Plate armour

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Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in suits of armour which entirely or mostly encased the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Years' War, from the coat of plates (popular in late 13th and early 14th century) worn over mail suits during the 14th century, a century famous for transitional armour. In Europe, full plate armour reached its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries. The full suit of armour, also referred to as a panoply, is thus a feature of the very end of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. Its popular association with the "medieval knight" is due to the specialised jousting armour which developed in the 16th century. Full suits of Gothic and Milanese plate armour were worn on the battlefields of the Burgundian Wars, the Wars of the Roses, the Polish–Teutonic Wars, the Eighty Years' War, the French Wars of Religion...

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