The Arms and Armour of The English Civil War

The Royal Armouries’ English Civil War collection boasts an array of infantry and cavalry arms and armour from the 1640s. Delve into this turbulent historical period with a look at some cavalry arms and armour.

Where to find us:

The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. On this channel, discover what goes on behind the scenes at the museum and to see our collection come to life. From combat demonstrations to jousting coverage to behind the scenes tours with our curators, we've got it covered.

Have a question about arms and armour? Feel free to leave us a comment and we'll do our best to answer it.

[MegaBabyJonathan]

The presenter is the epitome of "the right man for the job."

[peterdammeliusosterode]

As a Swedish museum curator I can only say - a brilliant show. Such museum educators are worth gold.

[TomsBookHaven]

Who is the guy who's speaking? He presents it really well and this 9 minute video feels way too short. :)

[Grymbaldknight]

This guy is basically a younger Lindybeige, and i love it.

Something to note, however, is that medieval plate armour did actually protect against firearms... just not to the same degree. Hand-held firearms of the late medieval era were less powerful than Civil War-era firearms, so medieval armour was moreorless able to withstand contemporary firearms - especially at long-range. It wasn't invincible, sure, but tests have been done which show that reproduction late-medieval plate armour can actually withstand some types of modern firearm (such as certain kinds of handgun).

After the medieval period, armour simply adapted to keep up with the development of firearms. There wasn't a sudden rush to replace "obsolete" 15th century plate. As firearms became more fearsome, plate armour became gradually thicker to resist them. This is also why Civil War-era plate didn't cover the entire body; the armour weighed more, and there's only so much weight a person can wear and still be combat-effective. Omitting lower leg armour was a weight-saving measure, as protecting the shins was not considered a priority.
Incidentally, this is why riding boots came to exist. After plate armour for the lower legs was phased out during this period, cavalrymen took to wearing taller leather boots, as leather provides some level of protection for the shins without piling on the pounds.

The main reason why medieval-style plate armour fell out of use was mentioned in this video; people could not afford the expense. Plate armour was the height of medieval military technology (and so was extremely effective), but with the end of the Feudal System and the increasing reliance on lowly professional soldiers, the concept of the "noble knight" simply became antiquated. Because most professional soldiers could not afford a suit of plate armour (which cost the same as an expensive house), tactics changed to focus on larger formations of more uniform, disciplined troops. This lead to the era of "pike and shot", where infantry soldiers wielded polearms and firearms in large, dense units - both of which could cause knights a lot of grief.

Compared with these more streamlined and efficient types of military unit, employing small groups of hyper-elite, melee-oriented cavalry (who only fought when they could be persuaded to) became prohibitively expensive, not to mention tactically impotent. The states of Europe focused instead on building professional armies in the style we know today.

Sorry, i just get really into this. ;-;

[colehawkins]

I find it hilarious that people were willing to risk their lives just to look fly

[lilturkey]

1:21
My man just had that shit stowed away on the ready.

[chappy]

This guy needs to make his own Youtube channel. He could make a good bit of coin with his superb presentation skills and enthusiasm.

[wayneparker]

Love the humor while imparting historical background facts that are really worth knowing when one reads accounts of the military actions in the English Civil Wars. GREAT job!!!

[weaponsandstuff]

Making education fun like this means people learn more, great video.

[YearOfTheDog]

outstanding presentation, I could listen to this guy all day! Natural talent, I wouldn't be surprised if he had stage experience.

[Gerilac]

Thank you for these little snippets of the vast collection! It is wonderful to see such priceless historical arms and armour, and to learn about their history.

[miguelencanarias]

Educational and entertaining, this guy is a star. Fantastic delivery.

[blueband]

Been to Leeds Armoury twice this year, looking forward to a 2018 visit. Fantastic place.

[selflessone]

What a superb presentation, this young chap you can tell loves his job and the energy he gives off is incredible. Well done 👏🏻

[ant]

Not too bad for 10 minutes. The enemy general was actually a colonel of the Parlementarian army, Sir Arthur Haselrigge. He led a regiment of cuirassiers known as Haselrigge's Lobsters. The battle where he was shot by Atkins (and others) was Roundway Down, 13th of July, 1643. The flintlock was better known as a firelock at this early stage of it's development. In the 1640's it would have been the very latest thing & quite expensive.

[KingdomEnfilade]

I thought I was an ECW nerd but even I learned some new things, excellent video, thank you!

[Eddy-b]

This is clearly a man who loves his job. Wish all teachers were like this

[Stay_Hated]

Im reading a book series about an immortal knight on a quest of vengeance that started in the crusades and he is currently fighting in the English civil war. I came here to get a visual of things and I am not disappointed. Outstanding work sir.

[thearmchairadmiral]

i love how he refured to the musket ball as a Malteser to help most people imagine the size of a round.

[kylemackenzie]

As a tour guide myself i can say that this guy is very good, enthusiasm and engagement is the key always