The Long Sword

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Arming sword — A single-handed sword, thirty inches or so long, with a simple cross guard and a heavy pommel, usually double edged and pointed.

Arming Coat — A doublet either stuffed, padded, or cut from multiple layers of linen or canvas to be worn under armour.

Alderman — One of the officers or magistrates of a town or commune.

Bailli — A French royal officer much like an English sheriff; or the commander of a ‘langue’ in the Knights of Saint John.

Basilard — A dagger with a hilt like a capital I, with a broad cross both under and over the hand. Possibly the predecessor of the rondel dagger, it was a sort of symbol of chivalric status in the late fourteenth century. Some of them look so much like Etruscan weapons of the bronze and early iron age that I wonder about influences. .

Bassinet — A form of helmet that evolved during the late middle ages, the bassinet was a helmet that came down to the nape of the neck everywhere but over the face, which was left unprotected. It was almost always worn with an aventail made of maille which fell from the helmet like a short cloak over the shoulders. By 1350, the bassinet had begun to develop a moveable visor, although it was some time before the technology was perfected and made able to lock.

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