Editing Plate armour (section)

== Early modern period ==
{{Further|Cuirass|Munition armour|Armour in the 18th century}}

Plate armour was widely used by most armies until the end of the 17th century for both foot and mounted troops such as the [[cuirassier]]s, [[London lobsters]], [[dragoon]]s, [[demi-lancer]]s and [[Polish hussars]]. The infantry armour of the 16th century developed into the ''Savoyard'' type of three-quarters armour by 1600.

Full plate armour was expensive to produce and remained therefore restricted to the upper strata of society; lavishly decorated suits of armour remained the fashion with 18th-century nobles and generals long after they had ceased to be militarily useful on the battlefield due to the advent of inexpensive [[muskets]].

The development of powerful firearms made all but the finest and heaviest armour obsolete. The increasing power and availability of firearms and the nature of large, state-supported infantry led to more portions of plate armour being cast off in favour of cheaper, more mobile troops. Leg protection was the first part to go, replaced by tall leather boots. By the beginning of the 18th century, only [[field marshal]]s, commanders and royalty remained in full armour on the battlefield, more as a sign of rank than for practical considerations. It remained fashionable for monarchs to be portrayed in armour during the first half of the 18th century (late [[Baroque]] period), but even this tradition became obsolete. Thus, [[:File:Antoine Pesne - Frederick the Great as Crown Prince - WGA17377.jpg|a portrait]] of [[Frederick the Great]] in 1739 still shows him in armour, while [[:File:FrederickderGroßeKnötel.jpg|a later painting]] showing him as a commander in the [[Seven Years' War]] (c. 1760) depicts him without armour.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Savoyard armour IMG 3805.jpg|Savoyard munition armour, c. 1600
File:Herzog Christian von Braunschweig-Lüneburg.jpg|[[Christian the Younger of Brunswick]] wearing [[cuirassier]] armour (1620)
File:Charles III of Spain.jpg|Portrait of [[Charles III of Spain]] in a suit of armour (1761).
File:Cuirasse-1854-p1030165.jpg|French cuirassier armour (1854).
</gallery>