The fourteenth century witnessed the English language come into its own. Indeed, in his work of 1354 Henry, duke of Lancaster, entreats his reader: ‘if the French be no good I must be excused, for I am English and don't use French much’ (‘si le franceis ne soit pas bon, jeo doie estre escusee, pur ceo qe jeo sui engleis et n’ai pas moelt hauntee le franceis’). It is at this time that arms and armour spelling and pronunciation branched out from their French roots. The post-medieval infiltration of ‘Gallicisms’, being the use of a French name such as solerette when the contemporary English ‘sabaton’ was in use, is a problem that greatly exercised scholars past2. Orally presenting research is key to widening the appeal of our area of study. I have faith that this list will offer its user some protection from petty, nit-picking pedants of the worst sort (this author included).

Here I offer a simple guide by the use of rhyme and homophones:

• • basinet as bass (fish) in it

• • bevor with Trevor

• • chapel de fer as chapel (church) di fur – also, the words all run together

• • coif as koi (carp) + terminal f

• • couter as cow ter (the ter in terror)

• • cuir bouilli as queer bully

• • cuisse with quiche but the initial qu sound as in quack

• • gorget as gorge it

• • grapper with trapper

• • pallet as in colour palette

• • pauldron as (a)ppalled Ron

• • pisan as peas Anne

• • poleyn as Paul ain (the ain in pain)

• • pollaxe with doll axe