Corslet

A corslet is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "a piece of defensive

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 f ...

covering the body." In ancient Egypt,

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded a ...

is said to have worn a similar device in some battle(s). In

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

armies, the "

hoplite Hoplites ( ) ( grc, ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The ...

", or heavy infantryman, wore a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

corslet or known as the ''thorax'' (or a

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 ...

version known as the

linothorax The linothorax (pronounced ; from the grc, λινοθώραξ ) is a type of upper body armor that was used throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. The term ''linothorax'' is a modern term based on the Greek , which means "wearing a breastpl ...

) to protect his upper body. The corslet consisted of two plates connected on the sides via hinges and

pins. By the 16th century, the corslet, also spelled corselet, was popular as a light-half-armour for general

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

use, e.g., by town guards. It was made up of a

gorget A gorget , from the French ' meaning throat, was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather collar to protect the ...

breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and sec ...

covering, back and tassets, full arms and gauntlets. In the 10th and 11th century AD depicts some Byzantine troops wearing a metallic corselet lamellar armour (besides the lorikion scale armour that was widely used by the Stratioti) shown in the Skylitzes and Madrid Skylitzes chronicles and of the Menologion of Basil II. There were also seen to be used by the imperial guardsmen in Constantinople. The armor itself lasted until the fall of Constantinople, as Constantinos Palaiologos himself is recorded as wearing one during the fall. The word "corslet" was adopted as a so-called "occupational

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

," later altered to Coslett, Cosslett, Coslet, etc., following the arrival of an expert in the manufacture of osmond iron, Corslet Tinkhaus, to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

from his native

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

in 1567. According to

Webster's Third New International Dictionary ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (commonly known as ''Webster's Third'', or ''W3'') was published in September 1961. It was edited by Philip Babcock Gove and a team of lexicographers who spent 757 ...

, corslet also refers to a

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' deri ...

equipped with a corslet. Western plate armour Body armor {{Armour-stub