brigandine

thumb|Brigandine from Handbuch der Waffenkunde (Handbook of Weaponry), Wendelin Boeheim, 1890

A brigandine (sometimes spelled brigantine), also called a brigander, is a form of body armour, in use from the late Middle Ages and up to the early modern era. It is a garment typically made of heavy cloth, canvas, or leather, featuring small oblong steel plates riveted to the fabric such that the fabric and rivets were present on the outside, sometimes with a second layer of fabric on the inside.