In my Ospery book about the Byzantine military, the splints are said to be wood, and illustrator made them look wood as well.
Did they really use wood? I mean, I suppose it'd provide protection if you did it right, though it just strikes me as an unusual material.
(Although I don't know a lot about armour fro mthis time/place.)

Ave!

Wooden greaves are mentioned in the Strategikon of Maurice (Maurikios). There's no description, so we're pretty much just assuming they are of splinted construction.

If you think wood is wacky, somewhere there is also a Byzantine reference to ceramic helmets! Good to the first shot...

Matthew

maybe they could of laminated it somehow, like a sort of fiber glass like coating? I had read they used to that crossbows made from Sinew from the neck tender of an ox. Maybe the had some means to make it tougher

Well, I don't see why they couldn't (in an emergency) churn out really basic and disposable armour.
And hey, they use ceramics today to counter bullets!

Some of the North American First Nations used wood slat armour too before muskets became common. And I think Herodotus mentions a wooden helmet. In some places and times (usually ones without lots of metal weapons or firearms) people have been quite ingenious about making armour out of available materials! Its just that in others, people seem to have been satisfied with one or two designs which worked.