Spaulders are pieces of armour in a harness of
plate armour
Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, es ...
. Typically, they are a single plate of steel or iron covering the shoulder with bands (
lames) joined by straps of leather or rivets. By the 1450s, however, they were often attached to the
upper cannon or rerebrace, a feature that continued into the 16th century.
Description
According to some pictorial evidence of the early Middle Ages, such as the
Barberini Ivory, Roman officers wore single spaulders with pteruges attached to protect their upper arms and shoulders.
The use of spaulders developed in the West during the 14th century, appearing more often in the 1400s.
[ Unlike ]pauldrons
A pauldron (sometimes spelled pouldron or powldron) is a component of plate armor that evolved from spaulders in the 15th century. As with spaulders, pauldrons cover the shoulder area. Pauldrons tend to be larger than spaulders, covering the ...
, spaulders do not cover the armpits. Instead, the gaps may be covered by besagew
Besagews, also spelled besagues, are a type of rondel designed to protect the armpits, as part of a harness of plate armour. The armpits are the location of the axillary arteries, and protecting them was therefore vital. Armour without besagues ...
s or simply left bare, exposing the 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 ...
beneath.
Modern use
Though the use of spaulders has declined, craftsmen and machine shops still exist which can craft a pair of spaulders for use in a museum or in simulated combat during reenactments.
Additionally, the Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
saw the introduction of a modern-day version of the spaulder, in the form of the "Deltoid Axillary Protector" add-on to the Interceptor body armour
The Interceptor Multi-Threat Body Armor System (IBA) is a bullet-resistant body armor system that was used by the United States Armed Forces during the 2000s, with some limited usage into the mid-2010s. IBA and its design replaced the older stan ...
worn by US soldiers.
References
External links
Arador Armour Library
guide to creating replica spaulders
Medieval armour
Western plate armour
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