02-21-2006, 10:59 PM
Leather backed armour is bad in terms of sweat and heat exhaustion. It doesn't allow the body to breathe like natural fibre textiles. If a subarmalis made entirely of linen was worn underneath then it would help to mitigate the disadvantages of a leather backing on the armour. However nobody has come up with an explaination as to why they might have used leather might be used? What is wrong with layered textiles? The protection afforded is superior to leather.
Author: Bronze Age Military Equipment, Pen & Sword Books