The thesis describes the evolution of plate armor in Western Europe. The focus of the thesis is on the development of knightly armor, the armor of the heavy mounted horseman in the Middle Ages, from the decline of the Western Roman Empire to the eventual decline of the use of armor due to the adoption of firearms. It describes the reasons for the evolution of plate armor, the social and technological conditions for the development of such armor and its mass adoption and production, and its gradual evolution, based on manuscripts and artistic sources. Some attention will of course be paid to the armor of the footman, and the eras before and after the Middle Ages.
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