Chain mail
Mail, or chain mail,[1] is a type of armour. It is made of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. The Celts are usually credited with inventing mail armour.[2] Celtic mail was usually made in the form of a vest.[2]
Etymology[change | change source]
The origins* of the word "mail" are not fully known. One theory is that it originally comes from the Latin word macula, meaning "spot" or "opacity".[3] Another theory relates the word to the Old French "maillier", meaning “to hammer” (related to the modern English word "malleable").[3] A mail shirt is a called a hauberk (haubergeon or byrnie). Mail leggings were called chausses. A mail Hood is called a coif and covered the head, neck and shoulders.
*Another possible source is Italian. The word for jersey or sweater, and sometimes shirt, in modern Italian is maglia or, in French, maillot.
History[change | change source]
Many scholars think mail was invented by ancient Celts about the 3rd century BC.[4] At that time their iron work was probably the best in Europe.[5] The Romans quickly adopted it for their own army. A shirt of mail armour weighed about 30 pounds (14 kg).[4] After a battle it was common practice to strip weapons and armour from the dead.[6] Vikings were known to wear mail armor whenever they could get their hands on it. Mail was expensive, time-consuming to make, and required a supply of iron. It became more expensive as improvements were made in materials and workmanship.[7] Mail armour was in use in Europe until the 15th century.[8]
Modern uses[change | change source]
Mail is today used in gloves to prevent cuts by butchers and firefighters.[9] Some divers wear mail suits when swimming around sharks and particularly when feeding sharks.[10] But mail is heavy and it makes moving around more difficult.[10] Mail is very popular with history reenactors.[11] It is also popular in live action role playing.[12]
Gallery[change | change source]
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Historical mail shirts. -
A historical mail shirt. -
A woman wearing a haubergeon and coif. -
Shark-protective mail suit -
Modern cut resistant glove
References[change | change source]
- ↑ "chain mail" Cambridge dictionaries online
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hazel Richardson, Life of the Ancient Celts (New York: Crabtree Publishing Co., 2005), p. 28
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "mail, n.3". OED Online. December 2011. Oxford University Press.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Richard A. Gabriel, The Great Armies of Antiquity (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002), p. 21
- ↑ Richard A. Gabriel, The Ancient World (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006), p. 79
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Military Science, ed. G. Kurt Piehler (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2013). p. 270
- ↑ Ballistic Materials and Penetration Mechanics, ed. Roy Laible (Amsterdam; New York: Elsevier Scientific Pub. Co., 1980), p. 16
- ↑ Michèle Byam, Arms and Armor (New York, NY: DK Publishers, 2011), p. 24
- ↑ Gavriel Salvendy, Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012), p. 904
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Catherine Veitch, A Daredevil's Guide to Swimming with Sharks (North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2013), p. 25
- ↑ Michael A. Cramer, Medieval Fantasy as Performance: The Society for Creative Anachronism and the Current Middle Ages (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2010). p. 123
- ↑ Lizzie Stark, Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2012), p. 113
