Rerebrace

A rerebrace connected to a pauldron (which would cover the shoulder)

Italian rerebrace, ~1440

A rerebrace (sometimes known as an upper cannon ^[1] ) is a piece of armour designed to protect the upper arms (above the elbow). Splint rerebraces were a feature of Byzantine armour in the early medieval period. The rerebrace seems to have re-emerged in England, in the early 14th century. ^[2] As part of the full plate armour of the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance the rerebrace was a tubular piece of armour between the shoulder defences (spaulder or pauldron) and the elbow protection (couter).

References

1. David Edge; John Miles Paddock (1993) [1988]. Arms & Armor of the Medieval Knight (Crescent Books reprint ed.). New York City: Crescent Books. pp. 79–80. ISBN   0-517-10319-2.
2. George Cameron Stone (1999) [1934]. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times (Dover ed.). Mineola NY: Dover Publications. p. 526. ISBN   0-486-40726-8.

External links

• Cleveland Museum of Art glossary of arms and armor