Bulletproof vest
Early modern era

In 1538, Duke Francesco Maria della Rovere, a condottiero, commissioned Filippo Negroli to create a bulletproof vest. In 1561, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor is recorded as testing his armour against gun-fire. Similarly, in 1590 Henry Lee of Ditchley expected his Greenwich armour to be "pistol proof". Its actual effectiveness was controversial at the time.

During the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell 's Ironside cavalry were equipped with lobster-tailed pot helmet and musket-proof cuirasses which consisted of two layers of armour plating. The outer layer was designed to absorb the bullet's energy and the thicker inner layer stopped further penetration. The armour would be left badly dented but still serviceable.
detectable_content:postscript, startend:quotation