Armour & Weapons

oo CO THE TRANSITION PERIOD CHAP. II or elbow-piece is held in place by Aiguillettes or laces—called at a later period Arming-points. The poleynes overlap the jambs, and so cover the junction of the two pieces, and the latter are held to the leg with straps. The Solerets are among the earliest examples of a defence of laminated plates, that is, of strips of metal riveted upon leather in order to give more ease of movement than would be possible with a solid plate. The Vambrace is worn under the sleeve of the hauberk, and not, as in the preceding example, Fig. 13. Gulielmus Berardi, Florence, 1289. Fig. 14. Bib. Nat., Paris, Tristan and Iseult, fourteenth century. over the mail. This figure is especially interesting because it shows the different garments worn with the armour of this period. Above the knees appears the tunic ; over this comes the hauberk of mail, in this instance banded mail ; over the hauberk are shown the Upper Pourpoint, a quilted garment, and, above this, the surcoat, or, as this variety is called, the Cyclas. The difference between the surcoat proper and the cyclas is that the former is of even length all round, while the latter is shorter in front than behind (see also Fig. 14). The coif of mail has now given place to the Camail, which does not cover the head, but is attached to the helmet, and is not joined to the hauberk, but hangs over the cyclas.