besagne

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In medieval armor, a round plate protecting the interval between two pieces of plate-armor, as at the knee-joint or elbow-joint. During the period from the first introduction of plate in the earliest rerebrace to the complete suit of steel (nearly a century and a half), the protection of these joints was one of the most difficult problems, and the use of the roundel of steel (easy to forge and to attach), to protect the outer side of the elbow or knee, was almost universal; if it disappeared for a few years, it was only to come into use again. See roundel.