| Ahlespiess |
A staff weapon for thrusting, consisting of a
quadrangular-sectioned spike with a rondel to guard the
hand. |
| Aketon |
A padded coat usually quilted vertically, which was
worn beneath mail to absorb blows. |
| Aiglet |
A conical metal final attached to the end of a point
to prevent fraying and to ease passage through an eyelet. |
| Alwite |
Plate armour that is not faced with material. |
| Armet |
An Italian closed helmint with cheek pieces that
openedoutwards to allow it to be put on. |
| Arming cap |
A padded and quilted cap, sometimes worn under
helmint and always worn by lesser soldiers if a mail hood
was still used. |
| Arming doublet |
A jacked worn beneath plate armour. It had gussets of
mail attached to guard exposed parts and arming points to
attach pieces of armour. |
| Arming point |
A flax, twine or buckskin lace used to attach armour. |
| Arming sword |
The main fighting sword of a knight. |
| Aventail |
Mail neck-deffence attached to lower edge of a
basinet; smaller versions were attached to armets. |
| Backplate |
Plate armour for the back. |
| Ballock knife |
A knife or dagger whose hilt was two swellings at the
base next to blade. Also called a kidneydagger by
Victorians. |
| Banneret |
A knight entitled to bring vassals onto the field
under his own banner. |
| Barbut |
A deep italian helmint with a T-shapedface opening. |
| Bard |
Full plate armour for a horse. |
| Baselard |
A long civiliandagger or short sword with an H-shaped
hilt. |
| Basinet |
A conical open-faced helmet wich extended down at the sides
and back. |
| Bastard sword |
A sword capable of beingwielded in one or both hands. |
| Bec-de-faucon |
An axe or hammer backed by a beack like that of a
falcon. |
| Besagew |
Roundel suspended to protect the armpit. |
| Bevor |
Plate throat defence used in conjunction with a
sallet helmint. |
| Bill |
A staff weaponderived from a hedging bill, consisting
of a broad convex blade with a spicke at the top and
rear. |
| Bodkin |
A long arrow-head without barbs, for piercing armour. |
| Bow |
The front of the saddle. |
| Breastplate |
Plate armour for the chest and stomach. |
| Breaths |
holes in a helmint for ventilation and increaced
vision. |
| Brigandine |
Body armour consisting of a canvas jacket inside
which wereriveted many small plates. Outside was usually
faced with cloth or leather. |
| Broad-head |
A wide barbed arrow-head with long cutting edges,
using for hunting or maiming war-horses. |
| Cannon |
Tubular or gutter-shaped plate defence for upper or
lower arm. |
| Cantle |
The rear part of saddle. |
| Cap-a-pie |
Fully armed, literally "head to foot". |
| Caparsion |
Cloth ot ocassionally mail, covering or housing for a
horse, often used to carry the owner's coat-of-arms. |
| Celata |
An open-faced italian sallet helmint. |
| Chape |
A metal terminal fitted over the tip of a scabbard to
protect it. |
| Chevauchee |
An armed expedition into enemy rerritory. |
| Coat of plates |
Body armour consisting of a canvas jacket inside
which plates were riveted. The outside was usuallyfaced
with cloth or leather; also called "pair of
plates" or "plates". |
| Coronel |
A small crown of points used instead of a single
sharp head on lances for jousts of peace. the use of
several points helped spread the impact of the blow. |
| Courser |
A war-horse. |
| Couter |
Plate defence for the elbow. |
| Crinet |
Plate defence for a horce's neck. |
| Crupper |
Plate armour for a horse's rump. |
| Cuirass |
Armour for the torso, usually denoting the breast-
and back-plates, fauld and culet. |
| Cuir-bouilli |
Leather moulted and hardened following suspension in
water or boiling. |
| Cuisse |
Plate armour for the thigh. |
| Destrier |
The largest, strongest and most expensive war-horse. |
| Dubbing |
The tap on the shoulder with a sword that made a man
a knight. |
| Enarmes |
Carryng straps fitted inside a shield. |
| Estoc |
A thrusting sword with a long, stiff balde. Also
called a tuck in England. |
| Flachion |
Acleaver-like single-edged short sword. |
| Falud |
The hooped skirt thathung from thebreastplate to
guard the lower abdomen. |
| Fauchard |
A stuff weapon consisiting of a long cleacer-like
blade, with a rondel to guard the hand. It was popular
with French infantry. |
| Flanchard |
Plate armour for a horse's flank. Rarely used. |
| Frog-mouthed helm |
A helm whose lower front plate below the vision slot
was extended forward to deflece a blow. AKA a tilting
helm and used largely for jousts of peace. |
| Gadling |
A proud metal stud on the knuckle or finger joint of
a gauntlet. |
| Gaignepain |
Gauntlet, probably of leather, worn onright hand with
armours for jousts of peace. |
| Gambeson |
A padded coat usually quilted vertically. The term
generally refers to a coat worn over the armour rather
than beneath it. |
| Gardbrace |
A reinforcing plate worn over the pauldron on Italian
and some west-european armours. |
| Gauntlet |
Defence for the hand and wrist. |
| Gisarme |
Also called guisarme. A staff weapon consisting of a
convex axe-head with the lowest piont attached to the
shaft. |
| Glaive |
see fauchard. |
| Gorget |
A plate collar to guard the throat. |
| Graper |
A stop behind the grip on a lance. |
| Great basinet |
A basinet with plate with throat- andneck defences
attached. |
| Greave |
Plate armour for the lower leg. |
| Guard-of-the-vambrace |
A reinforcing plate worn over the front of the couter
on Italian and some west-European armours. |
| Guide |
The strap for suspending the shield from the neck or
for hanging from a peg. |
| Guisarme |
see gisarme. |
| Hackney |
Ariding horse. |
| Halberd |
A stuff weapon consisting of an axe blade backed by a
fluck and surmounted by a spike. |
| Hand-and-a-half sword |
see bastard sword. |
| Haute-piece |
An upstanding flange formed by bending up the upper
edge of a pauldron. |
| Helm |
A large helmet enclosing entire head which, in 15th
century, was used only in the tournament. |
| Herald |
An official employed by a king or nobleman, and who
wore his arms. Heralds deliverd messages and identified
coats-of-arms. |
| Hounskull |
The name sometimes given to the pioned visor worn
with the basinet. such a combination also gave rice to
the Victorian term: 'Pig-faced' basinet. |
