basic armor

[Matt Lukes]

Well hardened leather was a very serviceable form of armor in the middle ages, so we shouldn't disparage leather armor too much. Also, this might be the first layer of a multi-layer protection with mail or plate underneath.

I don't mean to disparage leather as an armor- the absolute least that can be said of it is that it's definitely better than no armor at all, right? The issue I have is not with functionality- whether there COULD have been leather armor- but existence- if there actually WAS leather armor in use during the Imperial period. That statue certainly shows a garment that appears much like musculata armor, but I don't see it lending any concrete credence to the idea of leather armor in service. Certainly we know leather was widely used for garments, so we can say that it's definitely possible what the Emporer has beside him could be a martial garment- made to look like armor without having the weight, etc., but given the huge dispartiy in protective value, I really can't see anyone who could have proper metal armor using leather. As a substitute worn by non-combatants- 'part of the uniform' as you put it Travis, sounds plausible, but then again I'd classify that as a garment and not actual armor. I suppose one could argue that they would be made to offer at least some protection- but since that wouldn't be their primary function, I'd still go for the garment classification myself.

This is all academic with respect to the topic though- especially if one does SCA fighting! IIRC some people use leather over plastic or metal- or at least did once upon a time- but these are certainly inauthentic and unprovable, respectively. If you're actually going to have someone whacking on you with a rattan sword, you really can't go for proper authentic Roman armor anyway- the fittings are far too fragile. A Newstead cuirass might work, but I still expect that you'd have to sacrifice some authenticity in favor of functionality and servicability. And of course you do have to suffer the inauthenticity of a wire cage on your hlemet anyway, so slight adjustments to the armor aren't going to stand out (ha).

Matt