Abreastplate orchestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status.
In medieval weaponry, the breastplate is the front portion ofplate armour covering the torso. It has been a military mainstay since ancient times and was usually made of leather, bronze or iron in antiquity. By around 1000 AD, solid plates had fallen out of use in Europe and knights of the period were wearingmail in the form of ahauberk over a padded tunic.[1] Plates protecting the torso reappeared in the 1220s as plates directly attached to a knightly garment known as thesurcoat.[2][1] Around 1250 this developed into thecoat of plates which continued to be in use for about a century.[3][1] True breastplates reappear in Europe in 1340 first composed of wrought iron and later of steel. These early breastplates were made of several plates and only covered the upper torso with the lower torso not being protected by plate until the development of thefauld around 1370.[4][2][5] They were between 1–2.5 mm (0.039–0.098 in) in thickness.[5] In order to prevent the wearer from being cut by their own armour, the design featured outward turned edges that also increased stiffness.[5] In some cases, further strength was added by a ridge running down through the centre of the plate.[5] The first evidence for one-piece breastplates is from analtarpiece in thePistoiacathedral dated to 1365.[4] Complete, lightweight, one or two-piece breastplates were readily used by the first decade of the15th century.[4][6] The French termpancier, which became Englishpauncher and Germanpanzer, was also used.
Sometime between 1600 and 1650 a form of breastplate was developed that consisted of two plates in close contact.[7] This was meant to improve protection against bullets and has been described as duplex armour.[7]
Especially thick breastplates were developed for sappers in siege warfare.[8]
Bullet-proof vests are the modern descendant of the breastplate.
BothZeus andAthena are sometimes depicted as wearing a goatskin shield or breastplate called anAegis. At the center of Athena’s shield was the head ofMedusa.
The 14th centuryMajapahit Empire manufactured breastplate, calledkarambalangan. The most notable people using this type of breastplate isGajah Mada, which is reported bySundanesepatih as wearing golden embossedkarambalangan, armed with gold-layered spear, and with a shield full of diamond decoration.[9][10] InKidung Sunda canto 2 stanza 85 it is explained that themantris (ministers or officers) of Gajah Mada wore armor in the form of chain mail or breastplate with gold decoration and dressed in yellow attire.[11]: 103
According to the biblicalBook of Exodus, a "breastplate" or "breastpiece" was among the clothes of theJewish High Priest. It was a folded-over cloth garment embedded with 12 different gemstones, each inscribed with the name of a tribe ofIsrael.[12]
In both theHebrew Bible and theNew Testament, the word 'breastplate' is used figuratively to describe protecting oneself from unrighteousness.[13]
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The hair-pipe breastplates of 19th-centuryInterior Plains people were made from the West Indianconch, brought to New York docks as ballast and then traded to Native Americans of the upperMissouri River. The materials used to create the indigenous breastplates included animal bones, beads, leather, and hide thong.[14] Due to the materials used in making a breastplate, they were not very durable, therefore the breastplate was often connected to ceremonies and social dances.[15] Their popularity spread rapidly after their invention by theComanche in 1854.[16] Indigenous breastplates made appearances inWild West Shows throughout the 1880's when indigenous peoples would appear in them, includingBuffalo Bills in 1883.[15] After theIndian Removal Act was passed by theUnited States Congress in 1830, and many peoples were removed from their land and placed onindian reservations,Plains Indians exchanged breastplates (and other hair pipe native creations) as gifts to the relocated peoples due to increasing friendly relations during the reservation period.[15] during an economic depression amongPlains Indians after thebuffalo were almost exterminated, the breastplate became a symbol of wealth.[16] It was worn by prominent Indigenous figures such asRunning Bird (anKiowa leader), during theBattle of Little Big Horn in 1909.[15]
Media related toBreastplates at Wikimedia Commons| Head |  | |
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