Secrets of the Shining Knight

Although the age of knightly armor only lasted approximately 200 years, the "polished perfection" of these magnificent suits continues to fire imaginations. Manufactured by secretive craftsmen, armor-making is a lost art, and no written guides remain. Filmmaker Peter Yost’s PBS-aired NOVA documentary looks at recent efforts to resurrect this forgotten practice—taking place even in such unlikely locales as a garage in Long Island, NY. The first medieval suits of armor were known as chain mail, comprised of a series of interlocking rings that were effective against sword thrusts, but fairly useless against the new, crude, and inaccurate handheld guns or miniature cannons imported from China. The documentary describes the time-consuming efforts to forge plate armor—with much of the raw material coming from Styria, a region of Austria—that eventually led to a form of mass production and apprenticeship. In this "medieval arms race," manufacturers would experiment with interchangeable parts and tapered breastplates, the latter meant to help deflect deadly blows to the abdomen. Armor, which was used not only in battle but also in competitive jousting tournaments, was engineered to follow the movements of the human body and although heavy it still allowed the wearer to get up after being knocked to the ground. There was always an element of style in the making of these suits (King Henry VIII was so fond of armor that he had a manufacturing studio built next to his residence). During the peak of popularity, craftsmen would decorate armor with gold and blue embellishments. Of course, the changing face of warfare ultimately doomed the suits of armor and made irrelevant the courtly knights who wore them. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)