hauberk

A hauberk or byrnie is a shirt of mail. The term is usually used to describe a shirt reaching at least to mid-thigh and including sleeves. Haubergeon ("little hauberk") generally refers to the quilted undergarment used with a hauberk, but the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. History The short-hemmed, short-sleeved hauberk may have originated from the medieval Islamic world, although its European form is a descendant of the Carolingian byrnie. The word hauberk is derived from the Old Frankish word halsberg, which originally described a small piece of mail that protects ("bergen", literally "to give protection, to save, to rescue") the throat and the neck (the "Hals"). The Bayeux Tapestry illustrates Norman soldiers wearing a knee-length version of the hauberk, with three-quarter length sleeves and a split from hem to crotch. Such armor was quite expensive, both in materials (iron wire), including the time and skill required to manufacture it, so common foot soldiers rarely were so equipped. By the mid-12th century, hauberks had expanded to include longer sleeves and more protection for the legs. A hauberk stored in the Prague Cathedral and dating from the 12th century is one of the earliest surviving examples from Central Europe, and was supposedly owned by Saint Wenceslaus. In Europe, use of mail hauberks continued up through the 14th century, when plate armor began to supplant it. Some knights continued to wear chain hauberks, however, underneath plate armor. In parts of Central Asia, it continued to be used longer.