Illustrations of Sassanid Persian Clibanarii

[Dan Howard]

Damaged armour is good. It is doing its job by keeping the wearer alive. Another good account is King Olaf Trygvason's Saga in the Heimskringla, it was written that King Hakon was hit with so many spears and arrows that his mail was completely destroyed. He threw the remains off onto the deck of his ship and continued to fight without it:

The ring-linked coat of strongest mail could not withstand the iron hail,
Though wrought with care and elbow bent, by Norn, on its strength intent.
The fire of battle raged around, Odin’s steel shirt flew all unbound!
The earl his mail from him flung, its steel rings on the wet deck rung;
Part of it fell into the sea, a part was kept, a proof to be
How sharp and thick the arrow-flight among the sea-steeds in this fight.