Cleveland Museum of Art

Body Guard (Brigandine)

Date

c. 1500–1525

Medium

linen; gold velvet; steel; brass

Culture

Italy (?), early 16th Century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The brigandine is a light, vest-like body defense popular with both knights and infantry from the 1400s through about 1550. It is constructed of multiple small plates attached to a cloth covering. Finer examples, like this one, are faced in velvet or fabric made of gold thread. The lightweight brigandine provided protection from the weather, and was extremely flexible. This vest only weighs about five and a half pounds, considerably lighter than plate armor.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.