A standard, also called a pizaine, was a collar of

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

often worn with

plate armour Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, es ...

Construction

The standard protected the throat and neck and usually extended over the shoulders; it was in use from the 14th to the 16th century. Unlike the similar

aventail An aventail () or camail () is a flexible curtain of mail (armour), mail attached to the skull of a helmet that extends to cover at least the neck, but often also the throat and shoulders. Part or all of the face, with spaces to allow vision, cou ...

, it was not attached to a helmet. It was called a standard because the part encircling the neck and throat was able to stand upright without any external stiffening. This part of the standard was composed of links joined 6-in-1, which made it less flexible and also stronger; the usual, more flexible, ratio of mail linking was 4-in-1. The lower, shoulder-covering, part of the standard was of 4-in-1 linked mail. Some standards were decorated with edging in

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 ...

links (sometimes gilded), and/or were given a zig-zag lower edge (vandyked).

Use

Standards were sometimes worn under an aventail, or even a

gorget A gorget ( ; ) was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the English medieval clothing, medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon (headgear), chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather Collar (c ...

, for extra protection. However, standards were often worn without other neck protection by soldiers who valued an unencumbered facility to move the head over additional protection. Standards were popular with archers, whose mobility was at a premium. Standards were frequently worn with helmets that did not afford integral neck and throat protection, such as the

sallet The sallet (also called ''celata'', ''salade'' and ''schaller'') was a combat helmet that replaced the bascinet in Italy, western and northern Europe and Hungary during the mid-15th century. In Italy, France and England the armet helmet was also ...

, barbute, and

kettle hat A kettle hat, also known as a war hat, was a type of combat helmet made of iron or steel in the shape of a brimmed hat. There were many design variations, with the common element being a wide brim that afforded extra protection to the wearer. I ...

.Way, p. 161

References

Bibliography

*Blair, C. (1959) ''European Armour: circa 1066 to circa 1700'', The Macmillan Company, New York *Loades, M. (2013) ''The Longbow'', Bloomsbury Publishing {{ISBN, 9781782000860 *Way, A. (1862) ''Original Documents The Armour and Arms Belonging to Henry Bowet, Archbishop of York, Deceased in 1423, from the Roll of his Executors’ Accounts'', Archaeological Journal, 19:1, 159-165, DOI:10.1080/00665983.1862.10851226 Medieval armour Body armor Neckwear