Vambrace
Armour protecting the forearm and elbow
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. Vambraces may be worn with or without separate couters in a full suit of medieval armour. The term originates in the early 14th century. They were made from either boiled leather or steel. Leather vambraces were sometimes reinforced with longitudinal strips of hardened hide or metal, creating splinted armour. Sometimes vambraces were decorated with extravagant designs as was customary for nobles during the late Middle Ages.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Vambrace”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Left Arm Defense (Vambrace) MET DP-12882-028.jpg by Unknown author, CC0
- Pair of Vambraces (Arm Defenses) from a Costume Armor MET sfsb26.188.1 001.jpg by Kolman Helmschmied, CC0
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