Searchable Lemmata: aketon (AF), alcoto (L), aketoun (ME), actoun (OScots), actwn (W), cotún (Ir), acton (MdE).
Alternate Forms: aketuno, haketono, aketono, aquiton', actone, aketon, actono, aketun, haketoun, aketoun, actines, actoun.
NOTE(n.)
Garment;
The short garment described as an acton (aketon) is related in shape and cut to many other (primarily) male garments of the later medieval period, and is occasionally used interchangeably with them - including the pourpoint, the doublet, the courtepy, the jupon and the English paltok.(circa 1100 still in current use)
Sex: Male Ceremonial: No
Body Parts:
1(n.)
Armour;
quilted jacket, worn as padding underneath a breastplate, or worn alone, as a decorative garment worn on top of armour. Often, the garment is described as being made of cotton or cotton-wool. The term also appears in the surname 'Aketonmaker', presumably cognate with the profession aketouner.1. bombacinia: aketun (vars. haketouns, purpoyns, purpoyntis) ... rubea: wayd, en brasil ... galeros: chapel de quir, heumis ... ocreas: heses, hoseus, chausis de fer, esses ... toraces: wambesouns (vars. gambaysuns, gambisum vel uardecors, wadesuns)
Gloss.
[AND TLL (ii 136) ante 1300]
4. ]186.46] ... La damoysele l’arma de estraunge armeyure: Pur aketoun ly bayle blaunche char e pure ... [186.74] ... La damoysele l’arma (=J.C.) de estraunge armeyure: Pur aketoun ly bayle blaunche char e pure, Pur cadaz e cotoun de saunk fu le encusture
Poetic.
[AND Lyric (187.46-74) circa 1200/1400]
5. quod durante guerra quilibet homo de terra laicus ... habeat pro corpore suo in defensione regni unam sufficientem aketonam [v.l. actonem], unum bacinetum [v.l. basinetum] et chirothecas de guerra ... et qui non habuerit aketonam ... habeat unum bonum hobirgellum vel unum bonum ferrum pro corpore suo
Legal.
[DMLBS APScot (113) 1318]
8. Ac yna y hurdaud ermin ef yn varchaug ac y guisgaud arueu ymdanau nyt amgen actwn da dilis ysgafyn, a lluruc duy dyplic yr hon ny fuyssei dec arugein o funei y wlat. ac nyt oed araf a allei argyued y vn o hynny truy y lluruc. ac ar vchaf hynny quire diogel , a chynsallt hossaneu lluryc a chrimogeu am y draet ay ysgeired ac ar warthaf hynny ysparduneu eureit. am y ben y dodet penguch burkwin a ffaylet. ac ar warthaf hynny helym eureit echdywynnedic. a guedy hynny y rodes y brenhin cledyf idaw ac y gwisgaud amdanaw.
Romance.
[GPC YBH (9. col. 17 535 -49a) circa 1250]
11. [2050] ... And next his sherte an aketoun, And ouer that an haubergeoun ... And ouer that a fyn hauberk ... Ful strong it was of plate, And ouer that his cote armour ... [2065] ... Hise iambeux were of quyrboily [vrr. quyrboilly, quirboile, quereboly, quyrbuly], His swerdes shethe of yuory ... [2067] ... His helm of latoun bright.
Poetic, Romance.
[MED Chaucer CT.Th. ((Manly-Rickert) B.2050-2067) circa 1390]
13. [3457] ... The riche kynge ... rawghte on his wedys, A reedde acton of rosse, the richeste of floures. ... [3460] ... One he henttis a hode of scharlette full riche, A pauys pillion hatt, þat pighte was full faire With perry of þe Oryent, and precyous stones ... [3462] ... Thane rysez the riche kynge ... His gloues gayliche gilte and grauen by þe hemmys, With graynes of rubyes
Arthurian, Heroic, Romance.
[MED Morte Arth.(1) ((Thrn) 3457-3462) circa 1440]
14. [10025] ... Hym self was armed fynly wel / Wyþ sabatons, & spores, & iaumbers of stel / Dublet & quysseux wiþ poleyns ful riche / Voydes, breche of maille, wyþ paunz non liche ... [10029] ... Hauberk wiþ plates yburnuscht ful wel / Vaumbras & rerbras, wyþ coters of stel / Þer-opon an aketon wiþ stof & al sylk, His cote of armes þer-on ... [10040] ... An helm he had on his hed / A riche corounal wiþ perre, al of brent golde / Þe nasel & bendeles of gold ful bryght, ...
Heroic, Historic.
[MED Mannyng Chron.Pt.1 ((Lamb 131) 10025-10043) ante 1450]
17. in cotone ad auketonum domini regis, sc. j li. et dim., xij d.; in eodem auketuno suendo, xij d.
Accounts.
[DMLBS Misae (269) 1213]
Sex: Male Ceremonial: No
Body Parts: Back, Chest, Shoulder(s).
Definite, Old French 'auqueton', ultimately derived from the Arabic 'al-qutūn', ('the cotton'). The term enters Welsh through the English, see Parry-Williams, T.H. (1923), p. 66. Latin forms with initial alc-/alk- seem to be replaced by ac-/ak- by the middle of the thirteenth century. The Irish form is used to refer to the cotton jacket and the material.
WF: Borrowed into the British Isles
Etym Cog: auqueton (OF), haqueton (EMdE), alcoton (MSp), algoden (MdSp).
