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Wow! Lot's of responses to this thread! Lot's of input and good debate! My primary points were upheld by some. I've been seeing a lot of negative comments about European knights and their equipment lately. This is mostly due to the large number of TV shows, books and movies depicting martial arts and Samurai as the ultimate in fighting machines. The katana has also been depicted as the ultimate fighting sword, able to cleave through anything including opponents weapons. I just wanted to put some of this in perspective and uphold the fact that the elite European knights were not a Monty Python kluge of idiots. I also wanted to show that Japan was not the only country that knew how to forge good steel. A good broad sword was every bit as tough as a good katana. In my opinion full plate was the most superior armor of its time for hand to hand combat. A labor of love and work of art. Much lighter, stronger and protective than maille. The comment about aiming for the throat was not correct. The neck and throat were protected by a flanged gorget. It was well padded and was designed to catch a blade tip trying to get under the helmet. Some helms, such as the sallet, were actually designed to ball joint with the gorget providing complete protection. Once again, the steel armors were not that heavy. I have personally seen fully armored people doing cartwheels and back flips on the learning channel. Heavy war horses are 5-6 foot tall draft horses! You've seen them at the fair I'm sure. Getting on one of these monsters unarmored is a feat! Trampling was a commonly used tactic with these huge beasts.
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The true secret to happiness is not having what you want, it's wanting what you have!
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