Editing Greave

{{short description|Personal armour to protect the leg}}
[[Image:Greaves Denda - Inv 4330 (Staatliche Antikensammlungen, Munich, Germany)-transparent.png|thumb|right|225px|Greek greaves of “Denda”, c. 500 BC, [[Staatliche Antikensammlungen]] (Inv. 4330)]]

A '''greave''' (from the [[Old French]] ''greve'' "shin, shin armor") or '''jambeau''' is a piece of [[armor]] that protects the [[human leg|leg]].

==Description==
The primary purpose of greaves is to protect the [[tibia]] from attack. The tibia, or shinbone, is very close to the skin, and is therefore extremely vulnerable to just about any kind of attack. Furthermore, a successful attack on the shin results in that leg being rendered useless, greatly hampering one's ability to maneuver in any way.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kaminski|first=J.|title=Roman Imperial Armour: The Production of Early Imperial Military Armour|year=2012|publisher=Gomer Press|location=Llandysul, Wales|pages=141–145|author2=Sim, D.}}</ref> Greaves were used to counteract this. They usually consisted of a metal exterior with an inner padding of felt. The felt padding was particularly important because, without it, any blow would transfer directly from the metal plating to the shin.

==History==

===Bronze Age===
Bronze greaves were used in Bronze Age Europe by the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean Greeks]] and the Central European [[Urnfield culture]], among others.

===Ancient Greece and Rome===
The reference to greaves (Ancient Greek: κνημίδες){{cn|date=February 2019}} exists in various texts of classical antiquity, including ''[[The Shield of Heracles]]'', ''[[The Iliad]]'' and ''[[The Odyssey]]'', ''The [[Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus]]'', and ''[[The Aeneid]]''. In the ''Illiad'', the Greek forces are commonly referred to as "well-greaved Acheans" (''euknēmidas Achaioi'', ἐϋκνήμιδες Ἀχαιοί). The Iliad also mention the ἐπισφύρια which were either plates covering the ankle , attached to the lower edge of the greaves , or more probably a clasp fastening them round the ankle and were often silver.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:id=ocrea-harpers Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Ocrea]</ref>
While these are primarily mythological texts, they still dealt with warfare and the fact that greaves were mentioned is evidence that they were indeed in use. There are also non-fictional testimonies of their use among Roman light infantry (or [[hastati]]) from [[Polybius]] up to [[Vegetius]]. These greaves are thought to have been mass-produced by the Romans using presses on sheets of metal and then attaching lining, usually leather or cloth. While it is generally assumed that greaves were always worn in pairs, there is evidence that many wore just a single greave on the left or right leg. Many skeletons have been found buried with only a single greave, including gladiators and soldiers.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Fortenberry|first=Diane|title=Single Greaves in the Late Helladic Period|journal=American Journal of Archaeology|date=Oct 1991|volume=95|issue=4|pages=623–627|doi=10.2307/505895|jstor=505895 |s2cid=192937302 }}</ref> People may have worn a single greave as a sign of status, as opposed to any practical use.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

===Medieval Europe===
[[File:Pair of Greaves (Lower Leg Defenses) MET DP-13125-029.jpg|thumb|upright|Italian greaves, 15th century]]

Greaves were common until around the [[9th century]] [[Anno Domini|AD]], when they largely disappeared from use.<ref>{{cite book|last=Oakeshott|first=R.|title=The Archaeology of Weapons|year=1960|publisher=Frederick A. Praeger|location=New York|pages=284–285}}</ref> The first evidence of their reappearance is in the 1230s or 1250s, most notably the depiction of [[Goliath]] in the [[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]] [[English Apocalypse manuscripts|Apocalypse manuscript]] (c. 1230).{{sfn|Oakeshott|1996|p=284}} The lack of other evidence suggests that they were uncommon at the time.{{sfn|Oakeshott|1996|p=285}} Almost all greaves used at this time are known as [[schynbalds]], or greaves that only protected the shin.{{sfn|Oakeshott|1996|p=285}} Illustrations showing “closed greaves”, or greaves that protected the entire leg first appear around 1290 and become popular in the 1320s.{{sfn|Oakeshott|1996|p=285}} Closed greaves are made of two plates joined on the outside by hinges and fastening with buckles and straps on the inside.

===Feudal Japan===
Japanese greaves, known as [[suneate]], were first introduced during the eleventh century, during the late Heian period.<ref>{{cite book|last=Robinson|first=B.|title=Arms And Armour of Old Japan|year=1950|publisher=HMSO|location=London|page=11}}</ref> The earliest form consisted of three plates of metal covering the shin.<ref>{{cite book|last=Robinson|first=H. Russell|title=Japanese Arms and Armour|year=1969|publisher=Arms & Armour Press|location=London|page=15}}</ref> By the [[Kamakura period]] (1186–1333), greaves became a standard part of Japanese armor. Around the [[Muromachi period]] (1334–1572), these took on the form of a splint mounted on a piece of fabric with mail in between the metal splint and fabric, not unlike European greaves. This is the most common form of suneate, termed shino-suneate, and saw continued use throughout the [[Momoyama period]] (1573–1602). Sometimes, cavalrymen used the older three-plate model, known as tsutsu-suneate. Like their European counterparts, most suneate contain leather padding on the interior to reduce the impact of blows and to reduce chafing.

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" widths="160px" heights="160px">
File:Urnfield greave.jpg|Bronze greave, [[Urnfield culture]], [[Hungary]], 13th century BC
File:Greek - Left Greave - Walters 542336 - Three Quarter Left.jpg|Left greave of a Greek Hoplite. This example has elaborate decoration in [[repoussé]] (a technique in which metal is impressed from the rear to form a raised design), including a lion's face over the knee and lines emphasizing the calf muscles. Tiny holes lining the top and bottom edges secured a fabric lining and leather straps.
File:Sepoltura principesca di agighiol, paramento in argento, 350-300 ac. ca. 01.JPG|[[Thrace|Thracian]] greave found in Romania
File:Sepoltura principesca di agighiol, paramento in argento, 350-300 ac. ca. 02.JPG|Thracian greave found in Romania
File:Davide-Golias.jpg|[[Goliath]] wearing greaves ([[Morgan Bible]], mid-13th century)
File:Suneate 1.JPG|Japanese samurai greaves, or ''suneate''. The knee area has hexagonal iron plates called ''kikko'' sewn inside the cloth.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Gaiters]]
*[[Shin guard]]

==Citations==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book | last=Oakeshott|first=R. Ewart|title=The Archaeology of Weapons: Arms and Armour from Prehistory to the Age of Chivalry|year=1996|orig-year=1960|publisher=Dover Publications|location=[[Mineola, New York]]|isbn=978-0486292885 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{commonscat-inline|Greaves}}

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{{Elements of Medieval armor}}

[[Category:Ancient Greek military equipment]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman legionary equipment]]
[[Category:Culture of ancient Thrace]]
[[Category:Dacian weapons]]
[[Category:Medieval armour]]
[[Category:Roman armour]]
[[Category:Western plate armour]]