Mail (sometimes spelled maille and, since the 18th century, colloquially referred to as chain mail, chainmail, or chain-mail)"chain mail" Cambridge dictionaries online is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was widely used in European militaries from the 3rd century BC to the 16th century AD, while in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East it remained in military use until 18th century. Chain mail is still in use in industries such as butchery and as protection against the powerful bites of creatures such as sharks. A coat of this armour is often called a hauberk or sometimes a byrnie.
History
The earliest examples of surviving mail were found in the Carpathian Basin at a burial in Horný Jatov, Slovakia dated in the 3rd century BC, and in a chieftain's burial located in Ciumești, Romania.Rusu, M., "Das Keltische Fürstengrab von Ciumeşti in Rumänien", Germania 50, 1969, pp. 267–269 Its invention is commonly credited to the Celts,The ancient world, Richard A. Gabriel, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 P.79 but there are examples of Etruscan pattern mail dating from at least the 4th century BC.Oriental Armour, H. Russell Robinson, 1967 Walker and Co., New York, pp. 11-12Catalogue of the Exhibition of Ancient Helmets and Examples of Mail, William Burgess & Baron De CossonStone, G.C. (1934): A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms And Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Dover Publications, New York Mail may have been inspired by the much earlier scale armour.Philip Sidnell, Warhorse: Cavalry in Ancient Warfare , Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006 , p.159Robert E. Krebs, Carolyn A. Krebs, Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the Ancient World , Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003 , p.309 Mail spread to North Africa, West Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, India, Tibet, South East Asia, and Japan.
Herodotus wrote that the ancient Persians wore scale armour, but mail is also distinctly mentioned in the Avesta, the holy scripture of the Zoroastrian religion that was written in the 6th century BC.
Mail continues to be used in the 21st century as a component of stab-resistant body armour, cut-resistant gloves for butchers and woodworkers, shark-resistant wet-suits for defense against shark bites, and a number of other applications.
Etymology The origin of the word mail is not fully known. One theory is that it originally derives from the Latin word , meaning 'spot' or 'opacity' (as in macula of retina). Another theory relates the word to the old French , meaning 'to hammer' (related to the modern English word malleable). In modern French, maille refers to a loop or stitch."maille", Trésor de la langue française informatisé. The Arabic words burnus ( 'burnoose, a hooded cloak', also a chasuble worn by Coptic priests) and barnaza ( 'to bronze') suggest an Arabic influence for the Carolingian armour known as byrnie (see below).
The first attestations of the word mail are in Old French and Anglo-Norman: maille, maile, or male or other variants, which became mailye, maille, maile, male, or meile in Middle English."maille", The Middle English Dictionary Online.
Civilizations that used mail invented specific terms for each garment made from it. The standard terms for European mail armour derive from French: leggings are called chausses, a hood is a mail coif, and mittens, mitons. A mail collar hanging from a helmet is a camail or aventail. A shirt made of mail is a hauberk if knee-length and a haubergeon if mid-thigh length. A layer (or multiple layers) of mail sandwiched between layers of fabric is called a jazerant.
A waist-length coat in medieval Europe was called a byrnie, although the exact construction of a byrnie is unclear, including whether it was constructed of mail or other armour types. Noting that the byrnie was the "most highly valued piece of armour" to the Carolingian soldier, Bennet, Bradbury, DeVries, Dickie, and JesticeBennet, M., Bradbury, J., DeVries, K., Dickie, I., & Jestice, P. Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World. Thomas Dunne Books, 2005, p. 82. indicate that: There is some dispute among historians as to what exactly constituted the Carolingian byrnie. Relying... only on artistic and some literary sources because of the lack of archaeological examples, some believe that it was a heavy leather jacket with metal scales sewn onto it with strong thread. It was also quite long, reaching below the hips and covering most of the arms. Other historians claim instead that the Carolingian byrnie was nothing more than a coat of mail, but longer and perhaps heavier than traditional early medieval mail. Without more certain evidence, this dispute will continue.
In Europe
The use of mail as battlefield armour was common during the Iron Age and the Middle Ages, becoming less common over the course of the 16th and 17th centuries when plate armour and more advanced firearms were developed. It is believed that the Roman Republic first came into contact with mail fighting the Gauls in Cisalpine Gaul, now Northern Italy. The Roman army adopted the technology for their troops in the form of the lorica hamata which was used as a primary form of armour through the Imperial period.
After the fall of the Western Empire, much of the infrastructure needed to create plate armour diminished. Eventually the word "mail" came to be synonymous with armour.Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, London, 1786Samuel R. Meyrick, A Critical Inquiry into Ancient Armour, as it Existed in Europe, but Particularly in England, from the Norman Conquest to the Reign of King Charles II: with a Glossary of Military Terms of the Middle Ages, (London, 1824)Charles Henry Ashdown, British and Foreign Arms and Armour, (London, 1909Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-duc, Encyclopédie Médiévale and Dictionnaire Raisonne du Mobilier Francais de l'Epoque Carlovingienne a la Renaissance. It was typically an extremely prized commodity, as it was expensive and time-consuming to produce and could mean the difference between life and death in a battle. Historically mail makers were often men, but women also undertook the work: Alice la Haubergere was an armourer who worked in Cheapside in the early 1300s and in York in 1446 Agnes Hecche inherited her father's mail making tools to continue her work after his death. Mail from dead combatants was frequently looted and was used by the new owner or sold for a lucrative price. As time went on and infrastructure improved, it came to be used by more soldiers. The oldest intact mail hauberk still in existence is thought to have been worn by Leopold III, Duke of Austria, who died in 1386 during the Battle of Sempach.
By the 14th century, articulated plate armour was commonly used to supplement mail. Eventually mail was supplanted by plate for the most part, as it provided greater protection against windlass crossbows, bludgeoning weapons, and lance charges while maintaining most of the mobility of mail. However, it was still widely used by many soldiers, along with brigandines and padded jacks. These three types of armour made up the bulk of the equipment used by soldiers, with mail being the most expensive. It was sometimes more expensive than plate armour.Reed Jr., Robert W. "Armour Purchases and Lists from the Howard Household Books", The Journal of the Mail Research Society, Vol. 1. No. 1, July 2003 Mail typically persisted longer in less technologically advanced areas such as Eastern Europe but was in use throughout Europe into the 16th century.
During the late 19th and early 20th century, mail was used as a material for bulletproof vests, most notably by the Wilkinson Sword Company. Results were unsatisfactory; Wilkinson mail worn by the Khedive of Egypt's regiment of "Iron Men"Google Books Iron Men was manufactured from split rings which proved to be too brittle, and the rings would fragment when struck by bullets and aggravate the injury. The riveted mail armour worn by the opposing Sudanese Mahdists did not have the same problem but also proved to be relatively useless against the firearms of British forces at the battle of Omdurman. During World War I, Wilkinson Sword transitioned from mail to a lamellar design which was the precursor to the flak jacket.
Mail was also used for face protection in World War I. Oculist Captain Cruise of the British Infantry designed a mail fringe to be attached to helmets to protect the upper face. This proved unpopular with soldiers, in spite of being proven to defend against a shrapnel round fired at a distance of . Another invention, a "splatter mask" or "splinter mask", consisted of rigid upper face protection and a mail veil to protect the lower face, and was used by early tank crews as a measure against flying steel fragments (spalling) inside the vehicle.
In Asia
Mail armour was introduced to the Middle East and Asia through the Romans and was adopted by the Sassanid Persians starting in the 3rd century AD, where it was supplemental to the scale and lamellar armour already used. Mail was commonly also used as horse armour for cataphracts and heavy cavalry as well as armour for the soldiers themselves. Asian mail could be just as heavy as the European variety and sometimes had prayer symbols stamped on the rings as a sign of their craftsmanship as well as for divine protection.David G Alexander, Decorated and inscribed mail shirts in the Metropolitan Museum, Waffen- und Kostumkunde 27 (1985), 29–36
Mail armour is mentioned in the Quran as being a gift revealed by Allah to David:
21:80 It was We Who taught him the making of coats of mail for your benefit, to guard you from each other's violence: will ye then be grateful? (Yusuf Ali's translation)
From the Abbasid Caliphate, mail was quickly adopted in Central Asia by Timur (Tamerlane) and the Sogdians and by India's Delhi Sultanate. Mail armour was introduced by the Turks in late 12th century and commonly used by Turk and the Mughal and Suri armies where it eventually became the armour of choice in India. Indian mail was constructed with alternating rows of solid links and round riveted links and it was often integrated with plate protection (mail and plate armour).
China
Mail was introduced to China when its allies in Central Asia paid tribute to the Tang Emperor in 718 by giving him a coat of "link armour" assumed to be mail. Earliest assumed reference to mail can be found in early 3rd century record by Cao Zhi, being called "chained ring armor". China first encountered the armour in 384 when its allies in the nation of Kuchi arrived wearing "armour similar to chains". Once in China, mail was imported but was not produced widely. Due to its flexibility, comfort, and rarity, it was typically the armour of high-ranking guards and those who could afford the exotic import (to show off their social status) rather than the armour of the rank and file, who used more common brigandine, scale, and lamellar types. However, it was one of the few military products that China imported from foreigners. Mail spread to Korea slightly later where it was imported as the armour of imperial guards and generals.
Japan
In Japan, mail is called kusari which means chain. When the word kusari is used in conjunction with an armoured item it usually means that mail makes up the majority of the armour composition.A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: In All Countries and in All Times, George Cameron Stone, Courier Dover Publications, 1999 p. 403 An example of this would be kusari gusoku which means chain armour. Kusari jackets, hoods, gloves, vests, shin guards, shoulder guards, thigh guards, and other armoured clothing were produced, even kusari tabi socks.