Medieval Female Armour

Practicalities to Consider

There are two main practicalities when choosing medieval armour that a female will have to consider differently than a male. The first is one that modern female athletes must consider and that is the movement of the chest. If a female athlete or medieval warrior needs to move around a lot, it is advisable to contain and restrict the movement of the chest for greater comfort. This is especially true when it comes to wearing steel armour around the torso.

The other consideration is the difference in size and stature. Most women are on average shorter than men. They also have different proportions than men. Combined, these differences may make armour pieces either less comfortable or not protect the body in the same way. Tassets and other pieces of thigh armour can illustrate this well. Depending on the height of a woman, a particular tasset may end further down her leg than what it would on a man. It also may not cover as much close to the hips since women tend to be wider there proportionally speaking. Women are more angled on the outside of the legs so a rectangular tasset will protect the body slightly differently. Different body structures may cause some people to have more of these issues than others. Thus, knowing the measurements of your body and your armour is the most important factor to getting a good fit

Sizing

When it comes to choosing pieces of medieval armour for a woman, there are many choices available. You can choose to look specifically at our female armour category or choose to look at the general leather or steel armour categories. Regardless of what category you look in, the main thing to keep in mind is your body measurements with the particular pieces that you are looking at. For the most part, armour pieces are fairly unisex in their design, and many pieces can fit a wide variety of sizes. You just need to make sure that you focus on pieces that fit your body measurements.

Specifically, pieces like bracers and greaves will have laces or straps for an adjustable fit. Gorgets and spaulders are also unisex but will be slightly more size dependent. For example, a spaulder sized for a larger shoulder will have more space between the wearer and the armour piece. This could cause it to slide around or not fit properly. The Adam Spaulders, for example, come in a large size and a small size. The large is a couple inches wider than the small and thus fits someone larger. Again, the design itself is not gender dependent; it is the possible size difference that could cause issues for women versus men.

Cuirasses and other torso armour pieces are where sizing comes into play the most. When measuring yourself for a piece of armour, you want to get the measurement of your torso at its largest possible size. If you try to take your waist, underbust, or just under your arms, you will likely get a piece of armour too small for you.

Clothing and Arming Wear

In addition to taking the measurement at the right location, you should also consider your clothing as well. When you are choosing a cuirass, you will want the armour piece to fit not just you but also over your clothing, especially any arming wear. Arming wear helps to provide greater comfort when wearing steel armour. Thus, you want to ensure that there is enough room for you to wear the armour over your clothing and any arming wear. If you need more help, we have another article specifically on how to wear your steel armour.

That being said, too much space can cause the armour to bang against the wearer because it doesn’t fit snugly. This is where the practicality of chest movement comes into the situation. Too much room and not restricting the chest can lead to a fair bit of discomfort. Make sure to choose pieces that best fit you. Some of our most popular medieval female armour pieces are from the Mina and Kendra armour series. Some of our most popular female armour pieces are from the Mina and Kendra armour series. The Mina armour set is a steel option with a feminine shape to its torso and armour belt accompanied by versatile gorget and spaulders. The Kendra armour set is a leather option that also features torso armour with a molded shape.