Baldric, Shoulder

Wide leather strap with brass rings worn diagonally across chest and shoulder.

A wide leather strap fitted with brass rings and fittings, cut to hang diagonally across the chest and shoulder. Soldiers and road-wardens wear baldrics to carry a sword or large dagger without encumbering the waist-belt; merchants and guards use them to hold pouches, horns, or small tools. The strap is stitched along its length and reinforced at attachment points with small iron rivets.