The Armory - Glossary

Glossary of Armor Terms

Ailette	A flat plate of leather or parchment which tied to the point of the shoulder. Worn between 1250-1350 to display the owner's coat of arms.
Aketon	A padded and quilted garment, usually of linen, worn under or instead of plate or mail.
Armet	Fifteenth century helmet of Italian origin consisting a skull, two hinged cheek pieces which lock at the front, and a visor.
Arming Doublet	Quilted garment worn under armour from the early fifteenth century, equipped with points to attach mail gussets and pieces of armor.
Arming Points	Ties (usually of flax or twine) by which armor was secured in place.
Aventail	A curtain of mail attached by means of staples (vervelles) around the base of a helmet (especially the basinet), and covering the shoulders. Also called camail (a French term).
Back Plate	Piece of plate armor protecting the back half of the torso.
Barbote	A high bevor with a falling lame containing eyeslits; used in Spain.
Barbut	Also called barbute, barbuta. An open-faced shoulder-length Italian helmet, made in one piece, with a T-shaped face opening. Barbuta is the Italian term.
Bard	A full horse armor, which could include a shaffron, crinet, peytral, crupper and flanchards.
Basinet	Also called bascinet, basinet. An open-faced helmet with a globular or conical skull enclosing the sides of the face and neck. Usually worn with an aventail, and occasionally a visor.
Bellows Visor	A modern term for a visor with horizontal ridges, such as on 'Maximilian' German fluted armors of the early sixteenth century.
Besagew	Defensive circular plate suspended over the wearer's armpit.
Bevor	Also called bavier or buffe. A chin-shaped defense for the lower face, incorporating a gorget plate. The buffe was an early sixteenth century variant, worn strapped to an open-faced helmet such as the burgonet.
Birnie	Also called byrnie. A mail shirt. See also hauberk.
Bishop's Mantle	Modern term for the cape of mail worn (largely in Germany) in the early sixteenth century.
Blueing	An oxidized blue surface on plate armor, produced through heat treatment.
Bouche	The notch cut in the top (dexter) corner of a shield, to rest the lance when jousting.
Bracer	Early fourteenth century form of defense for the lower arm; also a term for an archer's arm guard to protect the forearm from the bowstring.
Breast Plate	Piece of armor that protects the front of the torso.
Breaths	Holes or slits in the visor of a helmet or the lames of a falling buff or bevor, for ventilation; also usually permitting a degree of etra vision.
Brigandine	A flexible body defense consisting of a large number of metal plates riveted inside a cloth covering.
Buckler	Small round shield carried by infantry.
Burgonet	A light, open-faced helmet popular in the sixteenth century as an alternative to the close-helmet for light cavalry. It was usually furnished with a peak over the brow, a combed skull, and hinged ear pieces. The face opening could be closed with the addition of a falling buffe.
Cabacete	A type of Spanish war hat (popular thoughout fifteenth century Europe) with a turned-down brim and an almond-shaped skull ending in a stalk. See also morion.
Cannon	Individual plate armour defense, of tubular form, for the upper and lower arm. See also vambrace and rerebrace.
Case-hardening	A method (described in the twelth century treatise 'De Diversis Atibus' by Theophilus the Monk) for surface hardening wrought iron (or low carbon steel) by packing it in charcoal or other organic material and heating it for hours above 900 degrees Celsius.
Casque, Casquetal	A light open helmet; usually late fifteenth to mid-sixteenth century helmets of 'antique' form, such as Italian parade 'casques' of the mid-sixteenth century, embossed with grotesques or fashioned in the classical style. These were often similiar in shape to the burgonet.
Celata	Open-faced Italian sallet, common in the fifteenth century.
Cervelliere	Steel skull cap.
Chapel de Fer	Also called a kettle hat. A simple open-faced helmet with a wide brim.
Charnel	The hinged staple or bolt that secured the fourteenth century helm or great basinet to the breast and backplate.
Chausses	Mail protection for the legs, either in the form of mail hose or strips of mail laced round the front of the leg.
Close-helmet	Helmet which, with a full visor and bevor, completely encloses the head and face; modern use of the term tends to refer not to helmets with hinged cheek-pieces opening at the front (the armet) but visored helmets pivoting open on bolts or rivets each side of the skull. Contemporary usage, however, makes no such distinction.
Coat Armour	A quilted garment worn over armor in the fourteenth century.
Coat of Fence	Also called fence, jack, or brigandine. A doublet or tunic lined with small metal plates or, more rarely, just padded with stuffing of tow. See also brigandine and jack.
Coat of Plates	Also called a pair of plates or simply plates. A cloth garment with a number of large plates riveted inside, worn in the fourteenth century.
Cod-piece	Fabric covering for the groin, laterally padded. Its counter part in armor could be either mail or, more usually, plate.
Coif	A hood, usually of mail; by the twelfth century it often incorporated a Ventail.
Comb	The keel-shaped ridge, often very pronounced, that passes from front to back of a helmet over the skull, conferring extra strength and rigidity and contributing to its glancing surfaces. In the mid-sixteenth century, the combs of morio helmets were raised and enlarged to an excessive height for 'fashionable' reasons.
Corslet	Also spelt corselet. A light half-armor popular in the sixteenth century for general military use (for example, town guards). It consisted of a gorget, breast, back and tassets, full arms and gauntlets; the term can also be applied to the cuirass only.
Couter	Also spelt cowter. Plate defense for the elbow.
Crinet	Defense for a horse's neck.
Crupper	Defense for a horse's rump.
Crest	A heraldric recognitive device fixed to the top of the great helm, introduced in the second half of the thirteenth and in wide use by the fourteenth century.
Cuirass	Also called pair of curates. A backplate and breastplate designed to be worn together.
Elbow Cop	Piece of armor covering the elbow.
Fan Plate	Projection from an elbow or knee cop designed to prevent a blow from wrapping around and landing in the joint.
Gorget	Piece of armor protecting the throat. May be a simple collar or a more elaborate design composed of several pieces.
Knee Cop	Piece of armor covering the knee.
Pauldron	Piece of armor covering the shoulder. Usually large, covering the upper 1/3 of the torso
Rerebrace	Piece of armor covering the upper arm from the elbow to the shoulder.
Sabaton	Piece of armor covering the foot.
Spaulder	Piece of armor covering the shoulder joint. Not as large as a pauldron.
Vambrace	Piece of armor covering the lower arm from the wrist to the elbow.

Web Page Design Š1997 by:

Most recent revision September 10th, 1997

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page