What's the name of this camera equipment?

I am trying to find out the name of the thing that connects the flash to the camera. it looks like some type of bracket, I saw a guy taking pictures at a wedding and he had in on his camera. it look like a backwards C or maybe E. I dont know, can someone help me figure it out. could be a stabilizer? an what part does it play far as better pictures?

Many professional cameras (esp. medium format) do not have hot shoe mounts for flash. When using these sorts of cameras handheld some type of flash bracket is often necessary. Some flash brackets have quite nice handles which might help you hold the camera steadier but that isn't really their purpose. I've also noticed that I hold a heavier camera steadier than a light one. Sometimes I leave my power winder on my SLR cameras even when I don't need them just to give the camera a little more mass; A flash bracket could serve a similar purpose.