Is It REALLY Impossible To Put On Plate Armour On Your Own?

We often say that it's impossible to put on plate armour without the help of a squire or page but is it really mechanically impossible to do? Let's see!

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An armour (spelled armor in the US) is a protective covering that is used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual, or vehicle by weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action.
The word "armour" began to appear in the Middle Ages as a derivative of Old French. It is dated from 1297 as a "mail, defensive covering worn in combat". The word originates from the Old French armure, itself derived from the Latin armatura meaning "arms and/or equipment", with the root armare meaning "arms or gear".
Armour has been used throughout recorded history. It has been made from a variety of materials, beginning with rudimentary leather protection and evolving through mail and metal plate into today's modern composites.
Significant factors in the development of armour include the economic and technological necessities of its production. For instance, plate armour first appeared in Medieval Europe when water-powered trip hammers made the formation of plates faster and cheaper.
Well-known armour types in European history include the lorica hamata, lorica squamata, and the lorica segmentata of the Roman legions, the mail hauberk of the early medieval age, and the full steel plate harness worn by later medieval and renaissance knights, and breast and back plates worn by heavy cavalry in several European countries until the first year of World War I (1914–15). The samurai warriors of feudal Japan utilised many types of armour for hundreds of years up to the 19th century.

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[ModernKnight]

Impressive flexibility. I really can't put on mine without help, and certainly can't take it off myself either. Your pauldrons attached through the straps like that look like they work very well.

[polishFantasyEN]

I'm quite certain that the one who figured this method out originally was an introvert who didn't want to ask anyone for help.

[TraditionalAnglican]

I imagine knights & men-at-arms would’ve practiced doing this, because although situations where people would need to do this would be rare, they would happen.

[spiffyracc]

Pretty sure you can swap one set of plate armor for another in between sword swings. I learned this from several RPGs.

[youvebeengreeked]

*A Roman soldier juggling pizza might just be the intro every video on YouTube needs.* 🍕

[erneizhyde]

History aside, the realism of the fantasy lone knight/adventurer in full plate armor just went up.

[itsapittie]

Knights were professional soldiers. I'd be amazed if they didn't envision a scenario in which they had no retainers immediately available and having envisioned it, I'd be very surprised if they didn't practice it. Modern soldiers practice for all sorts of "what if" scenarios which are unlikely and our ancestors were no less intelligent or serious about their craft.

[madbrosheo]

*Puts armor on by himself*
“He’s too dangerous to be left alive!”

[BrazenBard]

Funny thing, this pretty much happened in the first published Conan story, The Phoenix on the Sword; Conan, king of Aquilonia, had a vision in a dream, and got up to put on his armor. Four assassins entered his bedroom, expecting a soft target, and finding an angry barbarian in almost completely donned plate armor. Predictable consequences follow. Well, up to the point of the demon ape's arrival, that is. ;)

[nullifier_]

Metatron, i know this may be really off topic, but could you some day talk about battle injuries, how soldiers was scarred during battle and the physical and mental trauma after them? I feel this is a really unexplored topic that could get some coverage.

[tonberrytoby]

I wonder if there were man-at-arms doing this to show off or to win bets with each other.

[svagglaorde]

Finally some proof of Shaggy hiding in plate armor by putting it on himself quickly without help when a monster from Scooby Doo is chasing him in a haunted castle.

[jakobknudsen]

You could also have a situation where your squire has other things he needs to do, so you put on whatever armour you can while he is otherwise occupied and then when he returns helps with the last pieces and final adjustments.

[erobwen]

Putting on plate armor without help is impossible.

Metatron: Hold my pasta

[SwitchFeathers]

Thank you so much for this video! I've always taken issue with the idea that plate armour is "impossible to put on by yourself" - I've asked a few other historical YTers about this hypothetical scenareo where a knight or man-at-arms needs to armour themselves without help, and I was always told that such a situation just "wouldn't happen", and that such a fighter would "always have a page or squire to help them." So seeing somebody actually use a set of historically accurate plate armour and arm themself almost entirely in it (possibly entirely depending on the style) is fantastic! Excellent video.

[BarokaiRein]

I would assume that this was more commonly done by very successful mercenaries rather than nobles. This is just an assumption but I can think of many, many scenarios where a mercenary captain would have to spring up at moments notice and quickly put his armor on while those who would usually help him would be too busy putting their own gear on or already fighting an ambush.

[jooot_]

Next time he's gonna get on a horse without a crane winch guys!!!

[talosvalcoran]

Something i just realized watching this (as always amazing) video: thanks to you and the other guys of the community of the sword i went from thinking that Braveheart depicts the whole middle ages accurately to knowing that there is so much that i don't know in nearly no time. You (and others) provide us with knowledge we otherwise maybe wouldn't even be aware of its existance and present it in such an entertaining way that we learn effortlessly from it. And whenever you come up with something completely new to me that i find particularly interesting, your videos motivate me to investigate further. Thank you so much for your work.

[richarddelotto]

Ohyoudambetcha they did it alone... I suspect this was a standing "Bar-bet"... "I can not only get harnessed faster than you I can do it ALONE faster than you can with help..."

[rileyernst]

Well I remember watching a lecture by Dr Tobias Capwell and he managed to get into his gothic harness by himself.