segmentata

[markusaurelius]

I'm not sure if Gaius Marcus is referring to the show on the History Channel recently, however I did watch that show where they were discussing the introduction of Plate Armor in the Medieval Period. They showed the comparison of chain mail and the new Knights Plate Armor. The plate armor was far superior to the chain mail in stopping square head armor piecing arrows for instance.

The tests were performed in the field, and then under a hydraulic weight/press system where the arrow head would be drawn up a device and then dropped at a certain level to simulate different ranges and/or weapons (such as the long bow, crossbow etc.)

Mail was still partially protected the user, however quite often the point would enter a good couple Centimeters beyond the mail. Enough to cause some discomfort or injury to a soldier, especially if it was in a more vulnerable area.

The plate armor usually barely noticed the arrow, and quite often either split the shaft completely or flattened the end before any damage was done to the armor.

I can't speak to the effectiveness of medieval plate armor compared to Roman plate armor such as Segmentata, however I wouldn't expect the results to be that far off in my opinion.

my 2 cents