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longbow and the crossbow meant that chain mail was no longer impenetrable and by early 15th century the full suit of armor appeared.

The weight of the full suit was 50 pounds and it was composed of 14 different parts: 4 parts covered the arm and the hand, 3 parts including the breastplate protected the body. The first pieces of armor to be put on were the parts for the feet, the sabatons, and then the rest of the leg coverings. The head was enclosed in a helmet with the visor, a detachable cover over eyes and face. In his full armor, the knight was heavy and unwieldy but fairly impregnable for the early part of the 15th century.

The fully armored medieval knight needed a special horse to carry him into battle and the Destrier came from France with William the Conqueror, in 1066. This warhorse was very large and immensely strong as it needed to be to bear the weight of the armored knight, and it too was armored for battle. The horse was highly trained to trample on bodies and to respond to an order to bite and kick. This was a fighting battle horse.

The mounted and armored medieval knight was a fearsome sight on the battlefield for some years. This changed with the introduction of gunpowder and firearms against which the knight in armor had no defense; he disappeared quite swiftly from the medieval scene as gunpowder made its profound impact on warfare.

Source: www.middle-ages.org.uk

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