Latten

{{short description|Loose term for a variety of copper alloys used since the Middle Ages}}

Historically, the term "latten" referred loosely to the copper alloys such as brass

{{oed | latten}} - "A mixed metal of yellow colour, either identical with, or closely resembling, brass; often hammered into thin sheets. Now only archaic and Historical."

or bronze

For example:

{{cite book

|last1 = Walesby

|first1 = Thomas

|title = Notes and Queries

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ido-xdF6wVUC

|series = 4

|volume = 1

|location = London

|publication-date = 1868

|page = 20

|access-date = 22 June 2022

|quote = [...] a compound metal called latten. It is a mixture of copper and tin, and therefore bronze.

}}

that appeared in the Middle Ages and through to the late-18th and early-19th centuries. Such alloys were used for monumental brasses, in decorative effects on borders, rivets or other details of metalwork (particularly armour), in livery and pilgrim badges or funerary effigies.{{cite book |last1= Curl |first1= James Stevens |last2= Wilson |first2= Susan |title= Oxford Dictionary of Architecture |date= 2016 |publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn= 978-0-19-967499-2 |page= 429}} Latten commonly contained varying amounts of copper, tin, zinc and lead, giving it characteristics of both brass and bronze.{{cite book |last1=Brownsword |first1=Roger |editor1-last= Blair |editor1-first= John |editor2-last= Blair |editor2-first=W. John |editor3-last=Ramsay |editor3-first=Nigel |title= English Medieval Industries: Craftsmen, Techniques, Products |date=2003 |publisher=Hambledon & London |isbn=978-0907628873 |pages=103–104}} Metalworkers commonly formed latten in thin sheets and used it to make church utensils. Brass of this period is made through the calamine brass process, from copper and zinc ore. (Later brass was made with zinc metal from Champion's smelting process and is not generally referred to as "latten".) This calamine brass was generally manufactured as hammered sheet or "battery brass" (hammered by a "battery" of water-powered trip hammers), and cast brass was rare.{{cite book|first1= David|last1= Edge|first2= John Miles|last2= Paddock|title= Arms and Armour of the Medieval Knight|orig-year= 1988|year=1996|publisher=Saturn Books|location= London|isbn= 1862220018}}

"Latten" also refers to a type of tin plating on iron (or possibly some other base metal), which is known as white latten; and black latten refers to laten-brass, which is brass milled into thin plates or sheets.{{Cite book|first= Joan |last=Day|title=Bristol Brass|publisher=David & Charles|year=1973|isbn=0715360655}}

The term "latten" has also been used, rarely, to refer to lead alloys.

In general, metal in thin sheets is characterised as "latten", e.g. gold latten, and lattens (plural) refers to metal sheets between 1/64" and 1/32" in thickness.{{cn|date=June 2022}}

{{wikt | latten}}