Gorget

Gorget
The gorget shown in this 1772 portrait of Colonel George Washington by Charles Willson Peale, worn as part of Washington's uniform in the French and Indian War to symbolize his commission as an officer in the Virginia Regiment, was given to Josiah Quincy III in March 1813 by the granddaughter of Washington at Tudor Place.[1] Josiah Quincy III subsequently gave the gorget to the Washington Benevolent Society of Boston.[1]

A gorget (play /ˈɡɔrɨt/) originally was a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat. It was a feature of older types of armour and intended to protect against swords and other non-projectile weapons. Later, particularly from the 18th century onwards, the gorget became primarily ornamental, serving only as a symbolic accessory on military uniforms.

Contents

As part of armour

Most Medieval versions of gorgets were simple neck protectors that were worn under the breastplate and backplate set. These neck plates supported the weight of the armour worn over it, and many were equipped with straps for attaching the heavier armour plates.

A gorget

Later, Renaissance gorgets were not worn with a breastplate but instead were worn over the clothing. Most gorgets of this period were beautifully etched, gilt, engraved, chased, embossed, or enamelled and probably very expensive.

The Japanese (samurai) form of the gorget is known as a nodowa.

As part of military uniforms

As early as 1688, regulations provided for the wearing of gorgets by Swedish army officers. For those of captain's rank the gorget was gilt with the king's monogram under a crown in blue enamel, while more junior officers wore silver-plated gorgets with the initials in gold.[2]

During the 18th and early 19th centuries, crescent-shaped gorgets of silver or silver gilt were worn by officers in most European armies, both as a badge of rank and an indication that they were on duty. These last survivals of armour were much smaller (usually about three to four inches in width) than their Medieval predecessors and were suspended by chains or ribbons. In the British service they carried the Royal coat of arms until 1796 and thereafter the Royal cypher.

Gorgets ceased to be worn by British army officers in 1830, and by their French counterparts 20 years later. They were still worn to a limited extent in the Imperial German Army until 1914, as a special distinction by officers of the Prussian Gardes du Corps and the 2nd Cuirassiers "Queen". Officers of the Spanish infantry continued to wear gorgets with the cypher of King Alfonso XIII in full dress until the overthrow of the Monarchy in 1931. Mexican Federal army officers also wore the gorget with the badge of their branch as part of their uniform until 1947. This practice ended in 1947 but the gorgets are still used by all units when on guard duty. Recently the Mexican army's new 2010 model dress uniforms have re-incorporated the gorgets.

A Finnish conscript as a duty NCO, wearing a gold-coloured gorget.

The gorget was revived as a uniform accessory during Germany's Third Reich, seeing widespread use within the German military and Nazi party organizations. During World War II, it continued to be used by German military field police, which wore metal gorgets as emblems of authority. German police gorgets of this period typically were flat metal crescents with ornamental designs that were suspended by a chain worn around the neck. Following the German example, the Finnish Defence Forces still use a metal gorget as a distinguishing mark of the duty conscript of a company, and the highly prussianised Chilean army still use the German style metal gorget in parades and in the uniform of their own Military Police.

Gorgets in Sweden

The gorget was discontinued as a rank insignia for Swedish officers in the Swedish Armed Forces as of the year 1792, when epaulettes where introduced. However, use of the gorget was revived in 1799, when the Officer of the day was given the privilege of wearing a gorget which featured the Swedish lesser coat of arms. It has since been a part of the officers uniform (when he or she functions as "Officer of the day"), a custom which continues to this day. The same use of the gorget also continues in Norway, worn by officers / corporals responsible for guard changes, and "Inspecting Officers" (officer of the day).

Gorget patches

A gorget patch as worn by an RAF Officer Cadet

The scarlet patches still worn on each side of the collar of the tunics of British Army general officers, and senior officers (in red, blue, crimson, yellow, or green according to branch) are called "gorget patches" in reference to this article of armour. Air officers in the Indian and Sri Lankan air forces also wear gorget patches with one to five stars depending on their seniority.[3]

RAF officer cadets wear white gorget patches on their service dress and mess-dress uniforms. Very similar collar patches are worn by British army officer cadets at Sandhurst on the standup collars of their dark-blue "Number One" dress uniforms. These features of modern uniforms are a residual survival from the earlier practice of suspending the actual gorgets from ribbons attached to buttons on both collars of the uniform. Such buttons were often mounted on a patch of coloured cloth or gold embroidery.

The functional gorget today

The gorget is in the upper right corner.

Recent advances in protective armour have led to the gorget being reintroduced into the US Army and Marine Improved Outer Tactical Vest and Modular Tactical Vest systems respectively.

Other uses

The state flag of South Carolina may feature a stylized gorget in its upper-left quadrant, although this is a matter of controversy.[4]

The term also refers to a broad patch of metallic-looking iridescent feathers on the throats of many male hummingbirds.

In colonial Australia gorgets were given to Aboriginal men by government officials and pastoralists as insignia of high rank or reward for services to the settler community. Frequently inscribed with the word "King" along with the name of the tribal group to which the recipient belonged (despite the absence of this kind of rank among indigenous Australians), the "breastplates", as they came to be known, were highly regarded by those Aboriginal men who received one.[5] A number of these breastplates are included in the collection of the National Museum of Australia.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Lossing, Benson John (1859). Mount Vernon and its associations: historical, biographical, and pictorial. W.A. Townsend and Company. p. 345. 
  2. ^ Preben Kannik, Alverdens Uniformer I Farver", p.151
  3. ^ http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Heraldry/Uniform/380-Collar-Tabs.html
  4. ^ Hicks, Brian (July 11, 2007). "What the heck is that doodad on our state flag?". The Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina). http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2007/jul/11/what_heck_doodad_our_state_flag/. 
  5. ^ http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/aboriginal_breastplates

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Gorget — Gor get, n. [OF. gorgete, dim. of gorge throat. See {Gorge}, n.] 1. A piece of armor, whether of chain mail or of plate, defending the throat and upper part of the breast, and forming a part of the double breastplate of the 14th century. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gorget — [ gɔrʒɛ ] n. m. • 1757; de gorge ♦ Techn. 1 ♦ Rabot pour creuser les gorges. ⇒ bouvet. 2 ♦ Moulure plus petite que la gorge. ● gorget nom masculin (de gorge) Rabot pour faire les moulures appelées gorges. ● gorget (homonymes) nom masculin (de… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Gorget — C est dans la Sarthe et le Loir et Cher que le nom est le plus répandu. On le rencontre aussi en Bourgogne, notamment dans l Yonne. On peut y voir un dérivé du mot gorge , mais le sens n est pas très clair. Mieux vaut envisager une variante… …   Noms de famille

  • gorget — armor for the throat, late 15c., from O.Fr. gorgete, dim. of gorge throat (see GORGE (Cf. gorge) (n.)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • gorget — [gôr′jit] n. [ME < OFr gorgete < gorgiere: see GORGEOUS] 1. a piece of armor to protect the throat: see ARMOR 2. a collar 3. an article of clothing covering the neck and breast, formerly worn by women; wimple 4. a patch of color, often… …   English World dictionary

  • Gorget — Das Gorget (engl. ornamentale Halskette, Collier) ist eine Sonderform der Lunula aus der späten Bronzezeit (ca. 1200–600 v. Chr.) in Irland. Es besteht aus einem goldenen Halbmond mit dekorierten Scheiben an jedem Ende. Nur acht dieser Colliers… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Gorget hummer — Gorget Gor get, n. [OF. gorgete, dim. of gorge throat. See {Gorge}, n.] 1. A piece of armor, whether of chain mail or of plate, defending the throat and upper part of the breast, and forming a part of the double breastplate of the 14th century.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • gorget patch — noun A patch on the collar of a military uniform • • • Main Entry: ↑gorget …   Useful english dictionary

  • Gorget patches — Collar patch of Soviet Air Force Gorget patches (collar tabs, collar patches) are an insignia, paired patches of cloth or metal on the collar (gorget) of the uniform, that is used in the military and civil service in some countries. Collar tabs… …   Wikipedia

  • Gorget (bird) — Like many hummingbirds, the male Costa s Hummingbird has an iridescent gorget. A gorget is a patch of colored feathers found on the throat or upper breast of some species of birds.[1] It is a feature found on many male hummingbirds, particularly… …   Wikipedia

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