Quote Originally Posted by Watchman
Good plate had a habit of deflecting couched lances in full-tilt heavy cavalry clashes, which is yet another reason shields were ditched. Javelins could as well not bother trying.
I defer to your greater wisdom. I'm certainly not going to build a set of Gothic plate to test it.

That'd no longer be segmentata, but one coming apart. Badly.
Small gaps, between the shoulders and this particular set was fin structurally, it's owner keeps in in good nick.

Flexibility isn't terrinly important in hip-lenght corselets anyway - you can do damn cartwheels wearing full plate, and I can quarantee that breastplate doesn't flex one bit. Most kinds of heavier body armours worn over the millenia barely flexed at all, and worked perfectly fine regardless - where the cloth-like suppleness of mail becomes useful is in the joints.
It helps, certainly, but I do agree, it's not the most important factor. If anything the structure of LS causes extra problems because until the straps are broken in it tends to be very rigid around the shoulders.

Probably wouldn't. Besides the katana that one has to be the most over-hyped premodern military weapon - and most of the enthusiasts are quite unaware a bow not much short of the Welsh longbow was a required part of a militiaman's kit (atop a shield, spear, sword or axe and some armour) in medieval Scandinavia.
He, he, Katana. What I meant was it was a cheap, reliable, and powerful weapon that every Welshman ans his sheep could afford. Rather like the AK being a cheap, reliable, and powerful weapon that every Afgan and his goat can afford. You dissagree?

I understand mail shirts of coverage comparable to the segmentata corselet tend to weigh in at the 10-15 kg range, depending on specific design details. One does recall the lorica hamata is very commonly described as being rather heavy anyway.
That sounds about right, the figure of 25lbs keeps popping into my head.

Personally I rather fail to perceive where there would be a true eak point in the segmentata, save perhaps for the closure. Iron lames overlapping downwards don't seem to offer a very good "bite" for most weapons by what I know of it, and the shoulders for their part are reinforced against blows from above.
Under arms as well, neck front and back and groin (depending on the hamata you are comparing.) Of course if you stay in formation and keep your shield up snone of that matters.