armor and what not

I searched the threads and couldnt find anything quite like this so i thought i'd post it, sorry if its a repeat...

i'm writing a battle scene in one of my stories and i'm not quite sure what kind of armor they would wear or how to describe it. the time period is roughly medieval, but the story is fantasy so i don't have an exact date. Basically we're talking knights and plate armor though. Also if you have any ideas on kinds of weapons used at this time that would be a great help, even if you can only refer me to websites, i appreciate the insight.

thanks,
Birdi

 

There are lots of things to consider when describing armor -- how do you use proper terminology without having the reader draw a blank, how do you get the description across concisely without spending paragraphs doing so. Christopher Paolini does amazing jobs with fight scenes (the author of the Eragon books; I'm reading Brisingr right now and it is great for fantasy). Personally, I have not attempted much fantasy, but I use a diagram for terminology references, and the best way to get the definitions of pieces of armor (in context) is just be consistent with the reader and don't let them forget what's worn wear.

For a reliable diagram on medieval armor, this works really well. It looks complicated but don't be deterred; description of armor does not require a section on each part. (I used a hyperlink since I tried the image and it is huge...) Good luck.

EDIT:

if it's weapons you're looking for as well, this seems to have a well-encompassed view of medieval weaponry. If you keep your story roughly in the European-type-Medieval setting, this is just for you, I should think

 

google is your best friend!

 

thanks for the help. im also looking into feudal japan for different types of armor. ill work on my google skills

 

Try not to go too complex. The average person isn't very knowledgable about medieval armor (for obvious reasons) and you don't want your reader enjoying a good action scene and then going "what is that?" when you describe a piece of very ornate armor. I'm not saying dumb it all down, but just keep your audience in mind.

I once wrote "falchion" in for a sword in a story and a friend once asked me "why is the guy wielding a bird as a weapon?" -_-

 

If it's fantasy, you can do some research on how armor and the likes are made, their purpose and function, etc., and then write your own types of armor and such.

 

This seems to make this whole sub forum rather obsolete.

 

not really, unit... people who want to be writers must learn to do their own research, instead of asking others to do it for them... especially when it's so easy to get answers to most questions that are asked here, with a split-second google...

after googling for info, if folks still need help with some things they can't find there, or for personal experience with this or that, then it's time to ask here...

 

I'd just like to add something:

The location is a big factor as well. For example, an Iron Sword in Viking culture was very expensive and rare because they didn't have a lot of iron available to them or the proper techniques to mass-produce such things.

My advice is to try to relate your fantasy setting to a pre-existing setting and adjust your technology accordingly. This will prevent people from questioning "hey wait, how does he have THAT?" and will also lighten your workload for making everything make sense because you'll have an example to work from.

 

I can't answer this question without knowing the location. The armour of knights in Europe wasn't that different from one region to another, but there are a few exceptions.

 

it also changed with time, so pinning down the century, at least is necessary...

 

thanks for all the replies everyone. Today, i actually ended up in the USM library with a stack of books and a few helpful classmates. We pinned down what i needed, ill keep all your suggestions in mind though.

Birdi