Breastplate

About

Medieval Breastplates A breastplate may be single piece of armour but it is the face of a knight. The breastplate was important because it provided protection to the torso which held almost all of the vital organs. Whether worn individually or attached to full cuirass as front of backplate, it became one of the most recognizable and efficient pieces of body armour in European history. As each of Epic Armoury's breastplates is fashioned from quality steel with reference to history and designed to be practically worn for activities like LARP, cosplay, or reenactment you will have the appearance of real plate armour and as good of comfort and wearability for long days of events. What Is a Breastplate? A breastplate is a solid piece of armour worn over the chest and stomach. By the 14th century, smiths had perfected curved steel plates that deflected sword cuts and absorbed the impact of arrows and lances. Worn with padding underneath or layered over a brigandine or mail, it formed the centrepiece of a knight’s defence. Over time, breastplates were incorporated as part of the full cuirass, a front and backplate joined together, usually equipped with faulds and tassets that cover the waist and hips. Unlike older armours such as lamellar plates or scale that consist of small, overlapping sections, they breastplates represented a technological change to solid plate construction: stronger, smoother, and better at deflecting hits. Historical Development of Breastplates From rigid breastplates to mail hauberks to flexible lamellar plates, the use of rigid armour on the chest has been an idea since the advent of organised warfare itself. Ancient Greece (circa 8th to 5th century BCE): Greek warriors wore bronze cuirasses, cast or hammered in the shape of a torso as either bell-style or muscle cuirasses, setting the standard for front-and-back torso protection. Rome (circa 1st century BCE to 3rd Century CE): Roman legionaries wore a form of chest protection known as the lorica s