Development history of European armor

Armor is the general name of head and trunk protective equipment in the cold weapon era. There are many names, but they are basically divided into armor, armor body, armor skirt, armor sleeve, face armor, neck armor, breastplate and hand armor. Earlier metal armor appeared in Asia. Around 2600 BC, bronze armor appeared in China during the Yin and Zhou Dynasties in the two river basins, and in India during the Vedic era. Assyrians in the Middle East were the first to use armor in large quantities. In feudal Asian countries and medieval Europe, armor was highly valued. It is well-made and expensive. All the parts are connected by leather rings and hinges. The armor is covered with suppressed patterns and inlaid ornaments, and made of a small amount of gold and silver and precious leather, weighing 30 to 50 Jin, with exquisite craftsmanship. From 8th century BC to19th century BC, it was widely used by knights in ancient Greece, Rome, Byzantium, Russia, Britain and France. With the application of firearms, the protective function of armor gradually decreases, but it is still used in bulletproof vests and helmets. At present, armor has become a rare decorative art. Before the cavalry in medieval Europe, the heavy infantry in ancient Greece was Zeng Henghe for a while. However, in the Middle Ages of Europe, the cavalry overwhelmed the infantry, but the infantry did not immediately give way to the cavalry, which can be seen from many examples of infantry winning throughout the Middle Ages. The development of cavalry is tortuous. When cavalry first appeared, it was really noble, but with the appearance of ancient Greek phalanx, it fell to a secondary position. This is because horses at that time did not have stirrups and horseshoes, ancient Greece. In the fourth century AD, the Germans tied round leather belts on both sides of the saddle to put their feet. It was not until the eighth century AD that the stirrup appeared after the demise of the Frankish Morovian dynasty. It was not until the 9th century that the horseshoe was nailed to the bottom of the horseshoe. Since the emergence of saddles with straps on both sides in the 4th century, the situation of cavalry has completely changed, and they will not fall off their horses in battle. When saddles, stirrups and horseshoes are complete, cavalry will become the decisive force to control wars in the Middle Ages. The saddle used by Europeans in the Middle Ages has a front axle and a rear axle with straps on both sides. When cavalry fight, their legs walk straight. It's like standing there It is said that William, Duke of Normandy, nicknamed "Conqueror", fell in front of Mount City in 1083 because his horse stepped on burning charcoal and his stomach was cut to death by the hard front axle of the saddle. By the ninth century, Vikings were invincible like a whirlwind, plundering the northern region and the coast of western Europe. The threat of pirates put the whole army on standby. It is composed of knights trained in war and can quickly meet invading enemies. This is the bud of a "professional" army. Knight's armor At that time, the knight's combat uniform was knee-length tight armor. It has sleeves and is made of leather or thick cloth. It is riveted by scaly iron sheets and weighs about 15 kg. From head to toe, it is covered by a chain mail, and the chain mail has a movable lock ring that looks like a hood. Put a coat or linen combat suit on the tight armor to prevent the iron sheet on the armor from being rusted by the sun and rain; Clothes and shields are decorated with eye-catching signs for easy identification. By the end of 12 century, the helmet became cylindrical, and the whole head of the knight was put in, leaving only air holes and gaps for breathing and watching. /kloc-At the end of 0/3 century, the tights that are knee-length were replaced by scales, which were not only low in cost, but also convenient to put on and take off. It uses leather or cloth to rivet small iron sheets, so the small iron sheets can't be seen from the outside. In the14th century, a hard steel. The helmet gave way to a light helmet with a fixed mask; Horses are also protected by armor or steel armor. All-white armor weighs about 40 kilograms and is beautifully made. Knight in white armor reached its peak in15th century and became the only model in Europe. Whether in Germany, Italy, France or Spain, there is no difference in knight armor, because they are all bought from the same manufacturer, especially in Milan.

Development history of armor

A naturally refers to armor. In fact, armor and armor have different meanings. People say that "ancient leather armor is today's real armor", but there is no strict time limit between real armor (metal armor) and leather armor, and the mainstream battle for armor is far beyond the scope of metal and leather. As for the belly, it was called "bucket bowl" in ancient times, which is today's helmet. In the history of human war, armor appeared before the stomach, and it was first made of rattan and animal skins. At present, there is no real thing to verify the animal leather armor without tanning technology. Legend has it that Zhuge Liang set fire to Fujia soldiers, which is the corresponding "description". Prime Minister Zhuge's army can't get any cheap in front of the rattan armor of the barbarian soldier, which shows that it is really unique, but in the end, rattan armor is not a "side door", although it has no other way. Leather is much luckier. Because of its portability, flexibility and simple technology, the Shang army in China was widely equipped and used for thousands of years. At the turn of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the development of leather armor stomach reached its peak. Armor consists of pieces coated with leather, a large rectangular nail piece constitutes a bulletproof vest, and the armband consists of small nail pieces pressed back from bottom to top, so that the arm can be lifted. At this point, a mature nail style with far-reaching significance appeared in the history of China-tying nails.

Speaking of the earth-shattering events in China archaeology in recent years, I'm afraid that besides the underground palace of the Western Hanyang Mausoleum, the Stone Armor of Qinling Mountain will reappear in broad daylight. This discovery gives people an opportunity to re-understand the armor style of Qin Dynasty, and fundamentally overturns the historical fallacy of "Wu Qin's stomach". The unearthed stone armor confirms the records in historical documents, that is, the nail plate in Qin Dynasty became smaller and more flexible, and at the same time, technically, activities such as waist and arm were also woven. Less active parts such as the chest and back were covered with negative lines, which formed the norms of overlapping nail plates, negative lines and positive lines, and laid the foundation for China's armor. The armors of military officers, cavalry, infantry and commanders in the Qin dynasty were different, which reflected the strict hierarchy.

In ancient times, leather armor was mostly made of leather such as rhinoceros and shark, and painted on it. In Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs", "Rhinoceros A Fuck Wu Gexi" is a vivid portrayal. In addition, the armor of Shang and Zhou dynasties also includes "training armor" and "bronze armor". Training armor is made of silk and thick cotton, belonging to the category of cloth armor; Bronze armor is a relatively simple bronze breastplate with an animal face on it. The heavy disadvantage is that it is difficult to replace leather armor with bronze armor. Although the armor appeared in the middle of the Warring States period was lighter than bronze armor, it was still difficult to be widely used because of the limitation of iron smelting technology at that time, and this situation continued until the Western Han Dynasty. With the vigorous development of iron smelting industry, the iron armor stomach won the position of leather armor stomach in the past, and at the same time, the iron armor also differentiated into fish scales and ordinary nails. Scales are the fruit of the pinnacle of nail binding, and more than 2,200 pieces can be used for a complete set of nails. The nail plates are stacked like fish scales, and the manufacturing process is quite complicated. Undoubtedly, only prominent people can wear it, which is why scales have not been popularized in past dynasties. The scales of the Western Han Dynasty are not worse than the later armor, because the quality of armor depends only on the production process on the premise that the materials are almost the same. And those ordinary miscellaneous armor have always been the standard armor for foot soldiers to resist cold weapons.

Compared with the Han Dynasty, the A style of Sui and Tang Dynasties seems to have nothing to do with this. The soothing transitional movement of this period was written in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, where simple sleeve armor, dimethyl armor and bright armor appeared one after another, greatly enriching the connotation of Jia Wei. Sleeve armor was developed on the basis of Eastern Han armor. It is a cylindrical armor made of small pieces of fish scales or turtle backs, which are connected back and forth. The shoulders are equipped with sleeves with shoulder pads, hence the name sleeve armor. People who wear armbands usually wear ear protectors on their heads, and the top is decorated with long tassels.

Dangdang Jia was a common military uniform in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It is in the shape of two large pieces, front and back, with a leather ring on it and a belt at the waist. The materials used are mostly hard metals and leather. The "Gold and Silver Thin Armor" written by Cai Jian, the former Qin emperor, in the "Battle of Feishui" recorded by Qin Shu is actually a luxurious version of the double-sided armor woven by "carving gold as a thread". The reputation of Liangjia comes from the metal round guard installed on its chest and back, which is made of copper, iron and other metals, and has been carefully polished and smooth as a mirror. In the sun, it will reflect harsh "strong light", which is dazzling, so it is named "strong light armor".

In terms of materials, the most advanced ironmaking method at that time was also used to make nail stomach. Frequent wars miraculously inspired the quality of armor. It is said that the best sleeve armor at that time could withstand hundreds of kilograms of strong crossbow shooting (estimated to be far away). Although it has not been confirmed, it at least reflects the excellent protective ability of armor at that time. It is particularly worth mentioning that during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, riding was in its heyday. Because the arrow armor and cavalry armor surpassed each other, the war horse as the target of the arrow had to be put on heavy armor. Therefore, China's heavy cavalry was born 900 years earlier than Europe, and the armored cavalry figurines and filial piety unearthed from Wang Yuwen's tomb in the Northern Zhou Dynasty fully demonstrated the elegance of China's heavy cavalry.

Bright armor developed in Sui and Tang Dynasties and became the most famous armor. Its bulletproof vest consists of four bottom plates, two in the chest and two in the back. Each board has a big round guard made of high-quality iron, and the bottom plate is probably leather armor. Although this design has its own defects, Ming Guangjia in Sui and Tang Dynasties changed the bad habit of cutting corners in previous dynasties and included arm and leg protectors in the basic requirements of A type, which had an important impact on later generations. In the Tang Dynasty, the types of armor were more diverse, and the Six Classics of the Tang Dynasty recorded thirteen kinds of armor in the Tang Dynasty. Covering leather, iron, wood, silk and other materials, luxury became more and more popular after Tianbao of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Silk woven armor was made of silk, which was light in structure and beautiful in appearance, and was used as a ceremonial costume for military commanders. It seems that formalism was understood 1300 years ago. After the "An Shi Rebellion", the armor recovered its former glory in the war years of Jin Goma Railway. Unfortunately, the Datang Empire has become a thing of the past. In the late Tang Dynasty, the armor of Ming Dynasty declined, and the whole armor was replaced by miscellaneous armor, which was a small retrogression.

The occupation of the Five Dynasties promoted the revival of Guangming Jia, which was also inherited by the Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, the armor and abdomen basically followed the style of the Tang Dynasty, and the herringbone bulletproof vest and leggings were combined to improve the defense ability. From the Song Dynasty, paper armor appeared in the army. There was a record of customizing 30 thousand sets in the Northern Song Dynasty. Paper armor is made of thick pleated paper, which should be the application of structural mechanics. Paper armor has been used in the south, which may be moisture-proof. Although it is light, it is actually "a strong arrow can't make a hole", which shows its strength. The Song army attached great importance to the quality of armor, so that fake armor emerged one after another. In the nineteen volumes of Meng Qian Bi Tan, there is a story of Zijia. "Scorpion armor" is a kind of cold forged armor. According to legend, it can be invulnerable, just like the legendary "Tang armor". Armor "black iron, hair can be distinguished" is extremely precious. In order to show the thickness of the materials used before cold forging, a "bamboo shoot" the size of a chopstick head is usually left on the back of the nail, which looks like a wart (a tumor on the skin), so it is called a "wart nail". At that time, a state official in Xining, Qinghai, occasionally got a pair and regarded it as a treasure, which was usually hidden in a box. On one occasion, his boss, Wei Guogong Han Qi "tried it" and put it "fifty paces away" to shoot it. No crossbow can enter, but the arrow rolls instead. Only one arrow seems to have penetrated the scorpion armor. A closer look shows that the arrow is embedded in the borehole, which shows the high quality of this armor. Fakers also make boils on the back of nails, but the materials used are not of high quality, not cold forging, but hot forging. It is clearly stated in the book that this kind of disciple has the appearance of "boils", which is worthless in actual combat and will only hurt the general.

At the same time, the armor of the Tubo people can be comparable to that of the powers in the Central Plains. This alloy armor is made of iron mixed with a small amount of silver and is durable. Although this kind of armor was only equipped with a small amount of Tubo Zampa pro-army, it also reflected the smelting and manufacturing level of Tubo at that time. Until many years later, the traces of this excellent technology can still be seen in the iron helmets collected in the ruins of Guge Kingdom.

After the Song Dynasty, the appearance of firearms made people pale and powerless after thousands of years of efforts. Whether it is the heavy armor of European countries or eastern countries, it is difficult to easily resist the attack of firearms. Yuan Xianzong's dream pigeon was killed by Song Jun's firearms at the foot of Sichuan Fishing Town ("injured by cannon wind"), which can be regarded as the beginning of armor fading. The untimely heavy armor of the Ming Dynasty has gradually withdrawn from the historical stage. The style of armor in this period is very close to the costume of Wushu students in the drama we see today. There was a kind of fat coat in the Ming army, which was called "long and narrow sleeves with cotton inside". Because it is mostly red, it is also called "red fat coat", so it should be counted as a kind of armor training. The armor worn by the general is made of copper and iron, and the shape of the armor plate is mostly "mountain", which is accurate and light to wear. Soldiers wear chain mail, iron mesh skirt pants and iron mesh boots below the waist. In the Ming Dynasty, the leather armor stomach became a wonderful flower in the southern minority areas. Yi elephant leather armor is the representative work of leather armor in this period, with reasonable design and excellent production. In the middle and late Warring States period (approximately equivalent to the Ming Dynasty), Japanese armor also experienced a transformation from heavy and gorgeous armor to simple and practical belly roll, tube pill and foot. The shape of Xiangbi Pill is similar to that of Yi Elephant Leather Nail.

The Qing dynasty was an era when light armor was carried forward, and the thickness of metal nails was greatly reduced. Leather armor prevailed again during this period. The main features of China's nail belly in Qing Dynasty are pointed belly with high tassels and wide cotton nails embedded with foam nails. The silk collar, band and azurite ear protectors hanging from the back of the helmet in Qing Dynasty are embroidered with patterns and decorated with copper or iron foam nails. Armor is divided into armor and apron, and the shoulder of armor is equipped with shoulder pads and underarm protectors; Sometimes a metal heart protector is worn at the front and back, and a trapezoidal abdomen protector is worn at the front seam under the mirror, which is called "front block". Wear a "left block" on the left side of the waist, and don't wear a block on the right side, save it for hanging bows and arrows. The apron is divided into left and right pieces and tied around the waist with a belt when worn. In the middle of the two skirts, a tiger head made of the same material covered her knees.

In addition to the defensive function, armor always plays the role of decoration and shock. A-type smooth and gorgeous armor not only shows the user's bravery, but also gives the enemy psychological shock, such as Hercules' lion helmet in Greek mythology, and armor all over the world has played such a role.

Judging from the style of armor, it seems that western armor is more influenced by armadillos, which is the most prominent in the great white armor that appeared in the14th century, while the design inspiration of eastern armor is more from the appearance of pangolins. The armor of Liu Sheng, the King of Zhongshan Jing in the Western Han Dynasty, can be said to be an example, and this form of armor is also reflected in other countries.

With the appearance of front gun and double track, the decline of armor becomes inevitable. When the armor became heavy, new military uniforms came into being. We should thank human beings for their armor, and we can still find their strong figure in today's army.

Javey is a product of war. With the hope of turning swords into plows, we are waiting for the day when all the Javey only appear in museums and art galleries, becoming a distant topic where people can't smell the killing when talking about them.