Lamellar armour

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Lamellar armour cuirass
Lamellar armour cuirass
One example of how lamellar armour is laced together
One example of how lamellar armour is laced together
Japanese Samurai Odoshi Armour.
Japanese Samurai Odoshi Armour.

Lamellar armour is a kind of personal armour consisting of small plates (lames) which are laced together in parallel rows. Lamellar armour evolved from scale armour[citation needed], from which it differs by not needing a backing for the scales. It is made from pieces of lacquered leather, iron, steel or horn held together with silk, leather thongs, or cotton thread. When the lames are made of leather they would often be hardened by a process such as cuir bouilli or lacquering.

Lamellar was often worn as augmentation to existing armour, such as over a mail hauberk. The lamellar cuirass was especially popular with the Rus, as well as Mongols, Turks, Avars, and other steppe peoples as it was simple to create and maintain.

Lamellar is pictured in many historical sources on Byzantine warriors, especially heavy cavalry. It is thought that it was worn to create a more deflective surface to the rider's armour, thus allowing blades to skim over, rather than strike and pierce.

Sumerian and Ancient Egyptian bas-reliefs depicting soldiers have been argued as portraying the earliest examples of lamellar armour, particularly on chariot drivers, but it is not until the time of the Assyrians circa 900–600 BC that possible examples of lamellar begin to appear in the archaeological record. Among finds of Assyrian armour (often individual or unconnected scales) there are examples that can clearly be classified as scale armour[citation needed] as well as others that appear to be lamellar, and there exist a large number of finds whose function has proven difficult to determine. The extent to which either type was used is a debated topic. The earliest definite instance of true lamellar was found in China when twelve suits of lacquered lamellar were uncovered in a tomb at Sui-hsien, Hupei (dated to c.433BC). Lamellar was used by various cultures from this time up through the 16th century. It is generally associated with the Japanese Samurai, although the armour came to Japan from contact with Tang Dynasty China. It is also associated with the steppe people of southern Russia and Mongolia such as the Scythians and Sarmatians, and the Spartan Army.

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