Chain Mail how can be Nothing but Celtic!!

**jo the greek** · March 21, 2010, 05:40 PM

I have heard many times that Chain mail may been of Iranian origin but this has for me not logic.

Can you convice me that Chain mail is not from Europe?

**Hrobatos** · March 21, 2010, 08:04 PM

i thought it was celtic invention

not persian

**FreeRadical** · March 21, 2010, 08:26 PM

I got this from a reliable source(ahem) Wiki-lolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_%28armour%29
The earliest finds of mail are from a 4th century BC[2] Celtic chieftain's burial located in Ciumeşti, Romania.

**Argeus the Paladin** · March 21, 2010, 08:31 PM

I always thought the Near East is more associated with mails of the scale variant, not chain.

**rez** · March 21, 2010, 09:13 PM

I was unaware of any serious theory on an Iranian invention of chainmail. Especially since the earliest Celtic find appears to have been during the Achaemenid period which did not contain Iranians using chainmail. Only Scalemail.

**Argeus the Paladin** · March 21, 2010, 09:16 PM

Not to mention the technology required to make chain and scale mail are vastly different. Unless adapting, there is little chance a scale-mail using nation would switch to producing chain.

And I have never heard the Parthians fighting the Gauls anywhere other than Rome Total War.

**rez** · March 21, 2010, 09:35 PM

To the best of my memory there were Gallic cavalry at Carrhae

But chainmail did work its way across eventually.

**Carpathian Wolf** · March 21, 2010, 09:36 PM

Or maybe it was invented separately like the Japanese did iirc.

**Argeus the Paladin** · March 21, 2010, 09:42 PM

Japanese invented chain mails?

**hellheaven1987** · March 21, 2010, 09:51 PM

Well, Chinese and Japanese did use partial chain mail, but it was separated development from the Europe. East Asians, perhaps because the terrain and size of body, did not like full metal armor but prefer metal protection only on crucial parts of bodies in order to have maximum flexibility.

**Hrobatos** · March 22, 2010, 04:14 AM

So we all agree its most likely Celtiy

**jo the greek** · March 22, 2010, 09:00 AM

But i do not get is how it managed for some time to be supposed to be of iranian origin?

**Carpathian Wolf** · March 21, 2010, 08:58 PM

As for the origin of mail, it seems it's Celtic from what we know. It's possible that it's indo-european reaching further back. I don't feel strongly about it one way or another.