Armour in the Wizarding World

[OliveOil_Med]

With this in mind, wouldn't goblin-made armour be a wise investment for an Auror?

Only if it was made of metal, I think. We have no idea if goblins have any remote skill when it comes to working with hides.

I still just wonder about the practicality of metal armor. I never took goblins for being very advanced in terms of weapons engineering. More likely armor and weapons made in the modern era are more for aestetics than for real use. Although giants would be hardpressed to find armor anywhere else, I would think.

[Halgy]

Let us not forget that the Shield charm (Protego) provides quite enough protection for most cases. Perhaps armor was more useful before that spell was invented, but since then it has fallen out out use.

[Inverarity]

And of course, the suits couldn't possibly have been Founder's Era, since full plate armour didn't exist until the 14th century.

Well, if you want to get nitpicky, neither did castles.

But what about goblin-made armour? I recall from HBP Tom Riddle offering that lady something like 500 Galleons for it. If the Sword of Godric Gryffindor is infallible, wouldn't goblin-made armour be similarly strong and resistant to spells? Also, Hagrid mentioned in OotP that he and Madame Maxime gave the Giant Gurg (chief) a "nice battle helmet -- goblin-made an' indestructible." Though we know little of goblin metallurgy from the books, everything implies that it is very magical and virtually immune to damage, if not completely so. With this in mind, wouldn't goblin-made armour be a wise investment for an Auror?

Possibly. Goblin armor is a popular fanon notion which I've used myself. I still think that it wouldn't really be effective in magical duels, though. If goblin armor could actually repel a Killing Curse or the like, that would be pretty fantastic.

[Tim the Enchanter]

Well, related to the subject of magical armour, what about magical weapons like the Sword of Godric Gryffindor? Why would Gryffindor need a sword, considering that magic wands are exceptionally powerful and far more versatile?

Tim the Enchanter

[Karaley Dargen]

Well, related to the subject of magical armour, what about magical weapons like the Sword of Godric Gryffindor? Why would Gryffindor need a sword, considering that magic wands are exceptionally powerful and far more versatile?

Tim the Enchanter

Why did Slytherin need a Locket? For Bling. Why did Ravenclaw need a Tiara? For Bling and because supposedly it made her cleverer.

So maybe the sword made Gryffindor stronger in some way, but maybe it just made him look good.

[Momo Wellish]

Well, related to the subject of magical armour, what about magical weapons like the Sword of Godric Gryffindor? Why would Gryffindor need a sword, considering that magic wands are exceptionally powerful and far more versatile?

Tim the Enchanter

My guess is that it had some nice rare power, or was special like Narsil/Anduril. Perhaps he could cast spells from it, or used it to slice up watermelons when he was feeling lazy.

As for the tiara, I think Ravenclaw had a bald-spot, and maybe she too, could cast spells from her tiara, or blind people by putting big diamonds on it.

Slytherin, as far as I can tell, was a bling-bling man. Like Lucius, he probably had a golden staff with his wand in it, a dozen or so gold rings with rubies and the such, brass knuckles, and a big purple cape.

Originally Posted by Tim the Enchanter
And of course, the suits couldn't possibly have been Founder's Era, since full plate armour didn't exist until the 14th century.

Cant we give the Founders a little credit that they weren't the average wizard and were a little bit ahead of their time?

[OliveOil_Med]

And of course, the suits couldn't possibly have been Founder's Era, since full plate armour didn't exist until the 14th century.

I don't suppose anyone took the time to consider that the suits were placed in the school at the 14th century? Maybe it wasn't Godric, but a Headmaster who had a fancy for Muggle war equipment, and just though walking suits of armor would be amusing to the students.

[Inverarity]

I don't suppose anyone took the time to consider that the suits were placed in the school at the 14th century? Maybe it wasn't Godric, but a Headmaster who had a fancy for Muggle war equipment, and just though walking suits of armor would be amusing to the students.

That's why Tim said the suits couldn't be Founder's Era armor.

Doesn't explain the castle, though...

[Tim the Enchanter]

That's why Tim said the suits couldn't be Founder's Era armor.

Doesn't explain the castle, though...

Yeah, Hogwarts would be awfully boring (and small) if its construction was accurate for the time period - for some reason, I imagine such a school to look like a monastery à la Clonmacnoise, complete with a round tower to run to when the school is under attack.

But it would most likely be Romanesque in style, I think... probably (I don't know terribly much about Saxon architecture). Something like a few blockly, stone buildings clustered together, with an incredibly fearsome wooden palisade surrounding it. An impressive fortress of learning!

However, I'd imagine that since the Founding Four taught their students personally, the class sizes at the time must have been tiny, so Hogwarts would have most likely just started out as a little bunch of buildings - some stone, others wood. Those must have been knocked down and replaced with the big castle a few hundred years later.

Tim the Enchanter

[angelicxdiscord]

The most effective armor for the modern wizard would be something like dragon and/or giant skin (I remember spells sliding off of Hagrid; correct me if I'm wrong) backed by ceramic plates and Kevlar. That takes things like Stunning/Binding/whatever minor combat spells out of the equation. The ceramic plates/Kevlar takes care of the physical stuff getting tossed around.

I disagree that armor would be useless. Kevlar can stop 9 mils and trauma plates can stop 7.62x39mms but do absolutely nothing against armor-piercing or .30-06 rounds. And yet ballistic vests are standard issue among police and military forces. Sure, magical armor probably couldn't stand up to Unforgivable caliber spells, but they do offer protection against lesser spells that tend to assist in the death of an opponent. The Body-Binding Curse for example. You take whatever protection you can get.

Besides, if your opponent is accurate enough to Transfigure the armor you're wearing, he's accurate enough to hit the unarmored torso with an equivalent spell. Say, throw a clot in your brain and cause you to stroke out of combat. Or, if we want to keep with the Transfiguration theme, he could transfigure the air in your lungs to sand. Or just a plain ol' Killin' Curse. Provided that the armor doesn't impede your movement and isn't too heavy (and let's face it, all that can be handwaved away with magic), then you might as well go with the extra peace of mind.