Knights and the Popularity of Body Armour
Body armour has seen several transformations through the ages and now come into use as extremely high quality equipment. Used by the police, military as well as paramedical forces, the armour became synonymous with a man’s character especially during the Middle Ages. This was largely due to the emergence of medieval knighthood.
In present times, Body armour comprises an essential part of the equipment that an army man or a police officer is expected to carry. With the availability of a variety of qualities of material to choose from, high-resistance and durable armour protects the lives of many. However, this was not the case perhaps a few centuries ago.
While the earliest recorded form of Body armour, used by ancient warriors, was probably composed of animal skins, the material used subsequently was wood and then metal. Popularized in medieval history as the ‘knights in shining armour’, the king’s militia came to symbolize a different class of warriors, thereby glorifying the paraphernalia that came with them. Often associated with prime horsemanship, a specific and rare code of conduct, a certain sense of grandeur and the long bygone characteristic called chivalry, knights formed the chief circle of the king’s followers. They were the most superior of the military personnel and usually had special privileges reserved for them. A typical image of a knight is that of a horseman in grand armour and attire. Envisaged as heroic, brave and extremely honorable, knights formed a separate class of the populace in those times.
Knights became synonymous with chivalry in the medieval era. They were expected to protect the weak and represent the people of their land. They were also expected to extend their generosity to the helpless and the poor. Such characteristics of knights have also found their way into medieval and renaissance literature. Knighthood was a romanticized circumstance, wherein the important aspects of their behavior were more like the components of a set of laws. The Body armour went hand in hand with the set of characteristics that defined knighthood. Another aspect of knighthood was its close association with religion. The religious strongly influenced the social behavior in the medieval era. Therefore, knights were expected, along with the chivalrous code of conduct, to also preserve a sacrosanct protocol.
The armour worn by knights was of heavy metal that has recently led the way to lightweight fabrics. Built to protect the soldier against attacks with spears, knives, swords or any other sharp-edged or pointed , Body armour in the medieval period was a sign of honor that the man possessed. Moreover, knighthood was a circumstance of prestige and came only with very strong exhibition of one’s bravery or the attribute of their lineage. One could only become a knight by their own merit and that too if chosen to be one at a very early age. Boyhood determined the possibility of becoming a knight. Training was, therefore, imparted early, to prepare a youth for the gallant path ahead in life. Knighthood has always been associated with certain distinctive traits of personality. Together with the appearance, knights are envisaged as the soldiers of an era bygone. It is not without a reason that it is often quoted; therefore that chivalry and honor are qualities rare to find among men in the modern times.
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