Thepoleyn orgenouillere was a component ofMedieval andRenaissance armor that protected the knee. During thetransition frommail armor toplate armor, this was among the earliest plate components to develop. They first appeared around 1230^[1] and remained in use until 1650 when firearms made them obsolete.

The specifics of poleyn design varied considerably over that period. The earliest poleyns were strapped over mailchausses.^[1] Fourteenth century and early fifteenth century poleyns usually attached to padded leggings or plate cuisses. During the fifteenth century poleyns developed an articulated construction that attached to thecuisses andschynbalds orgreaves. A characteristic of late fifteenth centuryGothic plate armor was a projection that guarded the side of the knee.

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  An early example of poleyns worn overchausses, from an illustration byVillard de Honnecourt (1230).
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  Ludwig III wearing Gothic plate armor with prominent poleyns, from a fifteenth-century manuscript.
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  A late example of poleyns in a three-quarter suit of armor. Zwinger-Museum,Dresden.

• Gaiters
• Knee pad

Wikimedia Commons has media related topoleyns.

• The Poleyn instructions for creating reproduction sixteenth century poleyns
• Leg Harness (1400 - 1620) description of historic developments in leg armor

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