Copy of `Royal Armouries - medieval weaponry`

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Royal Armouries - medieval weaponry Category: History and Culture > Medieval warfare Date & country: 04/09/2015, UK Words: 348

Keiko 拄甲
Lamellar armour (Japan) of the continental Asian type introduced in the 6th century AD.

Kebiki odoshi 毛引縅
Close-set lacing of an armour (Japan)

Karabitsu 唐櫃
Lacquered armour storage box (Japan)

Karakusa
Scrolling tendril ornament (Japan)

Kamon 家紋
Heraldic device see mon (Japan)

Kanamono 金物
Decorative metal fittings (Japan)

Kaku gata
Square of a tsuba (Japan)

Kaeri 返り
The part of the boshi along the back of the blade (Japan)

Kaiken 懐剣
Dagger carried by wives of samurai (Japan)

Kao
Personal seal mark (Japan)

Kashira 頭
Fitting at the top (pommel) of a hilt (Japan)

Katana kake 刀懸
Sword rack (Japan)

Kashiragane 頭がね
Hole in the kashira where the tsukaito is tied (Japan)

Katate maki
Hilt binding with hineri maki at either end and a single strand wrapped round the central section

Katana 刀
Long sword worn edge upwards in the sash (Japan)

Jinbaori 陣羽織
Textile surcoat worn over armour (Japan)

Jizo
‘Priest’s head’ shape (Japan)

Junior Clerk
Middle-ranking clerical officer

Jumonji yari
Spear with additional branching blades in the form of the number ten (Japan)

Katchu 甲冑
Armour (Japan)

Katchushi 甲冑師
Armourer (Japan)

Jewel House
The institution and building at the Tower of London responsible for the storage of royal treasure including plate jewels and after the Stuart Restoration of 1660 the new coronation regalia

Jack of plate
A textile doublet into which small square iron plates were sewn for additional protection popular in Britain in the 16th century.

Ishime
Matt finish on metalwork (Japan)

Ita 板
Plate (Japan)

Itame 板目
Wood grain in a blade (Japan) itame hada wood grain surface grain pattern

Iyo zane
Broad scales assembled with almost no overlap (Japan)

Holy water sprinkler
A type of long-hafted club whose head was fitted with short iron spikes. A term used popularly for a weapon thought to resemble the club-like aspergillum used by priests to sprinkle holy water.

Hoko
Early type of spear (Japan)

Hoate 頰当
Face mask without a nose defence (Japan)

Iori mune 庵棟
Blade with a ridge at the back (Japan)

House-Keeper
Responsible for domestic management in Ordnance Offices at the Tower and at Pall Mall

Horimono
Decorative carving (Japan)

Horo 幌
Balloon-like cape worn at the rear of an armour (Japan)

Hoshi 星
Rivet (literally ‘star’) (Japan)

Home Counties
The counties circling London traditionally Kent Surrey Sussex Middlesex Berkshire Buckinghamshire Hertfordshire and Essex

Home Service
Employment at an Ordnance outstation within the British Isles

Hi 樋
Groove on a blade (Japan)

Hira zukuri 平造
Blade without a ridge (Japan)

Hirumaki
Spear butt (Japan)

Hineno zunari kabuto 日根野頭陀形兜
Head-shaped helmet with a broad plate running over the centre overlapped by the brow plate (Japan)

Hineri maki
Common style of hilt binding where the two strands of ito are twisted at the crossover (Japan)

Hinawaju 火縄銃
Matchlock harquebus (Japan)

Hachi 鉢
Skull of a helmet (Japan)

Ha 刃
Cutting edge of a sword (Japan)

Helm
A cylindrical head defence by the 14th century extending to the shoulders and frequently secured to the cuirass by straps redundant on the battlefield by the late 14th century but still used in the tournament in the 16th century (see tilting helm).

Halberd
A staff weapon whose head has an axe-like cutting blade a shorter hooked blade or fluke at the rear and a vertical spike for thrusting.

Haidate 佩楯
Defences for the thighs tied around the waist (Japan)

Hada 肌
Grain visible on a blade (Japan)

Hadome
Cross guard fitted to a spear shaft (Japan)

Habaki 鎺
Collar around the base of the blade (Japan)

Hamon 刃文
Temper pattern on the edge of a blade (Japan)

Harness
An alternative word for a plate armour.

Harikake kabuto
Helmet with permanent additions of lacquered paper or leather (Japan)

Harquebus
A light form of infantry musket.

Haramaki 腹巻
Lamellar armour which closes at the back (Japan). Most important collection of early examples at Oyamazumi Jinja Omishima.

Gyoyo 杏葉
Leaf-shaped plate suspended at the shoulder (Japan)

Gunome 互目
Undulating of a hamon (Japan)

Guard
The part of a sword hilt designed to provide protection for the hand of the user (eg knuckle guard).

Gusoku 具足
‘equipment’, term for an armour after 1600, see tosei gusoku (Japan)

Great Wardrobe
Principal medieval department responsible for the storage and expenditure of the royal household until the early fourteenth century

Greave
Plate defence for the lower leg.

Grandguard
Plate reinforce for the left shoulder and left side of the face worn with tilt armour.

Great bacinet
A form of helmet enveloping the head, neck and throat, with a plate visor, from the late 14–early 16th century, evolved from the bacinet.

Go mai dō 五枚筒
Cuirass divided into five sections (Japan)

Gessan 下散
Defence for the hips and thighs suspended from the lower edge of the cuirass see kusazuri (Japan)

Gendaitō 現代刀
‘Military era swords’ (Japan) 1876–1953

Gorget
A plate defence for the neck worn under the cuirass additionally helping to distribute the weight of the armour.

Gokuden 五口伝
The ‘five traditions’ of sword making before 1600 (Japan): Yamato (Nara), Bizen (Okayama), Yamashiro (Kyoto), Soshu (Tokyo) and Mino (Gifu)

Gestech
The German term for the Joust of Peace.

Fuchi 縁
Fitting at the base of the hilt (Japan)

Garniture
Plate armour with interchangeable parts and extra pieces to enable it to be worn for different tournament events, such as the tilt, tourney or foot combat, or battlefield use, as heavy or light cavalry or as infantry.

Fukigayeshi 吹返
Turnbacks of the front ends of the upper plate of the neckguard (Japan)

Fuller
A groove in a sword or dagger blade made to lighten and stiffen it.

Funbari 踏ん張り
Blade tapering at the base (Japan)

Fletchings
The flights of an arrow made from three pinion feathers taken from the wing of a large bird such as a goose or peacock.

Forte
The stiffest part of a sword blade closest to the hilt.

Foreign Service
Employment at an Ordnance outstation outside of the British Isles

Furbisher
Craftsman responsible for carrying out minor repairs cleaning and oiling firearms

Furoshiki 風呂敷
Wrapping cloth (Japan)

Fusye
A piece of hardened steel against which a piece of natural flint may be struck to create sparks to ignite tinder. In heraldry fire-steels are usually rendered as a rectangular bar with a ram

Flanchard
Plate defence for a horse

False damascening
A decorative technique in which the surface of a piece of metal usually iron is very finely roughened by cross-hatching. Gold or silver is then hammered onto this roughened surface and held there to form the required design.

Fire-steel
A piece of hardened steel against which a piece of natural flint may be struck to create sparks to ignite tinder. In heraldry fire-steels are usually rendered as a rectangular bar with a ram

Exchequer
Department primarily responsible for collecting royal revenues and auditing financial accounts of royal officials and public servants

Ebira 箙
Quiver (Japan) the early open framed type.

Enceinte
The continuous line of walls and bastions surrounding a fortification.

Estoc or Tuck
A type of sword with a long stiff blade of square or triangular section capable of being used only for thrusting.

Etchu zunari kabuto 越中頭陀形兜
Head-shaped helmet with a broad plate running over the centre overlapping the brow plate (Japan)

Daikyu 大弓
Longbow (Japan)

Daimyo 大名
Feudal territorial lord (Japan)

Daisho 大小
Pair of long and short swords in matching mountings (Japan)

Demi-cannon
The second largest after the cannon of the types of artillery piece commonly in use in the 16th and 17th centuries. Usually of cast bronze.

Culverin
A type of cannon which like the basilisk was usually of cast bronze and long in proportion to its bore diameter.

Culet
Defence for the rump in a plate armour.

Cuirass
Defence for the thorax part of a plate armour or worn separately comprising a breastplate and backplate.

Cuisse
Defence for the thigh in a plate armour.

Damascening
A technique of decoration in which grooves forming a design are cut into the surface of a piece of metal usually iron. Gold or silver wire is then hammered into these grooves and filed smooth leaving the desired design inlaid into the surface.

Codpiece
Groin defence for an armour usually worn only when fighting on foot.

Crupper
Plate defence for a horse