Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer.

At the turn of the fifteenth to the sixteenth century, one of the most startling changes in taste and fashion occurred, which was immediately mirrored in armor and can best be witnessed in the German harness of the period.

2022年1月29日 · By the 16th century, armorers began to mass-produce “munition armor”, cheap and effective articulated half-armor suits for infantry that could be used to instantly outfit a town militia or mercenary company.

Greenwich armour is the plate armour in a distinctively English style produced by the Royal Almain Armoury founded by Henry VIII in 1511 in Greenwich near London, which continued until the English Civil War.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the craft of making plate armour reached its peak. There was simply not much room for improvement left. The craftsmen, in an effort to offer even better, stronger armours without increasing the weight, came up with further innovations.

From the 16th century there are numerous examples of sumptuously decorated armor and weapons, including items made for the Electors of Saxony and their bodyguard troops; a select group of English armors made in the Royal Workshops at Greenwich, founded by Henry VIII; and a personal armor made for Henry II, King of France.

The armour of the Earl of Cumberland from Appleby Castle must be regarded as Halder's greatest achievement. It is of the highest quality, even though the excessively long and pointed form of the breast may appear strange.

Maximilian armour is a modern term applied to the style of early 16th-century German plate armour associated with, and possibly first made for the Emperor Maximilian I.

Dictated by functionality rather than fashion, armor fell into gradual decline during the seventeenth century, first in quality, later also in quantity. The weight of field armor was greatly increased in order to render it bulletproof against ever more accurate firearms.

By the beginning of the 16th century, armour styles incorporating both German and Italian elements had started coming into being full plate Maximilian armour. This culminated around 1515 when the earliest Maximilian armour began to be produced.