What was the armor in the middle ages like?

Answer 1

The armor of the foot soldier was a bit different from that of the mounted knight.

Early in the middle ages, soldiers had shields made of wood or leather on wooden frames. This developed, but not much, though central bosses made of metal were added.

Some soldiers, most notably archers, had little armor or none. This made archers very vulnerable to cavalry attack. This lead to the use of dismounted knights, with full plate armor, just as they would wear mounted, defending the archers with halberds and other pole arms, and this was a very effective combination in the Late Middle Ages.

Ordinary infantry had mail at the beginning of the middle ages, and still had male at the end, though in the end they were somewhat likely to have breast plates much like plate armor. As time progressed, pieces of armor were stitched to the mail, and strips of metal were added on the limbs. But the infantry was never armed as heavily as mounted knights.

Helmets for infantry were likewise simpler, especially as their visors were not especially designed to protect their eyes from lances.