ArcelorMittal steel in knights’ armours – helping reconstruct the past

Most of us know that we use steel to build houses, ships, cars; almost everything needed in the modern world.  But did you know that even today – knights’ armours are being made with ArcelorMittal steel?

People might say that knights no longer exist in the modern world. But that is not true! There are many knights’ fraternities bringing people together who are fascinated by medieval culture and chivalry. On occasion, these people travel to different locations, even castles, to participate in recreated ‘historical events’ such as battles or tournaments.

Recently in Poland, over 6,000 knights gathered from different parts of Europe to recreate a famous battle, which took place on July 15,1410, near the village of Grunwald (also known as Tannenberg). At that time, the alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Teutonic Knights. Involving some 50,000 mounted knights, this battle is claimed to be one of the largest of the Middle Ages and is also considered a very important victory in the history of Poland and Lithuania.

One of our colleagues from ArcelorMittal Poland, Marcin Pyszno, who works as Project Coordinator for In-House Manufacturing & Services, along with his friends (whose fathers work at ArcelorMittal Poland’s cold rolling mill), represented ArcelorMittal in the Grunwald battle.  In fact, they have been participating in this event since 2002!

The armour they wear was made by themselves out of steel produced at ArcelorMittal Poland’s Krakow Unit. It took them a long time to finish it, but the final effect is highly satisfactory: all aspects of their armours resemble the original ones from the beginning of the 15th century.

As Marcin explains, “the reconstruction of this battle is totally apolitical. Which side you are on is not important. We are all friends. All of us share the same passion – history!”

Collaboration: Anna Bochenek and Marcin Pyszno, ArcelorMittal Poland