habergeon

noun

1. (historical)A sleeveless or short-sleeved coat of mail armour (a shorter hauberk).

   “Their mightie ſtrokes their haberieons diſmayld, / And naked made each others manly ſpalles; […]”

   “And it came to paſſe from that time forth, that the halfe of my ſeruants wrought in the worke, and the other halfe of them held both the ſpeares, the ſhields and the bowes, and the habergeons, and the rulers were behind all the houſe of Iudah.”

   “[…] wore a quilted haketon next his shirt, and over that the habergeon, a lesser hawberk of chain mail.”

   “The gambeson was a medieval garment of cloth or leather, stuffed and quilted. This was worn underneath the habergeon or coat of mail to prevent bruises, but later it formed the principal defensive garment.”

2. (historical)The quilted undergarment worn under a hauberk.

   “His quilted habergeon stuffed with cotton, gave him, indeed, an exterior almost herculean. What finally became of this brave belligerent I did not learn; but as he was never shy in exposing his person, it is very probable that[…]”

   “There would be an iron helmet, with protection for the face given by the hinged vizor; body armour of a mixture of chainmail and plate, worn over a thick padded habergeon of cloth or leather; iron gauntlets.”

   “His squire was already at his side, and helped with the coat of plates, the mail, the thick padded habergeon, and all the while Guillaume de Beaujeu was thinking, assessing, analysing, considering.”

3. (broadly)A hauberk, any coat of mail, less commonly even a coat of scale armour.

   “The defensive armour, or coat of mail of a knight, or man at arms, (also called a hauberk or habergeon,) was[…]”

   “The Egyptians wore a kind of tippet, or square piece with a hole in it for the head to pass through, covering the shoulders and breast; this is the hauberk or habergeon. It was of scale armour; and below it, to protect the rest[…]”

   “The knee-length mail shirt was called a hauberk or habergeon. But these shirts of mail didn't protect the legs. So, during the twelfth century, many soldiers began wearing mail pieces attached by leather on the front of their legs.”