Gauntlet is a name for several different styles of
gloveA glove is a garment covering the hand.Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves". Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each finger...
, particularly those with an extended cuff covering part of the forearm. Gauntlets exist in many forms, ranging from flexible
fabricA textile is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw wool fibres, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands...
and
leatherLeather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable and versatile material....
gloves, to
chainmailMail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh....
and fully-articulated
plate armourPlate armour or plate armor is personal armour made from large metal plates, worn on the chest and sometimes the entire body.- History :...
. A gauntlet can also be an item to drink out of.
Historically, gauntlets were an important piece of
armourArmour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat...
, since the hands and arms were particularly vulnerable in hand-to-hand combat.
Gauntlet is a name for several different styles of
gloveA glove is a garment covering the hand.Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves". Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each finger...
, particularly those with an extended cuff covering part of the forearm. Gauntlets exist in many forms, ranging from flexible
fabricA textile is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw wool fibres, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands...
and
leatherLeather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable and versatile material....
gloves, to
chainmailMail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh....
and fully-articulated
plate armourPlate armour or plate armor is personal armour made from large metal plates, worn on the chest and sometimes the entire body.- History :...
. A gauntlet can also be an item to drink out of.
Types of gauntlet
Military
Historically, gauntlets were an important piece of
armourArmour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat...
, since the hands and arms were particularly vulnerable in hand-to-hand combat. With the rise of easily-reloadable
firearmA firearm is a device which projects either single or multiple projectiles at high velocity through a controlled explosion. The firing is achieved by the gases produced through rapid, confined burning of a propellant. This process of rapid burning is technically known as deflagration...
s, hand-to-hand combat became less common and so gauntlets lost most of their strategic value.
Sport, industry and science
Today, gauntlets are mostly used in contact
sportSport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome , but the term is also used to include activities such as...
s, such as
fencingFencing is a family of sports and activities that feature armed combat involving cutting, stabbing, or bludgeoning weapons that are directly manipulated by hand, rather than shot, thrown or positioned. Examples include swords, knives, pikes, bayonets, batons, clubs, and similar weapons...
. Protective gauntlets are also sometimes worn when defusing a
bombA bomb is any of a range of explosive devices that typically rely on the exothermic chemical reaction of an explosive material to produce an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. The word comes from the Greek word βόμβος , an onomatopoetic term with approximately the same meaning as...
and by
butcherA butcher is someone who prepares various cuts of meat and other related goods for sale. Many butchers sell their goods in specialized stores, although in the Western world today most meat is sold through supermarkets.-Duties:...
s. Furthermore, they are an integral part of
pressure suitA pressure suit is a protective suit worn by high-altitude pilots who may fly at altitudes where the air pressure is too low for an unprotected person to survive, even breathing pure oxygen at positive pressure. Such suits may be either full-pressure or partial-pressure...
s and spacesuits, usually made of
kevlarKevlar is the registered trademark for a light, strong para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora.Developed at DuPont in 1965 by Stephanie Kwolek it was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires...
or other materials that combine toughness, environmental protection and flexibility. Gauntlets are also provided on some motorcyclist's leather gloves and on snowmobile driver's nylon mittens.
Drum Corps & Marching Band
Marching bandA marching band is, in the broadest terms, a group of performers that consist of instrumental musicians and sometimes dance teams / color guard who generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds,...
and
drum corpA drum and bugle corps or drum corps is a musical marching unit consisting of brass instruments, percussion instruments, and color guard. The activity originated in the United States and Canada, but has spread to parts of Europe and Asia...
uniforms often include an item called a "gauntlet" which includes no glove for the hand, but is just a flared cuff. Some versions are closer to
bracerA bracer is a strap or sheath, commonly made of leather, stone, or plastic that covers the inside of an archer's arm to protect it while shooting. Bracers keep the inside of the archer's forearm from getting hurt by the string of the bow or the fletching of the arrow; they also prevent loose...
s or
vambraceVambraces are "tubular" or "gutter" defences for the forearm, developed first in the ancient world by the Romans, but only formally named during the early 14th century, as part of a suit of plate armour...
s in style.
Fashion
In the
clothingA feature of nearly all modern human societies is the wearing of clothing or clothes, a category encompassing a wide variety of materials that cover the body....
industry
gauntlet can refer to a fashion accessory which is just an extended cuff with little or no hand covering.
Religious
For the main article see Episcopal glovesThe Episcopal gloves or Pontifical gloves are a Roman Catholic pontifical vestment worn a by bishop when celebrating Solemn Pontifical Mass. The Episcopal gloves are worn from the beginning of the Mass until the offertory, when they are removed...
.
In the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
the gloves traditionally worn by the
PopeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
or other
bishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s are also known as gauntlets, or
Episcopal glovesThe Episcopal gloves or Pontifical gloves are a Roman Catholic pontifical vestment worn a by bishop when celebrating Solemn Pontifical Mass. The Episcopal gloves are worn from the beginning of the Mass until the offertory, when they are removed...
, though their use had largely been relaxed since Paul VI.
"Throw down the gauntlet"
To "throw down the gauntlet" is to issue a challenge. A gauntlet-wearing knight would challenge a fellow knight or enemy to a duel by throwing one of his gauntlets on the ground. The opponent would pick up the gauntlet to accept the challenge.
"Run the gauntlet"
"
Running the gauntletRunning the gauntlet is a form of physical punishment wherein a man is compelled to run between two rows — a gauntlet — of soldiers who strike him as he passes.-Roman predecessor:...
" was a military punishment where a soldier or sailor had to pass between a double row of comrades armed with
cudgelA club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon....
s. The expression is now generally used metaphorically.
Gauntlet in this context is unrelated to the
"protective glove" meaning, but is instead derived from the Swedish
gatlopp ("street run").