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The armor and weapons of the medieval knight evolved significantly over the High Middle Ages, in response to changes in warfare, technology, and the wealth of the knightly class. The eleventh-century knight fought with relatively simple equipment — a mail shirt, a conical helmet, a kite-shaped shield, a spear, and a sword — while the thirteenth-century knight wore full plate armor, carried a couched lance, and fought from a heavy warhorse. The evolution of the knight’s equipment is a major subject in the history of medieval warfare, and it has important implications for the history of technology, the history of the aristocratic class, and the history of the medieval state.
The starting-point for the military-history side is Philippe Contamine, “La Guerre au Moyen Âge” (1980; English “War in the Middle Ages,” 1984). The page below uses the surviving pieces of armour (the Royal Armouries collection at Leeds, the Wallace Collection, the Musée de l’Armée in Paris) and the iconographic evidence (the Maciejowski Bible, the Très Riches Heures) as primary material.
The Armor of the High Middle Ages
The armor of the eleventh-century knight was relatively simple. The mail shirt (or hauberk) was the central piece of the knight’s armor. It was a long shirt of interlinked iron rings, with sleeves to the elbow and a coif (hood) for the head, and it extended to the knees. The mail shirt was typically made of thousands of iron rings, each one linked through four others, and it was a time-consuming and expensive item to produce. The mail shirt was considered adequate protection against most weapons, but it was heavy, hot, and tiring to wear.
The helmet of the eleventh-century knight was the conical helmet with a nasal — a piece of metal that extended down over the nose to protect the face. The conical helmet was typically made of several pieces of iron riveted together, and it was attached to the mail coif by laces or chains. The kite-shaped shield was the knight’s other major protection. The kite-shaped shield was a long, flat shield that extended from the chin to the ankle, and it was made of wooden planks covered with leather or hide. The kite-shaped shield was particularly useful on horseback, as it protected the left side of the knight’s body (the side facing the enemy).
By the twelfth century, the knight’s equipment had become more elaborate. The mail shirt was supplemented by mail leggings and mail mittens, and the kite-shaped shield was replaced by the flat, triangular shield that was easier to handle on horseback. The great helm — a flat-topped, cylindrical helmet that covered the entire head — began to appear in the late twelfth century, and the mail coif was replaced by the mail coif worn under the helm.
The thirteenth century was the great age of plate armor. The mail shirt was gradually replaced by a full coat of plates — a long coat of leather or heavy cloth covered with overlapping iron plates — and the mail leggings were replaced by plate greaves and plate cuisses (thigh armor). The bascinet — a more pointed helmet with a visor — replaced the great helm, and the heater shield (a small triangular shield that was held on the left arm) replaced the flat, triangular shield. The couched lance — held under the arm rather than over the shoulder — became the standard weapon of the mounted knight.
The late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries saw the development of full plate armor. The mail coat of plates was replaced by a full harness of plate, including a breastplate, backplate, pauldrons (shoulder armor), rerebraces (upper arm armor), vambraces (forearm armor), gauntlets (hand armor), cuisses (thigh armor), poleyns (knee armor), greaves (lower leg armor), and sabatons (foot armor). The full plate armor of the late medieval knight was a masterpiece of the metalworker’s art, and it provided excellent protection against most weapons.
The Weapons of the High Middle Ages
The weapons of the knight evolved in parallel with the armor. The sword was the knight’s primary weapon, and it was the symbol of the knightly class. The knight’s sword was a long, double-edged weapon, typically about 90-110 cm in length, with a straight blade, a cross-shaped hilt, and a pommel at the end of the grip. The sword was used for both cutting and thrusting, and it required considerable skill to use effectively. The knight’s sword was typically a high-quality weapon, made by a skilled swordsmith, and it was often passed down from father to son as a treasured family heirloom.
The lance was the knight’s other primary weapon. The early medieval lance was a heavy spear, held over the shoulder and used for thrusting. By the twelfth century, the lance had been redesigned with a couched position — held under the arm rather than over the shoulder — and the couched lance became the standard weapon of the mounted knight. The couched lance allowed the knight to deliver a much more powerful blow than the earlier thrusting lance, and it required the development of the high-backed saddle and the stirrup to be used effectively.
The mace, the war hammer, the battle axe, the dagger, the bow, and the crossbow were all used by knights in various circumstances. The mace and the war hammer were particularly effective against plate armor, since they could deliver a crushing blow that could dent or break the armor. The battle axe was also used against armor, and it was particularly popular in the early medieval period. The dagger was a last-resort weapon, used in close combat when the sword or the lance had been lost. The bow and the crossbow were used by knights in hunting and in some military contexts, but they were generally associated with the lower classes of warriors — the archers and the crossbowmen — rather than with the knightly class.
The Warhorse
The warhorse was an essential part of the knight’s equipment. The destrier — the great warhorse of the high Middle Ages — was a massive, powerful animal, capable of carrying the heavily armored knight into battle. The destrier was bred for strength and courage, and it was trained to charge into the enemy line, to rear and strike with its forelegs, and to trample the enemy underfoot. The destrier was a very expensive animal, and only the wealthier members of the knightly class could afford one.
The courser was a lighter, faster horse, used for reconnaissance and for pursuit of the enemy. The palfrey was an even lighter horse, used for travel and for the chase. The rouncey was a general-purpose horse, used for everyday riding. The knight typically had several horses — the destrier for battle, the courser for reconnaissance, the palfrey for travel, and the rouncey for everyday use — and the stable of the knight’s household was a major expense.
The Cost of the Equipment
The cost of the knight’s equipment was enormous, and it was a major factor in the closure of the knightly class in the late medieval period. A full set of plate armor in the late thirteenth century could cost the equivalent of several years’ income for a moderately wealthy knight, and a single destrier could cost the equivalent of a small manor. The total cost of equipping a knight — armor, weapons, horses, and the various other items — could be staggering, and only the wealthiest members of the aristocratic class could afford it.
The cost of the knight’s equipment was also a major factor in the development of the royal bureaucracy and the standing army. The kings of the late medieval period could not afford to equip large numbers of knights, and they turned increasingly to paid soldiers and mercenaries to fight their wars. The standing army of the late medieval period was composed largely of men-at-arms (who wore less expensive armor) and of archers and crossbowmen (who did not wear armor at all), and the knight — with his expensive equipment — was increasingly a luxury that only the very wealthy could afford.
The Legacy of the Knight’s Equipment
The legacy of the knight’s equipment is significant. The plate armor of the late medieval period was a masterpiece of the metalworker’s art, and it influenced the development of body armor for centuries afterward. The medieval sword was the ancestor of the modern cavalry saber, and the medieval lance was the ancestor of the modern cavalry lance. The medieval warhorse — the destrier — was the ancestor of the modern warhorse, and the breeding of warhorses was a major industry until the development of modern weapons made the warhorse obsolete.
The knight’s equipment is also a major subject of modern interest and study. The reconstruction of medieval armor and weapons is a major hobby, and there are many re-enactors who wear authentic medieval armor and fight with authentic medieval weapons. The museums of Europe display many examples of medieval armor and weapons, and the academic study of medieval military equipment is a major field of historical inquiry.
Sources
Principal sources used in this article:
- Maurice Keen, Chivalry (Yale, 1984) — the standard English-language history.
Further reading:
- Jean Flori, L’Essor de la chevalerie, XIe–XIIe siècles (Droz, 1986).
For a recent single-volume synthesis with full scholarly apparatus, see the relevant chapter of Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (University of Toronto Press, 2014).