Greek Armor-Linothorax-Silver

Silver Greek Linothorax (Lorica squamata)

Scale armour (armor), Lorica squamata. Jazerant, Jazeraint or Leaf Mail (sometimes erroneously called scale mail) consists of many small scales attached to a backing material of either leather or cloth. It is similar to lamellar armour but distinguished by the presence of the backing material. The material used to make the scales varied and included: bronze, iron, rawhide, leather, cuir bouilli and horn. The variations are primarily the result of material availability.

During Roman times scale armour (lorica squamata) was a popular alternative to mail (lorica hamata) as it offered better protection, especially against blunt damage. It was also widely used in Middle Eastern empires such as Persia and Byzantium. In these areas scales were commonly dished (an armouring term used to describe hammering a depression into a flat piece of metal in order to create a 'bowl' effect) in order to benefit from the extra protection offered by a rounded scale.

Scale armour offers better protection from blunt attacks than mail . It is also cheaper to produce, but it isn't as flexible and doesn't offer the same amount of coverage. Forms other than brigandine and coat of plates were uncommon in medieval Europe, but scale and lamellar remained popular elsewhere.

Golden version of the Linothorax armor available.

Roman and Greek armor.