Chainmail

Chainmail, or simply mail, is a protective shirt made from thousands of small, interlocking metal rings. Worn with a gambison, it provides excellent protection against most weapons, and slashing attacks in particular.

The amount of iron needed to craft a suit of chainmail, combined with the skill and time investment needed of the smith in question, makes it a very expensive commodity. As such, suits of chainmail often become heirlooms, passed down through generations.