Gambeson vs Aketon - What's the difference?
gambeson | aketon |
A defensive garment formerly in use for the body, made of cloth stuffed and quilted.
*1786 : Although the gambeson was chiefly worn under the coat of mail, to protect the body from being bruised by the strokes of the sword or lance, a circumstance that migh happen without a division of the mail, the verses quoted in the Siege of Karleverok, shew that it was sometimes worn as a fur coat, and ornamented with rich decorations. — Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons , page 18.
(archaic) A stuffed jacket worn under the mail, or (later) a jacket plated with mail.
* 1786 : The aketon, gambeson, vambasium, and jack were military vestments, calculated for the defence of the body, differing little from each other, except in their names, their materials and construction were nearly the same, the authorities quoted in the notes, shew they were all composed of many folds of linen, stuffed with cotton, wool or hair, quilted, and commonly covered with leather, made of buck or doe skin. — Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons , page 15.