Plate armour

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/plate-armour

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the material composition?Typically forged from high-carbon steel, with varying degrees of tempering and hardening
2. What is the developmental period?Full plate armour evolved significantly from the 14th to the 16th centuries
3. Why did knights start using plate armour instead of mail?Mail was good for cuts but could be pierced by new weapons like crossbows and early guns, so knights added metal plates to protect their chest and shoulders, and later the whole body.
4. How does plate armour protect knights from weapons?The plates are shaped with curves and ridges so a blow hits the side and slides off, and the armor has joints that let the knight move while still staying protected.

Cuirass: The part of a suit of armour that covers the torso, consisting of a breastplate and backplate.
Fluting: Parallel grooves or ridges pressed into metal surfaces, adding strength and deflecting blows.
Arquebus: An early type of portable firearm, common in the 16th century.
Vambrace and Rerebrace: Arm armour; vambraces protected the forearm, and rerebraces protected the upper arm.