Standard (mail collar)
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A standard, also called a pizaine, was a collar of mail often worn with plate armour.
The standard protected the throat and neck and usually extended over the shoulders; it was in use from the 14th to the 16th century. Unlike the similar aventail, it was not attached to a helmet. It was called a standard because the part encircling the neck and throat was able to stand upright without any external stiffening. According to Blair, "this was effected by thickening the rings so that the mesh became semi-rigid."[1] While there exists a surviving mail collar that is thickened at the neck with a 6-in-1 weave[2] this form of construction is extremely rare.[3] Some standards were decorated with edging in brass or bronze links (sometimes gilded), and/or were given a zig-zag lower edge (vandyked).[4][5]