Tried to post this earlier but it got lost in the shuffle, and I removed it, but as questions have arisen regarding the Toby Capwell harness I thought I would try to get this back in the spotlight as I can't imagine people here wouldn't appreciate this lecture.

It's a 45 minute lecture from Dirk H. Breiding, Assitant Curator, Department of Arms and Armor, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Goes in to dispelling a lot of silly misconceptions that plague the modern public's view of armor.

Also has some amazing footage of the famous and quite beautiful Tobias Capwell harness in full action at time 34:45 in to the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqC_squo6X4

Yeah, I've seen this. Thought it was pretty cool. Other interesting bits occur when he pokes fun at Deadliest Warrior, an episode of Mail Call featuring "armour" and some "experts", and some nifty videos of armour articulation (he states that for some parts of a harness the armour can move in ways that exceed a human's flexability and shows a video to prove it).

The old black and white video of them handling Henry VIII's original armor so roughly and without gloves made me cringe, but it's also the first time I've really seen an original piece in action. I knew armor isn't nearly as cumbersome as many people think, and can demonstrate that point when I wear my own kit, but I was still very surprised by the amazing craftsmanship of the period pieces.