From elite Imperial plate armour, ribbed for extra strength (don't worry about the open space between his legs-it and his bottom would have been covered by more flexable chainmail armour),...
to common leather and metal gorget (protected the throat and upper chest) ...
and simple brigantine (leather with metal studs), armour has protected warriors for thousands of years. Here we have samples of the best of the Renaissance armour makers work. These are but a few of the hundreds of full and partial suits found at the Musee de l'Armee at Hotel des Invalides.
One size don't fit all, quality suits of plate were tailored for the individual user, one reason for their tremendous cost.
Suits of full plate were even made for wealthy young boys for training as well as protection should they accompany their fathers into war zones.
And lets not forget our four legged friends, armour for them could cover as little as their foreheads...
our encase both them and their riders in complete metal protection.
Those that could afford the best purchased full plate for both man and beast (at a cost in modern dollars of over 250,000).
But an new technology was to soon be so effective as to render the wearing of expensive plate armour useless-the flintlock musket.
Which in turn would lead to the next advancement in amour protection (Four centuries later!) the tank. This is a Renault FT17 light tank from the Great War.
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