The Transition of Maile

[Dan Howard]

I agree that the shoulder doublers were probably phased out gradually. It is unlikely that they were originally made from leather. Mail was only invented in the third century and the earliest depictions of Roman mail show doublers made from mail. The depictions of earlier Celtic mail show a similar shoulder doubling made from mail as well.

"Maille" is Old French". Modern French uses the plural, "mailles".