DIRK BREIDING: What you're looking at here are parts of an armor—it's not the entire armor as it would've been worn. You're just looking at the breastplate, the back plate, defense for the neck, which would've been called a collar, and arm defenses. And they're very beautifully decorated.

NARRATOR: Notice the gold-colored stripes and delicate designs. If you could afford to own armor like this, you were sending a message that you were a powerful knight.

DIRK BREIDING: The steel of the armor would protect you physically, but for a warrior, for a knight, someone in battle, or even if only in a tournament, it was important to also have spiritual protection, from a god or from a saint.

NARRATOR: If you look closely at the breastplate, you can see figures from the Christian religion. There are also quotes from the Bible on the front and back.

DIRK BREIDING: It's in Latin but the English translation would be something like “…And Jesus passing through their midst went his way.” The meaning of this is that the wearer of course hoped that he would be able to pass through his enemies and walk on his way as well unharmed, and not be killed or harmed in battle.

NARRATOR: The words and symbols on this armor were a kind of code—they sent a message that the person wearing it had special protection.