Chainmail

Chainmail (also chain mail, chain maille, or just mail or maille) is a type of armour or jewelry that consists of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. Mail can generally be punctured by a spear or shorn by the blow from a heavy axe or sword (although riveted chainmail is much stronger), and its flexibility means that its wearer is still vulnerable to blunt weapons. Nevertheless, it was an effective and popular defense for its ability to stop cutting weapons from piercing the skin. Medieval physicians could usually set broken bones, but when it came to preventing infection they were woefully inadequate. Thus the mail was weak in defending against wounds which could be more easily mended but strong against those to which the soldier was most vulnerable. The word chainmail is of relatively recent coinage, having been in use only since the 1700s, prior to this it was refered to simply as mail http://www.regia.org/warfare/Mail.htm.

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The word itself refers to the armour material, not the garment made from it. A shirt made from mail is hauberk, if knee-length; haubergeon if waist-length. Mail socks are called chausses, mail hood as coif and mail mittens as mitons. A mail collar hanging from a helmet is camail.

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Armour: Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English), is protective clothing intended to defend its wearer from intentional harm in combat and military engagements, typically associated with soldiers. Armour has been used throughout recorded history, beginning with hides, leather, and bone, be...

Spear: A spear is an ancient weapon, used for hunting and war consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a sharpened head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be of another material fastened to the shaft. The most common design is of ...

Axe: The Ax(e) is an ancient and ubiquitous tool that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, harvest timber, as a weapon and a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many forms and specialized uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle, or helve....

Chainmail related Images and Photos (experimental)

Chain Mail Coif	Chain Mail Coif	Chain Mail Coif	Chain Mail Shirt
Chain Mail Gaming Dice Bag