Was leather really used as armour? Of course it was! Plenty of documentation from the 13th, 14th and 15th Centuries clearly define leather armour used (especially "Cuirbouille") in tournament combats. A rare find from circa 6th Century B.C. has been located and is on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC (see our "Cuirasses" page for a photo of this proof of early leather armour).

The arguement that there is no "evidence" or leather being used as armour is now an invalid point. Leather, due to its organic nature would never have survived to the present day, nor would have likely been recorded in wills. The early decoration of 13th Century cuirbouille leather armour account for the expense associated with it and was in fact not to be used by squires but by the king and his knights in tournaments fought "a la plaisance", which is the foundation of todays SCA.

The firearm has outdated such need for traditional garb, but in its wake have the dreams of fantasy survived, in modern day medieval faires and re-enactments, live action role play (LARP), and renaissance fairs. Many SCA and LARP veterans prefer leather armor rather than steel armor for ease of movement, conformance to body shape, and ease of maintenance (leather doesn't rust). In defense of the steel, however, there are those who prefer to have a strong piercing blow glance off the metal, and have their movements slowed rather than stopped. It's a personal choice. We now have the best of both worlds. Handcrafted leather armor and steel armor created by  descendants of true middle ages armorers !

Own a piece of the Legacy!