Shirt of Mail localizada em um Museu de Nuremberg, AlemanhaShirt of Mail located in a Museum in Nuremberg, Germany
Chainmail is the name given to medieval armor made up of metal rings (links) that when connected to each other in a pattern form a mesh. The term chain mail was used after 1700 but before that it was called mail. A chain mail shirt can be called Hauberk if it is knee-length, Haubergeon if it is mid-thigh and Byrnie if it is waist-length. The armor was used in many parts of the world by Greeks and Samurai alike as a cheap and highly effective form of protection. Chain mail was mainly used to avoid cuts or anything sharp, today we can see it in reenactment group fights, butchery and even for diving with sharks.
Chainmail was common in East Asia, especially in Japan, with various other patterns being used and a whole nomenclature developing around them. Historically, in Europe, from the pre-Roman period, the rings that made up chainmail were riveted to reduce the chance of the rings opening when subjected to a thrust attack or when hit by an arrow. Until the 14th century, European chainmail was made of alternating rows of riveted rings and solid rings. Later, almost everything was made with riveted rings. It is believed that chainmail was invented by the Celtic people in Eastern Europe around 500 BC. When these Celts moved west, they brought chainmail with them. Most cultures that used chainmail employed the Celtic word "Byrne" or a variant, suggesting the Celts as the creators. The Roman army used chainmail throughout almost its entire history. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, the infrastructure to make metal plates was largely lost in Europe. As a result, chainmail was the best armor available during the medieval period that followed.
Chainmail worn by a Celtic warlord
