Augustinian Reforms

[NeoSpartan]

Try fighting somebody for real for 3 mins only and tell how tired your gonna be?
Mail is very heavy and the last thing a soldier/fighter wants is to be is tired in the middle of a fight. Why do you think there is so much emphasis in conditioning (running) and light weight armor in any military.

Eventhough, the Roman military complex was able to prodocue enough Mail shirts, those smiths were able to produce A LOT MORE plate armor in the same amount of time once it was invented.

Also, mail shirts were AGAIN substituded in Medieaval Europe by Plate armor. (only this time the Plates didn't use leather straps).

[Chester]

This past weekend I was at an event with my legion and I explained this discussion to them. They all agreed that, barring aesthetics, they would wear segmentata over hamata any day of the week. Its lighter, cheaper, comfier, and offers better protection. What's not to like? Mail and scale may look better, but being ugly and alive seems quite better than dead and pretty...

Wig, this above quote by Comrade Alexeo sort of sealed the deal. He has hands on proof, and thats aside from all his fancy pics and research.

He and a group of others run around in this stuff, it's from the horses mouth, so to speak.

You don't need to pull a roman from the past to get this kind of info, you just ask an actor.

This sort of scenario reminds me of the the field engineer vs. the academic engineer. The academic engineer can tell you every thing a widget is made out of, how many forumlas are needed to find X and Y, and probably write a few pages on theoretical applications. But he can't tell you how to install it or even drop you a cost estimate. And at the end of the day, thats all any one cares about.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Except that I get everything I know from another group of guys. So I'm only one space removed. Fair enough I don't have first hand experience but I have plenty of second-hand experience and textual knowledge to back it up.

NeoSpartan, high and late Medieval plate was totally different and much heavier than mail. A Roman soldier's battle-dress is roughly the same weight as a modern soldier's and his harching kit is lighter, although more awkward. In any case there is evidence the infantry battle took several hours and the men would have been fitter than probably anyone except the SAS. If the weight of mail was truely prohibative it would not have been popular for 1,500 years. Lorica Segmentata lasted a bare 150-180 years by comparison. Further, the the suits became simpler and less effective in terms of protection with a greater emphasis on repairability.

I do not deny that Lorica Segmentata provides a greater degree of protection from blunt trauma, not that it was lighter. However it is more labour intensive to maintain and more prone to breakage in the field through wear. It is also more prone to rust which can be a problem in wet climates, though less so with iron than modern steel. What Lorica Segmentata does not provide is great protection from thrusting weapons, such as spears. Nor is it as flexable or easy to put or on as mail. Further there is good evidence that mail was never abandonded by the rank and file and given that Lorica Segmentata is supposed to be cheaper and quicker to amke this raises serious questions that have yet to be answered.

Had you checked the link I posted you would see that the quote is from the Ermine Street Guard, arguably the world-leaders in re-enactment.