Byzantine Body Armor

Part 2 - Body Armor

This is the second in a series of posts about Byzantine infantry. See the previous post for garb suggestions.

The Byzantine army featured a vast array of different body armors, giving members of the Chimera Legion many options.

The most common option would be padded armor, known as a kavadion. This is similar to the western gambeson. The kavadion had long sleeves with openings to allow you to expose your arms. This helped soldiers keep cooler on the march.

One of the good things about the Way of the Sword rules is that padded armor gets an armor point. This makes it an excellent choice for Legion members who want some protection for low cost and low weight. Medieval Collectibles has an entire section of arming wear. We recommend their light sleeveless gambeson. It is the cheapest gambeson on the list and is sufficiently close to a kavadion. It lacks sleeves, but that does help with air circulation, critical in our Florida climate.

As in the west, chainmail was fairly ubiquitous in the Empire. It would typically reach to mid-thigh or so, with sleeves reaching near the elbow. The full chain hauberks of the Crusaders do not seem particularly common.

While commonplace in the Empire and relatively inexpensive, chainmail does not make for good armor in the Way of the Sword rules. Currently, it is rated as 1 point, the same as a kavadion. Thus, we recommend padded armor over chainmail because it is less expensive and lighter. If you want to get chain (which would be legal for Dagorhir), get riveted. It is more expensive but it is also more durable. Butted rings tend to pull apart and fall off.

Lamellar and scale armor are the primary options that count as heavy armor in Way of the Sword. Scale armor generally consists of small metal scales sewn to a leather backing. Lamellar features larger plates of metal laced together or riveted / laced to a leather backing.

Lamellar (left) and scale armor

Scale is pretty expensive and difficult to make so I won't spend much time discussing it. Lamellar body armor (called a klivanion) is also expensive, but is not difficult to make. Plastic Lamellar sells plastic lamellar plates (big surprise) along with paracord lacing. You can probably get the materials you need for under $100. You just need to lace it all together (they will also provide instructions). It's not difficult to do, just time consuming. You might be able to save money by making your own plates, either out of leather, metal, or plastic. This site shows you how to do it all from scratch.

Full plate cuirasses, typical of the "knights in shining armor" of western Europe, do not really appear in the documentation. It seems likely that some (mostly rich officers) would have worn full plate in the later days of the Empire. Nevertheless, it does not really seem appropriate for a rank-and-file foot soldier.

The Chimera Legion does not have set armor standards; we will evaluate every piece on a case-by-case basis. Our goal is to have reasonably appropriate armor for our culture, but we can be flexible (thanks to the Byzantines' diversity). Nevertheless, we recommend that you have an officer review any armor, preferably before you acquire it. We are also experimenting with construction techniques, so speak to us if you would like armor.

Sources:

• Sources cited in Part 1
• Byzantine lamellar and scale armour (Reddit)