Chainmail Armor

Chainmail is a form of armor that has been in use for centuries as a form of protection for soldiers. It is still a favorite of re-enactment groups, stage and film studios, and has even found uses within the food processing industry and interior decoration (as chandeliers and window curtains).

Crusader shirtThe term Chain Mail has only been used since the 17th century. It is a combination of two words, the French word maille (meaning knitting) and the Latin word macula (meaning mesh). It is most commonly referred to as chainmail or maille, and at times chain maille or chain mail. Historically, we know that chainmail was used in many countries, from Britain and Europe to Japan and the Middle East.

Although here are many archaeologists who believe that chainmail was the invention of the Celts (since some of it have been found in the graves of the ancient Celts), but the first known record of chainmail armor is of a Persian soldier wearing it as a shirt in battle around 359 A.D. From historical accounts we know that the Romans adopted pieces of armor from the Celts, including chainmail. After the Celts defeated the Romans in 225 B.C, they demanded a huge ransom for leaving Roman occupied territories. Although not victorious, the Romans were very impressed by Celts and their armament, and adopted the oval shield, chainmail and helmets from the Celts.

Here are some chainmail early designs:

In ages past, the first form of defense for body protection was the shield of a soldier, but more was needed. Archaeologists have found that the first type of known maille had large metal rings sewn or tied onto leather or cloth as a shirt or coat. The use of maille was an easy and convenient solution. It protected the user while leaving his hands free - unlike the shield. Soldiers in chainmail armor now had increased protection making it harder for the enemy to inflict wounds.

Chain Maille (chainmail) was known to deflect swords and edged weapons very well, saving a soldier from death (primarily from infection). Of course, there was a lot of fractures and heavy bruising from crushing weapons like a war hammer, flail or mace. Over time, weaponry and armor evolved and incorporated changes as technology grew, and maille changed too.

Brass Chainmail CoifWeapon masters (blacksmiths) were constantly improving on maille. The first changes were in the types of metal used to make the rings. Materials include iron, carbon steel, bronze, brass, tempered steel and blackened steel. Brass and the softer metals were often penetrated and not very effective maille materials for armourment (as many soldiers and armorers found out the hard way).

Armors were also experimenting with different shapes and designs of maille to see if better and stronger solutions could be found. Small linked rings were better protection against arrows, while flattened rings were better against bladed weapons. Butted chainmail was not as strong as riveted maille because rings could potentially be separated by a thrusting sword tip (etc) allowing the wearer to be stabbed.

Early Chain Maille:

  • Hero Chainmail (2mm rings, butted) provided very good protection but was often heavier than chainmail made of larger rings. Present-day shark chainmail is very similar using the smallest rings, and it is very protective.
  • Butted Chainmail is most commonly found with 8mm rings and is most suitable for this manufacturing process. It can be found in a state of raw steel (will rust if not oiled), as well as in zinc coated or blackened to prevents rusting.
Hero Chainmail
Butted Chainmail

Chainmail armor was not cheap, fast or easy to make. Each ring had to be made separately with multiple rings then linked together through the first ring. This was a specific patterns with multiple variations. Some of these patterns would use a combination of double rows and single rows at varying intervals like a cable knit sweater of today. Patterns could go horizontally or vertically with many ring combinations such as the 4-in-1, 6-in-1, 8-in-1, the 8-in-2, 12-in-2, the dragonscale, birdcage, boxchain and the spiral. Each blacksmith seemed to want to make a special pattern, but today the 4-in-1 is most common.

Over time, each improvement in chainmail was followed by an improvement in weaponry, which forced more changes in chainmail design. It quickly became a vicious cycle - invent a weapon, modify the armor, change the weapon and so on and so on.

Early armors came up with smaller rings to provide better protection, but soon found that narrower blades, spearheads and arrowheads were developed which could push the rings apart. So it was back to the drawing board. Armors had to find a solution to this problem or it was their head! The answer they came up with was riveted rings.

  • Riveted Chainmail had each end of the ring flattened and holed before closing it with a rivet. This made the maille much stronger and harder for rings to open or separate due to a thrusting sword tip (etc).

Flat Riveted chainmailWeapon smiths were still trying to find ways to improve both armor and weapons used in battle. The next evolution in chainmail was to flattening the rings providing greater overall coverage while not increasing the weight of the armor. Flat riveted chainmail quickly became a great advantage over previous types of chainmail.

As chainmail became more widespread, the one-piece shirt gave way to multiple and differing pieces of maille (overlapping layers). Soon there were many pieces of maille armor, each designed to protect specific parts of the body. Chainmail armor quickly became highly prized. It was not uncommon after battles to find surviving soldiers stripping the chainmail armor from the dead and badly wounded and keeping it for themselves or for profit. As the centuries passed, maille became a greater asset for soldiers, peeking in popularity around 700A.D. The most common pieces of chainmail armor include:

  • Chainmail Shirt (Haubergen) is a mid-thigh length chainmail shirt with either long or mid-arm and protected upper body and arms
  • Hauberk is a long sleeve chainmail shirt that went to the knee (or even to the ankle)
  • Chainmail Coif (hood) covered the head, neck and shoulders
  • Chainmail Gauntlets (mitons) protected hands and wrist areas
  • Chausses (chainmail leggings) protected legs
  • Chainmail Pants Full pants protecting all sides of legs and pelvis
  • Bishops Collar (or collar) protected collar bone and shoulders
  • Pixane Mantle is a poncho like piece used to cover the upper chest, back and shoulders
  • Bymie (view image of Bymie in a new window) is the shortest of the shirts. It went to the waist and had mid-arm sleeves
  • Aventail (or camail) was a piece of chain mail which hung from the back of a helmet

During the Middle Ages, chainmail was the armor of choice for all who could afford it. It was expensive but well worth the cost. Most any type of chainmail easily protected the wearer from swords and knives because these weapons were not able to penetrate the chainmail armor. Axes were a problem but still not often a fatal one unless struck with the spike. Generally, axes blows were weighty and their energy was often disbursed or deflected if poorly swung. Of course axes could cause bones to be broken, horrible bruising and occasionally, if the blow was heavy enough, internal injuries.

During the Crusades, the crusader knights used a very heavy type of chain maille armor which slowed them in battle. The Moors and Persians were known to wear a lighter form of maille and even covered their horses in it. Because of the light weight, the Moors and Persians were more maneuverable and had greater mobility. The flaw with lighter chainmail is that if is also less able to withstand damage and provides less protection to the wearer.

Types of Medieval chainmail include:

Medieval Knight chainmail shirt and coif set
Norman chainmail set

Brigandine By the 1400's, with the invention of the crossbow and other weapons, maille was less effective. Spears and bolts (crossbow arrows) were often very effective at penetrating chainmail armor so it became common for a warrior to wear a brigandine over his maille. The brigandine was a type of heavy tabard with steel plates sewn inside. Although this solution was not perfect it was still cheaper and lighter than full plate armor and better protection than chainmail alone.

The wearing of a coif as the primary head protection started to fail about 1100A.D. when helmets became dominate. Eventually plate armor completely took over as the dominant type of armorment and chainmail armor became the poor man's armor. Some soldiers even considered plate armor to be more comfortable than chain maille because the weight of plate armor was spread more evenly over the body.

Chainmail is still in existence today. Most commonly found around industrial meat processor operators who wear chainmail gloves and aprons. Many other industries use chainmail as a protective guard against debris. One of the most unique applications for chainmail has been found within interior décor (where anything goes), as well as, in fashion jewelry and clothing items. But the most well known use is as part of a costume for historical re-enactment groups, theatrical and movie productions.

Today, the "International" pattern of chainmail is identified by a 4 links through a 5th pattern, which is common to all European mail. The outer link diameter of each link is about 7/16inch (10mm) and the inner link diameter is approximately 3/8inch.

Hero Chainmail Higher quality chainmail is either made from stronger steel (14-16 gauge) or made with smaller rings (3/16th inch, or about 2mm) which are stronger than larger 7/16th inch rings. This smaller ring chainmail is also known as Heros Chainmail or Shark Chainmail. Most maille today is made of high carbon spring steel (battle ready), mild steel, and aluminum for lighter weight costuming, Finishes for chainmail include blackened (blued), galvanized or zinc coated so it will not rust.

Overall, chainmail armor maintained its popularity until the early 1400s A.D. It was finally replaced in popularity by plate armor in the early 1400's ending almost 700 years of popularity.

Sources:

Medieval Weapons and Warfare by Paul Hilliam
Arms and Armor in Antiquity and the Middle Ages by Paul Lacombe
Wikipedia
Encyclopedia Brittanica
Encarta

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