Editing Gorget (section)

==As part of armour==
[[File:Gorget (PSF).png|thumb|left|upright|Gorget in a full suit of armour]]
In the High Middle Ages, when [[Mail (armour)|mail]] was the primary form of metal body armour used in Western Europe, the [[mail coif]] protected the neck and lower face. In this period, the term ''gorget'' seemingly referred to textile (padded) protection for the neck, often worn over mail. As more plate armour appeared to supplement mail during the 14th century, the [[bascinet]] helmet incorporated a mail curtain called the [[aventail]] which protected the lower face, neck and shoulders. A separate mail collar called a "pisan" or "[[Standard (mail collar)|standard]]" was sometimes worn under the aventail as additional protection.<ref>Ian LaSpina, "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrFwI4eFhf0 Defense for the Throat: A Layered Approach]", Nov 1, 2015</ref> Towards the end of the 14th century, threats including the increased penetrating power of the lance when paired with a [[lance rest]] on the breastplate made more rigid forms of neck protection desirable. One solution was a standing collar plate separate from the helmet that could be worn over the aventail, with enough space between the collar and helmet that a man-at-arms could turn his head inside it. In the early 15th century, such collar plates were integrated into the helmet itself to form the [[Bascinet#Great bascinet|great bascinet]].<ref>Ian LaSpina, "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuGoj9jA8_0 Helmets: The Great Bascinet]", Nov 21, 2015</ref> Other forms of helmet such as the [[sallet]] which did not protect the lower face and throat with plate were paired with a separate [[bevor]], and the [[armet]] was often fitted with a wrapper that included gorget lames protecting the throat. The mail standard was still worn under such bevors and wrappers, since the plates did not cover the back or sides of the neck.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the gorget reached its full development as a component of plate armour. Unlike previous gorget plates and bevors which sat over the cuirass and also required a separate mail collar to fully protect the neck, the developed gorget was worn under the cuirass and was intended to cover a larger area of the neck, nape, shoulders and upper chest, from which the edges of the backplate and breastplate had receded. The gorget served as an anchor point for the [[pauldron]]s, which either had holes in them to engage pins projecting from the gorget, or straps which could be buckled to the gorget. The neck was protected by a high collar of articulated [[wikt:lames|lames]], and the entire gorget was divided into front and back pieces which were hinged at the side so that the gorget could be put on and taken off. Some helmets had additional neck lames which overlapped the gorget, while others formed a tight seal with the rim of the gorget to eliminate any gaps.

By the 17th century there appeared a form of gorget with a low, unarticulated collar and larger front and back plates which covered more of the upper chest and back. In addition to being worn under the breast & backplates, as evidenced by at least two contemporary engravings, they were also commonly worn over civilian clothing or a [[buff coat]]. Some gorgets of this period were "parade" pieces that were beautifully etched, gilded, engraved, chased, embossed or enameled at great expense. Gradually the gorget grew smaller and more symbolic, becoming a single crescent shape worn on a chain which suspended the gorget ever lower on the chest, so that the gorget no longer protected the throat in normal wear.

The Japanese ([[samurai]]) form of the ''gorget'', called a [[nodowa]], was either fastened by itself around the neck or came as an integral part of the face defence or ''men yoroi''. It consisted of several lames made of lacquered leather or iron, each of which either consisted of one piece or of scales laced together in horizontal rows. The lames were articulated vertically, overlapping bottom to top, by another set of silk laces.