A
gorget , from the French
gorge meaning
throat, was originally a band of
linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the
medieval period, or the lower part of a simple
chaperon hood. The term subsequently described a
steel or
leather collar designed to protect the
throat, a set of pieces of
plate armour, or a single piece of plate armour hanging from the neck and covering the throat and chest. Later, particularly from the 18th century onwards, the gorget became primarily ornamental, serving only as a symbolic accessory on military uniforms, a use which has survived to the modern day in some armies.