A piece of chain mail attached to the headpiece and protecting the neck and shoulders.
Turkish helmets fitted with a camail
Example sentencesExamples
The other day they threw over me one of these camails; and a pleasant figure it made of me.
Beneath all this, he wore a coif of mail, which was more close fitting than the camail and was held in place by means of a leather strap around his temples.
The thin plate which covered the edge of the camail is perforated with trefoil decoration.
By the middle of the century the crowns had been lowered, the skull piece extended to cover the sides and back of the head, and the camail added.
The basinets were formed into a sharp point, with a camail attached.
Synonyms
armour, coat of mail, chain mail, chain armour
Origin
Early 19th century: French, from Provençal capmalh, from cap 'head' + malhmail2.