Coat of Plates

== Basic Information ==
The coat of plates is a form of semi-flexible metal armour that first appears in Europe in the 12th century. It consists of pieces of metal plate sewn onto the inside of a cloth carrier and probably originated in Oriental designs brought into Eastern Europe by the Mongols in which pieces of plate are sewn inside a surcoat to add extra protection to vulnerable areas of the wearer's body. Many examples seem to have been manufactured from recycled parts of plate armour sawn into pieces once they became too badly damaged to be repaired.
Eventually the coat of plates seems to have evolved into the brigandine, although pieces known as jacks-of-plates appear in the 17th century, similar to brigandine in the composition of the metal work but retaining the sewn method of assembly. Around the transition line in the later 14th century the difference between coat of plates and brigandine can become extremely blurred.
Like brigandines these were usually worn over a gambeson and/or mail and represent transitional armour.