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Agambeson (also known as, or similar to where historic or modern distinctions are made, theacton,aketon,padded jack,pourpoint,paltock,haustement, orarming doublet) is a padded defensivejacket, worn asarmour separately, or combined withmail orplate armour. Gambesons were produced with a sewing technique calledquilting orpourpointing that produced a padded cloth. They were usually constructed oflinen orwool; the stuffing varied, and could be, for example, scrapcloth or horse hair.
Anarming doublet worn under armour, particularlyplate armour of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Europe, containsarming points for attaching plates. Fifteenth-century examples may include mailgoussets sewn into the elbows and armpits, to protect the wearer in locations not covered by plate.Germangothic armour arming doublets were generally shorter thanItalianwhite armour doublets, which could extend to the upper thigh. In late fifteenth-century Italy, this also became a civilian fashion. Men who were not knights wore arming doublets, probably because the garment suggested status andchivalry.[1]
The termgambeson is a loan from the Old Frenchgambeson,gambaison, originallywambais, formed after theMiddle High German termwambeis, 'doublet', in turn fromOld High Germanwamba, 'stomach' (cognate towomb).[2]
The termaketon, originally themedieval Frenchalcottonem, might be a loan fromArabical-qutn, meaning 'cotton' (definite article – "the cotton").
Inmedieval Norse, the garment was known asvápntreyja, literally 'weapon shirt', orpanzari/panzer.[3]Treyja is a loan from (Middle) Low German.[4]Panzari/panzer is probably also a loan fromMiddle Low German, though the word has its likely origin in Italian, and is related to the Latinpantex, meaning 'abdomen',[5] cognate with Englishpaunch.[6]
Open,quilted leather jackets and trousers were worn byScythian horsemen before the4th century BC, as can be seen on Scythian gold ornaments crafted by Greek goldsmiths. As stand-alone cloth armour, the European gambeson can be traced at least to the late tenth century, but it is likely to have been used in various forms for longer.[citation needed] In theMiddle Ages, its use became widespreadin the thirteenth century and resembled atunic. Eventually, it made way for thepourpoint (jack or paltock) in the 14th century and had surplanted the gambeson in Henry III's Assize of Arms (1242).[7][8]
The gambeson was used both as a complete armour unto itself and underneath mail and plate to cushion the body and prevent chafing. Evidence for its use under armour does not appear in iconography until the mid-twelfth century.
Although they are thought to have been used in Europe much earlier, gambesons underwent a revolution from their first proven use (in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries) as an independent item of armour to one that facilitated the wearing of mail. They remained popular amongst infantry as cloth armour. Although quilted armour survived into theEnglish Civil War inEngland as a "poor man'scuirass" and as an item to be worn beneath the few remaining suits of full plate, it was increasingly replaced by thebuff coat—a leather jacket of rough suede.
There are two distinctive designs of gambeson: those designed to be worn beneath armour, and those designed to be worn as independent armour. The latter tend to be thicker and higher in the collar and faced with other materials, such as leather or heavy canvas. This variant is usually referred to as "padded jack" and made of several (some say around 18,[9] some even 30[10]) layers of cotton, linen or wool. These jacks were known to stop even heavy arrows,[10] and their design of multiple layers bears a striking resemblance to modern-daybody armour, which used at firstsilk, thenballistic nylon, and later,Kevlar as its fabric.
For common soldiers who could not afford mail or plate armour, the gambeson, combined with a helmet as the only additional protection, remained a common sight on European battlefields during the entire Middle Ages. Its decline—paralleling that of plate armour—came only with theRenaissance, as the use of firearms became more widespread. By the eighteenth century, it was no longer in military use.
While the use of linen in these jackets has been proven by archaeological evidence, the use of cotton—and cotton-based canvas—is disputed since large amounts of cotton cloth were not widely available in Northern Europe. It is probable that Egypt (andAsia Minor generally) still produced cotton well after the 7th and 8th centuries, and knowledge (and samples) of this cloth was brought to Europe by the returningCrusaders; however, the logistics and expense of equipping a town militia or army with large numbers of cotton-based garments make its usage doubtful when flax-based textiles (linen) were in widespread use.
Linothorax was a type of armour similar to gambeson, used byancient Greeks. Meanwhile, the Mesoamericans were known to have used a kind of quilted textile armour calledichcahuipilli before the arrival of theconquistadors, who loaned this word asSpanish:escaupil. Another example is the bullet-resistantMyeonje baegab created during Joseon Korea to confront the effects of Western rifles.
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