갑옷

Quilted padded defensive garment

The gambeson is a padded defensive garment made from 10-30 layers of quilted linen or cotton. Worn either as standalone armor or as a shock-absorbing layer beneath chainmail or plate armor, it was surprisingly effective against arrows and cuts. As the cheapest and easiest armor to produce, it served as the universal base layer for every medieval soldier from peasant levies to wealthy knights.

Segmented plate armor of the Roman legions

The lorica segmentata was the standard plate armor of Roman legionnaires from the 1st to 3rd century AD. Multiple iron plates connected by leather straps and buckles protected the torso, offering superior protection and mobility compared to the chainmail lorica hamata. An iconic visual symbol of the Roman legions depicted on Trajan's Column, it could be disassembled for transport and repaired in the field with standardized parts.

Roman legionary chainmail armor

The lorica hamata was the longest-serving armor in the Roman military, used from the 3rd century BC through the 5th century AD — over 700 years of continuous service. Constructed from thousands of interlinked iron rings riveted or welded shut, it outlasted the more famous lorica segmentata, which was limited to select legionary units. The hamata was worn by auxiliaries, cavalry, and legionaries alike, weighing 10-15kg. Its key advantage was field repairability — damaged rings could be replaced on the spot, unlike the segmentata's complex hinges requiring skilled armorers.

Korean armor with brass-studded iron plates

The dujeong-gap (頭釘甲) was the signature military armor of the Joseon dynasty, constructed by sandwiching small iron plates between layers of fabric and securing them with brass studs (dujeong). The studs formed a distinctive dotted pattern on the outer surface that gave the armor its name. Structurally similar to the Western brigandine but developed independently, it saw widespread adoption after the Imjin War (1592-1598) as a cost-effective alternative to lamellar armor, offering a balanced 10-15kg of protection suited to both melee and the emerging age of gunpowder.

Polished plate-and-mail armor of the Islamic world

Mirror armor (char-aina) was a composite defense system used across the Persian, Ottoman, and Mughal empires, featuring four large polished metal plates worn over chainmail to reinforce the chest, back, and flanks. The plates were polished to a mirror finish — hence the name — which served both aesthetic and practical purposes by reflecting desert sunlight to dazzle opponents. This philosophy of combining mail flexibility with targeted plate reinforcement represented a fundamentally different approach from the Western full-plate tradition, keeping total weight to a manageable 12-18kg while protecting vital areas.

Lightweight armor of hardened leather

Leather armor was crafted using the cuir bouilli process — boiling or waxing animal hide to harden it into a rigid yet flexible protective shell. Weighing only 5-8kg, it was the go-to protection for archers, scouts, and rogues who needed mobility and stealth over heavy defense. Its silence compared to metal armor made it ideal for night raids and reconnaissance, while its low cost allowed mass issue to common soldiers and militia across cultures from Roman auxiliaries to medieval European bowmen.