Historically, the term "latten" referred loosely to the

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metal, metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have prop ...

s such as

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

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 metalloid ...

that appeared in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and through to the late-18th and early-19th centuries. Such alloys were used for

monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved church monument, sepulchral memorial once found through Western Europe, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional church monument, monuments and effigy, effigies carve ...

es, in decorative effects on borders, rivets or other details of metalwork (particularly

armour Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

), in

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol, or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery often includes elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

and pilgrim badges or funerary effigies. Latten commonly contained varying amounts of copper, tin, zinc and lead, giving it characteristics of both brass and bronze. Metalworkers commonly formed latten in thin sheets and used it to make church utensils. Brass of this period is made through the calamine brass process, from copper and zinc ore. (Later brass was made with zinc metal from Champion's smelting process and is not generally referred to as "latten".) This calamine brass was generally manufactured as hammered sheet or " battery brass" (hammered by a "battery" of water-powered

trip hammer Trip may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books Fictional characters * Trip (Pokémon), Trip (''Pokémon''), a ''Pokémon'' character * Trip (Power Rangers), in the American television series ''Time Force Power Rangers'' * Trip, in the 2013 film ...

s), and cast brass was rare. "Latten" also refers to a type of tin plating on iron (or possibly some other base metal), which is known as ''white latten''; and ''black latten'' refers to ''laten-brass'', which is brass milled into thin plates or sheets. The term "latten" has also been used, rarely, to refer to lead alloys. In general, metal in thin sheets is characterised as "latten", e.g. ''gold latten,'' and ''lattens'' (plural) refers to metal sheets between 1/64" and 1/32" in thickness.

Footnotes

References

* ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary'' (1998, 2nd edition) * ''The Oxford English Dictionary'' (1989, 2nd edition) * ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary'' (1986) {{alloy-stub Copper alloys Brass