täyspanssareita

Täyspanssareita is Finnish for full plate armor, a complete suit of metal protection worn by combatants in Western Europe during the late Middle Ages and into the early modern period. A typical täyspanssari consisted of interlocking steel plates arranged to cover the head, body, arms and legs while permitting movement. Core components include a helmet (such as a sallet or close helm), a cuirass (breastplate and backplate), pauldons for the shoulders, rerebraces and vambraces for the arms, gauntlets for the hands, cuisses for the thighs, poleyns for the knees, greaves for the lower legs, and sabatons for the feet, often with tassets to protect the hips. The suit was worn over a padded gambeson or arming doublet, and in earlier periods may have included mail in combination with plate. Articulation relied on riveted lames, leather straps, and hinges to allow movement within the protection.

Usage and development varied by region, with distinct German, Italian and English designs. Täyspanssarit were used by knights and heavy infantry in battlefield roles and played a prominent part in tournaments and ceremonial display as armor technology advanced. The rise of gunpowder weapons reduced their battlefield effectiveness, and by the 16th and 17th centuries full suits were increasingly supplanted by lighter armor or abandoned on the battlefield, though some late examples persisted in ceremonial contexts and as status symbols. Today, täyspanssareita survives as valuable artifacts in museums and private collections, illustrating medieval and early modern armor craftsmanship.

In Finnish, täyspanssareita is the plural form referring to full suits of plate armor, reflecting a historical practice central to armor technology and social hierarchy.