I believe it was usually brought by the wearer. Armoured knights were usually members of the aristocracy who unlike a peasant had the time, connections and money to become a knight.

Although I guess there's nothing stoping a noble family from giving armour and equipment to a particularly skilled lower class warrior. Point being it was all very personal and private. The central government rarely provided it

Generally speaking, each lord contributing soldiers had to meet a certain standard, and the soldiers in question usually had a high enough status to equip themselves. It's likely there was some form of subsidy by the lord, but that would be case-by-case, like a lord acting as a creditor for a bulk order if payment was in goods instead of coin.