Plackart
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Basic Information

The plackart was a piece of plate armour which protected the abdomen (and sometimes the lower back) only, generally rising to a point over the solar plexus. This was sometimes worn with a breastplate or cuirass as additional protection, but appears just as often not to have been, being used instead with a flexible armour such as mail.

There are various theories as to why the plackart was used - besides the additional protection noted. Some suggest that the combination of a plackart and short breastplate allowed the wearer more flexibility to twist at the waist and others that a plackart plus flexible armour gave the user some of the benefits of wearing plate but left his arms and shoulders unrestricted, for example, to draw a bow.

Despite a primarily medieval image, this name could also be used for various historical (and fantasy) "belly plates" and "ascended belt buckles" that protect same approximate region.

Sources

Bibliography
1. full source reference

Game and Story Use

  • Don't be surprised if this is one of the (many) pieces of armour that no-one has ever heard of.
    • Certainly missing from a lot of pop-culture armour, usually neglected in favour of the full length breastplate (rare in reality due to being highly incapacitating to the wearer).
  • However, that doesn't mean that it won't appear - and as noted the round "belly plate" type is quite popular in fantasy art in particular.
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