Timeline for After the fall of the Roman Empire, where did their armor go? Was it used by any dark ages forces?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
5 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 2018 at 21:43 | comment | added | Paul Hutton | @Schmuddi, I think there is some debate about whether bronze cuirasses are superior to mail, possibly in some circumstances or against certain weapons. But even if bronze was better, there is no question that it is many times more expensive, so much so that it would be uneconomic to equip the rank and file. | |
| May 15, 2018 at 19:53 | comment | added | Luaan | @Schmuddi In the Roman army, they were mostly used by officers and some cavalry. It's hard to tell how effective they would be - they were certainly used against different weapons than the later medieval plate armour, and wouldn't have fared very well against those. Even against swords and javelins, they would have some trouble - they don't have the right shape to deflect blows, and not a lot of volume for padding, it seems. But that wasn't necessarily a problem the way Romans usually fought. | |
| May 15, 2018 at 19:44 | comment | added | Luaan | Indeed, the armour only needed to be as strong as necessary - the additional expense and weight wouldn't have made much of an improvement in the battles the Romans found themselves fighting in their decline. The eastern empire, on the other hand, used both mail and scale, and the officers even used cuirasses, just like in the earlier times. | |
| May 15, 2018 at 16:54 | comment | added | Schmuddi | How do the heroic cuirasses fit into this? Were they actually ever worn as an armor in the field, or were they merely used decoratively? And would they count as early instances of plate armor? | |
| May 15, 2018 at 5:37 | history | answered | Paul Hutton | CC BY-SA 4.0 |