Around 1200, enclosed iron helmets covered the whole head, with slits for sight and breathing. Quilted gambesons provided another form of protection, and poorer soldiers could wear them without metal armour. Mail became finer and closer fitting, while metal caps added protection at the knees, elbows, and shins from about 1250. Plate armour developed further in the fourteenth century, and the cuirass offered stronger protection against sword blows. Heavier protection still left openings. In Montgomery's example from Benevento in 1266, French opponents checked German cavalry wearing breastplates by stabbing through the gaps at their armpits.
Notable Point · 3:43:07-3:44:22
Mail, plate additions, and the gaps in medieval armour
Changes in helmets, quilted protection, mail, and metal plates improved protection while leaving vulnerable gaps.