Why not both?

(Source)

Ok, first off – fair warning. This post is going to have some hot (mostly clothed) men in it. I’m not responsible for any damage – ie, spontaneous combustion – that occurs to your screen or your knickers while you’re reading this post!

So, now that the disclaimers are out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks.

What is it about a man in armour that makes a maiden’s heart go pitter-pat? Is it the display of strength, and determination? Is it the smell of rivetted leather, warmed by body heat? Is it the clank of steel and iron, the silvery slink of chainmail?

For me, it’s all of the above. This isn’t to say I don’t like a good beta hero, but sometimes only an alpha will do.

As a teenager, I loved stories of knights, warriors and outcasts – King Richard and Robin Hood, King Arthur and his round-table knights. I also loved watching said knights do battle – sometimes with each other in the training yard, sometimes with enemies.

Sometimes I didn’t mind so much when they got captured and chained up to a wall in a dungeon somewhere.

(Source)

You know the drill. It’s cold, and half-dark down there, water dripping down the old uneven bricks. Our knight – usually shirtless at this stage, his skin dirt-stained and sweaty – struggles to free himself, but the chains are weighted, and it’s no use. He’d be rescued, of course, either by his fellow knights or the jailer’s daughter. This was the point where my own imagination would chime in and I’d imagine myself as his rescuer. And, well, I don’t need to tell you where this is going, do I? Let’s just say that when I get him to safety he shows his gratitude in the way any virile warrior would…

(swoons)

Back now, apologies for the delay. I had to fetch my smelling salts.

So what about you, dear readers? Do men in armor do it for you? Tell us in the comments. And if you have any ogle-worthy candidates – well, sharing is caring!

Here are some of my personal favorites.

(Source)

(Source)

(Source)

 

(Source)

(Source)

(Source)

(Source)

(Source)

Ok, so those last three weren’t  historically accurate.*

Neither is this one –

(Source)

Hey, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

---

For historically accurate Viking age weapons and armour, see here. For medieval armour and shields, see here.

---