This list identifies various pieces of

body armour Body armour, personal armour (also spelled ''armor''), armoured suit (''armored'') or coat of armour, among others, is armour for human body, a person's body: protective clothing or close-fitting hands-free shields designed to absorb or deflect ...

worn from the medieval to

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

in the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

, mostly plate but some

mail armour Mail (sometimes spelled maille and, since the 18th century, colloquially referred to as chain mail, chainmail or chain-mail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common milita ...

, arranged by the part of body that is protected and roughly by date. It does not identify fastening components or various appendages such as

lance rest A lance rest ( French: ''arrêt de cuirasse'' or ''arrêt'') is a metal flange or hook that is typically attached to the right side of a breastplate, just under the armpit. The lance rest appeared in the late 14th century, remaining in use until ...

s or plumeholders, or clothing such as

tabard A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. In its more developed ...

s or

surcoat A surcoat or surcote is an outer garment that was commonly worn in the Middle Ages by soldiers. It was worn over armor to show insignia and help identify what side the soldier was on. In the battlefield the surcoat was also helpful with keeping ...

s, which were often worn over a harness. There are a variety of alternative names and spellings (such as ''cowter'' or ''couter''; ''bassinet'', ''bascinet'' or ''basinet''; and ''besagew'' or ''besague'') which often reflect a word introduced from French. Generally, the English spelling has been preferred (including ''mail'' instead of the lately used ''maille'' or the inauthentic term ''chainmail''). The part of armour on the hand is called the ''gauntlet'', which is based on a French word.

Japanese analogues

The following components of

Japanese armour Scholars agree that Japanese armour first appeared in the 4th century, with the discovery of the cuirass and basic helmets in graves. During the Heian period (794–1185), the unique Japanese samurai armour ''ō-yoroi'' and ''dō-maru'' appeared. ...

roughly match the position and function of certain components of occidental armour: * Kusari zukin (mail coif) *

Mengu , also called or , are various types of facial armour that were worn by the samurai class and their retainers in feudal Japan. These include the ''sōmen'', ''menpō'', ''hanbō'' or ''hanpō'', and ''happuri''. Description The ''men-yoroi'' ...

(mask) *

Kabuto ' (兜, 冑) is a type of helmet first used by ancient Japanese warriors that, in later periods, became an important part of the traditional Japanese armour worn by the samurai class and their retainers in History of Japan#Medieval Japan (118 ...

(helmet) *

Dō Dō may refer to: * Dō (architecture) * Dō (armour) * Dō (martial arts) * Dō (philosophy) The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and East Asian religions, religion. This seeing ...

(cuirass) *

Kote Kote may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Kote (film), ''Kote'' (film), a 2011 Indian Kannada-language film * a title character in the 1919 Georgian comic opera ''Keto and Kote'' and the 1949 film adaptation of the same title * KOTE, a country mu ...

(vambrace and lower pauldron) * Han kote (gauntlet) * Sode (roughly pauldron) *

Suneate ''Sangu'' is the term for the three armour components that protected the extremities of the samurai class of feudal Japan. Description Traditional Japanese armour had six main components (''hei-no-rokugu, roku gu, or roku gusoku''), the dou or d ...

(greave) * Kusazuri (fauld or tasset) * Wakibiki (bezagews) * Nodowa (gorget) * Kusari katabira (hauberk) * Kikko katabira (brigandine) * Kôgake (sabaton) * Kusari shikoro (aventail)

References

{{Elements of Medieval armor Medieval armour Body armor Western plate armour

Medieval armour Body armour, personal armour (also spelled ''armor''), armoured suit (''armored'') or coat of armour, among others, is armour for a person's body: protective clothing or close-fitting hands-free shields designed to absorb or deflect physical a ...