A mail coif, a type of armor, covered the head. It consisted of a flexible hood of chainmail, extending to cover the throat, neck, and the top part of the shoulders. Mail coifs protected European fighting-men of the Middle Ages.
By the late 15th century, the aventail had replaced the mail coif completely. An aventail is a curtain of mail that is attached to the skull of a helmet. The mail extends to cover the throat, neck, and shoulders.
