armour was popular with high-status individuals. Modern flak jackets and ballistic vests are based on the same principle. Use A brigandine was commonly worn over a gambeson and mail shirt and it was not long before this form of protection was commonly used by soldiers ranging in rank from archers to knights. It was most commonly used by men-at-arms. These wore brigandines, along with plate armour arm and leg protection, as well as a helmet. Even with the gambeson and the mail shirt, a wearer was not as well-protected as when wearing a complete harness of plate armour, but the brigandine was less expensive and also gave the soldier a greater degree of mobility and flexibility. A brigandine was also simple enough in design for a soldier to make and repair his own armour without needing the services of an armourer. A common myth is that brigandines were so-named because they were a popular choice of protection for bandits and outlaws. This is untrue. Originally the term "brigand" referred to a foot soldier, and a brigandine was simply a type of armour worn by a foot soldier. It had nothing to do with its alleged ability to be concealed by bandits. In fact, brigandines were highly fashionable and were ostentatiously displayed by wealthy aristocrats both in European and in Asian courts. Similar types European jack of plate A similar type of armour was the jack of plate, commonly referred to simply as a (although this could also refer to any outer garment). This type of armour was used by common medieval European soldiers and the rebel peasants known as Jacquerie. Like the brigandine, the jack was made of small iron plates between layers of felt and canvas. The main difference is in the method of construction: a brigandine uses rivets to secure the plates, whereas the plates in a jack are sewn in place. Jacks were often made from recycled pieces of older plate armour, including damaged brigandines and cuirasses cut into small squares. Jacks remained in use as late as the 16th century and were often worn by Border reivers. Although they were obsolete by the time of the English Civil War many were taken to the New World by English settlers as they provided excellent protection from Native American arrows; one dating back to 1607 was found at Jamestown in 2008. Indian "coat of ten thousand nails" The