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A mail coif is a type of
The most common pattern of linking the rings together is the 4-to-1 pattern, where each ring is linked with four others. Historically, the rings composing a piece of mail would be riveted closed to reduce the chance of the rings splitting open when subjected to an attack. In the beginning, European mail was made of alternating rows of round riveted rings and solid rings. By the 14th century, European mail makers stopped using solid rings and mail was made from wedge riveted rings only with no solid rings.
Contrary to depiction in most media, the mail coif was never placed directly on the skull, but onto a thick shock absorbing padding made from leather, textile, hair etc. Increased thermal insulation led to faster overheating of the wearer, which was of major concern for armoured combat.
By the late 15th century, the
armour
Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...
which covered the head. A mail coif
A coif () is a close fitting cap worn by both men and women that covers the top, back, and sides of the head.
History
Coifs date from the 10th century, but fell out of popularity with men in the 14th century."A New Look for Women." Arts and ...
was a flexible hood of chain mail
Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...
that extended to cover the throat, neck and the top part of the shoulders. They were popular with European fighting men of the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
.
History
Thecoif
A coif () is a close fitting cap worn by both men and women that covers the top, back, and sides of the head.
History
Coifs date from the 10th century, but fell out of popularity with men in the 14th century."A New Look for Women." Arts and ...
dates from the 10th century, and is a close fitting cap that covers the top, back, and sides of the head. It was usually made from white linen
Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant.
Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
and tied under the chin. They were everyday wear for lower-class men and women from the 12th to 15th centuries.
Mail
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
originated with the Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
in the 5th century BC. After the destruction of the Thracians
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. ...
by the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
, mail came back into fashion as the most common form of battlefield armour much later, during the Middle Ages among European mounted and foot soldiers until the 13th century.
Construction
The most common pattern of linking the rings together is the 4-to-1 pattern, where each ring is linked with four others. Historically, the rings composing a piece of mail would be riveted closed to reduce the chance of the rings splitting open when subjected to an attack. In the beginning, European mail was made of alternating rows of round riveted rings and solid rings. By the 14th century, European mail makers stopped using solid rings and mail was made from wedge riveted rings only with no solid rings.
Contrary to depiction in most media, the mail coif was never placed directly on the skull, but onto a thick shock absorbing padding made from leather, textile, hair etc. Increased thermal insulation led to faster overheating of the wearer, which was of major concern for armoured combat.
By the late 15th century, the aventail
An aventail () or camail () is a flexible curtain of mail attached to the skull of a helmet that extends to cover the throat, neck and shoulders. Part or all of the face, with spaces to allow vision, could also be covered.
The earliest camail ...
had replaced the mail coif completely. An aventail is a curtain of mail which is attached to the skull of a helmet. The mail extends to cover the throat, neck and shoulders.
Etymology
For the word ''mail'', there are a variety of alternative spellings. This is common of an English word introduced from the French. Generally, the English spelling has been preferred, which is ''mail'', instead of the lately used ''maille'' or the inauthentic term ''chainmail''.See also
*Mail (armour)
Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...
* Components of medieval armour
This list identifies various pieces of body armour worn from the medieval to early modern period in the Western world, mostly plate but some mail armour, arranged by the part of body that is protected and roughly by date. It does not identify ...
* Coif
A coif () is a close fitting cap worn by both men and women that covers the top, back, and sides of the head.
History
Coifs date from the 10th century, but fell out of popularity with men in the 14th century."A New Look for Women." Arts and ...
* Aventail
An aventail () or camail () is a flexible curtain of mail attached to the skull of a helmet that extends to cover the throat, neck and shoulders. Part or all of the face, with spaces to allow vision, could also be covered.
The earliest camail ...
* Hauberk
References
Bibliography
* * * . * {{Elements of Medieval armor Medieval armour Body armor