Silent Steps

The earliest stages of the production of suits of armor is throught to be traced back to the society of the Gaul’s who lived in modern day central/northern Europe.Originally from the geographical areas that now comprise France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, the Gallation’s expanded eastward during the 3rd Century BC, eventually invading Greece, thereby influencing the evolution of battle protection across the Mediterranean during Ancient times,

The leather armor that was introduced by the Gallation’s was the first in a series of protective pieces that were added to the Greek helmets and chest plates worn by Roman, Spartan and other old-time soldiers.  While this type of leather/steel armor did not completely protect the wearer from swords, arrows, and other blunt objects, it did help to deflect light blows that deflected off the armor, therefore increasing the effectiveness of the combatant. Over the passage of time, leatther armor turned into other forms of armor which included chainmail armor and plate armor.  That further evolved into the suits of armor we all know that came around the 12th century.

A suit of armor that was worn by knights throughout Europe was made of several pieces of metal that were strapped onto the body over undergarments made out of linen or wool. The different pieces of steel armor made sure the soldier would have plenty of flexibility during battle or mounted on a horse. On a side note that is rather interesting, early gun poweder weapons could not penetrate this type of armor, so it was effective into the early renaissance age.

It is during the later Middle Ages that a suit of armor was expanded from simply personal protection purposes but to protect the horses that knights rode into battle on from similar injury from swords and spikes. Today you won’t see soldiers wearing a full suit of armor.  But, we can still see the concept and remnants of it in today’s armored vehicles such as tanks and humvees.