What are scale and lamellar armour
Lamellar and scale armour are body armour made of small plates of steel, brass, bronze, leather or bone. The plates are usually strung together in rows, mostly in horizontal lines. Lamellar armour was probably worn without a textile or leather underlay, while scale armour was often attached to textile or leather clothing or even to chainmail shirts. Both types of armour are possibly the oldest type of body armour. They are older than the chainmail shirt which was probably developed in the 3rd century BC.
The difference between scale and lamellar armour
Lamellar armour is usually made of larger plates than scale armour. Scale armour was attached to textile, leather or a chainmail underlay, while lamellar armour was worn entirely loose, often over the chainmail shirt. A major difference between both types of mail is the amount of archaeological evidence. While archaeological evidence of lamellar armour is quite scarce, there are many examples of scale armour. Possibly because the Romans used scale armour widely. Both the lorica squamata and the lorica plumata. With the latter, the scales were attached directly to the chainmail shirt.
Because both are so similar to each other, it's possible that both developed in parallel, but that lamellar armour was easier to recycle as steel for other items such as scale armour.
Advantages of lamellar and scale armour
Both armours offer better and stronger protection against stabbing and blunt attacks than chainmail shirts. It is also cheaper to produce, but it is not as flexible and does not offer the same degree of coverage. After the introduction of the coat of plates and brigandine lamellar and scale armour fell increasingly out of use in medieval Europe. However, in other parts of the world they remained popular.
History of lamellar and scale armour
It is unclear which culture developed scale and lamellar armour. This may have been in the region of the Middle East, Egypt or the Caspian steppe. The earliest depiction of scale armour comes from the tomb of Kenamon, who lived in Egypt during the reign of Amenhotep II (1436–1411 BC). The earliest archaeological evidence of lamellar armour comes from the Neo-Assyrian empire in the early Iron Age. They used lamellar armour in the 8th-7th century BC. On reliefs from Nineveh and Nimrud we see many Assyrian soldiers with lamellar cuirasses. These cuirasses covered their body from shoulder to waist and sometimes had short sleeves. It appears that this type of lamellar armour was different from later versions. In finds of Assyrian harnesses, there are examples of both scale armour and lamellar armour. Around 485 BC-425 BC, scale and lamellar armour were widely used in Middle Eastern empires, such as Persia. In these areas, the scales were often curved so they overlapped better. According to the account of Herodotus, the ancient Persians wore tunics with sleeves in different colours, on which iron scales in the form of fish skin were attached; this indicates that scale armour is meant, and not chainmail.
Scythian scale armour
The mounted warriors of the Scythians wore scale and possibly also lamellar armour. This is evident from both illustrations and grave finds in burial mounds. The armour was made of small plates of iron or bronze. A Scythian scale armour from the 8th-3rd century BC is one of the best preserved scale armours from classical antiquity and nowadays forms part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Because of the semi-rigid nature of the armour, the Scythian variant was made as breast and back plates, with separate shoulder pieces. Some finds suggest partial armour, where a leather shirt or similar garment has scales in some places, particularly around the neck and top of the chest.
Lamellar armour in Asia
Lamellar armour was used in many parts of the world, such as in Central Asia, East Asia (in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia and Tibet), West Asia and Eastern Europe.
Roman scale armour
Possibly lamellar and scale armour was introduced from the steppes into the Roman Empire. On the Trajan's Column Dacian mercenaries are depicted wearing scale armour. During Roman times, scale armour (lorica squamata) was a popular alternative to chainmail (lorica hamata) because it offered better protection against blunt trauma. They were widely worn by auxiliae, but also by other Roman soldiers and officers. On two Roman gravestones (80-72 BC) of the Sertorii in Verona (one of a centurion, the other of a standard bearer) both figures are depicted with a lorica squamata that covers the shoulders and reaches below the belt. The Carnuntum monument of Calidius (1st century AD) also shows a scaled lorica squamata of a centurion. Also in the collection of marble portrait busts from the large Gallo-Roman villa of Chiragan near Toulouse, both emperors Antoninus Pius and Severus appear with scale armour cuirasses. In addition, archaeological excavations in regions such as the Roman Limes in Germany have yielded various scales.
Lamellar armour in the Migration Period
In the Migration Period, lamellar armour was used in combination with chainmail shirts. In the necropolis of Castel Trosino, 6th-7th century lamellar armour was found that was worn by the Lombards (a Germanic tribe that migrated from Northern Europe to Italy). It is possible that around this time scale and lamellar armour were also worn by other Germanic peoples, but there is no evidence for this.
Byzantine lamellar and scale armour
Lamellar armour is often depicted on Byzantine warriors, especially among heavy cavalry, the Cataphract. According to recent studies by Timothy Dawson of the University of New England, Australia, Byzantine lamellar armour was much better than chainmail.
Viking lamellar armour
In Scandinavia, no archaeological evidence of scale armour has been found. However, two examples of lamellar armour are known. In the 19th century, probably pieces of lamellar armour were found in Snäckgärde on Gotland. However, these have not been preserved and are only mentioned in reports of the archaeological excavation of that time. In Birka 720 lamellae from the 10th century were found that protected different parts of the body such as the chest, back, upper arms and possibly even the knees. These lamellae were probably made in Gnezdovo and Novgorod. Some examples of 9th-11th century lamellae have been found that were worn by the Rus or Varangians: Swedish Vikings who settled in the region of Ukraine and Russia. Archaeological finds (270 pieces) show that in this region around the 11th-13th century lamellar armour was more widely worn. The lamellar armours of the Vikings were probably exclusively imported from the Byzantine empire, where lamellar armour was much more commonly used.
Lamellar and scale armour in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, especially the Rus, Mongols, Turks, Avars and other steppe peoples used lamellar and scale armour.
Metal scale armour was regularly used in Western Europe in the Middle Ages to reinforce other armour. Especially chainmail shirts, but helmets were sometimes also reinforced with scale armour. There is also evidence for scale armour that protected the feet. The use of these scale armour components is sometimes depicted in art from that period.
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