THE MAKING OF ARMOR

From Roman times through the period of the Crusades, body armor was constructed of mail-riveted steel rings arranged in interlinking rows. A mail shirt resembled a modern sweater; like a sweater, it had to be pulled on or off over the head. It was worn over a padded undergarment, which protected the body from chafing and also absorbed the shock of blows. Under the burning sun of the Holy Land, the mail grew too hot to touch, and crusading knights began wearing a sleeveless surcoat over their armor. They decorated this for identification with the devices on their shields, thereby creating the coat-of-arms.

Although mail was flexible and relatively comfortable to wear, it could easily be pierced by a longbowman's arrow, and it afforded no protection from the deadly bolt of the crossbow. Knights at first attached steel plates inside their surcoat for additional protection; then, around 1350, they began adding pieces of plate to cover their shoulders and arms. It was not until the middle of the fifteenth century, however, that they adopted the full suit of plate armor as protection against the increasingly popular gun.