Page 218 - Dictionary of Heraldry and Related Subjects

this respect can have been of very
little use as they were made of
material far too flimsy to yrovide
adequate protection. They may have
A
been purely decorative because in-
variably they were painted with the
armorial bearings of the wearer.
Aaispiess - This was a colloquial
name for the thrusting-lance which
shouId not in any way be confused Aketon - A knee length shirt-like
with either lhe mounted man's lance garment stiffened with vertical quilt-
or the soldieris pike, though fre- ing. The sleeves varied between
quently it could resemble and even short and wide and long and tight
be mistaken for the plançon à picot. and there was an upsranding collar.
It was designed entirely as a strik- It was used principally by foor
ing weapon, particularly for thrust- soldiers as a form of non-metallic
jng and in order to protect the hand defence but later many mounted
it was fitted with a guard-ronde1 at men used it as a lining for the
the socket. It had a much shorler hauberk.
shaft than the man at arms' lance.
The adoption of the aalspiess coin- AN-round Cuisses - A type of plate
cided with the knightly practice at armour designed to enclose the
thighs completely. They were intro-
the time of fighting on foot.
duced early in the 16th century par-
ticularly for the protection of those
fighting on foot.
Almain Rivets - A type of light
armour, first used in Germany,
which consisted of plates sliding on
rivets set in slides to ensure greater
flexibility. Almain is derived from
the early name for Germany. Even-
tuatly tbis type of armour was made
in other countries and records show
that Henry VIII sent to Milan for
five thousand suits of Almain
Rivets.
Angon - A type of spear almost
exactly similar to the Roman
Ailette ' pilurn ' which was developed by
the early Frankish tribesrnen. It was
Aiiettes - A curious accessory used used to hamper their apponents'
by the Nobility between the years rnovements and was in use about
1270 and 1350. They consisted of a A.D. 450.
pair of small vertical plates either
oblong or square which were secured Archer - The origin of the archer is
to stand up on the shoulders. They obscure but they appear to have
nay have been designed as addi- been first used by the eariy Egyp-
tional protection for the neck but in tians. For many years only a short
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