[Before the year 400 CE) foot soldiers wore breastplates and helmets. But when, because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the cus- tomary armor began to seem heavy since the soldiers rarely ever wore it. There- fore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates... and then the hel mets. So our soldiers fought the Goths without any protection for chest and head and were often beaten by archers. Although there were many disasters, which led to the loss of great cities, no one tried to restore breastplates and helmets to the infantry. Thus it happens that the troops in battle, exposed to wounds because they have no armor, think about running and not about fighting