These are the *very* basic categories of armor. Variant designs are all over the place, but you will find they can generally be placed into one of these categories based on their make up.
Lamellar
Armor made up of small plates (lames), laced together in parallel rows. Lamellar is the evolved form of Scale armor, made from lacquered leather, iron, steel, horn and ceramic. It was held together with silk, leather thongs or cotton threads.
Lamellar was considered greatly popular with many cultures, most of them Steppe peoples like the Mongols and the Turks due to the ease of repair and creation. In addition, the armor was common in Edo Era Japan, specifically for Samurai and palace guard where it was known as 'Lyozane Dou'.
Lamellar was durable, capable of absorbing blows or deflecting them within reason, making it a very well respected armor in the East. It was often worn over existing armor, much like a mail (chain mail) hauberk was.
Chain (Chainmail)
Properly referred to as simply 'Mail', or 'Maille', its name is based off the material used in its creation. Chain could be made in a few ways, one being sewing the metal links edge to edge in a heavy leather shirt or tunic. The better recognized fashion is to have interlocking links that form a shirt. Classically, chainmail is seen going from shoulder to mid-thigh. Of most armor, chain is the most expensive, and despite being usurped by plate armor, was still one of the most used pieces of gear in a soldier’s armory.
Mail was also used in the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, China (where it was not as widely produced) and Japan (termed Kusari). In Japan, they were considered standalone defenses, and mail coats (Kusari Katabira) where commonly used all through the Edo period. This included gloves, hoods, vests, shin and thigh guards and even tabi socks. Mail armor is an adequate defense against slashing blows given by edged weapons, and some penetrating blows from thrusting and piercing weapons where hard to break past the defense of chain armor. This, however, is determined by the make of the armor itself (The type of links, the material, the weave, and the thickness of the rings) For example, a mail shirt made from 14 gauge thick rings of welded steel, with a loose weave could be penetrated by some weapons with thin blades, by arrows, and by rifle shot.
Plate
Plate armor, (also known as 'Articulated plate' during the advent of firearms) is extremely expensive, mostly due to the necessity of it being custom made. No two individuals could wear the same armor well, it being too loose on one person or too tight on another.
It is, however, one of the most protective forms of armor available in the 16th century. Every piece is fitted, some areas angled deliberately to aid in the deflection of blows.
Shockingly, despite the amount of material involved, plate armor that is fitted properly is very comfortable, and can end up weighing about 60 or so pounds, less than the weight of modern military gear. This weight increment, however, varies person to person, as the amount of material and other items depend on the size of the wearer. This includes chain, weapons and various underlayers and provisional gear, which obviously add some pounds to the wearer.
Plate is durable against most piercing and slashing weapons like swords and bolts, while bashing weapons like maces are able to quite often dent or even break the armor. Of the three types, plate is the most durable, though weaknesses in the armor are often at the neck and at the joints of elbows, under arms, thighs and knees.
Plate is broken into two sub types: Full and Half, with many different designs in how the plate is layered.
Full plate was extremely expensive and was reserved for nobility and those of high station. Typically, full plate was rarely worn into battle due to the cost, and as a result was only worn during parades or fancy gatherings. Often full plate armor was decorated with insignia or coat of arms of the wearer. It covered the entire body from head to foot.
Half plate was slightly cheaper, but no less pinching the buyers pocket. Obviously, half plate armor, or simply half armor, is armor that provides cover for the torso, or torso and arms, but not the legs. Some half plate armor only covered the breast and not the back, the wearer sometimes choosing to rely on leather backing for ease of wallet and maneuverability.
It should also be noted that 'breasts' on a 'breast plate' was actually a very bad idea. Ignore video games. Ignore movies. Breast cups on armor was typically intended only for 'aesthetic' and not practical use. A breast plate that had 'cups' for breasts was actually weaker than a standard domed breast plate. By adding additional joints (areas where two flat surfaces meet to form an angle), it put stress on the armor and resulted in a weak point and seam that could be taken advantage of by enemies.
Leather
The simplest of all armors, leather armor was made from the hides of various animals, some as exotic as rhinoceros or as common as cattle. Leather armor was cured, boiled or waxed to give the hide certain toughness for the abuse of combat. Good for taking blunt blows and allowing the glancing of some bladed weapons, but weak against piercing strikes.
Leather is one of the cheapest armors to purchase, but requires a good deal of upkeep in order to keep the material from drying out and cracking.
Gambeson
Also known as 'Padded Jack', 'Aketon', or simply 'Padded Armor', it is a form of cloth armor, that was thickly layered, heavy material with 'pockets' in evenly spaced rows that were filled with either thick cotton or wool batting, or padded with metal 'plating' similar to modern day bullet proof vests.
According to period manuals, there were two types of 'padded armor'. One type was strictly for comfort, that is, to keep chain, leather, or plate from biting into skin, but at the same time offer a little additional cushion against concussive injuries.
The second type was a stand alone armor, where the padding itself was of a greater thickness.
Underlayers were often fashioned with 10 layers of batting, whereas for a gambeson to be considered standalone padded armor, the batting had to be up to 30 layers.
In conclusion, there are many other forms of armor during the middle ages; however most can be placed into these categories simply based on their material make up.
Lamellar
Armor made up of small plates (lames), laced together in parallel rows. Lamellar is the evolved form of Scale armor, made from lacquered leather, iron, steel, horn and ceramic. It was held together with silk, leather thongs or cotton threads.
Lamellar was considered greatly popular with many cultures, most of them Steppe peoples like the Mongols and the Turks due to the ease of repair and creation. In addition, the armor was common in Edo Era Japan, specifically for Samurai and palace guard where it was known as 'Lyozane Dou'.
Lamellar was durable, capable of absorbing blows or deflecting them within reason, making it a very well respected armor in the East. It was often worn over existing armor, much like a mail (chain mail) hauberk was.
Chain (Chainmail)
Properly referred to as simply 'Mail', or 'Maille', its name is based off the material used in its creation. Chain could be made in a few ways, one being sewing the metal links edge to edge in a heavy leather shirt or tunic. The better recognized fashion is to have interlocking links that form a shirt. Classically, chainmail is seen going from shoulder to mid-thigh. Of most armor, chain is the most expensive, and despite being usurped by plate armor, was still one of the most used pieces of gear in a soldier’s armory.
Mail was also used in the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, China (where it was not as widely produced) and Japan (termed Kusari). In Japan, they were considered standalone defenses, and mail coats (Kusari Katabira) where commonly used all through the Edo period. This included gloves, hoods, vests, shin and thigh guards and even tabi socks. Mail armor is an adequate defense against slashing blows given by edged weapons, and some penetrating blows from thrusting and piercing weapons where hard to break past the defense of chain armor. This, however, is determined by the make of the armor itself (The type of links, the material, the weave, and the thickness of the rings) For example, a mail shirt made from 14 gauge thick rings of welded steel, with a loose weave could be penetrated by some weapons with thin blades, by arrows, and by rifle shot.
Plate
Plate armor, (also known as 'Articulated plate' during the advent of firearms) is extremely expensive, mostly due to the necessity of it being custom made. No two individuals could wear the same armor well, it being too loose on one person or too tight on another.
It is, however, one of the most protective forms of armor available in the 16th century. Every piece is fitted, some areas angled deliberately to aid in the deflection of blows.
Shockingly, despite the amount of material involved, plate armor that is fitted properly is very comfortable, and can end up weighing about 60 or so pounds, less than the weight of modern military gear. This weight increment, however, varies person to person, as the amount of material and other items depend on the size of the wearer. This includes chain, weapons and various underlayers and provisional gear, which obviously add some pounds to the wearer.
Plate is durable against most piercing and slashing weapons like swords and bolts, while bashing weapons like maces are able to quite often dent or even break the armor. Of the three types, plate is the most durable, though weaknesses in the armor are often at the neck and at the joints of elbows, under arms, thighs and knees.
Plate is broken into two sub types: Full and Half, with many different designs in how the plate is layered.
Full plate was extremely expensive and was reserved for nobility and those of high station. Typically, full plate was rarely worn into battle due to the cost, and as a result was only worn during parades or fancy gatherings. Often full plate armor was decorated with insignia or coat of arms of the wearer. It covered the entire body from head to foot.
Half plate was slightly cheaper, but no less pinching the buyers pocket. Obviously, half plate armor, or simply half armor, is armor that provides cover for the torso, or torso and arms, but not the legs. Some half plate armor only covered the breast and not the back, the wearer sometimes choosing to rely on leather backing for ease of wallet and maneuverability.
It should also be noted that 'breasts' on a 'breast plate' was actually a very bad idea. Ignore video games. Ignore movies. Breast cups on armor was typically intended only for 'aesthetic' and not practical use. A breast plate that had 'cups' for breasts was actually weaker than a standard domed breast plate. By adding additional joints (areas where two flat surfaces meet to form an angle), it put stress on the armor and resulted in a weak point and seam that could be taken advantage of by enemies.
Leather
The simplest of all armors, leather armor was made from the hides of various animals, some as exotic as rhinoceros or as common as cattle. Leather armor was cured, boiled or waxed to give the hide certain toughness for the abuse of combat. Good for taking blunt blows and allowing the glancing of some bladed weapons, but weak against piercing strikes.
Leather is one of the cheapest armors to purchase, but requires a good deal of upkeep in order to keep the material from drying out and cracking.
Gambeson
Also known as 'Padded Jack', 'Aketon', or simply 'Padded Armor', it is a form of cloth armor, that was thickly layered, heavy material with 'pockets' in evenly spaced rows that were filled with either thick cotton or wool batting, or padded with metal 'plating' similar to modern day bullet proof vests.
According to period manuals, there were two types of 'padded armor'. One type was strictly for comfort, that is, to keep chain, leather, or plate from biting into skin, but at the same time offer a little additional cushion against concussive injuries.
The second type was a stand alone armor, where the padding itself was of a greater thickness.
Underlayers were often fashioned with 10 layers of batting, whereas for a gambeson to be considered standalone padded armor, the batting had to be up to 30 layers.
In conclusion, there are many other forms of armor during the middle ages; however most can be placed into these categories simply based on their material make up.
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