A piece of armor protecting the neck; also called a gorget or a mail collar (archaic).
From Old French 'crin' (hair) and possibly 'col' (neck), or from Medieval Latin terms for neck armor. The connection to 'crin' (hair) is uncertain but may relate to the hairy appearance of certain mail armor.
Medieval armor had specialized pieces with obscure names—crinel, gorget, pauldron—and many of these terms come from the hairstyles or textures they resembled; a 'crinel' might refer to the hair-like appearance of chain mail that protected the vulnerable neck area.
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