Mail armour (commonly mislabelled 'chainmail') was used for more than two millennia on the battlefield. After its invention in the Iron Age, mail rapidly spread all over Europe and beyond. The Roman army, keen on new military technology, soon adopted mail armour and used it successfully for centuries. Its history did not stop there and mail played a vital role in warfare during the Middle Ages up to the Early Modern Period. Given its long history, one would think mail is a well-documented material, but that is not the case. For the first time, this books lays a solid foundation for the understanding of mail armour and its context through time. It applies a long-term multi-dimensional approach to extract a wealth of as yet untapped information from archaeological, iconographic and written sources. This is complemented with technical insights on the mail maker's chaîne opératoire.

The idea of late medieval arms and armour often conjures up images of lumbering warriors, clad in heavy plate armour, hacking away at with each other with enormous weapons - depictions perpetuated in both bad literature and bad movies. In this introductory guide, replete with fabulous photography and marvellous anecdotes, internationally-renowned edged weapons expert Robert Woosnam-Savage describes the brutal reality of personal protection and attack in the so-called 'age of chivalry'. From Bannockburn to Bosworth, Poitiers to Pavia, this book is an indispensable introduction to an iconic era.

“A very valuable piece of work, providing a splendid overview” of the weapons, armor, shields and chariots used in warfare from 3000 BC to 1200 BC (HistoryOfWar.org). This book is a fascinating discussion of the development of the military equipment of the earliest organized armies. Dan Howard describes the development of weapons, armor and chariots, how they were made and their tactical use in battle. Spanning from the introduction of massed infantry by the Sumerians (c. 26th century BC) through to the collapse of the chariot civilizations (c. 12th century BC), this is the period of the epic struggles described in the Old Testament and Homer’s Iliad, the clashes of mighty empires like those of the Babylonians, Egyptians and Hittites. In Bronze Age Military Equipment, Howard provides “an able and readable review that is supported in the text by drawings and sketches, but there is also an excellent full color photographic section that shows replica weapons and armor created in bronze” (Firetrench).

The History of Armour 1100 - 1700 offers a detailed account of how armour developed through the Medieval, Tudor, Elizabethan and Civil War eras, carefully itemizing the subtle changes over a six hundred year period. Each chapter focuses on an individual area of body protection, charting the evolution of each piece over time, from helmets and chest protection to arm guards, gauntlets, leg guards and sabatons. The book also encompasses the use of weaponry and its evolution, including protection for the horse.With the aid of the author's superb photographs and illustrations, the book looks at how fashions, as well as its protective qualities, influenced the style of armour. Valuable information has been acquired through the study of effigies over a number of years, and using these existing artifacts, supplemented by the author's meticulous illustrations and practical knowlege of armour construction, it has been possible to reconstruct the design and appearance of a wide range of armour. A meticulous study of the development of the knight's protective armour and weaponry over a six hundred year period. Through the study of effigies over a number of years, the author has been able to reconstruct the design of a wide range of armour. An invaluable resource for historians, re-enactors, collectors and all those with an interest in miltiary or medieval history. Superbly illustrated with 275 colour photographs and illustrations. Paul Walker gives lectures in armour and weapons for English Heritage and has a lifelong interest in historical warfare.

Fully illustrated, this study investigates the origins, evolution and use of the mail and scale armour worn by the soldiers and gladiators of Imperial Rome. Less glamorous than the Roman Army's instantly recognizable plate armour but much more versatile, mail and scale armour were used by both legionaries and auxiliaries throughout Rome's history. Developed by the Celts and quickly adopted by the Romans, mail armour was easy to make and required little maintenance. Scale was a much older form of armour, originating in the Near East during the second millennium BC. As with mail, it was used by both auxiliaries and legionaries, but like plate armour, it was much more fragile than mail. Both types of armour were also used by gladiators (principally as arm defences). New discoveries in both mail and scale, as well as in hybrid forms that mixed the two, mean that much more is now known about the development of these types of defence during the Roman period, their efficacy in battle and how they were manufactured and repaired. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and drawing upon the latest findings, this study lifts the veil on the mail and scale armour used by soldiers, gladiators and others during the heyday of Imperial Rome.

"With its selection of masterpieces of European arms and armour, this book provides both an overview of some of the treasures of the collection and a wonderful survey of European arms and armour. I hope it will whet the appetite of readers to want to move on to our new Complete Digital Catalogue of European Arms and Armour in the Wallace Collection, with its more than 7000 stunning photographs and full texts of all the previous catalogues."--"Director's foreword", p. 7.