It's worth remembering that the weight of a full suit of 'field plate', around 50lb, was rather less than the weight of the equipment a modern infantry soldier is required to carry.

Also worthy of note is the experience of a young man with scoliosis of the spine in 2014. After the rediscovery of the remains of King Richard III and the confirmation of his spinal scoliosis a team of scientists set out to find out if this deformity would have stopped the King from being the effective warrior he was reputed to have been.

The result of this was a documentary entitled Richard III: The New Evidence. A team of doctors, medieval combat specialists, trainers and armourers worked with a young man named Dominic Smee. Mr Smee was then in his mid-20s and suffers from a scoliosis identical to that found in the late Kings' skeleton. After intensive training, Mr Smee developed a remarkable degree of skill in both mounted and melee combat. But one of the more inteteresting discoveries was that the custom-made armour with which he was fitted provided an unexpected level of support for his spine and actually made physical activity easier for him.