lance A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike s ...

rest ( French: ''arrêt de cuirasse'' or ''arrêt'') is a metal

flange A flange is a protruded ridge, lip or rim, either external or internal, that serves to increase strength (as the flange of an iron beam such as an I-beam or a T-beam); for easy attachment/transfer of contact force with another object (as the f ...

or hook that is typically attached to the right side of a

breastplate A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is ...

, just under the armpit. The lance rest appeared in the late 14th century, remaining in use until the use of full plate armour and heavy

s became obsolete for general use in the late

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

and early 17th centuries. The use of a lance rest can be more readily understood by examining the French term ''arrêt'', or "stop" (in the sense of a mechanism which is used to prevent something from moving.) The lance rest was not used to simply hold the weight of the lance, as the English name might suggest, but to stop the rearward movement of the weapon upon impact. This would allow the wielder of the lance to couch the weapon more securely, thus delivering a more solid blow to his target while lessening the chance of injury to himself. The lance rest achieves this by spreading the impact of a blow through the breastplate to the torso of the wearer, thus redirecting the force of the blow away from the hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder. A grapper (''arrêt de lance'') was a ring of wood, leather or metal affixed to the lance just behind the hand grip. The grapper would be placed on the front edge of the arrêt, and together they would form a solid point of resistance to magnify the impact of the lance in the couched position. The lance rest is typically bolted to the side of the breastplate or secured through the use of metal tabs known as staples. Most lance rests were hinged so that they could be folded upwards to prevent interference with the wearer's sword arm once the lance had been discarded after the initial impact in favor of a sword.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lance Rest Medieval armour Western plate armour