A rerebrace is a piece of armour designed to protect the upper arms (above the elbow). Splint rerebraces were a feature of Byzantine

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 armour in the Early Medieval period. The rerebrace seems to have re-emerged in England, in the early 14th century.) As part of the full plate armour

Plate armour

Plate armour is a historical type of personal armour made from iron or steel plates.While there are early predecessors such the Roman-era lorica segmentata, full plate armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Years' War, from the coat of...

 of the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance the rerebrace was a tubular piece of armour between the shoulder defences (pauldron

Pauldron

A pauldron is a component of plate armour, which evolved from spaulders in the 15th century. As with spaulders, pauldrons cover the shoulder area. Pauldrons tend to be larger than spaulders, covering the armpit, and sometimes parts of the back and chest...

) and the elbow protection (couter

Couter

The couter is the defense for the elbow in a piece of plate armour. Initially just a curved piece of metal, as plate armor progressed the couter became an articulated joint.-External links:*...

).

External links

• Cleveland Museum of Art glossary of arms and armor