A bracer (or arm-guard) is a strap or sheath, commonly made of

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

, that covers the

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

(inside) surface of an

archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern ...

bow BOW as an acronym may refer to: * Bag of waters, amniotic sac * Bartow Municipal Airport (IATA:BOW), a public use airport near Bartow, Florida, United States * Basic operating weight of an aircraft * BOW counties, made of Brown, Outagamie, and Winn ...

-holding arm. It protects the archer's

forearm The forearm is the region of the upper limb between the elbow and the wrist. The term forearm is used in anatomy to distinguish it from the arm, a word which is used to describe the entire appendage of the upper limb, but which in anatomy, techn ...

against injury by accidental

whipping Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...

from the

bowstring A bowstring joins the two ends of the bow stave and launches the arrow. Desirable properties include light weight, strength, resistance to abrasion, and resistance to water. Mass has most effect at the center of the string; of extra mass in th ...

or the

fletching Fletching is the fin-shaped aerodynamic stabilization device attached on arrows, crossbow bolts, Dart (missile), darts, and javelins, typically made from light semi-flexible materials such as feathers or Bark (botany), bark. Each piece of such a ...

of the

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

while

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

, and also prevents the loose

sleeve A sleeve (, a word allied to '' slip'', cf. Dutch ) is the part of a garment that covers the arm, or through which the arm passes or slips. The sleeve is a characteristic of fashion seen in almost every country and time period, across a myri ...

from catching the bowstring. They normally only cover part of the forearm, but full-length bracers extending to the upper arm are also available, and other areas have been covered by some archers. In addition, chest guards are sometimes worn, usually by female archers, to protect the

breast The breasts are two prominences located on the upper ventral region of the torso among humans and other primates. Both sexes develop breasts from the same embryology, embryological tissues. The relative size and development of the breasts is ...

. With some combinations of non-baggy clothing and bows with a larger distance between the bow and the string, the archer may not need to wear any bracer.

Decorated bracers

The modern

Navajo people The Navajo or Diné are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Navajo language, Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Din ...

and

Hopi The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...

developed a form of bracer known as a ketoh, which can be decorated with silver, turquoise, and other adornments, possibly from earlier examples made of bone.Harry Fokkens, Yvonne Achterkanp, and Maikel Kuijpers, "Bracers or Bracelets? About the Functionality and Meaning of Bell Beaker Wrist-guards"
''Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 2008,'' vol. 74, pp. 109-149 Ketohs usually have a central motif, sometimes with a stone ornament, and four curvilinear shapes that radiate toward the corners. Ketohs may have a smooth leather surface on the inside of the arm and are then functional, but they are normally used as items of personal and ritual adornment, or as

works of art A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

in their own right. Ketoh armguard with bow

Stone wrist-guard Early Bronze Age stone wrist-guards are found across Europe from around 2400-1900 BC and are closely associated with the Beaker culture and Únětice culture. In the past they have been variously known as ''stone bracers'', ''stone arm-guards'' ...

s from

Beaker culture The Bell Beaker culture, also known as the Bell Beaker complex or Bell Beaker phenomenon, is an archaeological culture named after the inverted-bell Beaker (archaeology), beaker drinking vessel used at the beginning of the European Bronze Age, ...

graves of the European Bronze Age have been thought to be archery bracers. However, they are usually found on the outside of the arm where they would have been more conspicuous. Many have only two holes which would make them difficult to fasten securely to the arm, and some have projecting rivets which would catch on the bow string and make them unsuitable for use as a bracer. Many show great skill in polishing and stone working, and few are found in areas from which their stone originates. When the objects occur in barrows, they always occur in the central primary grave, a place thought to be reserved for heads of family and other important people. They may have been status symbols of prowess in hunting or war, probably mounted as decorations on functional bracers. A few wrist-guards made of gold or amber have also been found; scholars believe these were for ornamental rather than functional use. A review identifies two major sources of stone from which they are made, suggests that they may well not be connected with archery, and highlights other potential uses.Hunter and Woodward et al "An Examination of Prehistoric Stone Bracers from Britain"
An Examination of Prehistoric Stone Bracers from Britain

Other uses

Bracers have also been used in other sports, including

ball games This is a list of ball games and ball sports that include a ball as a key element in the activity, usually for scoring points. Games that include balls Ball sports fall within many sport categories, some sports within multiple categories, inclu ...

such as

Follis The follis (plural ''folles''; , ) was a type of coin in the Roman and Byzantine traditions. Roman coin The term ''follis'' is used for a large bronze Roman coin denomination introduced by Diocletian in about 294. The term "nummus" is now th ...

(played in

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

). In many common

role-playing games A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, eith ...

, bracers are a general piece of armour rather than protective archery equipment, possibly due to confusion with

vambraces Vambraces ( French: ''avant-bras'', sometimes known as ''lower cannons'' in the Middle Ages) or forearm guards are ''tubular'' or ''gutter'' defences for the forearm worn as part of a suit of plate armour that were often connected to gauntlets ...

Notes

External links

Archer's Gear: The bracer
, La Belle Compagnie Website
Roundway G8 burial
Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Devizes
, Wristguard%2fKetoh&src=1-4 Ketohs
collection of the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

{{Archery Archery Medieval armour Native American jewelry Native American tools Handwear