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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mythusmage" data-source="post: 464460" data-attributes="member: 571">Hold overs, and largely for elite units. As gunpowder weapons became cheaper, more reliable, and tactical doctrine changed to account for this, armor pretty much disappeared from the battlefield. By the 30 Years War armor was the province of leaders, the rich, prestige formations.I must also add that the Renaissance was also the heyday of the mercenary. Private armies were going out of style, while national armies were just getting started. It should be noted that England used few mercenaries at this time. Later, during the early Modern Period, the Swedes and French adopted the English model and were successful doing such.By the invention of the bayonet (mid 17th century) armor was relegated to decoration, ceremonial duties, and elite formations.By and large the economic revolution of the time meant a change in the distribution of wealth. No longer was society divided into the very poor and the very rich. Life was now more complicated, and wealth was more evenly spread across societal strata. Which meant the very rich no longer had the resources necessary to maintain a full knight's regalia. Those that could were the Renaissance equivalent of Bill Gates. Anybody below that rarefied stratum of society had to make do with less.Over all it was cheaper to outfit the local men with leather jacks, axes, and pikes than a single man with the latest armor and weapons out of Milan. And a well trained pike square could do more. Which are you going to use.Now add in the changes in society. The common man was no longer dependent on the man on a horse for protection. Authority no longer had the "cachet" it once had, what with the Protestent movement, the reformation, and (late in the period) the rise of rationalism and the coming of the Age of Reason. People were more willing to rely upon themselves for protection, as could be seen in the rise of Switzerland and the Netherland. It is this which made possible the English Civil War and Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate. Only in unsettled Germany would the nobility retain its power.Folks, you'll note that the Renaissance and early Modern Period was a complicated time, with more happening than is accounted in your history books. Why is this so, because sociology, economy, politics are boring subjects (at least to read about). So we concentrate on warfare and great thinkers. The same will hold true for our times. In four hundred years most folks won't give a damn about any US presidential peccadillos.Which as it should be.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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