The Armor of Knights
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Medieval armor was indispensable for knights. They offered protection against enemy attacks and at the same time they were a mark of a knight’s wealth and social rank. Armor, as well as horses and weapons, were quite expensive for that age, so only the wealthy could afford them.
During the medieval period, two major types of armor have mainly been used: chainmail and metal plate armor.
Chainmail Armor
Highly popular for most of the medieval period, chainmail armor was made of thousands of hand-made metal rings interwoven in a fabric-like material. The process of making chainmail was rather painstaking as each one of the chains was made and linked with the other chains manually. While this may sound tedious and take a long time to make, blacksmiths churned them out on a regular basis to make it the basic armor for the soldier and knight.
The main advantage associated with this type of armor was freedom of movement. When wearing this type of armor, knights were still able to move freely and strike the opponent with force. However, they had one disadvantage: they could not stop the attack of highly pointed weapons, so a more solid replacement was needed.
Metal Plate Armor
Plate armor was used in antiquity, but the art was lost in the early middle ages. Re-formulated in the 13th and 14th centuries as a response to knights’ request for better protection, metal plate armor was made exclusively out of large pieces of metal. It included a chest piece which was tied at the sides, arm pieces, leg pieces and a headpiece, so that the entire body was covered in metal. Places that could not be covered with metal plate (such as the joints) were usually covered with chain mail. While this was the solution for a thorough protection against any type of medieval weapon, the new armor type was stiff, extremely heavy and highly uncomfortable.
In spite of its stiffness and heaviness, this armor is the one remaining in tales, stories and epic writings, and is associated with gleaming knights in the high middles ages. Moreover, each damsel was waiting for her knight in shining armor, while every little page dreamed of it. As the centuries advanced, plate armor became more refined and decorated, until the advent of firearms rendered them obsolete.
Knight Halloween Costumes
When deciding to put on a knight armor for Halloween, there is one thing you will need to decide: chain mail or plate mail. It depends on your preference and who you wish to go as. Most Halloween armor is made of plastic or rubber, and can look highly realistic. King Arthur and his knights would have all worn chain mail (no matter what the movies show), and most medieval costumes depict chain mail, mainly because manufacturers can easily design gleaming fabric to make it look like flexible grey chain armor. For full plate mail, outfits are available, as well as buying pieces as accessories for your medieval costume.
In the end, the decision is all yours! Yet, make sure that you choose the option which makes you really happy! Also, do not forget to accessorize your armor accordingly so that you will look like a wealthy, respected knight.
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