Armor+by+JacobB-CMS

Armor

 The warrior stands at attention awaiting his commander’s word. His axe at the ready he chants along with the army. What’s protecting him? Armor! Armor has protected millions of warriors throughout the ages and will protect millions more. Armor's Beginning Armor protects people, and has ever since people have fought. Armor is made of many materials such as wood, steel, iron, leather, and synthetic materials. As the intelligence of the human race increases so does the complexity and safety of the armor.  At the beginning armor was just thick clothes and animal skins. They tanned the skins and hardened them to perfection. This became known as leather.  Leather makers stripped the rawhide(animal skin) of any fat and fur. After that they soaked it in lye a substance made from ash and water. The tanners then laid it on a beam and scraped it with a somewhat dull knife, thus removing any traces of fat or hair, then they dried it in the shape they wanted it.  Later in the history of leather armor people put studs in the leather. If an attacker hit in just the right place with a sword he would be blocked by the studs. "The intention is that the studs increase the chance of deflecting blows while not restricting movement as much as going to chainmail." (Wikia, NWN Wiki.) These raised the likelihood that you would survive a sword-stroke but not by too much. Chain Mail Chain mail was a type of armor back in the Middle ages consisting of interlocking rings. Smiths forged one band, then they put four connected to it and kept doing this until they had what they wanted (usually it was a Byrnie or chain mail shirt ). **"Mail ** or **chain mail** is a type of  [|armor] consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh   reaching to the knees ."(Wikipedia)  "After a while weapons got better and became able to pierce chain mail." (Big Site of Amazing Facts, Why did Knights abandon chain mail for plate armor during the Middle Ages?) People needed better armor. The people mostly abandoned chain mail. "The reason Knights abandoned chain mail for plate armor during the Middle Ages was simple. Have you ever seen what a crossbow can do? It's not pretty. It could shoot through the thin metal pieces of chain mail and straight through the leather. (Big Site of Amazing Facts, Why did Knights abandon chain mail for plate armor during the Middle Ages?)   Scientists today have found another use for the mail. Some of them have figured out how to make ultra small rings. They also have thought of making smart clothing using the rings and electricity which would be able to provide heat or another service to the wearer. Scale Mail, Plate Armor, and Armor today  Scale armor is made of leather, or metal. The "scales" are hooked to leather or cloth. They are hooked to the materials by metal rings or threads. After the fall of Chain mail people invented a way to fold steel over and over again to make it stronger, this was plate mail. Plate mail covered all of your body like an exo-skeleton. " <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Late in the Middle Ages plate armor began to appear (ca. late 13th/early 14th century), first as reinforcements to vital areas such as the chest and shoulders, and finally as a complete suit (ca. early 15th century). The medieval "knight in shining armor" that most people think of is the fully plate-armored knight. Chain-mail armor was now relegated to protecting smaller vital areas that could not be covered with plate armor"(Knights And Armor/ Armor of a medieval knight) ** " <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Plate Mail   ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> - more properly called Plate-and-Mail is an interim step in the evolution of   [|Plate Armor]<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">, consisting mainly of [|chainmail]<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> with   large pieces of forged plate covering selected areas - typically a [|breastplate] or [|cuirass] and/or limb armor such as [|greaves], [|bracers] , [|couters] and [|aillettes] ."(The Arcana Wiki/ Plate Mail)  <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> )” The English longbow proved its deadly effectiveness on the battlefield, defeating the previously unstoppable armored knight. <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">Armor technology responded in kind by reaching new heights of sophistication and protection, which, although unable to completely insulate its wearer against the threats of the fifteenth century battlefield, offered unprecedented protection. The full suit of steel <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">plate armor represented the zenith of the medieval armorer's art.” (Hacht and Hayes, Gale group) <span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Armor today is very different from the armor our ancestors used. Our armor today is synthetic, not natural. It is lighter than steel and is bulletproof. <span style="color: #0d0d0d; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> Armor is amazing. It can take many pounds of pressure without caving. It has saved the lives of millions. Works Cited "Mail (armour)." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 04 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_(armour)>. "Medieval Armor--Armor of a Knight." //Knights and Armor//. Web. 04 Apr. 2011. <http://www.knightsandarmor.com/armor.htm>. "Plate Mail - The Arcana Wiki." //Welcome to the Arcana Wiki! - The Arcana Wiki//. Web. 04 Apr. 2011. <http://arcana.wikidot.com/plate-mail>. "Studded Leather Armor - NWNWiki, the Neverwinter Nights Wiki - Your Guide to the Game of NWN." //NWNWiki, the Neverwinter Nights Wiki - Guides, Classes, Races, and More//. Web. 04 Apr. 2011. <http://nwn.wikia.com/wiki/Studded_leather_armor>. "Tanning." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 04 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanning>.

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