Medieval Weapons The weapons and protection of medieval times was quiet strange and beautiful. Armor began as leather that had been tempered and soaked in a substance, and when dried made it awfully stiff. Needless to say against the early swords of the time it was not very effective. After the discovery of steel, a new, more protective style of armor was developed. It was known as chain mail. The armor was made of steel rings "knitted" or linked together to form a tight shirt of metal. It was used widely and even was developed to cover arms, legs, heads, and arms. Later chain mail would be used to cover the heads and sides of a knight's horse. The downs