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. 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. 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.

Especially thick breastplates were developed for sappers in siege warfare.

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.

Asian

The 14th century Majapahit Empire manufactured breastplate, called karambalangan. The most notable people using this type of breastplate is Gajah Mada, which is reported by Sundanese patih as wearing golden embossed karambalangan, armed with gold-layered spear, and with a shield full of diamond decoration. In Kidung Sunda canto 2 stanza 85 it is explained that the mantris (ministers or officers) of Gajah Mada wore armor in the form of chain mail or breastplate with gold decoration and dressed in yellow attire.

Bible

Main article: Priestly breastplate

According to the biblical Book of Exodus, a "breastplate" or "breastpiece" was among the clothes of the Jewish High Priest. It was a folded-over cloth garment embedded with 12 different gemstones, each inscribed with the name of a tribe of Israel.

In both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, the word 'breastplate' is used figuratively to describe protecting oneself from unrighteousness.

North American

The hair-pipe breastplates of 19th-century Interior Plains people were made from the West Indian conch, brought to New York docks as ballast and then traded to Native Americans of the upper Missouri River. The materials used to create the indigenous breastplates included animal bones, beads, leather, and hide thong. Due to the materials used in making a breastplate, they were not very durable, therefore the breastplate was often connected to ceremonies and social dances. Their popularity spread rapidly after their invention by the Comanche in 1854. Indigenous breastplates made appearances in Wild West Shows throughout the 1880's when indigenous peoples would appear in them, including Buffalo Bills in 1883. After the Indian Removal Act was passed by the United States Congress in 1830, and many peoples were removed from their land and placed on indian reservations, Plains Indians exchanged breastplates (and other hair pipe native creations) as gifts to the relocated peoples due to increasing friendly relations during the reservation period. during an economic depression among Plains Indians after the buffalo were almost exterminated, the breastplate became a symbol of wealth. It was worn by prominent Indigenous figures such as Running Bird (an Kiowa leader), during the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1909.

Citations

References

References

1. Walker, Paul F. (2013). "The history of armour 1100–1700". Crowood press.
2. Walker, Paul F. (2013). "The history of armour 1100–1700". Crowood press.
3. Walker, Paul F. (2013). "The history of armour 1100–1700". Crowood press.
4. de Reuck, Anthony. (2005). "Duplex armour: an unrecognised mode of construction". Arms & Armour.
5. "Siege breast-plate, 1675 (c)". National Army museum.
6. Berg, ''Kindung Sundāyana (Kidung Sunda C)'', Soerakarta, Drukkerij “De Bliksem”, 1928.
7. Nugroho, Irawan Djoko. (6 August 2018). "The Golden Armor of Gajah Mada".
8. Berg, C. C., 1927, Kidung Sunda. Inleiding, tekst, vertaling en aanteekeningen, ''BKI'' LXXXIII : 1-161.
9. {{Bibleverse. Exodus. 28:15-30. HE
10. cf. {{bibleverse. Isaiah. 59:17. HE, {{bibleverse. Ephesians. 6:14. KJV, etc.
11. "Breastplate {{!}} National Museum of the American Indian".
12. Bellanger, Greg. (2014-03-26). "THE INTRODUCTION OF THE BONE HAIR PIPE".
13. David E. Jones. (2004). "Native North American Armor, Shields, and Fortifications". University of Texas.