Goblin Slayer: What Is Chain Mail & Why Is It So Important to Priestess?

GOBLIN SLAYER! is a dark fantasy and adventure light novel series that focuses on a young and inexperienced Priestess who wants to become an adventurer but lands in trouble as goblins wipe out her first party; she is saved by the mysterious Goblin Slayer, a brutal murderer of goblins, whom she then joins as they adventure together. This article will be, in a way, related to Priestess, but not directly, as we are going to discuss an object that is quite dear and important to Priestess – her chain mail armor. She lost it in the most recent episode of the anime, so we are going to explain what it is and why it is so important.

Priestess was very attached to her chain mail armor

Now, the story of how and why Priestess was so attached to her chain mail armor dates back to Volume 1 of the light novel, which explains how she got it and why it is so important to her. This is why we are first going to tell you about that before telling you what happened with it and what it is.

Namely, when Priestess first decided to become an adventurer, she joined the party led by Warrior, which also consisted of Fighter and Wizard. Now, despite having no experience, Warrior decided to tackle a goblin den despite the warnings, and it turned out to be a fatal mistake.

The goblins easily overpowered him and mauled him until there was nothing left. They also tortured Wizard, who was killed by Goblin Slayer out of pity (she begged him to end her suffering), as well as traumatized Fighter, thanks to whom Priestess survived. Goblin Slayer arrived to take care of the situation, and that is how Priestess joined him.

Now, during this mission, Priestess was basically defenseless against the goblins, so Goblin Slayer suggested that she get herself a chain mail armor, just like the one he had. Grateful, she accepted, and that is how she received it. It was her first armor, and it was – sort of? – a “gift” from Goblin Slayer to her, so she cherished it a lot, and knowing her gentle nature, she grew attached to it.

Now, in the Capital, while she was getting changed, someone stole it from her, and it broke her completely – she was sad and she cried a lot. It later turned out that the Princess stole it because of her own aspirations, but when she realized how attached Priestess was to that piece of armor, she felt guilty and would later return it to Priestess. And that is how the story evolved. We now know how Priestess received that chain mail armor, as well as why it was so important to her; we also found out what happened to it, which means that we can now proceed to explain what a chain mail armor actually is, in case you don’t know your medieval history.

Chain mail in GOBLIN SLAYER! is the same as chain mail in real life

You might have thought that chain mail has some special meaning in the world of GOBLIN SLAYER!, but it does not. Those who know their medieval history will certainly know what chain mail is, but for those who do not – here is a brief explanation.

Chain armor or chain mail refers to a type of armor that consists of numerous small metal rings – fire-welded or riveted – that are intertwined. The components of chain mail absorb most blows and shocks from weapons such as swords and thus became common body armor in the Middle Ages. The term chain mail is of modern origin and is now used in popular literature and colloquially. In scientific usage, the term ring mail shirt is preferred.

And that’s about it. There is really no additional story here, so we don’t have much to tell you, but you now know what the term means in general and in GOBLIN SLAYER!.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!