There have been many types of armor worn during the Middle Ages. During this era, the armor used in combat had improved immensely. In the beginning of the middle Ages, Leather armor (also known as soft armor (MacEachern, 30)) was worn. Later advancement was put into action and the Scale (or chain) mail was created. Towards the end of the era, full body Plate Mail was created and worn. Helmets had also advanced during this time too. Leg greaves were made just out of leather in the beginning of the middle ages, and eventually advanced into chain mail greaves. The helmets were made out of leather in the beginning, but also advanced to metal. Unfortunately only the rich could afford the strongest and best armor, while the poor could only afford the cheap armor, which was usually any type of leather armor. Armor has changed, developed, and improved during the Middle Ages.
How the armor was made and the protection it gave.
Leather armor wasn't just a common cloth worn into battle. It took time and patience to create this leather and to make it hard. A piece of armor worn during the middle Ages made out of this armor was called the curiboulli (French for "boiled leather") (The Forge 1). Soaking regular leather in boiling water or hot oil made the shape of this sturdy armor. After the leather had been molded into the shape of the wearer, the leather was then left on a stand to dry and harden. The whole point of heating the armor was to make it harder so the armor could withstand the blow of edged weapons (The Forge 1).
Originally an Asian invention, Chain mail was introduced. There was no definite date to when the chain mail came to Europe, but it became popular during the 11th century (The Forge 1). This torso armor was made with several chains woven into each other. The Forge writes: .
"Since the process of wire drawing wasn't invented until the 14th century, during the period when chain mail was most popular the wire from which each link was cut had to be hammered out of a larger block of metal.
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Jousting Jousting was one of the most admired sports in the Medieval period. It started as a "melee" which was an endless, bloody, war taking place all day and into the night (Medieval ). ... In the Medieval era, jousting served many useful purposes to the knights. ... Most of the time, instead of settling disputes through war they would often be settled by jousting against one another and fight for one's armor and horse. ... This did not happen very often but the knight would lose his own horse and armor (Dersin 72). ...
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