After the Middle Ages people no longer wear armor. But why ? If you look at contemporary combat equipment, little protection is worn for the legs, face and arms. Wouldn’t it be easy to make a lightweight harness with today’s technology? Especially since war, only projectiles have been fought.
Answer
Dear Aart, your statement is not entirely correct.
1) in the Middle Ages there was no systematic fighting with armor at all. Armor was non-existent throughout the early Middle Ages. Usually soldiers dress with leather vests, chain mail and the like, certainly not sheet iron / steel.
2) As you can see, armor has to do with status and exposure. They are prestige objects that turn the nobility and monarchs into a kind of super warriors, in terms of appearance. Harnesses are anything but efficient, except for the helmet, as the head is the most vulnerable vital part of the body.
3) Armor as a prestigious item continued until the 17th century, so almost 200 years after the Middle Ages. They are examples of goldsmithing that were not actually intended to be used in battle, because they were too expensive.
4) Armor is only functional against sword blows, even pikes and lances don’t necessarily stop them. Your statement is therefore incorrect that they help against projectiles, which is why less and less plate protection or chain mail was distributed to the soldiers from the period around 1600. They would not be able to withstand bullets and in large mass armies such as those that appeared at the time, they are pointless.
5) So what are we left with? That’s right: helmets.
Kind regards, Prof Tys, Free University of Brussels, Medieval Archaeology
Answered by
prof. Dr. Dries Tys
Archaeology, History
Pleinlaan 2 1050 Ixelles
http://www.vub.ac.be/
.