{{Short description|Armour protecting the forearm and elbow}} {{about|the forearm guards in plate armour|the circular disc on a lance|vamplate|the 2019 video game|Vambrace: Cold Soul}} thumb|A left-arm vambrace; the bend would be placed at the knight's elbow thumb|An ornate German (16th century) vambrace made for Costume Armor '''Vambraces''' (French: ''avant-bras'', sometimes known as ''lower cannons'' in the Middle Ages) or '''forearm guards''' are ''tubular'' or ''gutter'' defences for the forearm worn as part of a suit of plate armour that were often connected to gauntlets. Vambraces may be worn with or without separate ''couters'' in a full suit of medieval armour. The term originates in the early 14th century. They were made from either boiled leather or steel. Leather vambraces were sometimes reinforced with longitudinal strips of hardened hide or metal, creating splinted armour.<ref>{{cite book |last=Moffat |first=Ralph |author-link=Ralph Moffat |date= 2022|title=Medieval Arms and Armour: A Sourcebook Vol.1 The Fourteenth Century |url= |location=Woodbridge, Suffolk |publisher=Boydell & Brewer |page=289 |isbn=9781783276769}}</ref> Sometimes vambraces were decorated with extravagant designs as was customary for nobles during the late Middle Ages.
==See also== * {{Annotated link|Bracer}} * {{Annotated link|Gauntlet (glove)|Gauntlet}} * {{Annotated link|Manica (armguard)|''Manica''}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.armourarchive.org/patterns/arms_15thC_sinric/ The Armour Archive] examples and construction information for replica vambraces * [http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/photos/historic/dsmem/dsarmor/dsarmo2/photos/dsarmo232.jpg Metal vambrace with integrated elbow and upper arm protection] (replica)
{{Elements of Medieval armour}} Category:Medieval armour Category:Western plate armour Category:History of Western fashion Category:Armwear
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