Linen Armour?

[Xehh II]

How is linen armour better than metal?
I must say linen armour looks cool but I don't see how it could be better than metal.

[keravnos]

http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=7338

http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic.php?t=2630

Your question is perfectly legitimate, but let me not answer since it has been asked and answered many times already.

(Read the above links, and formulate your own opinion)

Thanks.

[mcantu]

Well it was layers of linen that were glued together and possibly hardened. Its the same idea as modern body armor which is made up of many layers of aramid (ie Kevlar). The force of the impact is distributed along the fibers and the forward motion of the weapon is stopped/reduced

Here are the results of tests with maille and cloth armor that were just posted today...

http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=11131

[geala]

This is a very good link, mcantu. That linen armour performed well against missiles in the test confirms my informations from other tests I know. I am a bit surprised about the bad performance against slashes and thrusts, but also pleased by it because tests done by me show the same (I used a kopis like sword).

To say something also to the op, linen armour is not better than metal armour. It is different. You can better move in it than in plate armour for example. You will also sweat a lot more, however. And so on. Plate armour normally is superior in the ability to deflect weapons. And it's nearly impossible to penetrate plate with slashes or cuts. I know of a test with a original 16th c. halberd (with new shaft) against an original 16th c. munition plate cuirass and helmet (Sturmhaube). The only way that the heavy halberd could be effective was by a stroke with the rear spike. Strokes with the axe blade or thrusts with the point were nearly without effort. A great advantage of plate, which the mail/scale and padding enthusiasts should not overlook, is the ability to dispense the energy of the hit over a wide area to reduce blunt trauma much better than every other form of armour.

In the end, much depends on the material. Is the plate hardened bronze or only soft iron/mild steel. Or hardened steel? Is the linen a densely woven, fine cloth? Is is put together in changing patterns, with a 90 or 45 degree angle, to strenghten it? And so on.

[Watchman]

That the layered-linen armour is not better than the metal stuff is really obvious - if it were, everyone would have used it instead. It was lighter and more comfortable, and probably at least marginally cheaper, already.

Sounds a bit like what I've read of hardened-leather armour, which seems to have been regarded as sort of "metal lite" - cheaper and much lighter, but not quite as protective if you were willing to make the tradeoff.

[keravnos]

That the layered-linen armour is not better than the metal stuff is really obvious - if it were, everyone would have used it instead. It was lighter and more comfortable, and probably at least marginally cheaper, already.

Sounds a bit like what I've read of hardened-leather armour, which seems to have been regarded as sort of "metal lite" - cheaper and much lighter, but not quite as protective if you were willing to make the tradeoff.

The problem with the above test is that the Ancients didn't use friggin rags for armor...

8-15 layers or more of especially knit linen were used, held together with glue, end result being a pretty rigid construction. Scale was woven over that, and a leather undercloth was worn under that.

If you put massed doormats and call that "linothorax" then it is more than obvious that those results are in error.

[Watchman]

The Romans seemed to prefer the hamata and squamata over the possibility of adopting the "lino" from conquered Hellenic regions though. I may be jumping to conclusions, but I'd take that as proof positive that the design's advantage lay in the weght-protection ratio, not absolute amount of protection-for-coverage provided. The Romans apparently preferred to opt for the heavier metal-based armours with their greater stopping power.

You'd think their lighter troops might have found it useful tho.