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Arms and Armor History - 16th Century AD


Anime - Anime was a type of laminated breastplate that featured horizontal plates that overlapped upwards. This setup made the anime very flexible; however, this setup was not efficient when it comes to defense. Anime type armor was used in the late 16th century.
Boar Spear -
Brandistock - Brandistock (also referred to as: feather staff or buttafuore) was a type of a short pole arm used between 16th and 19th centuries in Europe. The brandistock was used by the commoners and the military alike. The brandistock was an interesting weapon as it featured a wooden shaft that had a retractable blade at the end. The retractable blade was normally hidden in the hollow portion of the wooden shaft. The blade could be retracted by making a strong thrust forward which caused the blade to be lacked in place.
Cabasset Helmet - A Cabasset is an open helmet that was worn by foot soldiers in the second half of the 16th century and throughout the 17th century. The name cabasset is Italian and it means "pear". The helmet is characterized with a narrow brim and a tip that projects from the top of the helmet. Some cabassets were plain and some were adorned with engravings and brass studs.
Closed Helmet - Closed Helmet (also called close helmet) was an improved version of the barbute helmet that was used in the 14th century. Closed helmet encompassed the entire head and usually had chain mail attached to the bottom of the helmet. The helmet’s visor had holes to facilitate breathing. This type of helmet was often worn during the crusades and it was adopted by the knights Templar.
Comb Morion Helmet - A morion helmet is an open helmet that was used in the 16th and 17th century. The morion helmet was often used by foot soldiers in various European countries. The morion helmet is usually associated with Spanish conquistadores. The helmet was inexpensive to manufacture and this alone helped with popularizing of the helmet. The elites who wore the helmet usually wanted to distinguish themselves from other soldiers by engraving the helmet to display their affluence and their esteem. The morion helmet was also called a comb morion helmet as it had a characteristic comb (crest) that strengthened the helmet. Later versions of the helmet featured cheek guards and also removable faceplates.
Fauchard - Fauchard was a pole arm that was used in the 16th century in medieval Europe. This type of pole arm featured a sword-like blade that was single-edged and curved. The cutting edge was on the concave side of the blade. The back of the blade often featured ornamental prongs.
Half Moon Polearm - Half Moon (also called Demi Lune) was a pole arm that featured a crescent-like blade with the concave of the crescent facing the opposite end of the pole arm. Half moon pole arms were used between 16th and 17th centuries.
Locking Gauntlet - Locking Gauntlet was a gauntlet used in 16th century which featured extra long fingers that could be locked to the wrist. This setup prevented a sword, axe or mace from being dislodged from warrior's hands. Simply a warrior could not be disarmed. These type of gauntlets were forbidden during tournaments and because of that this type of gauntlet was also called the forbidden gauntlet.
Man Catcher - Man Catcher was a type of a non-lethal pole weapon designed to capture persons on a horseback and pull them to the ground. The weapon consisted of a wooden pole with crescent like ring with a trapdoor in the front. Man catchers were used in various parts of the world and their construction may significantly differ. Man catchers were also used to handle violent prisoners and criminals.
Maximilian Armor - The Maximilian Armor is a suit of armor style originally created for the Emperor Maximilian. This style of suit of armor was extensively used between 1500 and 1540. The main lines of the suit of armor are heavier compared with the Gothic style. The armor is distinguished by radiating fluted channels that spread from the middle of the breastplate. The breastplate of the Maximilian armor is shorter and consists of one piece whereas the breastplate of a Gothic suit of armor consisted of two parts: upper and lower. The pauldrons in the Maximilian armor are larger and the neck guards are more pronounced. Also, they usually differed in size. The pauldron of the right arm was smaller to accommodate the couching of the lance under the armpit. The tassets of the armor are made in two or more pieces and they were connected with straps and rivets.
Partisan - A partisan (also spelled partizan) was a pole weapon used in medieval Europe. The polearm consisted of a spearhead that was mounted on a wooden shaft. The spearhead featured protrusions on the sides that aided the user in parrying swords. The partisan became obsolete with the arrival of firearms although it was still used for ceremonial purposes.
Vamplate - Vamplate, also called Avant Plate, was the large conical guard that was mounted on the shaft of a lance to protect the hand of the warrior wielding it. The vamplate was used between 16th and 17th century.

History of Arms and Armor | Arms and Armor Origin Timeline

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