A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is also a term for a piece of clothing used by
drag queens and
cross-dressing performers, which mimics a woman's cleavage or breasts.
European
In medieval weaponry, the breastplate is the front portion of
plate armour
Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, ...
covering the torso. It has been a military mainstay since ancient times and was usually made of leather, bronze or iron in antiquity. By around 1000 AD, solid plates had fallen out of use in Europe and knights of the period were wearing
mail
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
in the form of a
hauberk over a padded tunic.
Plates protecting the torso reappeared in the 1220s as plates directly attached to a knightly garment known as the
surcoat.
Around 1250 this developed into the
coat of plates which continued to be in use for about a century.
True breastplates reappear in Europe in 1340 first composed of wrought iron and later of steel. These early breastplates were made of several plates and only covered the upper torso with the lower torso not being protected by plate until the development of the
fauld around 1370.
They were between 1 mm and 2.5 mm thick.
In order to prevent the wearer from being cut by their own armour, the design featured outward turned edges that also increased stiffness.
In some cases, further strength was added by a ridge running down through the centre of the plate.
The first evidence for one-piece breastplates is from an
altarpiece
An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...
in the
Pistoia
Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a t ...
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
dated to 1365. Complete, lightweight, one or two-piece breastplates were readily used by the first decade of the 15th century.
The French term ''pancier'', which became English and German ''
panzer
This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German German Ar ...
'', was also used.
Bullet-proof vests are the modern descendant of the breastplate.
Classical mythology
Both
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...
and
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
are sometimes depicted as wearing a goatskin shield or breastplate called an
Aegis
The aegis ( ; grc, αἰγίς ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a d ...
. At the center of Athena’s shield was the head of
Medusa
In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...
.
Asian
A "breastplate" or "breastpiece" was among the clothes of the
Jewish High Priest. In the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...
, the word 'breastplate' is used figuratively to describe protecting oneself from unrighteousness (cf. , , etc.).
The 14th century
Majapahit Empire
Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesi ...
manufactured breastplate, called ''
karambalangan
Karambalangan is a type of personal armor from Java. It is a metal coating worn in front of the chest or breastplate.
History
Karambalangan was recorded in the ''Kidung'' ''Panji Wijayakrama-Rangga Lawe'' (written as early as 1334 AD), which me ...
''. The most notable people using this type of breastplate is
Gajah Mada, which is reported by
Sundanese patih
Vicegerent is the official administrative deputy of a ruler or head of state: ''vice'' (Latin for "in place of") and ''gerere'' (Latin for "to carry on, conduct").
In Oxford colleges, a vicegerent is often someone appointed by the Master of a ...
as wearing golden embossed ''karambalangan'', armed with gold-layered spear, and with a shield full of diamond decoration. In
Kidung Sunda
Kidung Sunda is a Middle-Javanese kidung of probable Balinese provenance. In this poem, the story of king Hayam Wuruk of Majapahit who was looking for a bride to be, is narrated. At last he chose the princess of Sunda, a kingdom in West Java. Th ...
canto 2 stanza 85 it is explained that the ''mantri''s (ministers or officers) of Gajah Mada wore armor in the form of chain mail or breastplate with gold decoration and dressed in yellow attire.
[Berg, C. C., 1927, Kidung Sunda. Inleiding, tekst, vertaling en aanteekeningen, ''BKI'' LXXXIII : 1-161.]
North American
The hair-pipe breastplates of 19th-century
Interior Plains people were made from the West Indian
conch
Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends).
In North Am ...
, brought to New York docks as ballast and then traded to Native Americans of the upper
Missouri River. Their popularity spread rapidly after their invention by the
Comanche in 1854. They were too fragile and expensive to be considered armour, and were instead a symbol of wealth during the economic depression among
Plains Indians
Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) o ...
after the
buffalo were almost exterminated.
Judaism
According to the biblical
Book of Exodus
The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through t ...
, a square
breastplate embedded with 12 different gemstones, each inscribed with the name of a tribe of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, was worn by the
High Priest
The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste.
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...
. One notable use of the breastplate was to discern God's will through the glint of the gemstones. Exodus 28:30
Drag breast plate
This is a
silicone or similar type of plastic vest or torso-plate that is placed over the male performers chest, to mimic a woman's breast or cleavage. They are usually in a colour that matches the performer's own skin or to match an associated costume.
See also
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Armour
Armour (British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specificall ...
*
Cuirass
A cuirass (; french: cuirasse, la, coriaceus) is a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material. The word probably originates from the original material, leather, from the French '' cui ...
*
Muscle cuirass
*
Lance rest
*
Linothorax
*
Pteruges
Citations
References
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External links
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{{Medieval armor components
Body armor
Western plate armour