Baldric

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A baldric (also baldrick, bawdrick, bauldrick as well as some other, mostly rare or obsolete, variations) is a wide, usually ornamental belt worn around the waist and over one shoulder that is typically used to carry weapons (such as swords). Baldrics are well-suited toward carrying larger weapons of this nature due to the support system offered by its unique design. The word baldric can also refer to any belt in general, but this usage is less popular.

Historically, baldrics were used to confer the rank of the one wearing it. They are still used to this day, but typically only with formal military wear.

[edit] In literature

Benedick, from William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, says "But that I will have a recheat winded in my forehead or hang my bugle in an invisible baldric all women shall pardon me".

A baldric features prominently in Chapter 2 of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers, in which D'Artagnan has his nearly-disastrous first encounters with Porthos (who is wearing one), Aramis, and Athos.

The yeoman in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is described as wearing a "baldrick of bright green."