Armor

Armour or armor (see spelling differences) is protective clothing intended to defend its wearer from intentional harm in combat and military engagements, typically associated with soldiers. more...

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Armour has been used throughout recorded history, beginning with hides, leather, and bone, before progressing to bronze, then steel during the Middle Ages, to modern fabrics such as Kevlar, Dyneema and ceramics.

Armour was also commonly used to protect war animals, such as war horses and elephants. Armour for war horses was called barding. Armour has also been produced for hunting dogs that hunt dangerous game, such as boars. Since World War I, armoured fighting vehicles are protected by vehicle armour.

In modern usage, Armour, or the armoured is also a heavily armoured military force or organisation, such as heavy infantry or heavy cavalry (as opposed to light infantry or cavalry). In modern armoured warfare, armoured units equipped with tanks serve the historic role of heavy cavalry, and belong to the armoured branch in a national army's organisation (sometimes, the armoured corps). Heavy infantry have been replaced by mechanised infantry.

History

Throughout human history, the development of armour has always run parallel to the development of increasingly efficient weaponry on the battlefield, creating an arms race of sorts across multiple civilizations to create better protection without sacrificing mobility.

In European history, well-known armour types include the lorica segmentata of the Roman legions, the chainmail hauberk of the early medieval age, and the full steel plate armour worn by later Medieval and Renaissance knights, and a few key components, (breast and back plates) by heavy cavalry in several European countries until the first year of World War 1. (1914-15).

In November 2006 it was announced in Greece that the oldest armour that exists in Greece was restored and will be put on display soon. The armour dates from the Mycenaean Era around 1400 BC, some 200 years before the Trojan War.

In East Asian history, lamellar armour and brigandine was popular. In pre-Qin dynasty times, leather armour was made out of exotic animals such as rhinoceros. Chinese influence in Japan would result in the Japanese adopting Chinese styles, their famous 'samurai armour' being a result of this influence.

Transition to plate

Little by little, small additional plates or disks of steel were added to the mail to protect vulnerable areas. The knees were capped with steel, and two circular disks were fitted to protect the underarms, by the late 1200s. The small skull cap evolved into a bigger true helmet, as it was lengthened downward to protect the back of the neck and the sides of the head. Steel plate was then developed to protect the shins, feet, throat and upper chest, and soon (mid to late 1300s) most of the mail was covered by these protective plates. The next phase saw the plate cover almost all parts of the mail, and several forms of closed-helmets were introduced in the late 1300s.

Read more at Wikipedia.org