The Gjermundbu helmet dates to the 10th century. It was excavated on a farm called Gjermundbu in Ringerike in central Norway. Gje After about a century of the ceaseless civil war during the Sengoku period simulated lamellar plates and true lamellar plates become less popular as plate armor started to be used more frequently. The laminar cuirass evolved to become the okegawa dō, constructed of horizontal strips of armour joined not by laces, but by rivets or staples (imitating laces).

Later at the beginning of the 15th century construction of laminar armour had significantly changed; instead of lacing being used, strips of new laminar armour were riveted to broad straps (like in lorica segmentata). As a result, laminar armour became more reliable than lamellar armour: hidden straps couldn't be cut without the armour being penetrated, the broad straps did not require continuous mending, and the straps were stiffer and more durable than the thinner lacing that was used previously. Laminar armour eventually became more popular than lamellar armour, and almost fully replaced lamellar armour by the end of 15th century. Lamellar armour should not be confused with laminar armour, a related form of plate armour which is made from horizontal overlapping rows or bands of solid armour plates (called lames) rather than scales. By comparison, lamellar armour is made from individual armour scales, which are laced together to form a strip of armour which appears to be solid but is not.Wagner, Donald B. (2008), Science and Civilization in China Volume 5-11: Ferrous Metallurgy, Cambridge University Press Burch E. S., Jr. 1974. Eskimo Warfare in Northwest Alaska // Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska. Vol. 16. Fairbanks. ¹ 2. The earliest archaeological evidence of armour in China dates to the Shang dynasty. These were either breastplates made of shell tied together or a one-piece rawhide or leather breastplate. [1] Helmets were made of bronze and often sported elaborate designs consisting of animal motifs. Armour was almost exclusively for nobles; regular folks had little to no protection and more commonly used a hide covered shield made of wood or bamboo. [2] Zhou dynasty (c. 1046 BC–256 BC) [ edit ] At the end of 15th century, when laminar armour became much more popular than lamellar ones, both armour types began to be replaced by plated mails. Initially plated mail was made only as cuisses, but soon by the beginning of 16th century plated mail was utilized in both pauldrons and cuisses, as they could better envelop body and fully replaced laminar and lamellar pauldron and tassets. So a typical laminar armour of that period was just a laminar cuirass which could be worn over brigandine with sleeves supplemented by plated mail cuisses. (Helm, bracers and greaves are not mentioned here as they were conventional for that region). Sleeves of brigandine worked as pauldron, and if a brigandine was long enough its laps could work as tassets. Another option was wearing a laminar cuirass without any brigandine, but with plated mail pauldrons and cuisses. Both variations of laminar armour could be re-enforced by mirror plate (even though laminar armour would have been enough protection from steel weapons, a metal mirror was worn as protection from the " evil eye"). Finally by the end of the 16th century laminar and lamellar armour practically disappeared in the Middle East and Central Asia regions.

Lamellar armour was often worn as augmentation to existing armour, such as over a mail hauberk. The lamellar cuirass was especially popular with the Rus, as well as Mongols, Turks, Avars, and other steppe peoples, as it was simple to create and maintain. [ citation needed] The extent to which either type was used is a debated topic. The earliest definite instance of true lamellar was found in China. Twelve suits of lacquered lamellar dated to c. 433 BC were uncovered in a tomb at Sui-hsien, Hupei. [ citation needed] Lamellar was used by various cultures from this time up through the 16th century. Lamellar armour is generally associated with the armour worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan, although it came to Japan from Korea. [3]Lamellar armour is also associated with Mongolia, Eastern Russia disambiguation needed, the tribes of Siberia and the Sarmatians, evidence of lamellar armour has also been found in various European countries. [3] Japanese lamellar armour [ ]Protective clothing and armour have been used by armies from earliest recorded history; the King James Version of the Bible ( Jeremiah 46:4) translates the Hebrew סריון [1] or שריון "coat of mail" [2] as "brigandine". Medieval brigandines were essentially a refinement of the earlier coat of plates, which developed in the late 12th century, typically of simpler construction with larger metal plates. This armour of Asian origin reached Europe after the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' in 1240 that destroyed the Kievan Rus' and severely damaged the Kingdom of Hungary in 1241. The new armour became very popular first in Eastern Europe, especially in Hungary, towards the end of the 13th century and was adopted in western Europe several decades later. [3]