Jean Henri Chandler wrote: |
I suspect it happened over and over, and that goes back at least to the Linothorax which I bet evolved the same way (from garments worn under hoplite armor) |
The linothorax was in use at least five hundrd years before hoplites even existed. I doubt it evolved from padding since the Greeks did not wear padding under metal armour.
There is really no such thing as armour "evolution". With the main exception of European articulated plate, the same types of armour were being worn over and over in different parts of the world for thousands of years. For exmaple, helmets change in design but offer no real improvement over bronze age examples. They are simply adapted to meet different requirements. A medieval example is not BETTER than an earlier typology.
You can't use "evolution" to help explain the existence of armour padding. If it was needed it would have been used regardless of the culture and time period.