Early Plate Armour

Timeline

1. c. 1300–1360Western Europe · Western EuropeIn the early 14th century, craftsmen began adding separate iron plates over mail, first on the chest (coat of plates) and shins, forming partially covering transitional armour. Demand for greater protection among knights during the Hundred Years' War (from 1337) accelerated this evolution, and the power of arrows, especially the English longbow, drove plate coverage to expand continually.
2. c. 1380–1430Duchy of Milan and Nuremberg · Holy Roman EmpireFrom the late 14th to early 15th century, armourers in Milan in northern Italy (the Missaglia, Negroli families, etc.) and German craftsmen in Nuremberg each developed competing full-plate styles — Milanese (rounded, spherical surfaces deflecting blows) and Gothic (fine ridges, slender proportions) — marking the maturation of transitional plate armour.
3. 1451–1460Holy Roman Empire and Duchy of Milan · ItalyBetween 1451 and 1460, Europe's finest plate armourers reached their peak; Gothic and Milanese full plate became nearly universal among Europe's noble knights, weighing about 20–25 kg yet maintaining good mobility through precise joints. After the end of the Hundred Years' War and the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the evolution of European knightly culture and the spread of early firearms began to challenge heavy-armour tactics, and plate evolved toward lighter forms.