Broigne

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A medieval body armour made of interlinked metal rings, worn as a flexible protective shirt over the torso
2. An archaic type of mail coat, made of iron links, that protected a warrior's chest and upper body
3. Historical armour of linked metal rings, a sleeveless or short-sleeved garment worn in battle for protection

Etymology: The word was English before it was French. Old English had "byrne," a coat of mail, and it appears in the poem "Beowulf," where warriors wear the shimmering, ring-linked armour. In the centuries after the Norman Conquest, Anglo-Norman speakers used a related form, "broigne," which came from Old French and ultimately from a Germanic source behind both the English and French forms. English then had two versions of the same armour name, and "broigne" survived into Middle English alongside the older native word. The French form traces to a Frankish or early Germanic word, reconstructed as "brunnjō," which also gave Old High German "brunni" and Old Norse "brynja." The Old Norse form is the one most readers meet in modern Scandinavian history, where mail-clad warriors were central to the sagas. The origin of the Germanic root itself is uncertain, so no firmer ancestor can be given.

Synonyms: byrnie, hauberk, mail