The historian showed what “body armor” the Cossacks wore (video)
Cossacks are most often depicted in red trousers and bare-chested, but in fact they had full military armor, and they themselves were a well-armed army.
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What did the Cossacks look like “body armor”
“It is important to move away from the image of Cossacks – people who run almost naked, wave sabers and shoot somewhere. In fact, Cossacks are like ordinary European soldiers, gentry, chevaliers, caballeros, hidalgos are an ordinary knightly, warrior class that dressed according to what the requirements were for the war,” Alfiorov explains.
According to historian, Cossacks could wear plate armor. Chain mail was also used.
“And to confirm this, we have facts in the form of portraits. For example, the portrait of Hetman Yury Khmelnytskyi, as well as the image of Hetman Ivan Samoilovych, even has a chain mail glove. Armor is also on Mazepa's portrait. So our Cossacks are actually not so naked,” says Alfiorov.
Numerous images of Cossacks show what kind of armor they and their foreman had. For example, in the drawing by S. Shamenkov and M. Lashkevich, the Hetman of the Zaporizhzhya Army Ivan Vyhovskyi (? – 1664) is depicted in a cuirass. This is an element of body armor that protected the warrior's chest and back from cold and firearms.
Let's add that chain mail has been worn by soldiers since the time of Kievan Rus. This type of armor came to our territory from Europe.
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