Definitions for "Ailette"
A small square shield, formerly worn on the shoulders of knights, -- being the prototype of the modern epaulet.
"Little wing". (armour) (Davis, H.W. C. (ed.) Medieval England, 615) A rectangular, circular or diamond shaped piece of leather or parchment laced to the shoulder, possibly to deflect a swordcut to the neck but more likely decorative, bearing the wearer's coat of arms. (Wise, Terence. Medieval Warfare, 246) Related terms: Armor For more information: Arms and Armor
Known also as ailets. From the French term meaning little wings; Square armour plates mounted to the shoulders, they were quite often worn by crusaders and were in use during the late 13th and early fourteenth centuries. Heraldic charges were frequently painted upon them for identification.