A pauldron is a component of plate armour

Plate armour

Plate armour is a historical type of personal armour made from iron or steel plates.While there are early predecessors such the Roman-era lorica segmentata, full plate armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Years' War, from the coat of...

, which evolved from spaulders

Spaulders

Spaulders are armoured plates worn on the upper arms and shoulders in a suit of plate armour.-Description:Developed during the Middle Ages, the use of spaulders declined during the Renaissance along with the use of plate armour....

 in the 15th century. As with spaulders, pauldrons cover the shoulder area. Pauldrons tend to be larger than spaulders, covering the armpit, and sometimes parts of the back and chest. A pauldron typically consists of a single large dome-shaped piece to cover the shoulder (the "cop") with multiple lamés

Lamé (armor)

A lamé is a solid piece of sheet metal used as a component of a larger section of plate armor. Multiple lamés are riveted together or connected by leather straps or cloth lacing to form an articulated piece of armor that provides flexible protection...

 attached to it to defend the arm and upper shoulder. On armour designed for mounted combat, whether in the tournament or the field, the pauldrons would usually be asymmetrical, with one pauldron sporting a cut-away to make room for a lance rest

Lance rest

A lance rest is a metal flange that is typically attached to the right side of a breastplate, just under the armpit...

.

External links

• A glossary definition