Hello everyone!

So I am currently looking into doing an impression of an Italian footsoldier or handgunner during the War of the League of Cambrai/ early Italian Wars era (I'm looking at roughly 1500-1516). I have a few questions regarding the armor and a few of the weapons they would have used.

My first question is how commonplace were brigandines and sallets during this time? I have read multiple resources and looked at multiple paintings and artworks of the time, but most show the common soldier of the time wearing little more than a skullcap and a one sided breastplate as armor, much less a brigandine and sallet. This seems kind of strange due to the large numbers of brigs and sallets shown in the mid to late 15th c, surely they weren't all just tossed away? So were they worn at all in the first few years of the 16th c? If so, was it in a similar manner to the 15th c. (Arming doublet>mail>Brigandine)?

My other question I had was about Italian Rotella shields such as these:https://web.archive.org/web/20100807011622/http:/www.ugopozzati.it/Rotelle-Milanesi.htm
Were these in use by any of the soldiery still by the time of the early 16th c?

I would greatly appreciate any information regarding those questions! Also, any arms or armor info you want to dump here, I greatly encourage, as the early 16th century is a bit out of my wheelhouse. (part of the reason I want to do an impression, so I can learn more about it.)
Thanks a bunch!

Brigadine was the cheapest protection for cuts and thrusts for a relatively poor foot soldier.It was pretty common just not as common as mail was.

Sallets imo were more expensive for a simple foot soldier,but not unsual as were armets,burgonets etc.


As for round shields,they were used in some armies of the italian city-states and have a heavy use in spanish army in the term of rodeleros.

From what i can tell,a soldier with an brigandine sallet and a shield would be a normal sight in a16th century army.

I hope i've helped

if you want to portray an italian gunner or other form of foot soldier you should not get a briganinde. A type II breastplate (without plackart, but faulds) will do the job. Or a cuirass. Depending on what you want to portray. A breastplate at 1500 was far cheaper than a brigandine.