rerebrace
Noun: * A piece of medieval plate armor designed to protect the upper arm, specifically the area between the shoulder and the elbow. It is a component of a full suit of armor.
The term "rerebrace" is a historical and specialized word used almost exclusively in the context of medieval history, arms and armor, historical reenactment, and heraldry. It refers to a specific, single component of a knight's defensive gear.
- The knight's rerebrace was decorated with intricate engravings.
- A complete suit of plate armor includes components like the cuirass, rerebrace, vambrace, and greaves.
- The museum's exhibit displayed a 15th-century rerebrace made of polished steel.
- In heraldic descriptions (blazons), the rerebrace might be mentioned as a charge on a coat of arms, representing strength and martial readiness.
- The term is often used in contrast with the , which is the armor for the lower arm.
- Armguard: A more general, modern term for any armor protecting the arm, which could include a rerebrace.
- Vambrace (noun): The piece of plate armor for the forearm, worn in conjunction with the rerebrace.
- Couter (noun): The piece of plate armor that protects the elbow, typically connecting the rerebrace to the vambrace.
- Pauldron (noun): The piece of plate armor that protects the shoulder, to which the rerebrace is attached.
- Upper cannon (of the arm)
- Upper arm defense
The provided reference context contains an error: "cannon that provides plate armor for the upper arm" is incorrect. In armor terminology, a "cannon" (or "canon") is a specific tubular piece of armor, but it is correctly used for the leg armor (e.g., the cuisse for the thigh). The standard and correct term for the upper arm plate is rerebrace. The word has no other common meanings in modern English.
- cannon that provides plate armor for the upper arm