this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2026
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HistoryArtifacts
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I was thinking about how practical those even are. I imagine that an Emperor would not ever be close enough to battle to be worried about it though. It looks more like parade armor than something that's seen battle.
While this piece is definitely exceptionally ornate, national leaders of this period still regularly attended battles (if, ideally, in the rear rather than leading charges) and would thus need real protection on the field. This style of plate armor, 15th-16th century, is commonly extremely ornate both because anyone who could afford a suit of it could afford all the bells and whistles, and because the armor itself is so expensive that the fittings are nearly a rounding error compared to the base cost.
It's extremely effective armor, though. You need specialized tools to get through it, or a narrow-bladed dagger and a very immobilized target.
Or a groin shot...
Gotta get the codpiece out for protection AND style 😎
Also, chainmail would cover the gaps.
I wouldn't mind having a full suit of chainmail myself. It's effectively useless today for anything other than roleplaying/reenacting, cause it wouldn't offer much protection against modern weapons and the chances of getting in an actual sword fight are slim. But it would still be cool to own...
Richard III died in battle in this rough time frame and probably wore something close to it