Bullet proof vests are great, but there’s no denying the fact that historical armor just looks…cooler.
As with most things historical, there are a ton of modern misconceptions about medieval armor and how effective it was during the period. A lot of this comes from pop culture. In most fantasy and “historical fiction” films, you’ll see the protagonist effortlessly slash and hack his way through waves of enemies adorned in steel plates and chain mail. In reality, there was a reason why European knights strapped this stuff on before a fight — because it worked.
Obviously, martial traditions evolved as weaponry changed. As firearms came to replace swords and spears as the go-to weapon of choice for war fighters, soldiers found themselves abandoning armor altogether. However, armor would soon come back in fashion in the form of bullet proof vests, helmets, and other protective gear.
This raises the obvious question — how would this archaic armor work today? Is medieval armor truly as useless as it appears in films?
To answer this question, we turn to Demolition Ranch doing what it does best: finding something interesting and shooting it.
We’ll add a short disclaimer for the history nerds before we get to the video: yes, the armor in question is hardly a great example of what a true medieval knight would wear into battle. The steel doesn’t look properly heat treated, and the shield is far more thin than anything a 12th-century soldier would walk around with.
All that said, it’s still fun to see how material like this would stand against the full force of a firearm.
Watch the full video below.
What a crock! That armour was not made by a skilled armourer; if so, it would have been different thicknesses at different points; the mail was stuck together but not riveted, and thwere was no padded gambeson under armour at all. That harness wasn’t fit for even a movie, let alone actual combat. AND — the idiots didn’t even know how to mount a sword blade properly.