Editing Armour (section)

== Animal armour ==

=== Horse armour ===
{{Main|Barding}}
[[Image:Dresden-Zwinger-Armoury-Armor.02.JPG|thumb|A 16th-century knight with a horse in full barding|alt=Statue of horse and rider in armour]]

[[Body armour]] for [[Horses in warfare|war horses]] has been used since at least 2000 BC. Cloth, leather, and metal protection covered cavalry horses in ancient civilisations, including ancient Egypt, Assyria, Persia, and Rome. Some formed [[heavy cavalry]] units of armoured horses and riders used to attack infantry and mounted archers.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Stuart W. |last1=Pyhrr |first2=Donald J. |last2=LaRocca |first3=Dirk H. |last3=Breiding |title=The Armored Horse in Europe, 1480–1620 |year=2005 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |location=New York |isbn=9781588391506 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V8WFr7Fjdi8C |page=8}}</ref> Armour for horses is called ''barding'' (also spelled ''bard'' or ''barb'') especially when used by European [[knight]]s.

During the late [[Middle Ages]] as armour protection for knights became more effective, their mounts became targets. This vulnerability was exploited by the [[Scotland|Scots]] at the [[Battle of Bannockburn]] in the 14th century, when horses were killed by the infantry, and for the English at the [[Battle of Crécy]] in the same century where [[English longbow|longbowmen]] shot horses and the then dismounted [[Kingdom of France|French]] knights were killed by [[heavy infantry]]. Barding developed as a response to such events.

Examples of armour for horses could be found as far back as [[classical antiquity]]. [[Cataphracts]], with [[scale armour]] for both rider and horse, are believed by many historians to have influenced the later European knights, via contact with the [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref name="Nell, Grant S. 1995">Nell, Grant S. (1995) ''The Savaran: The Original Knights''. University of Oklahoma Press.</ref>

Surviving period examples of barding are rare; however, complete sets are on display at the [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]],<ref>[http://philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/309965.html Horse Armor of Duke Ulrich of Württemberg] at the [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]]</ref> the [[Wallace Collection]] in London, the [[Royal Armouries]] in [[Leeds]], and the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in New York City.  Horse armour could be made in whole or in part of [[cuir bouilli]] (hardened leather), but surviving examples of this are especially rare.<ref>Phyrr et al., 57–59</ref>

=== Elephant armour ===
[[File:Royal Armouries, Leeds 20190201 123036 (49307523651).jpg|thumb|alt=War elephant display in a museum|Model of an armoured elephant at the [[Royal Armouries Museum]]]]
[[War elephant]]s were first used in ancient times without armour,{{sfn|Kistler|2007|p=9}} but armour was introduced because elephants injured by enemy weapons would often flee the battlefield. Elephant armour was often made from hardened leather, which was fitted onto an individual elephant while moist, then dried to create a hardened shell.{{sfn|Kistler|2007|p=13}} Alternatively, metal armour pieces were sometimes sewn into heavy cloth.{{sfn|Kistler|2007|p=22}} Later [[lamellar armour]] (small overlapping metal plates) was introduced.{{sfn|Kistler|2007|p=211}} Full plate armour was not typically used due to its expense and the danger of the animal overheating.{{sfn|Kistler|2007|p=21}}