Leather Armor? (NO HOLDS BARRED!!)

[Dan Howard]

I think this excellent site covers Mr Clark's arguments better than he could attempt on this forum (unless he has uncovered some new evidence since putting this together).

http://astro.temple.edu/~tlclark/lorica ... eather.htm

I don't have a problem with leather furniture on a metal cuirass. I have severe doubts about a complete leather musculata though - especially one that was intended to see use on the battlefield. It simply doesn't resist thrusts very well. Considering that the primary threat was from spears and arrows, it would be suicide to wear leather unless it was heavily layered like Mongol armour or made into scale/lamellar such as the examples at Dura Europos.