Study Shows Heavy Medieval Armor Was Heavy

A shocking report from scientists at the University of Leeds has revealed that Medieval knights were encumbered by heavy armor, and expended more energy than they otherwise would when not wearing heavy armor.

The study was performed on medieval reenactors for the Royal Armouries in Leeds, who donned full plate and walked on treadmills, while their vitals were being closely monitored.

Presumably, the study was carried out as a result of a bitter argument between the researches over the most recent Dungeons and Dragons encumbrance rules.

The results of the findings (and perhaps some new D&D house rules, if we’re lucky) can be found on the Proceedings of the Royal Society website, the report “Limitations imposed by wearing armour on Medieval soldiers’ locomotor performance“. Alas, accessing the full text requires one to be a subscriber… And thoroughly British.