The armour of a knight (or man-at-arms) looked different throughout the Middle Ages. In this blog, we give a glimpse into the equipment of a French knight in the late fourteenth century to help you choose your own composition.

The second half of the fourteenth century was a period of conflict and significant change in weapons and military technology. The Hundred Years' War between France and England played a major role in this development. This conflict over the succession to the French throne lasted from 1337 to 1453 and involved long periods of war interrupted by short peaces, which both countries needed to rebuild themselves after intense fighting.

Although knights and men-at-arms mainly fought on horseback, they were increasingly deployed as heavy infantry in the English army of the fourteenth century. To counter the French cavalry, they fought alongside English archers equipped with the longbow , which could pierce mail with the Bodkin-arrowhead. Pole weapons such as the bill were developed to pull riders from their horses. This led to further development of plate armor, which became increasingly used to protect French heavy cavalry. The French army used powerful crossbows and the heavy lance against the English men-at-arms, which resulted in them being more heavily armored as well. This war thus initiated an arms race between England and France, significantly influencing the development of European plate armor in the late fourteenth century.

Due to new military developments, a transition was made from mail and coat of plates to full plate armor. The well-known Northern Italian Churburg Armor from around the year 1360 is a good example of armor during this transitional period.

The early armour was still intended to be worn with a full chainmail shirt. The breastplate was small and simple and did not have 'faulds', movable plates that protect the hips, although this component of the armour was in development. The construction of the breastplate itself originated from the coat of plates from the early fourteenth century and still consisted of several large, riveted plates that fit together.

The arms, shoulders, and legs were protected with pieces of plate armor that moved with the body and provided hard protection over a chainmail shirt. Gauntlets were no longer half gauntlets worn over chain mail mittens, but now consisted entirely of steel plate armor in the form of the hourglass gauntlet.

The bascinet had evolved from a simple helmet worn in the early fourteenth century under the 'great helmet' to a helmet with a visor that could be used on its own. The development of the visor offered full protection for the head but was much lighter and more practical to use than the great helmet. Knights and men-at-arms no longer needed to remove a heavy helmet to switch between visibility and protection. Bascinets from this time did not provide neck protection themselves but were often worn with a collar of mail, the so-called aventail.

It is the spring of 1360. Guillaume is a French knight in the Hundred Years' War between England and France. He fights on the battlefield as a mounted knight but keeps watch in the French city of Chartres for the abbot of Cluny. He spends a large portion of his time in the city's cathedral to prevent the news of a defeat near Paris and an overwhelmingly advancing English army from sinking his hope in the shoes. His armor is always at hand, and he sees a passing hailstorm as a bad omen: it seems that the French are going to lose the city. However, that same hailstorm would lead to years of peace between England and France in the coming days.

When Guillaume is not wearing his armor, he follows the fashion of the late fourteenth century. He wears a long woolen cotehardie, braies with chausses, pointed shoes, and a bycocket as headgear. If he is in a more military setting but does not want his squire to put on his full armor, he wears his gambeson. On his belt, he carries a bag and a dagger.

The Bycocket (also known as the type of hat worn by Robin Hood) was a popular headgear in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It was worn both with or without a hood by the serfs, bourgeoisie, and nobility.

In the fourteenth century, long, flowing garments were in fashion. Guillaume wears a blue woolen cotehardie over a light undershirt. People preferred bright colors, contrary to how this period is often depicted. If they could afford it, their clothing was richly decorated, but even without decoration, clothing in the Middle Ages was very expensive. By wearing an undershirt, it became less dirty from the body and the outer layer needed to be washed less often, which also prevented it from discoloring quickly.

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, chausses (chausses) were generally worn. These were fastened to the underwear (braies) and worn under long robes.

People from all walks of life attached pouches and other utilitarian items to their belt.  When assembling your outfit, consider what you would find important to carry in your daily life as a knight, such as your cutlery and also your sword.

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, men wore pointed shoes. Over time, the fashion trend was to make these increasingly longer and more pointed. On the battlefield, form followed function, and the pointedness of the shoes was much more modest, so that one could not trip over them during a fight.

The armour that Guillaume wears consists of several layers. Over his undershirt, he wears his gambeson and chainmail shirt. Over that, he wears a gown in mi-parti colors and his plate armor.

Click here to read more about what to wear under your armour.

Much clothing from this period was also worn in a half-and-half color pattern, also known as Mi-parti. This can be seen in the gambeson that Guillaume wears both loose and under his plate armor. A gambeson provides a layer of padded protection under mail and plate armor, but was worn alone by poor soldiers. The gambeson from this period was long and thick to provide sufficient protection under a chainmail shirt and early harnesses. However, a gambeson was not a comfortable garment in the summer, so if Guillaume can avoid it, he prefers to wear his cotehardie. 

Often a gambeson was equipped with points to attach armor for the lower body, but this was not always the case. To attach leg armor and chainmail to the body, a armor belt was often worn. 

On his head, he wears a houndskull bascinet with an adjustable visor, allowing him to easily switch between full face protection and an open helmet for giving commands and overseeing the battlefield. The pointed 'nose' and top of the helmet help deflect weapons and arrows. The bascinet was usually worn with a mail 'aventail' attached to protect the neck, but Guillaume wears a bishop's mantle in this configuration for the same function.

The breastplate worn by Guillaume consists of various movable plates that conform to the body. This construction derives from the coat of plates of the early fourteenth century.

To protect his hands and wrists, he wears hourglass gauntlets with protection for individual fingers. This form of armor gloves offered good mobility for the wrists and fingers. Over the course of the fifteenth century, they would largely be replaced by early mitten gauntlets, although some knights also preferred the dexterity of individually armored fingers. 

The arms and shoulders of Guillaume are protected by pieces of plate armor that move with the body. Because the forearms are a large target, they are fully protected with plate armor. However, plate armor is not yet developed enough to fully protect the upper arms, so these only cover the outside of the arm. The shoulder plates are simple and robust and are intended to be worn under a mail collar to protect the clavicle.

Guilliaume's thighs are protected with plate armor, but he has left his lower legs unprotected. This is because he prefers more mobility when wearing a armour. It is up to you to make similar decisions between protection and mobility, which we will explore further under the heading 'the perfect armour'.

In much art from this period, it is evident that over the armour a padded surcoat, the so-called 'jupon', was worn. This was done to display the heraldry of the wearer and to protect the armour from the elements. However, there are also some images from this period showing the jupon worn over the mail but under the armour. There is still much debate among historians about this. In this composition, we have chosen to depict this type of composition with an extra large gambeson.

It is up to you whether you wear a similar surcoat over or under your plate armor, or leave it out entirely. This is a matter of year, regional differences, and personal preference. In France and Burgundy, the jupon was generally worn wide over the entire chainmail shirt (and often also the armour), in England and Italy only over the breastplate. After the year 1400, the French and Burgundians would slowly adopt this English-Italian model. Over the course of the early fifteenth century, this custom of wearing fabric over plate armor would disappear, and so-called 'white armor' became fashionable.

Guilliaume has a one-handed sword and a shield with the heraldry of his family. On horseback, he would also have used a lance. The shield was developed in the early fourteenth century to be used both on horseback and on foot. Because the legs are protected by plate armor, Guillaume's s shield can be made more compact and agile than the large kite shield of previous centuries.

Due to further developments in plate armor, the shield would become completely obsolete among knights and men-at-arms in the late fourteenth century. Many knights chose to fight with two-handed swords, axes, war hammers, or pole weapons. It is entirely your choice which of these weapons becomes part of your late fourteenth-century knightly equipment.

Contrary to what many people think, armors were not intended to make the wearer completely invulnerable. Armor was always a compromise between mobility and protection. This compromise can be clearly seen in the difference between war armors and tournament armors (all our armors are war armors). During tournaments, much stronger but less mobile armor was worn to protect the wearer as fully as possible against the impact of a lance. This was possible because tournaments were intended as a spectacle and not as a life-or-death battle. On the battlefield, mobility was much more important, which meant that war armors offered less protection but were lighter and allowed the wearer to move much more freely.

Armors like the Churburg armour were historically worn by individuals who were fully trained and specialized in waging war during the period in which they lived. It can be seen that these individuals made many choices between protection and mobility, often based on function and personal preference. For example, many foot soldiers wore less protection on their lower legs because it was more comfortable for marching, but cavalry was often more fully armored. Knights sometimes chose to protect their hands with mittens in which the fingers could not move, but sometimes with gauntlets with individual fingers. Consider what is important to you and adjust your armour components and composition according to your own preference.

On medieval battlefields, only the aristocracy wore fully custom-made armor. The rest of the armies wore armor that was collected or inherited from previous wearers. These soldiers adapted these collected pieces of armor to their custom fit and decorated it by painting religious symbols and the heraldry of their ruler on it. The armor components we sell are not custom-made, but they are adjustable. As the owner of armor, you are regularly engaged in adjusting the armor to your measurements to ensure it fits as comfortably as possible. You can do this by lengthening straps, adding straps, stretching arm and leg pieces, and adding laces.