Can medieval plate armor stop a bullet?

Not very. Medieval steel armor is heavy, fatiguing and restricts mobility—fatally so, especially on modern battlefields where fluidity of motion, not set-piece battles, are the order of the day. Even some later cuirasses that might stop a pistol bullet or .

Can shrapnel penetrate armor?

Armor does block shrapnel, but the exact damage and penetration of each piece of shrapnel varies. Some of it can pen armor, most of it can’t. Most times you can survive a grenade at 20 feet away because you’re lucky enough to not get hit by shrapnel.

Does Kevlar stop shrapnel?

Since glass shrapnel will have less momentum than a knife, the Kevlar might protect against it. The glass would shred the fibers though, so the vest should be thrown away after.

What would modern weapons do to medieval armor?

As most others have said, modern high velocity ammunition would easily penetrate medieval armour. It is likely that modern shrapnel would also penetrate. The other side of this is that the wearer’s mobility is also negatively effected.

Does modern shrapnel penetrate through armor?

It is likely that modern shrapnel would also penetrate. The other side of this is that the wearer’s mobility is also negatively effected. Most combat soldiers would prefer the additional mobility unarmoured to seek effective cover from fire in dead ground etc rather then be hampered by heavy ineffective Armour.

Could plate armor have evolved into something more like heavy armor?

Otherwise, plate armor would never have evolved into the great heavy suits that we all know from legend. Medieval full plate armor at its height was a complex piece of technology. There was a protective plate for just about every part of the body, and each of these plates had its own name.

How thick was armor in medieval times?

To put things into perspective, medieval armor was thin, from 1 mm to 3 mm. A 15th century breastplate measured in at about 2 mm. Older medieval armor might have been thicker still, but not stronger since the metallurgy was not as good.