ecranche

English

Armor of John the Constant, circa 1500; the shield strapped to his left shoulder is an ecranche.

Etymology

Seemingly from French, ultimately derived from cran (“notch”), although the semantics of écrancher (“uncrease, unnotch”) and its derivatives seem backward.

Noun

ecranche (plural ecranches)

1. (historical, uncommon) A type of shield, used in jousting, which had an indentation or notch to hold the lance.
   • 2018, Dierk Hagedorn, Bartlomiej Walczak, Medieval Armoured Combat: The 1450 Fencing Manuscript from New Haven, Casemate Publishers, →ISBN:

     The Ghent altarpiece by Jan van Eyck, dating to 1430, [...depicts men] who carry several different forms of ecranche. […] Ecranches, including those from the Gladiatoria group, have an indentation on the right side, the so-called bouche, which served as a means to keep the lance stable on horseback.

   • (Can we date this quote?), Hugh Knight, The Gladiatoria Fechtbuch (→ISBN):

     As mentioned previously, the ecranche is a small shield usually intended for use on horseback. It has a small cut out on one corner called a bouche to allow the lance to be held correctly […]

   • (Can we date this quote?), Sadie Waters, Ruled by the Princess: A Reverse Harem Romance (ID Johnson):

     Eli lowered his as well but not squarely, not in position to hit Cassius's ecranche unless he pivoted it at the last second. Scoring wasn't Eli's intention this pass, though. By the time the two were on top of each other, ...

   • 2020, Philippa Turner, Jane Hawkes, The Rood in Medieval Britain and Ireland, C.800-C.1500, Boydell & Brewer, →ISBN, page 165:

     Also in Norfolk, at Gissing St Mary, the Kemp family name appears to be referenced in the jousting shield or ecranche, with a hole for a lance, held by angel US1 in a privileged position at the south-east end. This motif recurs further west, on and facing both sides of the scheme in spandrels SUNW2 and SCNE6.