Following the Battle of Pavia in Lombardy, Italy, European warfare shifted dramatically toward mass armies of mercenaries (such as Landsknechts). To equip these forces cheaply, workshops abandoned custom tailoring in favor of 'munition armor.' This rough, mass-produced gear was left dark from the forge and painted black to prevent rust, with only the raised edges polished bright for visual style. It provided basic, reliable chest, back, and head protection for the growing ranks of pike-and-shot formations.

The dark, uniform aesthetic of black-and-white munition armor stripped warfare of its traditional individualistic aristocratic romance. This change was reflected in the gritty, realistic soldier folk songs and early modern broadside ballads that lamented the industrialization of death on the battlefield.