Medieval Breastplates, Cuirasses, Brigandines

Providing upper body protection to internal organs and bones, cushioning blows and reducing impacts, medieval body armor has become a key piece of knight harness for any reenactor and medieval fighting enthusiast. It’s vital to match properly, so we make custom size upper body armor to ensure a perfect fit. Take a look at these armours from ArmStreet:

• Breastplate and backplate kits
• Viking body armor
• Brigandine body armour
• Women’s body armor
• Knight’s cuirass
• Leather chest protection

Each type of medieval body armor had its advantages and disadvantages, and the choice of armor often depended on the knight's or warrior's role and resources each period of history was characterized by different types of body chest plates, brigandines, and cuirasses

Cuirasses

Cuirass is mainly known for its signature look as an essential part of the medieval knight armor kit. This body armor, mostly popular as a part of full knight white plate armor, has deep roots in history, as it was also widely spread in ancient Greece and Rome. late Middle Ages cuirass is practically impenetrable by hand weapon and played an essential role in making medieval knights the most formidable force of their time

Breastplates

A breastplate is technically a part of the cuirass, but in many kits, especially in earlier Middle Ages and in the Ancient world, a breastplate was the main body armor part, leaving the back less protected or not protected at all. But if you're not turning your back on your enemies, that's all right

Brigandines

Brigandine is a type of medieval body armor that was popular during the XIV and XV centuries. It consists of small metal plates riveted to a fabric or leather base, protecting the wearer while still allowing for flexibility.
This piece of armor was favored by knights and warriors for its combination of great protection and maneuverability, pretty much like being one of the most popular pieces of body armor among modern sword fighting sports like SCA, Buhurts, and reenactment

Viking body armor

Well, when it comes to Vikings there is a lot of fog and intersection between real history and popular culture. When the main type of actual body protection was chainmail, there were a lot of ideas around the possibility of using different types of leather chest pieces, so leather Viking armor is widely spread in modern movies and LARP, especially depicting alternative Viking history

Eastern body armor

Eastern body armor is worth way more than a couple of words, but you can see in our shop several variations of the Ottoman Persian body chest plates, connected with flexible metal or leather joints

What body armor does ArmStreet make?

ArmStreet body armors primarily are made of steel and leather, making them easy to clean down after a hard combat. Designed to protect the core against blows, they cover most of a fighter’s torso. Middle ages body armor also include padding gambesons, which work by absorbing the intense energy created by being kicked. Combination of period design and modern technologies makes them essential for fighters.

Going into SCA heavy combat opt for plate cuirasses and brigandines which cover the whole torso, spine and tailbone. Consisting of multiple metal plates attached to the wool or leather base, brigandines are much stronger than chainmail and were widespread among both knights and common soldiers.

We have an endless choice of different styles in our shop, from reenactment pieces to fantasy armor gear, from SCA armor to LARP: take a note of heavy leather Viking armor, steel European breastplates, and Eastern lamellars that cover the kidney area and the floating ribs. Composed of a plurality of small scales, our lamellar armor kits provides great mobility and can be easily repaired during a break between contests. If you've already tried a plate armor, you’ll probably find them more comfortable. Dented plates can be replaced, so you might not have to replace the whole thing.

Our new generation of plate armor body protection includes hardened spring steel knight cuirasses for men and women, which can be used as a lightweight armored combat torso protection and are also very comfortable if you make it a part of your LARP armor kit

Experienced warriors know the value of good body armour, which can mean the difference between comfort and pain. Go edgy with medieval Gothic cuirass or utterly masculine with luxurious Eastern styles, but stay safe no matter what your prefer.