"Treadmill shows medieval armour influenced battles" Topic

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This is totally backward to what we find fighting every week in armor, wearing the armor is a lot easier then having it in its backpack.
I can fight for hours wearing the armor, but can only walk about 100 to 200 yards with it in in a backpack.

The article is interesting, but I think common sense beat these "scientists" to the outcome long ago.

Doh!

Off topic a bit, but a guy is trudging across Australia in Star Wars Stormtrooper armor.

His only complaint is it is hot.

Looks a bit silly, pushing a cart before him, but at least it shows it can be done. Granted, the plastic is probably a bit lighter than the metal armor, but the heat issue is somewhat similar.

Check this out:

link

Ive made lots of garbage piles using this meathod. It works great.

Chuck

It's the old TMP bug!

What I said was:

So wearing heavy armour is more tiring than not wearing heavy armour? What a surprise!

I am not convinced that re-enactors who "regularly" perform mock fights are a good representation of knights who do it for a living.

It's like saying that because re-enactors find walking a treadmill carrying a modern infantryman's load exhausting means our infantrymen are likewise easily exhausted.

Added: I think the final sentence says it all:"But no-one wears stuff on the battlefield if it isn't useful."

in the famous battle between harold troops and a viking army, previous to hastings, the vikings removed their armous due to fatigue after a march.
I have been always curious about if there should be any movement rate diference between "light" close order troops and "heavy" close order troops, as stated in so many rulesets.
I cant understand that in a charge, or due to fatigue in the long term in long marches, there should be a diference.
But once they are in the battlefield, regarding tactical moves, i am not sure about diferent march rates due to wearing armor. As long as we are talking about close order troops, they are just walking.

Plate armour is supposedly better than chain hauberk since the weight is distributed onto more parts of the body as opposed to all on the shoulders.

I watched this episode of a popular science documentary programme (two British guys doing whacky stuff, can't recall the title) where in one episode one of them wore a suit of reproduction plate armour and ran an obstacle course and did tumbles and all.

I think one also has to bear in mind that the men who wore this army to battle had been doing so for many years and therefore would be more adapted to it, much like English longbow archers had overdeveloped shoulders and arms due to constant training with the bow.

People get tired from long marches w/o armour. Removing armour to rest is reasonable as it would increase comfort level.

re. movement rates – it is the same for cavalry. They don't gallop all over the place. They gallop in short bursts.

Once again TMP experts know more than scientific researchers! Bravo!

I could feel the surpressed sarcasm rising off the page (screen) from the Royal Armouries guy's quotes.

" it confirms what we have always suspected – heavy armour would very much reduce your ability to run around"

YouTube link

But in D&D removing armor to rest is NEVER a good idea. A good character player who wants to live SLEEPS in his armor!

Love this caption: "Researchers always suspected the armour would have been tough to wear"

How about this caption: "Researchers always suspected that plate armor made a lot of noise". Thanks for the link, SgtPerry.

sundance, good point, and very true!

"Once again TMP experts know more than scientific researchers! Bravo"!

Well of course we do, since we live and breath the stuff, while they only dabble in it…..

It doesn't tell us anything that we didn't already know, but it does add data to it. The Royal Armouries interpretors are not re-enactors but fought, rode and jousted in Armour on a daily basis, my father, then Creative Director at the Armouries can be seen at the beginning of the clip helping Richard get his sallet on.
@Ouzel remember that our bodies adapt to the demands put on them and the exposure to those demands, so the fact that it was less fatiguing for you to fight in the armour for hours than it was to carry it a couple of hundred yards in armour, is down to that fact, you spent hours getting used to wearing the armour and only a couple of hundred yards getting used to carrying it.

Of course wearing packs in any kind of combat is not effective, and why troops given the option will ditch them as soon as possible.
We should also bear in mind that leg and arm armour is generally the last to be adopted and the first to be got rid of in the development of armours historically.

Plate armour is supposedly better than chain hauberk since the weight is distributed onto more parts of the body as opposed to all on the shoulders.

A part of the weight of a chain hauberk is supported by the belt, and it helps.

you spent hours getting used to wearing the armour and only a couple of hundred yards getting used to carrying it.

This is why it is called the Hundred Yards War.

Ah of course now it all makes sense, the French were constantly getting tired after 100 yards, were so fatigued that the English would just round them up like scooping fish out of a barrel…

…a few thousand arrows being shot in their direction may have helped. Plus any flux that was effecting the army, mud, hunger, poor command and control, confusion.

Il Condottiere, I dont see anyone professing to be an expert? If we decide that TMP is only for experts to have an opinion or viewpoint than it would be a much different place and not necessarily for the better.

At the end of the day we are not commenting on the research but on the news story, which is trucated and possibly even subjectively wry on it's own.

Cheers
Mark

"I watched this episode of a popular science documentary programme (two British guys doing whacky stuff, can't recall the title) where in one episode one of them wore a suit of reproduction plate armour and ran an obstacle course and did tumbles and all."

It was called "Warrior's School" or similar, I watched it too. The guy doing cartwheels was an reenactor. It still showed that you had to be used to wearing armour to be comfortable with it – the participant of the show (not an reenactor) could'nt keep his balance when pushed while wearing the full plate for the first time.

Quite an eye-opener for me, it was.

SgtPerry – great link, thx a lot.

Il Condottiere, I dont see anyone professing to be an expert? If we decide that TMP is only for experts to have an opinion or viewpoint than it would be a much different place and not necessarily for the better.

I was joking, thus the