Jean Chandler

This is a sort of poor-mans brigandine armor consisting of small metal plates sewn inside two layers of textile armor. It was used by common footsoldiers in late Medieval through Renaissance Europe.

A sleeveless vest of brigandine armor, consisting of two layers of textile armor with overlapping metal plates sandwiched in between. Quite effective protection.

A cuirass with specific type of shape featuring vertical central ridge, called the tapul, which split the middle of the breast plate like sloped armor on a tank. This type was very good protection from both missiles and lance strikes.

The Japanese adopted the peascod cuirass from Portuguese soldiers, in many cases incorporating foreign made cuirasses into their own ‘modern armor’ panoplies (Toudei-Gusoku), and also copying the design. They called the peascod breast plate specifically Hatomune dô or ‘pigeon breast armor’

A haubergeon or habergeon is a mail shirt similar to a byrnie with incrementally (maybe 10-15%) more coverage: sleeves come mid- way down the upper arms, and the shirt itself passes to the mid-thigh level. This version includes a light aketon or padded jack.

This is simply a Hauberk of doubled mail or kings mail (8 in 2 weave or 6 in 1 weave). It is considerably heavier but also more effective than ordinary 4 in 1 mail. Normally worn only by cavalry or during a siege, this is not easy armor to run around in let alone march in. But it definitely could save your life.

This is a heavier, somewhat crude version of three quarters harness which began to appear in the 17th Century, and was designed to be literally bullet-proof. This heavier armor was usually made of iron, and much thicker than earlier 15th Century armor. This remained in limited use by some heavy cavalry and (more rarely) pikemen, (typically officers, bodyguards, or standard bearers) through the 18th Century. By this time the ability to make steel armor had been nearly lost and to compensate this iron armor was so thick that it was significantly heavier than a full panoply was in the early 16th Century. That is why armor of this type was usually only worn by cavalry.

This is a mail hauberk worn over a light gambeson, with a mail coif, mail chausses (leggings) and mail (mitten) gauntlets, and a helmet or helm, and an aketon worn over the mail. The various pieces overlap somewhat which provides extra protection. The hauberk is often reinforced with a second piece of mail either on the chest and / or shoulders.

Cap-a-pied (full coverage) Mail panoply first appeared around the 11th Century AD, peaked in the 12th Century, and remained in use through the 14th. This type of armor was often used during the first Crusade. It was common to also wear a jupon or aketon over the mail armor, as represented here. The helmets worn with this armor often included a partial helmet with a facemask, or alternately in a cavalry context a great-helm worn over a bascinet or a cervelliere. The first row represents the helmet and the thicker parts of the armor where there are usually two layers of mail plus the aketon. The second row represents a single layer of