Armor and Protection
The Back of Armor: Backplate, Culet, Pauldron Wings and Modern Back Protectors
What covers the back of armor: backplate and cuirass, culet, gorget and pauldron wings, mail at the gaps, and EN 1621-2 back protectors for riders.
The back of a suit of plate armor is covered mainly by the backplate, which joins the breastplate to form the cuirass. The culet completes the cuirass in standard parts lists, the gorget's rear half guards the back of the neck and the pauldrons' wings cover the shoulder blades. In modern riding gear, the back is protected by an EN 1621-2 back protector.
This page names each back component and what it does. For the full family of armor, start at the armor and protective gear hub.
Key takeaways- A breastplate covers only the front; a cuirass is breastplate plus backplate.- The pauldron's back wing stopped a gap opening over the shoulder blade when the arm was raised.- Mail under the plate covered the joints, including the armpits.- Modern back protectors come as full back, central back or lower back (lumbar) types.
Components at the back of plate armor
| Component | Where it sits | Purpose | Fact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backplate | Over the back, joined to the breastplate | Protects the back as part of the cuirass | – |
| Culet | With the cuirass | Named in parts lists alongside the fauld and tassets | – |
| Gorget (rear half) | Back of the neck | Neck protection; front and back halves hinged at the left shoulder | – |
| Pauldron wing | Over the shoulder blade | Prevents a gap when the arm is raised | – |
| Poleyn wings | Sides of the knee | Protect the back of the knee while it bends | – |
| Mail and gussets | Joints, armpits, elbows | Cover the places plate leaves open | – |
| Arming doublet | Under everything | Holds the plates on and carries their weight | – |
Backplate: the main back defense
A cuirass covers the torso. The term usually means the breastplate and backplate together, because a breastplate alone protects only the front. The word itself comes from the Latin for leather, the cuirass's original material.
For scale, a Gothic backplate of about 1475 to 1500 in the Cleveland Museum of Art measures 44.5 x 34.5 x 16.5 cm (17 1/2 x 13 9/16 x 6 1/2 in). Some cuirasses were hinged to a narrow backplate so they opened at the front like a jacket.
Culet and fauld
Wikipedia's list of a full suit pairs the cuirass with a fauld, tassets and a culet. Its plackart article puts the faulds at the front: skirt-like plates hung from the lower breastplate to protect the hip and groin. That leaves the culet as the back's lower piece in the list, but we have not found a museum source that defines it.
Museum labels do not always follow the same split. The Cleveland Museum catalogues one cavalry piece as a "Backplate with Fauld". If you are naming a real piece, check the museum's own label.
Neck and shoulders from behind
The gorget guards the neck, throat and upper chest. It usually has a front and a back half, hinged on the left shoulder and fastened with a stud on the right.
The Denver Art Museum's armor guide notes that, seen from behind, the pauldron has a large wing over the shoulder blade so no gap opens when the arm goes up.
What filled the gaps
Plate could not cover every joint. The pieces were laced to a padded arming jacket, which held them in place and carried their weight. Mail was worn under the plate to cover the gaps at the joints. Some arming doublets had mail gussets sewn at the elbows and armpits.
Ola Onsrud's video shows a reconstructed late 14th-century harness being put on piece by piece, based on effigies and surviving armor. It is a reconstruction of an earlier style than the 15th-century suits named above, so watch for how the layers go on and are fastened rather than for exact part names.
Was the back left exposed?
Not on a full plate suit: its standard parts include a cuirass, which means breastplate and backplate together. Tournament armor is the exception: some was made to cover only the areas exposed in a given event, and armor for foot combat over a barrier might cover only the upper body.
The back of modern riding armor
Riders protect the back with a back protector tested to EN 1621-2. It comes as full back, central back or lower back (lumbar) types, according to SATRA. Level 1 must average below 18 kN with no strike over 24 kN; Level 2 must average below 9 kN with no strike over 12 kN.
Back pockets vary a lot in shape, and strap-on back armor is an option. To fit a back protector into a jacket, see how to put on armor. Some Leather Collection motorcycle jackets in race and touring styles add a back pocket to the shoulder and elbow pockets. The store says the armor supplied differs by style.
For how a soft back protector material works, see what D3O armor is. For other armor families, see types of armor and how they differ.
FAQ
What are all the parts of armor called?
A full plate suit could include a helmet, gorget, pauldrons, rerebraces, couters, vambraces, gauntlets, a cuirass with fauld, tassets and culet, a mail skirt, cuisses, poleyns, greaves and sabatons.
Why is it called armor?
The word came into English in the Middle Ages from Old French armure, from Latin armatura, meaning arms or equipment.
What is the clothing over armor called?
A cloth surcoat could be worn over everything, though by the 15th century it was rare over plate.
HitKB Editorial Team
HitKB articles are researched from published sources, cited in the text, and reviewed before publication.