When worn in this fashion, mail offered very good resistance to cuts and punctures and helped to reduce the effects of blunt trauma. The second part was the padding worn underneath 3. The first part was the mail itselfa flexible metal "fabric" made from interlocked rings that form a mesh. Mail consisted of a two-part composite defense. It is, without a doubt, the most successful and versatile type of armour ever devised. One should keep in mind that mail saw continuous use in virtually every iron-using culture in the world for the best part of two thousand years 2. All of the preceding statements are demonstrably false. There are also many misconceptions about mail armour, leading scholars to disregard its effectiveness on the battlefield: it was heavy and cumbersome it was highly susceptible to piercing attacksespecially arrows it was cheap and relatively simple to produce and mail was superseded by "superior" plate as soon as it was technically possible. ![]() ![]() There are a number of reasons why this might be the case: the sculptural qualities of plate armour are generally more aesthetically appealing to art museums than the more mundane mail hauberk the metallurgical skills required to produce plate armour have been considered superior to those required to produce mail the wide variety of plate styles and designs are considered far more interesting than the perceived uniformity of mail and the ultimate battlefield warrior was considered to be the knight in shining full plate harness while the mailed warrior was considered inferior. According to Robert Woosnam-Savage, Curator of European Edged Weapons at The Royal Armouries, Leeds, there are only around 40 specific entries relating to mail armour in the extensive library of the Royal Armouries 1. ![]() The number of texts dedicated to mail is few in number and difficult to access when compared to those on the subject of plate armour. 2≺ 13th century depiction of mail from the Maciejowski Bibleįor many years, the study of mail armour has been relegated to the sidelines in favour of its more flamboyant cousin. Nicaise, circa 1220-30, showing mail armourįig.
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