#HTE

15th-Century Suits of Armor are Way More Ergonomic Than You’d Think

Yesterday we looked at Lady Liberty with a sword, and today we look at a sword-wielding woman currently of greater global interest: Brienne of Tarth. As Game of Thrones starts this Sunday, it won’t be long before we’re seeing armor-suited folks like her putting some wear and tear on their weapons. Which makes one wonder: How much range of motion does Brienne and her foils really have in that get-up, with the metal plates and the greaves and all?

The answer is “Quite a lot,” assuming her suit was designed along the same principles as the armor of 15th-Century Europe.* Below we see a very surprising video put together by France’s Le Musée National du Moyen-Âge de Cluny (“The National Museum of the Middle Ages Cluny”), whereby they drop two chaps into 15th-Century armor designs, then make them do everything from jumping jacks to jumping each other:

*The Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire series is loosely based on the real-life Wars of the Roses, which took place in 15th-Century England. That conflict had the real-life Lancasters and Yorks vying for the throne, which inspired author George R.R. Martin’s Lannisters and Starks. 

Spoilers: IRL the Lancasters won (though admittedly the conflict is thought to have been dragon-free).