manefaire

Definition

Protective armor for a horse's neck; a crinet or criniere.

Etymology

From Middle English mayndefer, maynfer, and maynefere, attested in lists of armor used by men and their horses. In the 17- and 1800s, Francis Grose, Samuel Rush Meyrick and other antiquarians took the term to denote a horse's neck armor, connecting it to mane; Harold Dillon, 17th Viscount Dillon and Charles John ffoulkes have argued that this is an error and that term referred to a kind of gauntlet, from French main de fer (literally “hand of iron”), now often spelled manifer.

Example Sentences

• "The Criniere or Manefaire consisted of a number of small plates, generally about twelve, hooked together and to the chanfron, so as to be moveable, their use was to guard the neck of the horse from the stroke of a cutting sword."
• "The horse of a knight […] has a large criniere of mail pendant from the manefaire. […] The knight who carries the standard of Kybourgh has a manefaire on his horse of little plates rivetted on cloth, with a criniere below, and the bearer of the flag of Reineck, a poitrel on his horse, […]"
• "The then proceeded to prove to Sir Philip Beauchamp, that the suit would not be complete without the testière, the chanfron, and the manefaire and poitral of the horse to correspond; […]"