Javelins and Skirmish

**geala** · 03-13-2009, 07:53

You mean like in some oriental armour, f.e. jazerants? In western armour usually such combinations did not exist but the mail was sewn or nestled to the doublet, if not a separate mail shirt was worn. I know some brigantines with mail sleeves. I have never read the term "plate mail" bevor, it's rather interesting. Is it a common term?

**Perturabo** · 03-13-2009, 09:44

Originally Posted by geala

You mean like in some oriental armour, f.e. jazerants? In western armour usually such combinations did not exist but the mail was sewn or nestled to the doublet, if not a separate mail shirt was worn. I know some brigantines with mail sleeves. I have never read the term "plate mail" bevor, it's rather interesting. Is it a common term?

It sounds like 'half plate' and it was indeed very common before the concept/practical use of articulated joints etc became widespread.
Full Plate as I understand was actually only in widespread use for a (relatively) short period of time before it was recognised as largely being obsolete.

**Elmetiacos** · 03-14-2009, 16:37

Originally Posted by geala

I have never read the term "plate mail" bevor, it's rather interesting. Is it a common term?

I suspect it may have come from Dungeons & Dragons.

**chairman** · 03-16-2009, 07:55

Originally Posted by Elmetiacos

I suspect it may have come from Dungeons & Dragons.

No. Actually, plate mail was a very common type of armor among the Ottomans and their vassals. It has nothing to do with the "combination of plate and mail, DUDE!" stuff that you find in WoW and DoD. Plate mail consists of iron or steel plates connected by mail rings on the edges. It creates a flexible, yet durable form of armor that is also cheap and quick to produce. It was also used to a great extent in East Asia, especially as cheap armor for lower class soldiers in medieval Japan, and as a related armor to brigandine in China. AFAIK, it never became common in Europe outside of Turkish dominated areas of the Balkans and the lands of the Crimean Tartars.

Chairman

**geala** · 03-16-2009, 14:51

Ok, that is what I would call a jazerant in case of the Ottomans. But if you have to judge the defence performance of the armour, you have plate on some parts and mail on others. So it is nothing special. Any projectile on the plate parts (if they are not to small) would behave like against a plate armour. Then all is with the quality of the material.

**Elmetiacos** · 03-16-2009, 16:46

Originally Posted by chairman

No. Actually, plate mail was a very common type of armor among the Ottomans and their vassals. It has nothing to do with the "combination of plate and mail, DUDE!" stuff that you find in WoW and DoD.

The term, I mean. "Platemail" is after all, a contradiction in terms. D&D used to call practically any metallic armour something-mail "chainmail" "ringmail" "splintmail" "plate mail" were all used.

**antisocialmunky** · 03-17-2009, 04:46

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_mail

Wikipedia FTW.

**Banzai!** · 03-17-2009, 08:47

Originally Posted by antisocialmunky

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_mail

Wikipedia FTW.

No topic is safe from lorica segmentata!

**geala** · 03-17-2009, 14:48

jup, I find this kind of armour very interesting, combining the protection of rigid plate with the flexibility of mail.

However, it is totally new to me that the Roman segmented or laminated armour was embedded in mail??