BYRNIE, a coat of linked mail (Icelandic, brynja). The chain mail body armour worn by early Scandinavians and others. Mid : English brinie=a coat of mail which hung from the neck to the knees, the skirt being slit to facilitate riding on horseback. The Normans called it the hawberk. The back and front were so much alike that mistakes in putting it on were common, the classic example being that of William the Conqueror before the battle of Hastings.