pauldron

The larger defense of the shoulder where one or more large plates extended the defense of the shoulder to include the underarm and part of the chest and back. First used in an inventory C. 1397, there are no other references prior to 1450, though modern students apply the term to any shoulder defense where the coverage extends beyond the arm-hole of the cuirass . Almost always made in iron , and very rarely adorned except for the fluting in some later German examples. Developed at the very end of the 14th century, the style became fully "international" during the 15th century, following Italian or Milanese and Gothic styles and methods of construction. During the period, it seems that spaulder , pauldron and rerebrace

curved plate worn in pairs to protect the front and rear of the shoulder