Full Leg Harnesses

Full Articulated means a comprehensive leg harness including a cuisse and knee joined with articulation as well as greaves and sabatons.

Full Floating means a comprehensive leg harness including a cuisses, knees, greaves and sabatons all worn without articulated joints between the elements.

Partial Legs means legs are defended with mail that has been supplemented with  at least a floating knee cop but do not include both greaves and sabatons. 

Mail means legs defended entirely with mail.

Full Arm Harnesses

Full Articulated means a comprehensive arm harness including vambrace, elbow, rerebrace and typically an integrated shoulder defense all joined together with articulated lames. 

Full Floating means at least an elbow cop often with other elements such as a vambrace or rerebrace independently fastened to the mail sleeves. 

Partial Arms means arms defended with mail that has been supplemented with  at least a floating or integrated elbow but does not include both a vambrace and a rerebrace. 

Mail means arms defended entirely with mail.

Knee Defenses

Articulated means a knee that is joined to the cuisse via lames. 

Floating means a knee cop worn with but not articulated to other elements of the leg defense. 

Mail means knees defended entirely with mail.

Elbow Defenses

Integrated means elbow defenses that are incorporated into the vambrace.

Articulated means an elbow that is joined to a vambrace and rerebrace. 

Floating means an elbow cop usually worn but not joined to other elements of the arm defense. 

Roundel means a roundel supplementing the mail to defend the elbow

Mail means elbows defended entirely with mail.

Thigh Armour

Plate means a solid, smooth plate thigh defense.

Splints means thighs defended with a foundation reinforced with vertical splints.

Studs means thighs defended with a studded defense. These study probably indicate the rivet heads securing plated beneath a covering.

Gamboised means thighs defended with a padded cuisse, often worn over mail.

Mail means thighs defended entirely with mail.

Upper Arm Defenses

Plate means a solid, smooth plate upper arm defense.

Splints means upper arms defended with a foundation reinforced with vertical splints. 

Mail means upper arms defended entirely with mail. 

Greaves

Closed greaves are those that encase both the front and rear of the calves.

Splints means calves defended with a foundation reinforced with vertical splints.

Schynbalds are greaves that defend only the fronts of the calves.

Mail means calves defended entirely by mail.

Lower Arm Defenses

Plate means a solid, smooth plate lower arm defense.

Splints means lower arms defended with a foundation reinforced with vertical splints. 

Mail means lower arms defended entirely with mail.

Sabatons

Full means sabatons consisting of multiple lames that cover the tops and down the sides of the feet.

Scale means sabatons that are comprised of small scales.

Tops means sabatons consisting of plates that cover only the tops of the feet.

Shoes means feet without any obvious defenses. 

Mail means feet defended entirely by mail. 

Gauntlets

Important Note: This data may be misleading. French effigies rarely show the wearer with his gauntlets. THe exception to this comes early on where mail mittens attached to the ends of the sleeves may be seen hanging down but not worn by the figure. Consequently the dataset is small and highly biased.

Solid means gauntlets that typically do not have any of the embossing associated with hourglass gauntlet metacarpal regions. These typically extend forward to cover some of the fingers with a mitten-like plate. 

Hourglass means gauntlets with a wide bell cuff.

Segmented means gauntlets that are made from multiple plates similar to those found at the battle of Wisby.

Mail means gauntlets made of mail. These may be either mitten or fingered form. 

Hip Defenses

Important Note: This data may be misleading. I have listed mail as the hip defense unless it is patently obvious from the profile that there is some sort of fauld. This conservative approach was taken because I beleave that AT LEAST mail (possibly with a rigid defense over it) was being worn at this time. This has the unfortunate effect of making mail look like a primary defense for much longer than in reality it probably was. Those listed as "rounded & mail" probably had some form of rigid hip defense but this was hidden beneath a surcoat.

Tassets means a fauld that ends in a pair of attached tassets.

Fauld means a series of uncovered hoops that defend the hips.

COP means hips that are defended by a coat of plates.

Mail means hips defended entirely by mail.

Shoulder Defenses

Pauldrons are shoulder defenses that are fully encompassing of the front and back of the shoulders.

Integrated spaulders are an articulated extension of the rerebrace.

Spaulders are similar to those above except they appear to be separate from the rerebrace.

Cop means a small plate that is often attached to the body defense or the mail. 

Scale means a shoulder defended by small scales.

Mail means shoulders defended entirely by mail.

Body Defenses

Important Note: This data may be misleading. I have listed mail as the body defense unless it is patently obvious from the profile that there is some sort of breastplate or coat of plates. This conservative approach was taken because I beleave that AT LEAST mail (possibly with a rigid defense over it) was being worn at this time. This has the unfortunate effect of making mail look like a primary defense for much longer than in reality it probably was.


Globose means a rounded body defense that is not covered by a jupon.

Rounded means a body defense that is covered by a jupon that has a rounded profile. These may represent a globose cuirasses or breastplates or rounded coats of plates. 

COP means a coat of plates that may have a slightly rounded form. 

Mail means a body defended entirely by mail. Because surcoats and jupons were universally worn is it impossible to recognize the rigid body defenses that were worn on top of the mail.

Secondary Head Defenses 

Jousting means a head defense made from multiple plates riveted together with a recurved face plate. A jousting helm was sometimes worn with the bascinet. 

Great Helm means a head defense made from multiple plates riveted together. A great helm was sometimes worn with the bascinet. 

There are numbers of effigies that had a great helm represented in addition to the bascinet they were wearing. The reason they don't appear upon the head is probably because they would block the wearer's face. One can reasonably assume that all listed as mail and most listed as bascinet had great helms. Their presence here is a fashion of effigy carving rather than a reflection of what was worn. That is why I represented them separately.

Head Defenses Worn by Figure

Important Note: This data may be misleading. French effigies often do not show the wearer with his head defense in place. Consequently the dataset is small and somewhat biased.

Great Bascinet means a pointed or rounded head defense with solid plate neck defenses either replacing or supplementing the mail aventail.  

Armet means a pointed or rounded head defense with hinged cheek plates that cover the lower face.  

Bascinet means a pointed or rounded head defense typically with an attached mail aventail. A great helm was sometimes worn with the bascinet. 

Kettle Hat means a pointed or rounded head defense with a wide brim. 

Mail means a head defended entirely with a mail coif. This coif may be worn over a cervelliere. A great helm was probably worn in combat over the mail.

All Head Defenses 

Great Bascinet means a pointed or rounded head defense with solid plate neck defenses either replacing or supplementing the mail aventail.  

Armet means a pointed or rounded head defense with hinged cheek plates that cover the lower face.  

Bascinet means a pointed or rounded head defense typically with an attached mail aventail. A great helm was sometimes worn with the bascinet. 

Kettle Hat means a pointed or rounded head defense with a wide brim. 

Jousting means a head defense made from multiple plates riveted together with a recurved face plate. A jousting helm was sometimes worn with the bascinet. 

Great Helm means a head defense made from multiple plates riveted together. A great helm was sometimes worn with the bascinet. 

Mail means a head defended entirely with a mail coif. This coif may be worn over a cervelliere. A great helm was probably worn in combat over the mail.

Number

Although the sample size is reasonably large the individual number in each decade is fairly small. As more effigies become available to me I will increase the dataset.