The type of armor most often associated with the medieval period is plate, or full-body armor; but ironically, it did not make its appearance until the Middle Ages were almost over. Improvements in the crossbow in the early 1300s made it necessary to develop a more protective style of armor, though in fact the concept behind the "new" armor was old: the barbarians who helped bring down the Roman Empire had worn plates of armor held together with animal skins.
With the advent of plate armor, helmets became more protective, and usually covered the entire face, with eye slits in the metal. Knights typically wore a particularly heavy piece of armor on their left shoulder, since most men were right-handed and they were therefore most likely to take blows on the left side.
Yet as armor changed in these ways, even more significant changes—particularly the development of firearms— were occurring on the field of battle. Therefore armor began disappearing from the battlefield.
Knights still wore armor for tournaments, however: in the joust, in which two knights rode at one another and each tried to unhorse the other with his lance, armor made for valuable protection. It could also be worn for purely decorative purposes, as was the case through the 1600s. This ceremonial armor typically included detailed decorations, and gleaming, polished metal plates.
Mies, but because of problems within the church itself—particularly its efforts to control politics. From the church's viewpoint, this could not have come at a worse time, because Rome now faced a threat more formidable than all the armies of Islam: a new group of religious leaders who questioned the authority of the church to stand between God and Christians. These leaders led a movement that came to be known as the Reformation. It arose from attempts to change Roman Catholicism and resulted in the founding of Protestantism. First among the movement's leaders was John Wycliffe (WIK-lif; 1330-1384), who rose to prominence in England just as the Great Schism was beginning.
Wycliffe challenged virtually every doctrine of medieval Christianity, and in fact questioned the idea that the Catholic Church was the Church. He declared that the church of Rome was not the "real church," which he said existed wherever two or more believers in Jesus Christ were gathered together. Transubstantiation (see box, page 101), he said, was an empty be-
Jan Hus was a religious reformer who was burned at the stake for heresy. Reproduced by permission of the Hulton-Cetty Picture Library.
Lief, since there is nothing in the Bible to support it; and he condemned the monastic way of life because its idea of separation from the world went against the Bible as well.
These were the kind of teachings that could get a man killed, but Wycliffe survived in large part because he had powerful friends. Less fortunate was Jan Hus (HOOS; 1373-1415), a Bohemian reformer. Influenced by Wycliffe, Hus challenged a practice whereby the church peddled forgiveness by granting indulgences in exchange for monetary contributions. Ordered to appear before the Council of Constance in 1414, he was tried for heresy, and on July 6, 1415, was burned at the stake.
World History
