the.com/couter
The medieval elbow's bodyguard, a metal cup that turned a vulnerable joint into a fortress.
means A piece of plate armor designed to cover and protect the elbow joint.
from From Old French 'coute' or 'coude,' meaning elbow, which descends from Latin 'cubitus' — the same root that gives us 'cubit,' the old forearm-length measurement. The word traveled into English alongside the armorer's craft, naming the very joint it was built to guard.
- Job description
- Plate armor piece guarding the elbow joint
- Name origin
- From French coude, meaning elbow
- Weak point
- Elbows were prime targets for blades
- Often fancy
- Frequently fitted with decorative fan-shaped wings
for instance
gothic couter design — 15th-century pointed elbow guard style used in european plate armor, exemplified in the metropolitan museum's collection