Chainmail with coif

Mail (commonly if somewhat incorrectly known as "Chainmail" today) consists of small metal rings put together in a pattern to form a mesh. Although mail could be punctured by a spear, shorn by the blow from a heavy axe or sword, or the body beneath pummeled by blunt weapons, it was still an effective and popular defense. It was quite effective against arrows and weakly slung bolts from crossbows; (longbows and the more powerful steel-armed crossbows could burst the rings with their projectiles). In preventing wounds which broke the skin, it increased the warrior's chance for survival after being wounded. Medieval physicians could usually set broken bones, but when it came to preventing infection they were woefully inadequate. Thus the mail was weak in defending against wounds which could be more easily mended but strong against those to which the soldier was most vulnerable.

1-to-4 chainmail (compare to 1-to-6 or 2-to-8).Mail has been used since the time of the Roman Empire. It was originally developed by the armor smiths of the ancient Celts, from whom the Romans received the technology. The use of mail was prominent throughout the High Middle Ages, until the mid 14th century when plate began to replace it. It could still be seen after this point being worn by those who could not afford plate. Several patterns of linking the rings together have been known since ancient times, the most common being the 1-to-4 pattern where each ring is linked with four others.

The word chainmail is actually a pleonasm: in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, chain was the English name for it, while mail was the common French name for it. This - and the alternative spellings "maile" and "maille" - derive, through the Italian "maglia", from the Latin "macula", meaning "net". Mail was never known as "chainmail," however, and this is a misnomer. To call it "ringmail" would be closer to the fact.