the video game for honor a character named holden cross used a very fancy halberd to waste common soldiers wearing what appears to be brigandine or maybe gambeson. I love your channel, please keep making awesome videos!!!!!!
Clearly there are always going to be exposed parts unless you wear full armour, but full armour is not practical for most soldiers to wear. You may as well say that the face is vulnerable for modern soldiers.
Cheers for the responce, it's valued. I understand what you mean, but i was simply wondering why wouldn't they use mail coifs in combination with the helmets, but perhaps it simply wasn't worth the expence? You are right about the modern soldiers. If they would get constantly shot in to face they would try to find the way to protect it, but that isn't the case...
I'm sure common soldiers happily stole or bought more armor if they thought it necessary, but big battles weren't really common enough that anyone would want to stand around in full armor all the time. You'd have way more marching, posturing, skirmishing (and a few sieges) than actual battles simply because no one wanted to fight head-on unless reasonably sure of victory, and in that case their opponents tried to avoid it. So carrying around several kilos of kit you'd use maybe once or twice a year probably made little sense to a soldier who had to carry his own gear - he was a real man who gets tired, not a RPG character who can wear full plate all day along with ten daggers, a bow, a sword + a twohanded sword, a shield, a spear, an axe, a warhammer...
Great to see you doing a more "hands on" armor video. Modeling as you explain the systems is very valuable. It where is "Squire" Lucy to help you don your armor? Lol great video/s keep it up "forever" if you can. Its VERY interesting stuff! Your my favorite sword armor expert on You Tube! Thanks loads for it!
Heat was sometimes a big problem with brigandine armor. During the conquest of Mexico, Spanish soldiers very often stopped using their brigandines in favor of the Ichcahuīpīlli, a mexican hardened cotton gambeson. This is widely confirmed in the historic sources. It can get very hot & humid in Mexico!
For some reason I want to see full body shots of Matt in this gear. Shiny helmet, dark torso armor, BRIGHT YELLOW HOSES, and garden gnome shoes. Glorious.
Beautiful example of armor from my personal favorite period, around the mid-15th century/late Hundred Years War/Wars of the Roses. My favorite helmet style also-the sallet. That brigandine is incredible. This is what I personally would have worn were I going into battle then, maybe some armor for my arms though-they get a lot more abuse than most parts of the body. Possibly some leg armor also.
I've heard from a few sources (edit: including this comment thread, haha) that so called "studded leather" like we see in some games wasn't really a thing. It was just the modern people looking at pictures of brigantine or coats of plait and not understanding what they were seeing. That the studs were really the rivets holding the plaits on the inside. Funny enough, back in the middle ages and Renaissance the look became fashionable so that you had faux brigantine where the rivets were just ornamental. I guess that really was "studded leather" then, but it wasn't very useful as actual armor.
Cool vid. Brigandine is awesome and that is a good looking armour you have there. A few questions. How much do the plates overlap? Would a coif be ever be used with this setup? Would a rich man at arms or knight maybe have a setup similar to this in addtion to plate armour for situations when he didn't want to put on plate armour? Thanks. :)
Nice armour you've got there! I quite like the 'scaled' plates look, and while this is from different culture and much later, it's interesting to see the difference of what Lindy has ( plates+mail) and brigandine+mail
If you haven't recently, you should do a talk/show-and-tell involving your full set of plate. i mainly just want to be jealous of your plate armor but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on it.
Fantastic explanation and really REALLY beautiful armour :)
Metatron WTF are you doing here!?!?
Matt Easton like penetration.
Ashigaru vs A 15 to 14th century foot soldier.
Gotta point out Matt, you need to water your plants, that poor thing in the corner does not look at its best. Other than that nice video.
+Tom New i loled
Im glad to see people are still fighting the good fight
No. Arm them and force them to fight in an area. The winner gets watered. The loser gets turned into Kashi.
Srithor Indeed: it is not what it once was, but it's historical and technological impact throughout the world live on.
Did they FAQ'ed it out? Because as far as I remember it still has studded leather indeed
that's where the "studded leather armor" idea started
Yes, if you add studs on the outside it appears like a brigandine for reconstruction purposes etc.
That sounds like a reasonable hypothesis actually :)
And nice profile pic, I love Gothic ^^
That, and a little (huge) bit of D&D.
Fabulous Knight
that is my point, where did the D&D maker came up with the studded leather? lack of knowledge/information + brigandine = studded leather
Jan P. Yeah, Gygax and the other guy made that "interpretation" popular, is what I meant.
This is what Columbus and his men must have looked like when they went ashore on San Salvador in 1492. A common misconception we have about Spanish explorers are that they all looked like late 16th/early 17th century soldiers, equipped with the typical, renaissance ''Morion helmet''.
That ''look'' didn't become a thing until the mid/late 1500's.
The early Conquistadores, adventurers like Columbus, Cortez, Vasco Núñez de Balboa etc. had a more ''medieval'' type of look than we generally tend to think.
Brigandines, Sallets, Kettle helmets (which evolved into the Morion eventually), and ofcourse early versions of matchlock muskets (known as arquebuses) must have been in use by those explorers.
A fascinating transition-period, from the old medieval world into the more, early modern era.
Thanks for the video Matt!
Imagine if the English took up Columbus' offer. English longbowmen fighting natives.
Ha! Yeah, that would've been a sight to behold!
I do not doubt that they wore a cuirass, this is the end of the 1400s we are talking about. The helmets however were probably sallets or kettlehelms of some sort.
Gripen-going off with what you said. Yes, and I want to point out that this was practical for conquistadors as well. For example, warfare and armies of the late medieval period were changing drastically as we know, and Spain was forming armies of Rodeleros (sword and buckler men), Arquebusiers, and other troops. The men Cortes brought to the new world were mostly made up of Rodeleros, and some arquebusiers. And what is great about this set of armor being used by conquistadors was that it offered good protection, though obviously not the best, but enough to protect vital parts, but also at the same time good maneuverability, Spain used lots of sword and buckler men, and great amount of skill and movement was needed to use a sword and buckler, the freedom of the arms and legs is great for this. Also for matchlock or gun infantry, the freedom of the arms will help with reloading and holding the firearm up, with less restrictions, we need to remember at the time firearms were bulky and heavy. And the freedom of the legs allowed for better marching in lines, as gun infantry were used. So this armor works well for the armies of this time and that is exactly WHY this TYPE of armor was used in this TIME as opposed to later armor types. Just wanted to spread some more knowledge with you guys, thanks! :)
Obviously, while i may add that Cortez, Pizarrro, etc... They were generally low hierarchy nobles, therefore you could make a case for them being able to afford better armor than the soldiers at their command.
I imagine brigandines would be much easier to produce than plate cuirass, since you're working with a bunch of little plates; mess up a plate in the fabrication process --no big deal. Just make a new one. Spreads out the risk. Probably a lot easier to repair or recycle than a one-piece breastplate as well.
It's almost as if these benefits would appeal to the common soldier!
Some times one-piece breastplate were recycled in to brigandines.
"I've just got medieval hose on my legs" - Matt Easton, 2016. Sorry XD
"I'm quite hot" - Matt Easton, 2016
Jet fuel cant melt steel beams -Matt Easton 2016
The groove in the steel beams allows the jet fuel to flow off them more easily.
Medieval hoes certainly would explain why a man at arms would want easy access to his lower half.
Actually...*ahem...puts on glasses*...um...the term "hose" stems from the Old Norse word "hosa" and Old High German word "Hose" which are both simply etymological affectations for "pants."
I'm no fun at all, am I? *gunshot noise*
So is it safe to say that the brigandine is the source of the misconceptions people have toward the usage and viability of studded leather armor? Looking at it from the outside I can see where movie/game developers get that misconception form not seeing the plates.
Yes, I'd imagine that in combination of mail worn under a coat of plates or gambeson would lead to similar confusion from an conceptual artist's perspective.
Yes it the main course, leather with studs is the outside of most brigandines, the nicer ones have covering for display.
Gheringerbob12345 (studded leather isn’t a thing tho)
Yeah if you look at manuscripts you can really tell where they get the studded idea from. The art looks closer to video game studded leather than this or the historical finds are.
Sure, but you also have to spend absolutely zero time thinking about it to believe that those studs would make it more protective on their own. What exactly would sticking rivets on that stops any damage getting through?
It is really interesting to think about the change in relative levels of armor across the middle ages. In the 1000's maybe 10-20% of your army would have what at the time counted as "full armor" i.e. mail and helmets, but by the 14th century pretty much all soldiers had upwards of at least mail and a helmet, and by the 15th century rigid plate defenses in the form of brigandines were common as well. A common billman in the year 1450 would be more heavily armored potentially than a lord in the 1000's.
You see this even today. Look at the typical protection of a WW1/2 US Soldier vs Vietnam vs today. Armor technology is catching up to arms technology again.
I think the black death had some effect too. Less peasants, same number of armor
@@kylebricky6419 Rise of the mercenary armies by the Late Middle Ages (14th century).
@@kristofantal8801 and that, of course
1337penguinman not even technology. As long as you maintain your equipment it can last for a good while, so I suspect that over time a lot of this stuff was grandfathered
Wow! First Lindeybeige showcases his authentic shirt of Moghul armor, and now you have a replica brigandine vest. So ... when are you two going to duel?
That would certainly be a rather one sided fight, lol. I mean, this guy is a HEMA instructor! Besides, he'd strike down Lindy with the power of Context.
Ethan Metcalf lindy would win just because of his hair
Your armor looks awesome Matt. I don't understand why films portraying Medieval warfare just keep making shit up while they could put amazing looking armor like yours on their actors.
Michael Smith It doesn't have to be "real" hardened steel, though. The looks are enough for the cinema.
I'm related to you on the political compass. Just take the dot and move it all the way down.
Anarchy is Order im your cousin one times removed and I just married your sis
@@robertsroberts1688 Holy shit I actually have an uncle robert.
Hi Matt! I've noticed that the trefoil stud pattern appears repeatedly on brigandines of this period. Is there a reason for this particular arrangement or is it for decoration?
I'm very curious - where did you get this brigandine? I'm looking at purchasing some armour, and this is very aesthetically pleasing.
You look absolutely awesome in that armour. It is like looking straight back in time.
You reminded me of my history teacher in high school telling me that soldiers were highly disposable and my disbelief back then.
a lot of history teachers do not know what they are talking about and do not understand nuance. If anything soldiers are more disposable in the modern era of the world wars.
I think you're confused. Brigandines never existed. It's clearly supposed to be studded leather armor ;)
Lol
😂
I woukd correct you, but i dont wanna get r/wooooshed
"I've just got medieval hoes on my legs..." Damn, savage Matt Easton!
You probably already know this and simplified it for the sake of time/efficiency/etc, but a man-at-arms was not always a knight. However, all knights were men-at-arms.
Not all men-at-arms were knights,but all knights were men at arms. #NobilityPrivilige #MiddleAgesClassism
Certainly in the high middle ages, all knights were men at arms. However, we have to remember that by the end of the middle ages and the early modern period, knights were as much a social class as a military rank. Many knights bought their way out of the service that they owed their liege lord, and did little to no fighting throughout their lives.
These fucking comments holy shit lol
You ain't no man-at-arms bruv!
Mat keeps pointing out that our image of a Knight is a popular myth so he commonly points out that Knights were much fewer in number than we'd think and most of whom we assume were knights were actually men-at-arms.
For instance, Sir John Hawkwood is perhaps England's most famous knight...... But he wasn't a knight. Or at least not the conventional knight we think of - but a man-at-arms who became knighted.
I must admit the lack of gauntlets/reinforced gloves surprised me! Great video as always
So this is where the mythical studded armor came from.
This is one of your best videos I have to say. Because it gives actual look into battlefield reality what sadly most hema videos ignore.
is it a viable option to wear the brigandine as the sole protection for the torso and have mail only on the arms?
Yes, inventories as early as the beginning of the 14th century show sets of mail sleeves being paired with coats of plates since the redundancy of mail under a coat of plates or brigandine could be unnecessary. There is still plenty of evidence for the use of a full shirt of mail under such defenses as well, but the alternative configuration of just mail sleeves and a skirt of mail is documented thoroughly.
Knyght Errant
oy, thanks for the answer Ian!
+Knyght Errant I can't see the mail under the plates doing much though, except against projectiles or maybe a stray stab that somehow managed to get in the gap between the front sections.
I would think that the cost and weight reduction of not wearing an entire shirt of mail would make it more common than the full shirt.
ActionCow Well, it's hard to say what was more common since the artwork doesn't show us underneath the torso protection. They're just snapshots in time, but Thom Richardson's thesis on the Tower of London Armoury Inventories offers some insight into the proportion of mail shirts to mail sleeves at least during the 14th century. While pairs of sleeves are very common, they are always significantly outnumbered by the number of full shirts (hauberks or haubergeons, both are listed). This is of course only a look into one armoury, in England, over the course of the 14th century. At least to some individuals, they seem to have preferred the redundant protection. It's also a distinct possibility that individuals had multiple configurations of armor, or built up their kits over time. A full mail shirt is more versatile in that it can be worn with different styles of torso protection or by itself or with a padded armor, whereas a pair of sleeves requires more specific types of torso protection to be truly effective.
I guess that does make sense, as a pair of sleeves is somewhat useless on its own. If I was the next guy in line when they ran out of brigandines, I'd much rather have a full shirt than some fashionable sleeves.
That is indeed a beautiful piece of kit you have on there Matt and a very nice explanation of why that level of protection was worn by whom and due to cost restraints.
Sad face because you never closed the sallet to complete the look.
He did, if only for a moment. Watch the later part of the video to see.
+M.D Nanashi timestamp me? cant find.
dalton jones 12:37 quite brief, but he does it.
+M.D Nanashi oh shit ty
nice looking kit there Mat!
im sorry if this is a dumb question but who would provide this for the army ? would the kingdom or state give armor to the troops or would the individuals need to pay for it them selfs?
There were different types of soldier - many would have to provide their own equipment. Some were equipped by the lords in charge of retinues that men would be recruited to. In this case the lords would provide their equipment and sometimes those lords would be the monarch or other members of the royal family. So essentially it is the basis of modern armies who are equipped by the state.
This is one of the best videos in this channel ever. I'd dare to say one of the best on the topic in youtube.
"I'm too sexy for my mail, too sexy for my mail, so sexy it hurts. And I'm too sexy for Milan, too sexy for Milan, I prefer the Bolognese sauces"-Matt Easton 2016
The sallet gives such a satisfying ring when you poke it at the end.
So... Gonna tell us where you got the brigandine?
Yes, we want to know! Even if we don't have the money...
i too would like to know
Aleksey Perebeynos - you can find him on Facebook
This is not the first video of yours that I’ve watched concerning armour, glad that you are finally getting around to testing it.
Hey Matt or anyone reading, I plan on getting this type of a setup with a Gambeson as my base layer, and a long sleeved mail shirt and a brigandine similar to yours. My problem comes with not knowing wether I should wear my brigandine and then the mail shirt over it or my mail shirt and then my brigandine over that.
Brig over mail.
Tea Kew reasons?
Seems to match the historical evidence better. The brig holds the mail in place nicely, so it's much more comfortable. Getting into a mail shirt while you're wearing a brigandine is a right faff.
Tea Kew Cool.
Brig always over mail. Mail being most flexible it is always the best thing to wear closest to the gambeson. What I would advise is to get a thin gambeson, if you're intending to put other armour over the top. A thick gambeson obstructs the armour over the top and causes excessive heat.
just watched a bunch of your videos and i have to say i am so happy you have a bernie of riveting mail. to a mail armorer such as myself seeing people actually stating riveted mail as opposed to the other non-historical types makes me happy :)
I know you don't do stuff like this but it would be cool to see you
play Totally Accurate Battle Simulator haha
Sounds interesting
A demostration of full body mobility of the brigandine would be fantastic to see. Like how Metatron made the comparison on samurai's and knight's armours.
For those wondering about what armor this is. Please correct me if I am wrong Matt, but I believe it is the Brigandine "Leeds," by Aleksey Perebeynos as shown here facebook.com/aleksey.perebeynos/media_set?set=a.381987935296910.1073741857.100004571209362&type=3
Yes it is.
Thank you for your response. Question: how would you compare the mobility of amour of pikemen with breastplate or buff coat/cruiass to that of brigandines with chainmail and gambeson. What cause the fall in popularity by the 16th century?
I have read somewhere that bullets from firearms could rip off rings from chainmail, which could follow into the wound. This would had made chainmail much less popular when firearms became more usual.
interesting, I would think that the popularity of plate cuirass emerge because by the late 15th-16th century, plate armor was easier to make and less time consuming than piecing together small pieces of plate. However, plate still required a skilled armourer where as piecing together plate was less skilled abeit took lot longer time
Great video and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Cheers.
It's funny how brigandine on the inside looks like plated chainmail.
Great video! This has always been relevant information, but not very often actually talked about in detail so this was very informative.
Matt, come on, water the poor plant in the corner :-)
It is dead now. I killed it.
scholagladiatoria -noo!!
Oof f for plant
Sweet, another armor video. Also it's great to know more about the common soldier. They are glossed over so much for playing such an important role in battles.
Hey Matt, I was wondering where you bought this brigandine? I've been meaning to get myself one so I'd like to know what the best place to get one is for someone in Europe.
Awesome, I've been looking forward to this video since you posted that Brigandine to your Facebook page! Great, informative stuff as always, thanks Matt!
what about Jack Chains? I want to hear more about Jack chains by an informed expert such as yourself, sure I can and have googled them extensively but its quite not the same, perhaps you own a pair you could show off as well :D
For me, this was the most interesting video for a looong time - thx for the upload.
Did archers wear bevors with sallets at all, or would that get in the way when shooting an arrow? What about bevors that had a movable top part?
Sweet post. and brings up a lot really important points most people ignore or overlook. great job.
that poor plant in the corner
Matt, love the armor review and hearing your perspectives on it. Look forward to more.
27C is a hot day? Sounds like paradise, haha.
This is one explanation for the heavier armour favoured by English knights compared to their Italian and French counterparts lol. We go over 40C in summer where I live... yeah, we don't do a lot of re-enactment that time of year.
Thanks for that picture at the end... It's pretty epic👍
putting a full coverage of mail under the plates doors seem like an inefficient set up, I can see the logic for mail around the periphery but under the brigantine seems unnecessary, just put thicker plates on it.
As often is the case, excellent video from matt! Much appreciated.
What leg and arms armor would common soldiers wear, if they would decide to wear it? was it the same as the knights armor, like the ones in Knyght Errant's videos?
Various options, but often the same as a man-at-arms, yes.
What most of them would be lacking were greaves, since those generally has to be well shaped to personally fit to your legs. Or if they do have greaves, it would be a strap on version that covered only the front part of their shins.
I imagine gauntlets would be a high priority for troops expecting to engage in close combat, the good ones are probably expensive but having fingers is nice. there are pictures of even archers carrying a pair on their belts.
If you look at the casualties of the battle of visby (it´s 14th century but i think it should not be that different to 15th) it seems like targeting the legs was one of the, if not the main tactic of the attacking forces who pretty much slaughtered the defending forces. Many have multiple cuts to the legs or even both feet cut of in addition to multiple strikes to the skull. Do you think this is because the attackers, being mainly professional german mercenaries, were more experienced or could it be possible that they had leg armor which the defenders, who were mainly farmers, didn´t have?
Dude, the Visby locals were definitely the under-dogs in that battle, with functional but dated kit and very limited military experience. By contrast the victors were very experienced and well equipped. It was a very one-sided battle. I don't think there was necessarily a specific tactic at play here other than striking where there wasn't armour; pretty logical and simple really. Even old-fashioned armour was pretty good, so the quickest way to down an opponent was the legs and arms, and as discussed above, commoner militia types aren't protecting the limbs well. So your speculation the victors probably overall had better limb protection and were better fighters more accurately targeting their opponents' vulnerabilities sounds reasonable to me. I couldn't find any decent sources describing the fighting in detail, so unless someone else can chime in with better info, your speculation sounds good.
CONTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEXT
Also that combination of armor looks great and this was another great video, keep it up.
Imagine the heat when wearing that armour on a crusade.
Well during the crusading period mail was the common type of armor and mail, unlike the rigid defence, allows heat movement. Coats of plates only started to appear in the late 13th century.
There is very little mention of heat exhaustion because of armor.
Heck, the fully armored cavalrymen is a Middle Eastern invention after all, so it could not have been so much of an issue.
yep it does allows heat movement. including the sun heating up the chainmail to the point where it would burn skin off if you didnt have padded cloth under it.
*****
There were crusades in the 15th century, maybe not huge ones, but still crusades.
The Reconquista was technically a Crusade. Lots of hot weather all around. Matt should look more into Iberian sources. It would be quite interesting.
Great video Matt, keep this stuff coming!
Would you say that when your gambeson i soaked either by sweat or by rain the mail starts to function as a radiator dissipating the heat faster and making the whole thing cooler (or colder)?
That's what I heard anyway and wonder if its true.
From experience, yes. Even my lamellar started doing that. Guys in mail would get under shelter if we were in the mountains and they got rained on as it could cause one to get uncomfortably cold.
Yes, wet arming garments can cool you off considerably, even in more complete plate harness. From my experience when it's hot, armor makes you hotter, when it's cold, colder. When it's hot and you're wet, the 'radiator effect' offers some relief. Then when you strip your armor, and are left in wet arming clothes, you can end up cold even in hot weather if there's a good breeze.
Knyght Errant Hmm, was it common to wear "overcoat" or "raincoat" over an armor in cold weather? You always see knights standing in the rain in movies. And I am thinking that must suck, get an umbrella or something.
Metatron just talked about samurai wearing straw raincoats over armor if I am not mistaken. (unless it was an old video I watched recently) Did knights used such? Was it documented?
Hmm maybe you should do a video of it. Crap I want to know now, but I also want you to make a video.
Adam Koncz yeah i think Ian showed a kinda cape/cloak in one of his videos look it up.
+Adam Koncz
I believed just about every european man before the modern era who expected to spend any amount of time outside would have a woolen cloak with him. +Knyghterrant as well as +Lindybeige covered this in their soft kit and cloak video, that a thick woolen cloak acted like a medieval rain coat, because wool has a tendency to bead off rains (due to its lanolin) and could really hold a lot of water before it got soaked through.
Matt, your brigandine finally came. It looks wicked great. It looks a lot stiffer than I had imagined. I love the way it looks though. Thank-you for showing us this historically important piece of armour. Dante.
How come they put the plates on the inside, rather than the outside?
Also, why did they bother with the double layer of mail under the brigandine? If cost was a factor for a soldier, why wouldn't they just wear mail sleeves and use the money saved from all that mail under the brigandine and use it on something like additional armour for their limbs.
1) Plates on the outside means gaps when you move - on the inside the plates are held closed under the outer covering. 2) Some people did just use mail sleeves, but by the 15thC there were a lot of mail shirts around.
Thank you for the video, rewatching again while I sew.
Sweat saves blood...:)
"...blood saves lives, and brains save both."
Don’t have to worry about heat when ur in the cold frigid Europe
Thanks been waiting for something on the common soldier
gosh darn it, Germany doesn't add letters and not use them. it's salet with the t
Sallet's not a French word so there's no reason to have a French pronunciation.
Didn't the english court at the time speak french, or norman? the two words are obviously related, and I don't think anyone can definitively say what the correct pronunciation of a word is given all the regional dialects.
Karl Toth Sure but if they were talking about that type of helmet in French they would have said "salade". Possibly they would have had French accents when speaking English (although I doubt it) but that doesn't make it the correct pronunciation.
I think my point is that is silly to argue about.. is it a tulwar or a pulwar, is it a dussack or a dussage or a tessack? Or is it a sword. There was no standardized pronunciation or spelling of anything, thats a modern hangup we've created trying to classify everything into neat little boxes.
Karl Toth Sure, it doesn't really matter. It's only when people insist that the wrong pronunciation is correct that it becomes annoying.
thats awesome . i love these armour vids being mixed in
Your mail sleeves seem to be rather wide for your arm...
You cannot get a mail shirt on if they are not fairly wide. Not unless the mail shirt has an opening in the back anyway. However, these could probably be somewhat narrower than they are.
Is there any recorded evidence of commonplace tradition for binding mail sleeves, with cloth or the like?
Would that kit be accurate with a kettle hat?
pappajudas - yes.
Yes kettle hats were still worn in the late-15th century, although they tended to look somewhat different than earlier versions. The best thing to do is go to 'Manuscript Miniatures' database and search through original images by date and location.
I love you Matt, I really wish you would do a video on lances and the horseman that used them.
+scholagladiatoria Off the top of your head, which is in your eyes the most interesting medieval century when it comes to arms and armour (ranging from say the 800s to the 1400s)?
I think he has mentioned 1380-1420 or something like that.
hjorturerlend Cool
13th century. it was the time of the mongols, who encouraged trade and development in all areas in the west and the east. bringing the west out of the dark ages and eventually up to and then surpassing the eastern countries in war and trade and medicine and mathematics etc
Yeah obviously development of arms and armour are going to change with new trade routes opening. For example the Saber or gunpowder
I'm saying that a lot changed in the 13th century so it was the most interesting time in middle aged warfare
Matt, can you on occasion talk about triage and wounding in medieval times if thats not to grim for your show? I am interested in what soldiers had to expect back then and how they got treated.
Love your channel!
No gloves at all?
I`d say that depends on your role . If you are armed with a bow/crossbow gloves may not be practical or needed. Whereas a bill-man may well want some stout gloves at least to protect his hands .Having no shield it would make sense to have at least some modest hand/arm protection .
Troops have been issued armour many times and they sold it off .Troops are always looking for that happy medium between cost, weight and protection .Another factor is the lack of any real uniformity until relatively recent history .And even then troops will use what works and ditch whatever isn't needed .
In general gauntlets were considered a mighty important piece of equipment, its just Matt was not wearing them here.
Just look at medieval art. Many medieval soldiers who were not wearing full armour, seem not to have worn gloves or gauntlets. For the purposes of this video it is irrelevant though - I also wasn't wearing a belt, neck protection of carrying any weapons. This is a video about a brigandine ;-)
Quite possibly not. Modern day folks (who have access to TH-cam) tend to do a LOT less manual labor with our hands than your average medieval soldier, most of whom would have pretty rough skin on their palms. You don't need leather gloves as much in this case, since small splinters aren't a problem, and sword or spear don't care 'bout no leather gloves.
Us dainty modern day folks need the gloves a lot more unless we have new polearm, those splinters are no fun at all if they strike mid-swing, or worse, mid-parry.
I love your vids mr easton thanks again
Not enough Kettle helmet 5/10.
Informative video on a very practical type of armor.Thank you very much.
What about the neck?
Sallets could have a corresponding bevor, or the person in question could wear a maille coif. The latter would restrict movement less.
Usually knights or men-at-arms wearing a sallet helmet would wear a bevor which is plate armor that covers the throat and the lower half of the face. The sallet and bevor combo did not offer as much protection as fully enclosed helmets like the armet or the great bascinet but it gave better overall visibility.
Lot of medieval art shows no protection for the neck - as mentioned, if the face is uncovered, then protecting the neck doesn't make a huge difference. However, mail collars and bevors were sometimes worn with open-faced helmets. I actually have both a mail collar and a bevor, but neither were important to this video. This video is about a brigandine.
+scholagladiatoria thank you Matt for the clarity and thank everyone else for the additions
it's nice to see a well educated community on TH-cam, it's a rare and precious sighting
Great video. Once again felt that I learned something new. With any level of basic knowledge, I find that the normal TV documentaries are nearly always stuff I've seen before. Obviously, a kind mention to BBC4 for often bucking that trend. Recent show called 'Illuminations' about medieval illuminated manuscripts was great - check it out, as it parallels a lot of the history covered by Matt.
+Scholagladiatoria would a dedicated blow from a halberd or war hammer seriously injure the person wearing brigandine ? Im referring to the video game for honor a character named holden cross used a very fancy halberd to waste common soldiers wearing what appears to be brigandine or maybe gambeson. I love your channel, please keep making awesome videos!!!!!!
Great video Matt
Neck seems to be the obvious target though...
Clearly there are always going to be exposed parts unless you wear full armour, but full armour is not practical for most soldiers to wear. You may as well say that the face is vulnerable for modern soldiers.
Cheers for the responce, it's valued. I understand what you mean, but i was simply wondering why wouldn't they use mail coifs in combination with the helmets, but perhaps it simply wasn't worth the expence?
You are right about the modern soldiers. If they would get constantly shot in to face they would try to find the way to protect it, but that isn't the case...
I'm sure common soldiers happily stole or bought more armor if they thought it necessary, but big battles weren't really common enough that anyone would want to stand around in full armor all the time. You'd have way more marching, posturing, skirmishing (and a few sieges) than actual battles simply because no one wanted to fight head-on unless reasonably sure of victory, and in that case their opponents tried to avoid it. So carrying around several kilos of kit you'd use maybe once or twice a year probably made little sense to a soldier who had to carry his own gear - he was a real man who gets tired, not a RPG character who can wear full plate all day along with ten daggers, a bow, a sword + a twohanded sword, a shield, a spear, an axe, a warhammer...
Spetulhu You mean you can't wear and carry all those things at once? Are you a man or a mouse? 😉
Great to see you doing a more "hands on" armor video. Modeling as you explain the systems is very valuable. It where is "Squire" Lucy to help you don your armor? Lol great video/s keep it up "forever" if you can. Its VERY interesting stuff! Your my favorite sword armor expert on You Tube! Thanks loads for it!
That's a beautiful Brigandine, great video.
I remember this brigandine, you posted about the guy making one for you.
It looks amazing and to be honest I like brigandines a lot more than plate
Heat was sometimes a big problem with brigandine armor.
During the conquest of Mexico, Spanish soldiers very often stopped using their brigandines in favor of the Ichcahuīpīlli, a mexican hardened cotton gambeson. This is widely confirmed in the historic sources. It can get very hot & humid in Mexico!
That is a beautiful looking brigandine.
nice video, would love to see more looking at arms, legs and bevors as to my knowledge they were fairly popular in the late 15th century
thanks for the video, matt!
That was fun. Happy new year
Very informative video, one of the best on the channel considering the "short" lenght. Looking forwars to follow ups on related gear and subjects
For some reason I want to see full body shots of Matt in this gear. Shiny helmet, dark torso armor, BRIGHT YELLOW HOSES, and garden gnome shoes. Glorious.
I really want to make one of those... All I need is the tools. And materials. And knowledge.
You should do more videos like this.
Beautiful kit.
I really enjoyed this video.
I learned a lot from your video. Thank you very much.
Beautiful example of armor from my personal favorite period, around the mid-15th century/late Hundred Years War/Wars of the Roses. My favorite helmet style also-the sallet. That brigandine is incredible. This is what I personally would have worn were I going into battle then, maybe some armor for my arms though-they get a lot more abuse than most parts of the body. Possibly some leg armor also.
Love it, more videos like this
this gives a great close up view :)
It is my duty to watch every ad all the way through...
I've heard from a few sources (edit: including this comment thread, haha) that so called "studded leather" like we see in some games wasn't really a thing. It was just the modern people looking at pictures of brigantine or coats of plait and not understanding what they were seeing. That the studs were really the rivets holding the plaits on the inside.
Funny enough, back in the middle ages and Renaissance the look became fashionable so that you had faux brigantine where the rivets were just ornamental. I guess that really was "studded leather" then, but it wasn't very useful as actual armor.
Damn, you look dashing, good Sir!
Cool vid. Brigandine is awesome and that is a good looking armour you have there. A few questions. How much do the plates overlap? Would a coif be ever be used with this setup? Would a rich man at arms or knight maybe have a setup similar to this in addtion to plate armour for situations when he didn't want to put on plate armour? Thanks. :)
Nice armour you've got there! I quite like the 'scaled' plates look, and while this is from different culture and much later, it's interesting to see the difference of what Lindy has ( plates+mail) and brigandine+mail
If you haven't recently, you should do a talk/show-and-tell involving your full set of plate. i mainly just want to be jealous of your plate armor but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on it.