Viking Leather lamellar Armour; lamellar Cuirass; Leather Armor; Viking Armor

Product Information

Depiction and description of a kuyak hat from Fedor Solntsev's "Ancients of the Russian State" (1849–53). In the 3rd century BC, both iron weapons and armour became more common. According to the Xunzi, "the hard iron spears of Wan (宛) [a city in Chu, near modern Nanyang (南陽), Henan] are as cruel as wasps and scorpions." [8] Iron weapons also gave Chinese armies an edge over barbarians. Han Fei recounts that during a battle with the Gonggong (共工) tribe, "the iron-tipped lances reached the enemy, and those without strong helmets and armour were injured." [9] The effectiveness of bronze axes and shields may have been superseded by new iron weaponry and armor. [9] The efficiency of crossbows however outpaced any progress in defensive armour. It was considered a common occurrence in ancient China for commoners or peasants to kill a lord with a well aimed crossbow bolt, regardless of whatever armour he might have been wearing at the time. [10] Ciryon", "Círyon", and "Siryon" redirect here. For the etymology of Syria's name, see Name of Syria. Brigandine from Handbuch der Waffenkunde (Handbook of Weaponry), Wendelin Boeheim, 1890.

According to the Jixiao Xinshu, written in 1584, rattan shields were preferable to wooden shields in the south because they were lighter and easier to use in muddy and rainy conditions and on the sloped pathways of farming fields. Rattan shields were sometimes paired with javelins, which were used to distract the enemy. The writer considered the rattan shields ineffective against guns. [86]Kiritsuke iyozane is a form of laminar armor constructed from long strips of leather and or iron which were perforated, laced, and notched and made to replicate the look of real lamellar plates. These strips of simulated lamellar plates were much more rigid than real lamellar and they were assembled into armor items in the same way that the rows of lamellar armour were. The earliest depictions of "banded" armour have been found in bronze figurines made by the Dian Kingdom that existed from 279 BCE to 109 BCE. Later banded armor also appears in Northern and Southern dynasties and Tang era art. This type of armour was built up of long horizontal bands or plates, similar to the lorica segmentata. The imperial guards of the Jurchen Jin dynasty have been described wearing banded armour. The left guards wore blue banded armour and held yellow dragon flags while the right guards wore red banded armour and held red dragon flags. Banded armour is even more rarely depicted than the elusive mountain pattern armour or mail armour. [40] Co-fusion steel weapons on armour [ edit ] Armour in the Zhou dynasty consisted of either a sleeveless coat of rhinoceros or buffalo hide, or leather scale armour. Helmets were largely similar to Shang predecessors but less ornate. Chariot horses were sometimes protected by tiger skins. [3] do.-- Ancient Chinese Armies: 1500-200B; illustrated by Angus McBridge, Osprey Publishing «Men-at-arms», ISBN 0-85045-942-7 Leonid Bobrov "Panoply of a Late Medieval Central Asian Warrior") illustrations: [1] + [2] diagramms

Sacred texts and buried treasures: issues in the historical archaeology of ancient Japan, William Wayne Farris, University of Hawaii Press, 1998 P.75 Later brigandines appeared towards the end of the 14th century, but survived beyond this transitional period between mail and plate, and came into even wider use in the 15th century, continuing into the 16th century. 15th-century brigandines are generally front-opening garments with the rivets arranged in triangular groups of three, while 16th-century brigandines generally have smaller plates with the rivets arranged in rows. One little apron is folded over and stitched to another at the top so that the plates can be securely attached. Thus, the plates provide homogeneous protection, and identical armor is created for their horses and soldiers. The armor is so shiny that a man can look directly at his reflection.” Ystoria Mongalorum, by Giovanni da Pian del Carpine (1185–1252).Lightweight: Lamellar armor was lighter than chainmail or plate armor, making it easier for warriors to wear and maneuver in. Lamellar armour is a type of body armour, made from small rectangular plates (scales or lamellae) of iron or steel, leather ( rawhide), or bronze laced into horizontal rows. Lamellar armour was used over a wide range of time periods in Central Asia, Eastern Asia (especially in China, Japan, Mongolia, and Tibet), Western Asia, and Eastern Europe. The earliest evidence for lamellar armour comes from sculpted artwork of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BCE) in the Near East. Laminar armor proved to be inexpensive and easier to construct, although was often made to look like simulated lamellar plates. This is known as Kiritsuke iyozane. Debunking Common Misconceptions about Lamellar Armor in Popular Culture Misconception: Lamellar Armor is Inflexible and Restrictive

While Mongol arrows could pierce every sort of armor available at the time, the Roman Catholic chronicler Thomas the Archdeacon (1200–1268) claimed that the Mongol warriors wearing leather armor were pretty much safe against the enemy arrows. But he did mention that the Mongols feared the crossbow. Protective clothing and armour have been used by armies from earliest recorded history; the King James Version of the Bible ( Jeremiah 46:4) translates the Hebrew סריון [1] or שריון "coat of mail" [2] as "brigandine". Medieval brigandines were essentially a refinement of the earlier coat of plates, which developed in the late 12th century, typically of simpler construction with larger metal plates. This armour of Asian origin reached Europe after the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' in 1240 that destroyed the Kievan Rus' and severely damaged the Kingdom of Hungary in 1241. The new armour became very popular first in Eastern Europe, especially in Hungary, towards the end of the 13th century and was adopted in western Europe several decades later. [3] Prominent examples of such armour are lorica segmentata of Ancient Rome [2] and certain versions of samurai armour. Chargah – a soft armor made of organic materials (leather, fur). Often worn in conjunction with a more reliable quyag. Friday, Karl F. (2004). Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan. New York: Routledge. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-415-32963-7.In the 17th century the Qing army was equipped with both lamellar and brigandine armour. [89] The quality of metal could differ greatly from a common soldier, whose armour could have only a thin soft sheet of metal, to an officer's brigandine, made of thin but tough and elastic steel. [40] After the conquest of China and peace was established in the majority of the empire, many soldiers became lazy and refused to wear armour. In the 18th century, the Qianlong Emperor said, "Our old Manchu customs respect righteousness and revere justice. Young and old, none are ashamed to fight for them. But after enjoying such a long period of peace, inevitably, people want to avoid putting on armor and joining the ranks of war." [90] As early as the 18th century, some brigandine armour had parts that were studded but did not actually include plates. [40] By the 19th century most Qing armour were purely for show. Some uniforms and show pieces imitated brigandine armour by keeping the outer studs for aesthetic purposes but omitted the protective iron plates on the inside. [91] According to one English source in the late 19th century, only the emperor's immediate body guard wore armour of any kind, and these guards were all nobles of the imperial family. [66] Manufacturing chain mail or plate armor required high-intensity work methods and permanent buildings that were not feasible under nomadic conditions.

Lamellar armour should not be confused with laminar armour, a related form of plate armour which is made from horizontal overlapping rows or bands of solid armour plates (called lames) rather than scales. By comparison, lamellar armour is made from individual armour scales, which are laced together to form a strip of armour which appears to be solid but is not. Initially for centuries laminar armour was just a less expensive version of lamellar armor. Laminar was just made from horizontal strips of armour laced like strips of lamellar plates, but without extra-lacing and notches imitating strips of lamellar armour. And like in lamellar armour these laces could be occasionally cut during battle; the laces also frayed when an armour was worn for long periods without being mended. In Asia, lamellar armor eventually overtook scale armour in popularity as lamellar restricted the user's movements much less than scale armour. [1] Use and history [ edit ] Lamellar armour worn by Koryak people During the Song dynasty (960–1279) it became fashionable to create warts on pieces of armour to imitate cold forged steel, a product typically produced by non-Han people in modern Qinghai. Warts created from cold work were actually spots of higher carbon in the original steel, thus aesthetic warts on non-cold forged steel served no purpose. According to Shen Kuo, armour constructed of cold forged steel was impenetrable to arrows shot at a distance of 50 paces. Even if the arrow happened to hit a drill hole, the arrowhead was the one which was ruined. [69] However crossbows were still prized for their ability to penetrate heavy armour. [70] See also a photo of the same set of armour (in the center). Dated late 15th century. The description: "5. A soft type of armour which bears the name of the kuyak, also with a kuyak helmet (15th century)".In this way, the Mongols avoided the more painful process of breaking the arrow’s shaft, forcing it into the skin, and pushing the arrowhead remnants out of the skin.