Chapter 1 | HELMETS AND ARMOR

Armor worn by knights in the Middle Ages served not only for protection during combat, but also for decoration, to make an impression. That is why helmets and harnesses are often real works of art.

While on vacation in Switzerland, I visited an exhibition of knight helmets. I drew a bunch of them. I didn’t know there were so many varieties.

Exercise 1: Try to draw one or more helmets. If you like you can add figures of knights.

Exercise 2: Maybe your knight figure needs a sword. Draw this basic model of a sword and decorate it if you like.

Exercise 3: draw the way a knight holds the sword (see also the lesson Hands, level 1)

                             

With such an armor of metal plates, the knight became so heavy that he could hardly move swiftly. This kind of armor was certainly not always useful in a real battle.
For example, you probably won’t be able to run with this harness around your legs and feet.

Metal plates were also placed around the hips. And beneath the armor was clothing of fine plaited iron wire, a chain mail. Here you can see a part of the skirt.