Římská plátová zbroj – Bishop M. C. (2024)

On Trajan's Column, which still stands in the middle of Rome, soldiers are depicted in very impressive plate armor. Renaissance historians, who were interested in ancient monuments, named it lorica segmentata. They knew that it was also used by gladiators in arenas, but that was all they knew for a long time. More light was shed on this component of military equipment by archaeological finds from the second half of the 20th century, which allowed us to understand how it was made, how it functioned, and how long it was used. The most famous find of Roman plate armor occurred in Corbridge, England, in 1964, with other fragments found elsewhere in Great Britain and Spain, while a nearly complete set was discovered in 2018 in Kalkreise, Germany. Thanks to scientific methods, we now have a good understanding of the technology behind this armor's production, a chronology of its use, and thanks to various reenactor groups, we also have plenty of information about its practical application, strengths, and weaknesses. A book by a leading expert on this topic will present the latest insights into other components of Roman armor: the so-called muscle cuirasses, arm guards, greaves, and horse armor. The drawings in the book are made according to the latest findings and archaeological...