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Arms and Armor History - 13th Century AD


Ailette - Ailette meaning “little wing” in French, was a part of knight’s armor that protected the shoulders. Ailettes were flat and quadrangular in shape and they were made of thick leather or wood and attached to the shoulders by leather strings. Very often they were decorated with heraldic designs. Ailettes were briefly very popular in the 13th century during the crusades.
Barrel Helm - The Barrel Helm was the very large helmet used in 13th century. The helmet gets its name from its barrel shape. The helmet enclosed the head and the only openings in the helmet were the eye slits. In later years holes were added in the lower part of the helmet to facilitate easier breathing. The helm was usually worn over a smaller helmet or a mail coif. As the helmet was heavy and it rested on the head, it was worn only during actual fight.
Brassard - Brassard – (alternative spelling: brachiere, garde de bras, brachiere) was a plate armor for the entire arm. This type of armor came to use in the 13th century and became widespread in use in the 14th century. The first brassards were made of boiled leather and later from plate armor. The brassard consists of many separate parts and the most important are the avantbras or vambrace that protects the forearm, the coudiere or elbow cop to protect the elbow and arriere-bras or rerebrace for the protection of the upper arm.
Buckler - A Buckler is a small round shield that was usually held in left hand and used during fencing. The difference between buckler and other, regular shields is that bucklers had either one handle or two handles that were close together and they were held in one hand. Larger shields usually had two loops that were wide apart and through which an arm was passed. Bucklers were used between 13th and 17th century.
Chausses - Chausses was the chain mail armor for the legs. Chausses covered entire length of the leg or could only extend to the knees. This type of chain mail armor was very effective against slashing blows. With time, chausses was reinforced with metal plates. Metal plates reinforcing the knees were called poleyns and the steel shin plates that protected the lower leg were called schynbalds. These metal plates were worn over the chain mail and they were fastened with leather straps. At the end of 14th century, when plate armor became dominant, chausses became obsolete.
Great Helm - The first original design of the great helm was a cylinder with a flat top. The helm was sufficiently large to be put on easily over the chainmail coif and of such height that it reached down almost, if not quite, far enough to rest on shoulders. Two plates or bars of iron were fixed on the front, forming a cross; above the transverse bar, openings called vues or sights, were pierced for vision, and holes were drilled lower down for breathing. This ponderous head-piece, which was carrird suspended by a small chain from the saddle-bow (according to M. Lacombe "it must have looked like a traveling kettle") and was assumed by the knight only when going into action. In later years, the helm evolved to have a so called “sugar loaf” shape with rounded and pointed top of the helmet. This shape much more easily deflected sword blows. The great helm featured small eye and ventilation openings that were functional and as well decorative. The small openings decreased visibility and for the knight wearing the helm. Also, the ventilation was limited and made breathing difficult. The great helm was used between 12th and 14th Century. Great helms were used during the Crusades. The great helm was later replaced by the bascinet type helmet.
Halberd - The word halberd probably comes from the German words "halm" meaning staff and "barte" meaning axe. A halberd was also called a halbert os Swiss voulge. Halberd is a two-handed pole weapon that consists of a shaft and an axe mounted on the top of the shaft. The opposite of the axe mounted on the shaft was hook that was used to pull horsemen to the ground. Halberds were often used in the 14th and 15th centuries and they were very effective against approaching horsemen and were able to deal with spears and pikes of the enemy. With time, halberds were refined and reinforced with metal rims on the edges of the shaft and therefore making them effective against swords or other bladed weapons. The halberd was the primary weapon of the Swiss armies in the 14th and 15th centuries and thus they are being referred to as Swiss voulge.
Haume - Haume was a type of a helmet that was worn during the 13th century. The helmet provided more protection as earflaps were added. Gradually earflaps were made larger and eventually were joined with the nasal part of the helmet leaving only eye-slit to provide vision. The eye-slit was called ocularium. Breathing holes were added to the helmet to facilitate better air circulation. Haume eventually evolved into the sugarloaf helmet.
Heater Shield - Heater Shield (also called Heraldic Shield) was the classical shield used in the medieval times in Europe. The heater shield evolved from kite shields in the 13th century. They were smaller and easier to handle and could be used on foot or on horseback. Eventually, heater shields evolved further to accommodate the use of jousting weapons such as lance. The name “Heater Shield” is a contemporary term that came from the shape of the shield.
Knee Cop - Knee cops were part of body armor protecting the knee. They were first introduced in Europe in the 13th century. First examples were made entirely of leather and later of metal plates. Knee cops were fastened to chain mail. Mounted in this fashion, they were called poleynes. Knee cops were later incorporated into cuisses.
Targe - Targe (also called Targa or Targo) was the Old English name for the shield. The name “targe” was used to describe various types of shields that were in use between 13th and 16th centuries. Usually, the name targe referred to a shield that was concave in shape and that featured two enarmes on the inside. One was affixed as a handle grip and the other one was adjustable buckle that was affixed to the forearm. Targes were made entirely from iron or they were wooden with iron reinforcement covering the front of the shield. Between 17th and 18th century, the Scotts used targes as their main defense. The Scottish targes were usually round in shape and measured between 18 to 21 inches in diameter. The targes were made with two layers of wooden boards with the grain of each board at the right angle to the other. The front sides of the shields were covered with thick cowhide and they were painted with Celtic patterns. Some of the targes had a central boss made of brass, others had brass accents and decorations. Sometimes, the central boss of the targe had a thread inside which allowed for a spike to be affixed to it.
Vambrace - Vambrace is the armor for the forearm. At the beginning of the 13th century it was worn under the chainmail hauberk but later over the hauberk. In later years the chainmail was discarded and the plate vambrace was worn by itself.

History of Arms and Armor | Arms and Armor Origin Timeline

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