Breastplate

European

In medieval weaponry, the breastplate is the front portion of plate armour covering the torso. It has been a military mainstay since ancient times and was usually made of leather, bronze or iron in antiquity. By around 1000 AD, solid plates had fallen out of use in Europe and knights of the period were wearing mail in the form of a hauberk over a padded tunic. Plates protecting the torso reappeared in the 1220s as plates directly attached to a knightly garment known as the surcoat. Around 1250 this developed into the coat of plates which continued to be in use for about a century. True breastplates reappear in Europe in 1340 first composed of wrought iron and later of steel. These early breastplates were made of several plates and only covered the upper torso with the lower torso not being protected by plate until the development of the fauld around 1370. They were between 1–2.5 mm (0.039–0.098 in) in thickness. In order to prevent the wearer from being cut by their own armour, the design featured outward turned edges that also increased stiffness. In some cases, further strength was added by a ridge running down through the centre of the plate. The first evidence for one-piece breastplates is from an altarpiece in the Pistoia cathedral dated to 1365. Complete, lightweight, one or two-piece breastplates were readily used by the first decade of the 15th century. The French term pancier, which became English pauncher and German panzer, was also used.

Sometime between 1600 and 1650 a form of breastplate was developed that consisted of two plates in close contact. This was meant to improve protection against bullets and has been described as duplex armour.

Bullet-proof vests are the modern descendant of the breastplate.

Classical mythology

Both Zeus and Athena are sometimes depicted as wearing a goatskin shield or breastplate called an Aegis. At the center of Athena’s shield was the head of Medusa.