The Problem of Plate Armor 289 



plates, and are reinforced on the outside by iron bars, one for either 

 shoulder, each bar consisting of two parts hinged together, so that easy 

 motion is secured. The casque (Plate XLII) consists of two sheets of 

 iron riveted together, with a projecting visor and frontal covering the 

 forehead. The couvre-nuque and the ear-protectors attached to the 

 casque are made from the same hemp cloth as the harness; they are 

 likewise printed with designs, and stuffed with iron plates, which are 

 kept in place by means of the clinches appearing on the surface. The 

 top of the helmet is surmounted by an iron trident and a tuft of red- 

 dyed horse-hair. There is no doubt that this Korean armor represents 

 a very primitive type of plate mail, and conveys to us an excellent idea 

 of what the ancient Chinese plate mail may have been like. 1 



On Plate XLIII is shown the Korean court costume of a high official, 

 which is a pseudo-armor in imitation of Chinese style. The cloak-like 

 robe consists of red cloth trimmed with otter-fur, and lined with light- 

 blue Chinese silk. It is strewn with regular rows of brass bosses rep- 

 resenting purely decorative survivals or reminiscences of plate armor. 

 Three globular buttons close the garment in front; the two lower ones 

 are hidden under a broad sash of figured blue silk. Around the neck 

 are laid twelve maple-leaves cut out of brass and riveted to the cloth 

 (in the illustration hidden by the ear-protectors of the helmet). The 

 epaulets are adorned with full figures of gilt, embossed dragons hunting 

 for the flamed jewel; they are worked in sections, which are cleverly 

 connected by hinges, so that the shoulders are not handicapped in any 

 motion. The helmet is an elaborate affair, composed of strong, com- 

 pressed, glazed leather, lined with soft leather. The surface is divided 

 by means of four metal bars into four compartments, two of which are 

 each adorned with a dragon, the two others each with a phenix on the 

 wing, — all of gilt bronze. On the sides, silver phenixes filled with dark- 

 blue enamel 2 are added. The most interesting point concerning our 

 subject is the fact that the ear-muffs and nape-guard, likewise of red 

 cloth trimmed with otter- fur, have thin copper plates concealed between 

 the outside material and the lining. They are kept in place by copper 

 nails with gilt heads. A quilted cap of blue silk is worn next to the skull, 



1 W. E. Griffis (Corea, the Hermit Kingdom, p. 101) figures what he calls "a 

 Korean knight of the sixteenth century." I have no judgment on the authenticity 

 and alleged dating of this illustration, but in itself it is interesting in that the laminae 

 forming the plastron and reinforcing the sleeves and brassards are arranged in hori- 

 zontal (not, as usual, vertical) position. "Many of their suits of armor," Griffis 

 says, "were handsomely inlaid, made of iron and leather, but less flexible and more 

 vulnerable than those of the Japanese, which were of interlaced silk and steel on a 

 background of tough buckskin, with sleeves of chain mail. The foot-soldiers on either 

 side were incased in a combination of iron chain and plate armor." 



2 A process still extensively applied in China to silver jewelry. 



