The main function of armor in medieval times was of course to protect knights from being hurt in battle. But it had another purpose you might not consider: to scare the living daylights out of whatever poor serfs were toiling their sorry lives away on nearby farms.

Imagine you’re a peasant eating nothing but months-old fermented vegetables and nasty salted meats all year and drinking literally only beer. If you see a guy roll up to your hovel in a suit of armor like one of these, you are immediately going to drop to your knees and swear fealty. That guy has horns!

Check out of some of these pictures of medieval suits of armor that were clearly less for protection in battle and more of a severely misguided fashion statement.