You Need To Grow a Thicker Skin! - Body Armour Quiz

Answer: Bronze

The basic Corinthian style helmet proved to be very popular for many centuries; the early Romans used this style of helmet and, as late as the 16th century in Italy, a similar style of helmet known as a Barbuta was still in common use. Corinthian style helmets would be hand beaten and shaped from a single sheet of thick bronze. Bronze was less brittle than iron and could be formed into the most beautiful armours.

Although bronze was extremely useful as a material for making armour due to its superior strength and light weight, its use in the manufacture of weapons was less effective; bronze is better suited to weapons designed for thrusting as opposed to weapons that use their cutting edges to wound or kill.

Answer: False

The lorica, or corselet, was the name given to the armour used to protect the torso and shoulders of the Roman legionnaire. The lorica, which was developed over many years, was produced in a number of forms. The lorica hamata was a type of shirt made from chain mail and the lorica squamata took the form of small scale-like metal plates; both were used in the main by auxiliary troops and by those soldiers who needed a lightweight means of protection such as cavalry.

The lorica segmentata was the body armour most familiar to us today and was used exclusively by legionnaires, not only for protection but as a symbol that its wearer was a fully fledged Roman soldier and a citizen of Rome itself.

The lorica segmentata consisted of around forty separate plates grouped in four separate assemblies, one for each shoulder and one for each half of the torso, the four assemblies being held together using straps of leather and buckles.

Not only did this form of the lorica prove to be very comfortable but it afforded superior protection against slashing blows and piercing weapons.

The lorica hamata and lorica squamata did not offer the same levels of protection and this was, presumably, why it was used by those auxiliary, non-Roman troops.

Answer: Leather, iron and steel

It is a widely held belief that Japanese armour was made from either wood or bamboo but this was rarely, if ever, the case. This belief arose due to the outward appearance of the armour; in many cases it was lacquered to provide protection from the elements, this lacquer giving the leather, iron and steel the look of these materials. Japanese armour can be categorised under three main headings, these being scale, lamellar and full plate armours. Scale armour, or Kozan-Do, consisted of steel and leather plates laced together with strips of leather, silk or cotton. Lamellar armour consisted of long thin strips of metal that were riveted or laced together, with many of the earlier styles of Japanese armour known as Tanko constructed in this manner.

The lamellar armour that appears so familiar to us today experienced a renaissance during the early sixteenth century. Full plate armour only began to appear after the Japanese began to have contact and trade with Europeans during the middle decades of the sixteenth century. Japanese armour, although intended to be as light and as flexible as possible also afforded the wearer amazingly effective protection due to its layered construction.

Answer: True

A full harness of armour, that is to say, a harness made by a single artisan at the same time for an individual was something of an investment. Because of this a full harness was out of reach of all but the wealthiest. This invariably restricted a full harness to royalty and there are a number of examples of harnesses that are marvellous to behold.

Many knights have been depicted wearing a full harness whereas in reality their armours would be a mix of styles obtained in the aftermath of battle or purchased as individual items as and when they could be afforded. Contrary to popular belief a full harness of top quality plate armour would only weigh between thirty-five and fifty pounds enabling the soldier to remain highly mobile and to fight effectively. Even a full jousting harness would only weigh around one hundred pounds. With a few exceptions many of the component parts of a harness bear names taken from the French language; for example the gorget protected the throat and the neck, the cuisse and the greave protected the thigh and the lower leg respectively whilst the vambrace and the couter were components that protected the arm.

Answer: Gambeson

Popular with soldiers from the lowliest of rank through to those of aristocratic status, the gambeson or arming jacket, was a layered and padded jacket that covered the torso only. Common soldiers would have used the gambeson under a heavy leather gherkin which would have only afforded a degree of protection from the cutting and thrusting weapons of the period; but limited protection is better than no protection at all. Those soldiers of higher status and rank, such as gentlemen-at-arms, squires and knights would have used their gambeson underneath their armours mainly to protect themselves from the cold and for comfort.

Answer: Hauberk

The hauberk or hawberk, was available in various lengths but is most often depicted as covering the head, torso and upper legs. Mail was manufactured using wrought iron and proved reasonably effective against slashing and cutting strokes with broad edged weapons but proved of limited use against weapons such as arrows as these simply punched their way through.

The bascinet was a particular style of helmet popular during the 14th and 15th centuries that possessed a distinctive and pointed facepiece/visor.

The bevor was an item of plate armour that afforded its wearer some protection to the neck and shoulders and the pauldron was worn as protection for the upper part of the shoulder and the outer part of the upper arm.

Answer: Milan

Northern Italy and Southern Germany pioneered the use of tempered steel in the manufacture of plate armour with many of the finest examples still in existence bordering on being works of art. Along with the Italian city of Milan, the city of Nuremberg in Germany was an important centre for the manufacture of plate armour during the period between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. Of course, the armour produced for use in combat differed greatly from that used in jousting or that used in formal or ceremonial situations with armours designed for fighting offering incredible protection and mobility from thin plate. Jousting armour could be somewhat heavier and taking into account the punishment that it would need to withstand, justifiably so but even these armours would need to offer this level of protection whilst accounting for the weight that even a war horse was able to support.

Answer: Flak jacket

I distinctly remember the first time I used a flak jacket during the Troubles in Ulster. Horribly hot, stiff, restrictive and uncomfortable, it was virtually impossible to shoot accurately whilst wearing it. Although they looked very much like you'd expect a bullet proof vest to look like, they were in fact not intended to be anything such.

The primary purpose of the flak jacket was to provide a degree of protection for the wearer from low velocity projectiles, shrapnel, debris and blast injuries.

A more macabre reason for wearing them was that if you were unfortunate to be involved in a large blast, your body would remain (relatively) intact and identification of your remains would be made easier. Harsh but true!

Answer: Ballistic glass

Later versions, which were used by soldiers during more static duties such as sentry duty where mobility was less important, utilised a single large plate that covered virtually the entire front of the torso. The other smaller version, like the earlier flak jacket, was still difficult to operate in effectively but the ballistic plates were said to offer protection from bullets of .30 calibre. Fortunately, I was never required to put these claims to the test! The larger plated vest, or at least the soldier whilst wearing them, became known as turtles, the large slightly curved plate resembling a carapace.

Answer: Kevlar

Poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, otherwise known as Kevlar is a synthetic fibre developed by DuPont during the 1960s. In addition to its use as a component of helmets, bullet-proof and anti-stab vests, and ballistic face masks, kevlar sheeting is often fitted on the insides of modern AFV's (Armoured Fighting Vehicles) as a defence against spalling. Spalling is the name given to the process that occurs when an explosive force against the outside of a vehicle causes razor sharp flakes and shards of metal to detach from the inside faces of the crew compartment and to fly around the interior of the vehicle maiming and killing those inside.