The gothic was the second important period in the development of European medieval art. The name originated during the Renaissance, and had a pejorative ring: the Goths were barbarians.

Until the middle of the fifteenth century, the largest centre for the manufacture of armour was Milan, and Italian armour was foremost in quality and beauty. However, from then on, European feudal lords increasingly bought armour and swords from the south German towns of Mühlau, Augsburg and Landshut. German armour had an appearance distinctly different from the Italian, but achieved the same level of quality. As armour manufacture in Milan was connected with the Missaglia family, so in Augsburg the foremost shop was that of the Helmschmeids. Lorenz Helmschmeid (1445-1516) was one of the greatest armourers of the century.

Unlike Italian armour, which had smooth rounded plates, German armour was covered with fluting, which recalled the broken arches of gothic architecture and, besides being decorative, reinforced the plates. One of the greatest advantages of ‘gothic’ armour was that it was adapted to the human anatomy, offering maximum protection with minimum weight and limitation of movement.

For example, a long mail shirt (hauberk) weighed about 15 kg/33 lb, and a knight had to bear this whole weight on his shoulders. A whole ‘gothic’ suit of armour was never more than 25 kg/55 lb in weight, and its plates were fastened to the corresponding body parts from the inside by leather straps, so that the weight was more evenly distributed and the armour more comfortable to wear. The insides of the shoulder and arm joints were not covered by plates so as to permit maximum mobility; they were protected by mail. But this was also its greatest weakness, as it could be pierced at these points with swords or daggers. Another drawback was that, for easier movement, the helmet was not fastened to the shoulders, as with later models. Thus, hard blows with clubs, swords or other weapons which were not sufficient to pierce the helmet were still enough to put the warrior out of combat, as the force of these blows was absorbed not by the shoulders but by the head. Because of these deficiencies, gothic armour was replaced in the sixteenth century by heavier and more compact types. In the last third of the fifteenth century, horse-armour was produced in Germany too, also in the gothic style. A suit produced in Landshut in 1480 weighed 31 kg/68 lb without the saddle.

The earliest preserved suit of horse-armour (bard), bearing the mark of a Milanese armourer, dates from around 1450.