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Spaulders are pieces of armour in a harness of plate armour. Typically, they are a single plate of steel or iron covering the shoulder with bands (lames) joined by straps of leather or rivets. By the 1450s, however, they were often attached to the upper cannon or rerebrace, a feature that continued into the 16th century. [1]
According to some pictorial evidence of the early Middle Ages, such as the Barberini Ivory, Roman officers wore single spaulders with pteruges attached to protect their upper arms and shoulders.
The use of spaulders developed in the West during the 14th century, appearing more often in the 1400s. [1] Unlike pauldrons, spaulders do not cover the armpits.[ citation needed ] Instead, the gaps may be covered by besagews or simply left bare, exposing the mail beneath.
Though the use of spaulders has declined, craftsmen and machine shops still exist which can craft a pair of spaulders for use in a museum or in simulated combat during reenactments.
Additionally, the Iraq War saw the introduction of a modern-day version of the spaulder, in the form of the "Deltoid Axillary Protector" add-on to the Interceptor body armour worn by US soldiers.
Armour or armor is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or from a potentially dangerous environment or activity. Personal armour is used to protect soldiers and war animals. Vehicle armour is used on warships, armoured fighting vehicles, and some mostly ground attack combat aircraft.
A cuirass is a piece of armour that is formed of a single or multiple pieces of metal or other rigid material which covers the torso. The word originates from the original material; leather, from the French cuirace and Latin word coriacea. The use of the term "cuirass" generally refers to both the chest plate and the back piece together. Whereas a chest plate only protects the front and a back plate only protects the back, a cuirass protects both the front and the back.
Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Years' War, from the coat of plates worn over mail suits during the 14th century.
The bascinet – also bassinet, basinet, or bazineto – was a Medieval European open-faced combat helmet. It evolved from a type of iron or steel skullcap, but had a more pointed apex to the skull, and it extended downwards at the rear and sides to afford protection for the neck. A mail curtain was usually attached to the lower edge of the helmet to protect the throat, neck and shoulders. A visor was often employed from ca. 1330 to protect the exposed face. Early in the fifteenth century, the camail began to be replaced by a plate metal gorget, giving rise to the so-called "great bascinet".
A gorget, from the French gorge meaning throat, was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather collar to protect the throat, a set of pieces of plate armour, or a single piece of plate armour hanging from the neck and covering the throat and chest. Later, particularly from the 18th century, the gorget became primarily ornamental, serving as a symbolic accessory on military uniforms, a use which has survived in some armies.
A brigandine is a form of body armour from the Middle Ages. It is a garment typically made of heavy cloth, canvas, or leather, lined internally with small oblong steel plates riveted to the fabric, sometimes with a second layer of fabric on the inside.
Korean armor is armor that was traditionally used in ancient times by Koreans, those fighting in and on behalf of Korea, or Koreans fighting overseas. Examples of armor from the Korean Peninsula date back to at least the Korean Three Kingdoms period. Depending on the tactical situation, Korean armor also included horse armor and other kinds of early anti-ballistic armor before the 20th century.
Scale armour is an early form of armour consisting of many individual small armour scales (plates) of various shapes attached to each other and to a backing of cloth or leather in overlapping rows. Scale armour was worn by warriors of many different cultures as well as their horses. The material used to make the scales varied and included bronze, iron, steel, rawhide, leather, cuir bouilli, seeds, horn, or pangolin scales. The variations are primarily the result of material availability.
A pauldron is a component of plate armor that evolved from spaulders in the 15th century. As with spaulders, pauldrons cover the shoulder area. Pauldrons tend to be larger than spaulders, covering the armpit, and sometimes parts of the back and chest. A pauldron typically consists of a single large dome-shaped piece to cover the shoulder with multiple lames attached to it to defend the arm and upper shoulder. On some suits of armour, especially those of Italian design, the pauldrons would usually be asymmetrical, with one pauldron covering less and sporting a cut-away to make room for a lance rest.
Chinese armour was predominantly lamellar from the Warring States period onward, prior to which animal parts such as rhinoceros hide, rawhide, and turtle shells were used for protection. Lamellar armour was supplemented by scale armour since the Warring States period or earlier. Partial plate armour was popular from the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589), and mail and mountain pattern armour from the Tang dynasty (618–907). Chain mail had been known since the Han Dynasty, but did not see widespread production or battlefield use, and may have seen as "exotic foreign armor" used as a display of wealth for wealthier officers and soldiers. During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), brigandine began to supplant lamellar armour and was used to a great degree into the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). By the 19th century most Qing armour, which was of the brigandine type, were purely ceremonial, having kept the outer studs for aesthetic purposes, and omitted the protective metal plates.
Sangu is the term for the three armour components that protected the extremities of the samurai class of feudal Japan.
Auxiliary armour in a set of Japanese armour are optional pieces worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan in addition to the traditional six armour components.
The Polish hussars, alternatively known as the winged hussars, were a heavy cavalry formation active in Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Their epithet is derived from large rear wings, which were intended to demoralize the enemy during charge. The hussars ranked as the elite of Polish cavalry until their official disbanding in 1776.
The European buff coat is an item of leather clothing that was primarily worn by cavalry and officers during the 17th century, but also worn by a small number of infantry. It was often worn under iron or steel armour for the torso. The buff coat was derived from the simple leather jerkins employed by huntsmen and soldiers during the Tudor period, these in turn deriving from the arming doublet. The name of the jacket, as well as its characteristic tan or buff colour, derives from the buffalo or ox hide from which it was commonly made.
Mirror armour, sometimes referred to as disc armour or as chahār-āyneh or char-aina, was a type of cuirass used mainly in Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe; including India, Persia, Tibet, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. It literally translates to "four mirrors" which is a reflection of how these pieces looked, which resembles four metal discs or rectangular armour plates. Mirror armor was used in some cultures up to the 20th century.
The Dendra panoply or Dendra armour is an example of Mycenaean-era panoply made of bronze plates uncovered in the village of Dendra in the Argolid, Greece.
The close helmet or close helm is a type of combat helmet that was worn by knights and other men-at-arms in the Late Medieval and Renaissance eras. It was also used by some heavily armoured, pistol-armed, cuirassiers into the mid-17th century. It is a fully enclosing helmet with a pivoting visor and integral bevor.
Scholars agree that Japanese armour first appeared in the 4th century, with the discovery of the cuirass and basic helmets in graves. It is thought they originated from China via Korea. During the Heian period (794-1185), the unique Japanese samurai armour ō-yoroi and dō-maru appeared. The Japanese cuirass evolved into the more familiar style of body armour worn by the samurai known as the dou or dō, with the use of leather straps (nerigawa), and lacquer for weatherproofing. Leather and/or iron scales were also used to construct samurai armours, with leather and eventually silk lace used to connect the individual scales (kozane) of these cuirasses. In the 16th century, Japan began trading with Europe, during what would become known as the Nanban trade. This was the first time matchlock muskets were imported, and as they became mass-produced domestically, samurai needed lighter and more protective armour. As a result, a new style of armour called tosei-gusoku (gusoku), which means modern armour, appeared. When a united Japan entered the peaceful Edo period, samurai continued to use both plate and lamellar armour as a symbol of their status.
Kikko are small iron or hardened leather, hexagon shaped armour plates used in the construction of Japanese armor worn by samurai and ashigaru of feudal Japan.
Kulah Khuds were used in ancient western Asia for battle and as decorative head pieces.
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