THE MEDIEVAL KNIGHT AND HIS ARMOUR
One Knight on horseback was worth 80 men on foot. This made knights the military elite of the middle ages. They inspired our idea of chivalry courtesy and manners. Well armed they feuded, they went to war as vassals of their feudal lords, and risked their lives in tournaments to win fame and honor.

Every knight needed one set of armour for tournament and one for warfare. Each cost a fortune. Suits of armour had to be made to measure. There were over one hundred and fifty parts, such as gauntlets, breastplates, thigh plates, helmets, and from top to toe, each had to fit perfectly. Protecting oneself in battle has always been a concern for any soldier, and medieval knights were no exception. In fact, it was their protective armor that helped define them as a military unit and social class as armoring oneself during the Middle Ages was a great expense that only the wealthy could afford.

The medieval "knight in shining armor" that people most often think of when the subject of knights comes up, is the fully plate-armored knight. Ironically it was soon after the development of the full suit of plate armor that the medieval knight's advantage in battle began to wane. With the effective use of gunpowder weapons (ca. 15th/16th century) not even plate armor could protect the knight, and the cumbersome armor gradually became ineffective and impractical.

Today, the Medieval Knight's Armour and Medieval Swords are both exceptionable symbols of Historic and Noble times, and are often adapted to make beautiful focal pieces to many interior decors.