This work highlights the complex and multifaceted process of the origin of plate armor in Europe and the formation of the main schools of production of protective equipment. The book describes specific examples of armor from the 14th century that have survived to this day, and provides numerous supporting sources. The hidden mechanisms that influenced the development of military affairs, as well as cultural and economic processes that gave rise to specific forms of the phenomenon of “knightly” armor are considered. The peculiarity of this work is the presence of photographic tablets with scientifically based reconstructions of armor of the period under study, which are correlated with classification schemes and technological drawings in the appendices.

The book is of undoubted interest for teachers and students of civilian and military higher and secondary educational institutions , as well as for a wide range of readers interested in the history of military affairs and weapons.