Sweaty Suits of Armor

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Title: Sweaty Suits of Armor: Could You Survive Being a Knight?
Published by: Enslow Publishers
ISBN13: 978-0-7660-3784-7

 
Grades: 3-5

Author’s Note

Before writing this book, I always pictured knights as glamorous guys in shining armor. When editor Jane Katirgis at Enslow contacted me to write three books for a series on “Ye Yucky Middle Ages,” I knew I had to dig up lots of dirt on those chivalrous dudes. Being a knight was, in fact, a sweaty, stinky, and bloody affair. Think about it: Metal armor weighed up to 65 pounds. It also trapped heat. Knights rarely bathed (few people did back then). Plus, as armor changed over time, so did the nasty weapons designed to smash it. Disease and starvation were other threats on the battlefield. Clearly, being a knight was not as enchanting as it may seem. Hilarious cartoon illustrations by Gerald Kelley will keep readers in stitches.

To help with my research on Sweaty Suits of Armor, I visited the fabulous armor collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.