Elven armor was in Morrowind as well as Oblivion and we can see it is also in Skyrim yet it doesn't specify which elven race. My understanding is that it is actually Ayleid.

"Ayleids, also known as the Ancient Ones, Wild Elves, or Heartland High Elves, were the first race to establish an empire in Tamriel. They were the original founders of the Imperial City, although it was a fortress called White Gold Tower in those days. They spoke a language now referred to as "Ayleidoon", a derivative of Aldmeris which was once the language of the human Cyrodils as well. Much like the lost Dwemer (whose ruins can be found in Hammerfell and Morrowind), many Ayleid ruins can be found in Cyrodiil."

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Ayleids


Like Dwarven armor was found in the many Dwemer ruins that dotted across Tamriel, Elven armor was found in the many Aylied ruins that are dotted across Tamriel.
To confirm this we have various Aylied unique armor pieces which are obviously identifyable to Elven armor.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Ayleid_Crown_of_Lindai
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Ayleid_Crown_of_Nenalata


Am I correct?


It isn't Orsimer / Orc (corrupt Elves) as Orcish armor is much different.
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/File:OB-item-Orcish_Armor.jpg
It isn't Altmer (High Elves) armor as in Morrowind it states that the orcish armor of Morrowind was copied from Altmer armor. Altmer racially aren't suited for light armor so it would not make sense for it to be theirs.
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Orcish_Armor#Orcish_Armor
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/File:MW_Armor_OrcishM.jpg
We know it is Dunmer (Dark Elves) as we see Dunmer armor in Morrowind.
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Bonemold
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Chitin
Bosmer are greatly suited for light armor yet is it likely that their lifestyle and civilization would make such as splendid design?

This should be moved to lore.

That said, yes, I believe you to be correct. While Elven armor is probably still manufactured, I believe the Ayleid's were indeed the first race to create something similar to modern day elven armor.

I don't think Elven armor was in Morrowind?

for skyrim it would make more sense for it to be make by the falmer than the ayleids but who knows :shrug:

I Agree with Padomay, This should be in Lore

But the Ayleid were all over Cyrodiil and their ruins and architecture are still found throughout. They were even the original inhabitants of the Imperial City
The Ayleid armor pieces found through certain quests look 100% identical to Elven Armor.

It is like Dwarven armor that originates from the Dwemer ruins of Morrowind and Hammerfell is found throughout Tamriel.

If the Bosmer (Wood elves) are actually the descendants of Ayleid (the majority of survivors were exiled to Valenwood, which gives root to this theory), then possibly the Bosmer may value or seek after Ayleid armor (Bosmer are very naturally suited to light armor and Elven armor is light)




sorry didn't realize when I started it

Sorry, but for the life of me I don't recall any "elven armor" in Morrowind - and I am still playing it now...
That more than anything led me to believe that indeed the elven armor was made by Ayleids - Morrowind has no Ayleid ruins, and no elven armor.
We may get something that was made by Falmer in Skyrim I guess, and maybe something Ayleid that was imported as a "collectors item".

[quote name='Kraigus Maximus' timestamp='1312721984' post='18271461']
But the Ayleid were all over Cyrodiil and their ruins and architecture are still found throughout. They were even the original inhabitants of the Imperial City
The Ayleid armor pieces found through certain quests look 100% identical to Elven Armor.

It is like Dwarven armor that originates from the Dwemer ruins of Morrowind and Hammerfell is found throughout Tamriel.

If the Bosmer (Wood elves) are actually the descendants of Ayleid (the majority of survivors were exiled to Valenwood, which gives root to this theory), then possibly the Bosmer may value or seek after Ayleid armor (Bosmer are very naturally suited to light armor and Elven armor is light)




First of all, i want to say that i do agree that elven armor is in fact ayleid. However, there are a number of small flaws to your statement. Allow me to explain. First, while you do often find elven armor and weapons in Ayleid ruins, that that doesn't mean those are the only places in which they can be found. It also does not mean that you wont find Dwarven, Orcish, or even Daedric armor (all of which are decidedly NOT Ayleid) in these ruins as well. But the easy explanation for some of this is that as the Ayleids dispersed, looters and treasure hunters helped to spread the elven pieces abroad.
Secondly, I do not believed that we should base our ideas of who created this armor solely on whether or not a certain race is suited to its design. Should It be A factor? Yes. Definitely. But not the Only factor. For example, Dwarves, were they still around, would be unable to use even their own armor, it being too large and cumbersome for their diminutive stature. According to the book 'The Ruins of Kemel-Ze', Dwarves forged their famous armor for use on their automaton armies. My point is, why should a smith of one species be limited to forging his or her species' signature armor? Or why should an adventurer or soldier conform to the prejudice against interracial armor-wearing that seems to be pulsing through this discussion with some degree of intensity?

The fact that "Ayleid Armor" in Oblivion is visually identical to "Elven Armor" could just be the result of gameplay limitations (devs didn't have time to make a new model for specific Ayleid Armor, so they just used an extant model instead) and may not have any bearing on the official lore nature of that armor.
(Of course, as the Ayleid ARE Elves, Ayleid Armor is Elven Armor no matter what it looks like. It's so silly for Oblivion to use the term "Elven". tsk tsk. Anyways, I believe that the "Elven Armor" of Oblivion is probably contemporary; Bosmeri Or Altmeri by make in all likelihood. If it were ancient Ayleid, it would be MUCH more rare and valuable than it is.)

Agreed. We can perhaps chalk up its prevalence amongst bandits to seditious parties in Summurset furtively supplying arms to Cyrodiil's criminal element.

The "dwarves" (Dwemer) weren't short, they were about the same height as Dunmer and Men.

I tend to think that Akaviri katanas, Dwemer Armor and Elven Armor as found in the games are usually modern replicas of superior ancient pieces (although I could have sworn that Morrowind's dwemer armor was actually centurion casing). The Akaviri because of a book ("Swords and Philosophy," I think) which has a character who owns a Daedric dai-katana considering an authentic Akaviri blade to be so valuable and rare as to be out of the question, and the other two I consider a hunch.

The "Elven Armor" found in Cyrodiil are primarily replicas of ancient Ayleid designs, upgraded with modern technology (the real Ayleid armor of the 1E 160s had more scale than solid plate). Many armorers do not care for historical accuracy, and incorporate Bosmeri and Altmeri designs as well. Real Ayleid armor is found in the hands of collectors, or, rarely, in ruins.


Translation: the fact that there is one set of "elven" armor is a limitation of gameplay, and it is almost certainly a modern reproduction, since 4,000 year old armor wouldn't be wearable. The obvious exception to that are artifacts, which are daedric/aedric/powerfull mage-ic in origin, and Dwemer armor, which we know is made of some special metals.

Something else to think about; the names of the generic enchanted elven items also point to a more contemporary elven origin than the Ayleids. I know, it's not much, but I figured it helps a little.