ArmHrs / 'Heavy Knights'

[stuuk]

I note in ADLG that heavy knights become available from 1330 whereupon they explode across the lists in popularity.

In MeG the equivalent ArmHrs/Fully Armoured seems to be later and less ubiquitous.
Is this an intentional choice with the way the lists have been constructed?

[lionheartrjc]

Yes.  I don't know the liogic for selecting 1330.    The logic in the MeG lists is the rise of steel plate armour, so it appears in Italy and Germany first and then spreads to other lists.

As far as I can tell, armour and the penetrating power of crossbows/longbows improves in incremental steps throughout the medieval period and it is very artificial to pick a particular point in time. Lists really require a point in time to be chosen.

Richard

[nikgaukroger]

Allowing for the fact that such dates in lists are a bit arbitrary,  1330 does feel a bit odd - presumably makes sense with whatever the ADLG definition of Heavy Knights is though (or one would hope).

[stuuk]

it would be close enough to armoured horse.

Can I ask why it would be steel plate? Wasn't most horse barding chainmail?

[nikgaukroger]

Can I ask why it would be steel plate? Wasn't most horse barding chainmail?

Because it appears that it is the appearance of quality steel plate armour for horses in significant quantity that made the difference.

This needed the ability to manufacture large pieces of good quality steel reliably which only really started in north Italy in about the 2nd quarter of the C15th, with Germany catching up towards the end of the century.

Mail horse armour did exist but never in large quantities, and mail is a lot heavier than plate.

[nikgaukroger]

So basically 1330 for an equivalent of ArmHrs/FArm is not, IMO, a very sensible list decision 

[mad lemmey]

A Knight's Tale anyone?