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Title: Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe - From the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the End - of the Thirteenth Century
Author: Hewitt, John
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe - From the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the End - of the Thirteenth Century" ***
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[Illustration: GREAT SEALS OF KING RICHARD THE FIRST.]
ANCIENT ARMOUR
AND
WEAPONS IN EUROPE:
FROM THE
IRON PERIOD OF THE NORTHERN NATIONS TO THE END
OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY:
WITH
ILLUSTRATIONS FROM COTEMPORARY MONUMENTS.
BY JOHN HEWITT,
MEMBER OF THE ARCHÆOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN.
OXFORD AND LONDON:
JOHN HENRY AND JAMES PARKER.
MDCCCLV.
PRINTED BY MESSRS. PARKER, CORN-MARKET, OXFORD.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.
1. (_Frontispiece._) Great Seals of King Richard Cœur-de-Lion. The
first of these (with the rounded helmet) has been drawn from
impressions appended to Harleian Charters, 43, C. 27; 43, C.
29; and 43, C. 30; and Carlton Ride Seals, i. 19. In this, as
in other cases, more seals have been examined, but it seems
unnecessary to supply references to any but the best examples.
The king wears the hauberk of chain-mail with continuous coif,
over a tunic of unusual length. The chausses are also of
chain-mail, and there is an appearance of a chausson at the
knee, but the prominence of the seal at this part has caused
so much obliteration, that the existence of this garment may
be doubted. The helmet is rounded at the top, and appears to
be strengthened by bands passing round the brow and over the
crown. The shield is bowed, and the portion in sight ensigned
with a Lion: it is armed with a spike in front, and suspended
over the shoulders by the usual _guige_. Other points of this
figure will be noticed at a later page.
Second Great Seal of Richard I. Drawn from impressions in the
British Museum: Harl. Charter, 43, C. 31, and Select Seals,
XVI. 1; and Carlton Ride Seals, H. 17. The armour, though
differently expressed from that of the first seal, is probably
intended to represent the same fabric; namely, interlinked
chain-mail. The tunic is still of a length which seems
curiously ill-adapted to the adroit movements of a nimble
warrior. The shield of the monarch is one of the most striking
monuments of the Herald's art: the vague ornament of Richard's
earlier shield has given place to the Three Lions Passant
Gardant so familiar to us all in the royal arms of the present
day. The king wears the plain goad spur, and is armed with the
great double-edged sword, characteristic of the period. The
helmet is described at page 141. The saddle is an excellent
example of the War-saddle of this date.
VIGNETTE.--Knightly monument combined with an Altar-drain, in
the Church of Long Wittenham, Berkshire: of the close of the
thirteenth century. The whole is of small proportions, the
statue of the knight not exceeding two feet and a quarter. xxv
2. SPEAR-HEADS OF IRON.--Fig. 1. From the Faussett collection:
found in the parish of Ash, near Sandwich: length, 18 inches.
Figs. 2 and 3. In Mr. Rolfe's collection at Sandwich, found in
the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Ozingell, near Ramsgate. Fig. 4.
In the Faussett collection, found at Ash, near Sandwich. Figs.
5, 6 and 7. From Ozingell: No. 6 has the bronze ferule which
bound the spear-head to the shaft. Fig. 8. From Mr. Wylie's
collection: found in the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Fairford,
Gloucestershire. Figs. 9 to 12. From the Faussett collection:
fig. 11 was found on Kingston Down, Kent; the others at
Ash-by-Sandwich: fig. 10 is two feet long. 22
3. SPEAR-HEADS OF IRON.--Fig. 13. In the British Museum: found in
an Anglo-Saxon grave at Battle Edge, Oxfordshire. Fig. 14.
Found in the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Fairford. Figs. 15 and 16.
Found near Bredon Hill, Worcestershire, and preserved in the
Museum of the Worcestershire Society of Natural History. Fig.
17. Barbed spear, or _Angon_, found in a grave on Sibertswold
Down, Kent: eleven inches long. In the Faussett collection.
Fig. 18. Four-sided spear-head, found by Mr. Wylie, in the
"Fairford Graves:" length, 16-1/2 inches. Figs. 19, 20, 21.
Found in Ireland: from Mr. Wakeman's paper in the third volume
of the _Collectanea Antiqua_. Fig. 22. A Livonian example, from
Dr. Bähr's collection. The original is in the British Museum.
Fig. 23. A barbed spear, found in a tumulus in Norway: from Mr.
Wylie's paper in the thirty-fifth vol. of the _Archæologia_. 23
4. SWORDS.--Fig. 1. Found in the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Fairford.
It measures upwards of 2 ft. 11 inches, and is one of the
finest examples extant. Fig. 2. In the Hon. Mr. Neville's
collection: found in the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Wilbraham,
Cambridgeshire. Length of _blade_, 2 ft. 7 in. It retains the
bronze mountings of the sheath, which have been gilt. Fig.
3. Same collection and find: a specimen remarkable for the
cross-piece at the hilt. Fig. 4. Ancient-Irish Sword of the
same period: length, 30 inches. From Mr. Wakeman's paper in
vol. iii. of _Collectanea Antiqua_. Fig. 5. Danish sword with
engraved runes: in the Copenhagen Museum. Fig. 6. Danish: from
the _Annaler for Nordisk Oldkyndighed_. Remarkable for the form
of its cross-piece. 32
5. SWORDS.--Fig. 7. Norwegian Sword. The pommel and cross-piece
are of iron. Figs. 8 to 11. From Livonian graves: the originals
are in the British Museum. Fig. 10 is single-edged: its pommel
and the chape of the scabbard are of bronze. Fig. 11 has its
pommel and guard ornamented with silver. 33
6. Bronze Sheath containing the remains of an iron Sword: found
near Flasby, in the West Riding of Yorkshire: exhibited in the
temporary Museum at York, formed by the Archæological Institute
in 1846. 44
7. AXE-HEADS OR IRON.--Figs. 1 and 2. From the Anglo-Saxon
cemetery at Ozingell: now in Mr. Rolfe's Museum. Figs. 3 and
4. Ancient-Irish examples: from Mr. Wakeman's paper in the
_Collectanea Antiqua_. Figs. 5 and 6. German specimens: from
the cemetery at Selzen, in Rhenish Hesse; described by the
brothers Lindenschmit. Figs. 7 to 10. From Livonian graves
explored by Dr. Bähr: all four are in the British Museum. 46
8. Anglo-Saxon figures contending with the war-knife and barbed
spear: from a Latin and Anglo-Saxon Psalter, formerly belonging
to the Duc de Berri, in the Imperial Library at Paris. 51
9. WAR-KNIVES.--Fig. 1. From the Ozingell cemetery: pommel and
cross-piece of iron: length, 16 inches. Fig. 2. From the
Faussett collection: found at Ash, near Sandwich. Figs. 3
and 4. Ancient-Irish: from Mr. Wakeman's paper. Fig. 3. is
16 inches long: the other, of which the blade is broken, is
remarkable for retaining its handle, which is of carved wood.
Fig. 5 is from the Selzen cemetery, and curious from the ring
at the end of the tang. Length, 2 feet. 52
10. ARROW-HEADS.--Figs. 1 and 2. From the Faussett collection:
the first, 3 inches in length, was found in the parish of
Ash-by-Sandwich, the second on Kingston Down: both have tangs.
Figs. 3 and 4. Arrow-heads with sockets: found on Chatham
Lines. From Douglas's "Nenia." Figs. 5 and 6. From the German
graves at Selzen. Figs. 7 and 8. From Livonian tombs: they are
now in the British Museum. 56
11. Sprinkle or Hand-flail of bronze: from the Museum of Mitau in
Courland. Given in Dr. Bähr's work, _Die Gräber der Liven_. 58
12. Anglo-Saxon Slinger: from an Anglo-Saxon Psalter of the tenth
or eleventh century at Boulogne. The figure is that of David. 59
13. Group from Cottonian MS., Claudius, B. iv., folio 24: Ælfric's
Anglo-Saxon Paraphrase of the Pentateuch, &c. Date about 1000.
The crowned figure in the centre appears to be armed in a coat
of chain-mail. 60
14. Figure of an Anglo-Saxon warrior, from Cotton MS., Cleopatra,
C. viii.; a copy of the _Psychomachia_ of Prudentius. Date,
early in the eleventh century. The body-armour appears to be
of hide, with the fur turned outwards. The characteristic
leg-bands of the Anglo-Saxons are carefully expressed. 64
15. Anglo-Saxon spearmen, from the fine manuscript of Prudentius
in the Tenison Library. Date, the beginning of the eleventh
century. The drawings are in pen-and-ink only, but very
carefully executed: the later subjects by a fresh hand, but all
Anglo-Saxon work. 65
16. Another group from Cotton MS., Claudius, B. iv. This volume
contains a great number of drawings, many of which illustrate
the subject on which we are engaged. 66
17. Figure of Goliath, from a Latin Psalter of the tenth century
in the British Museum: Additional MS., No. 18,043. The hauberk
is coloured blue in the original, apparently indicating
chain-mail. The curious combed helmet is of the same hue,
clearly implying a defence of iron. 67
18. Supposed frame-helmet of the Anglo-Saxon period. It is of
bronze, and was found upon the skull of an entombed warrior
discovered at Leckhampton Hill, near Cheltenham, in 1844. 69
19. BOSSES OF SHIELDS: of iron.--Fig. 1. Anglo-Saxon: from the
Faussett collection: found on Chartham Downs, near Canterbury.
Figs. 2 and 3. From the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Fairford. The
last measures nearly five inches across. The rest on this
plate are to the same scale. Figs. 4 and 6. In Mr. Rolfe's
collection: from the Ozingell cemetery. Fig. 5. Anglo-Saxon:
found at Streetway Hill, Wilbraham, Cambridgeshire: now in the
British Museum. 73
20. BOSSES OF SHIELDS.--Fig. 7. From the Anglo-Saxon cemetery
at Ozingell. Fig. 8. From the Faussett collection: found at
Chartham Downs. Fig. 9. Found at Rodmead Down, Wilts. From Sir
Richard Hoare's "Ancient Wilts." Fig. 10. From the Wilbraham
cemetery. This specimen is especially valuable from its
retaining the handle still fixed by its rivets to the edge of
the boss. Fig. 11. Scottish example: found in a grave in the
county of Moray. From Dr. Wilson's "Archæology of Scotland."
Fig. 12. German: from the cemetery at Selzen. Fig. 13. A Danish
example: from the Copenhagen Museum. All these are of iron. 75
21. From the same MS. as No. 14 (Cleop. C. viii.). The figure is
one of a group, all similarly equipped, and carrying their
shields at their back. 77
22. Snaffle-bit, of iron, from an Anglo-Saxon barrow in Bourne
Park, near Canterbury. In the collection of the Earl of
Londesborough. 80
23. Spur with lozenge goad: from the bronze monument of Rudolph
von Schwaben, A.D. 1080, in the Cathedral of Merseburg. From
Hefner's _Trachten_. 81
24. Figure from folio 30 of Harleian MS. 603, a Latin Psalter
of the close of the eleventh century. See p. 29 for its
description. This subject, an illustration of Mr. Akerman's
paper in vol. xxxiv. of the _Archæologia_, "On some of the
Weapons of the Celtic and Teutonic Races," has been kindly lent
by the author of that essay. 90
25. Great Seal of King William the Conqueror: from the fine
impression appended to a charter preserved at the Hôtel
Soubise in Paris. The charter is a grant to the Abbey of St.
Denis of land at Teynton, in England. The king wears the
hauberk of chain-mail over a tunic. The hemispherical helmet
is surmounted by a small knob, and has laces to fasten it
under the chin. The legs do not appear to have any armour:
the spur has disappeared. A lance with streamer and a large
kite-shield complete the warrior's equipment. The legend is
✠ HOC NORMANNORUM WILLELMUM NOSCE PATRONUM SI(GNO). 92
26. Great Seal of King William II., 1087-1100. From an impression
preserved at Durham. The hauberk appears to be of chain-mail,
though expressed in a somewhat different manner from the
preceding seal of William the Conqueror, and from others which
will follow. The conical helmet seems to have had a nasal. The
spur is of the goad form. If the leg has had armour, the marks
of it have been obliterated by the softening of the wax. The
king is armed with lance, sword, and kite-shield. 102
27. Seal of Alexander I., king of Scotland: 1107-1124. The
figure is armed in hauberk with continuous coif, apparently
of chain-mail; worn over a tunic or gambeson, seen at the
wrist and skirt. Conical nasal helmet, lance with streamer,
kite-shield, and goad-spur, are the other items of the
equipment. The leg does not shew any armour, though the
softening of the wax may have obliterated markings which
originally indicated a defensive provision at this part. The
ornaments of the poitrail are usual at this period. 107
28. Great Seal of King Henry I., circa 1100. From Cotton Charter,
ii. 2 (in British Museum). The instrument is a confirmation
of the gift of Newton by "Radulfus filius Godrici," and is
witnessed by Queen Matilda and others. See Tanner's _Notitia_,
p. 339, Norwich. The material of the hauberk is represented by
that honeycomb-work so often observed in seals of this period,
and which appears to be one of the many modes in use to imitate
the web of interlinked chain-mail. The leg does not shew any
markings as of armour, but these may have disappeared from
the softening of the wax, and the prominence of the seal at
this part. The helmet is a plain conical cap of steel, without
nasal: the spur a simple goad. The lance-flag terminating in
three points, is ensigned with a Cross. The shield is of the
kite-form, shewing the rivets by which the wood and leather
portions of it were held together. The peytrel of the horse has
the usual pendent ornaments of the time. 119
29. The various modes of expressing the armour in the Bayeux
Tapestry. 121
30. Great Seal of King Stephen. Drawn from an impression among the
Select Seals in the British Museum, and from that appended
to Harleian Charter, 43, C. 13. The helmet seems to have had
a nasal, but the seals at this part are so imperfect that it
cannot be clearly traced. Behind is seen a portion of the lace
which fastened the coif or the casque. The body-armour is
noticed at page 122. Compare woodcut, No. 42. 122
31. Various modes of representing chain-mail on medieval
monuments. 124
32. From Harleian Roll, Y. 6. The Life of Saint Guthlac. Date,
about the close of the twelfth century. The figures wear the
tunic, hauberk of chain-mail, and square-topped helmets, of
which one only has the nasal. The triangular shields are
suspended round the neck by the _guige_: their ornaments are
mere fanciful patterns, not heraldic. No armour appears to
be provided for the lower part of the figures. This Roll is
further curious from having, at the back of it, drawings of
about a century later date. 127
33. From Harleian MS. 603: a Latin Psalter of the close of the
eleventh century. The figure is a pen-drawing, and represents
Goliath. Compare the crowned figure in woodcut 13, from Cotton
MS., Claudius, B. iv., and the warriors in the Bayeux Tapestry.
The hauberk appears to be of chain-mail. This manuscript has
many drawings of military costume and of weapons. 129
34. From Cotton MS., Nero, C. iv. French art. Date, about 1125.
The figure is one of a group representing the Massacre of the
Innocents: a subject, with those of the Conflict of David and
Goliath, the Soldiers at the Holy Sepulchre, and the Martyrdom
of Thomas à Becket, very fertile in illustrations of ancient
military equipment. 130
35. From fragment of a vellum-painting, of the close of the
eleventh century, figured in Hefner's _Trachten_. The
body-armour appears to be of scale-work, and is silvered in the
original. The chausses of the figures in the rear are coloured
red. 132
36. Another figure from Harl. MS. 603. (See description of woodcut,
No. 33.) The costume is described at page 133. This is the only
instance in the book, which contains some hundreds of figures,
where the dress of scale-work appears. 133
37. David and Goliath: from an initial letter of a Latin Bible
written in Germany, for the use of the Premonstratensian
Monastery of S. Maria de Parco, near Louvain. Additional MS.
14,789, fol. 10. This MS. has a particular value from its being
dated; it was written in 1148. See the rubric on fol. 197 of
vol. i., and the Colophon. The costumes are described at page
134. 135
38. Figure of Goliath: from a Latin Bible written about 1170.
"Hic liber pertinet ad Ecclesiam Beatæ Mariæ Virginis in
Suburbio Wormatiensis." Harl. MS. 2,803. Goliath is armed in
the nasal helmet and hauberk of chain-mail. The chausses are
of an unusual pattern, and do not appear to be of a defensive
character. 136
39. Sculpture of St. George, from the tympanum of a door in the
church of Ruardean, Gloucestershire. Date, the first half
of the twelfth century. The body-armour of the knight is
not now indicated, but may have been formerly expressed by
painting. The helmet is of the well-known Phrygian form. A
mantle streaming in many folds behind the champion shews the
impetuosity of his attack. A brooch secures the mantle in
front. The heel is furnished with a goad spur. 137
40. Group representing Abraham receiving bread and wine from
Melchisedech: an enamel of the close of the twelfth century,
preserved in the Louvre collection. The patriarch wears the
hauberk of chain-mail over a tunic; the coif of the hauberk
being surmounted by a conical nasal helmet. Over the armour is
worn a cloak, fastening at the right shoulder. We borrow this
illustration from Mr. Way's excellent paper on the Enamels of
the Middle-ages, in the second volume of the "Archæological
Journal" 138
41. Seal of Conan, duke of Britanny and earl of Richmond: 1165-71.
From Harleian Charter, 48, G. 40. See Nicholas' "Synopsis of
the Peerage," vol. ii. p. 534, for the history of this duke.
He wears the hauberk with continuous coif surmounted by the
conical steel casque. The triangular shield is of large
proportions. The saddle-cloth is of an unusual fashion. 140
42. Great Seal of King Stephen. The armour consists of hauberk
with continuous coif, surmounted by a helmet of Phrygian form.
Behind the head are seen the ties which fastened the coif or
the casque. The bowed kite-shield is curious from the spiked
projection in front. Compare woodcut, No. 30. 144
43. Great Seal of King Henry II. The body-armour, consisting of
hauberk and chausses, appears to be of chain-mail. The helmet
has a nasal, and the kite-shield, seen in the inside, shews
very distinctly the manner of fixing the straps forming the
_enarme_ and the _guige_. 151
44. Another Great Seal of King Henry II. Drawn from impressions
attached to Cotton Charter, ii. 5; and Harl. Charters, 43, C.
20; 43, C. 22; and 43, C. 25. This seal is chiefly remarkable
from the capacious and highly enriched saddle-cloth. The
body-armour of the king appears to be of the usual chain-mail.
The conical nasal helmet has been already seen in previous
monuments. 170
45. The Keep of Porchester Castle, Hampshire. Built about 1150. It
exhibits the type of a Norman stronghold: windows small below,
but larger in the higher stories; walls of great thickness
near the base, and of reduced proportions above. An excellent
essay on Military Architecture in the first volume of the
"Archæological Journal" will afford a good insight into the
arrangements of a castle of the Norman period. See also the
_Architecture Militaire du Moyen-Age_, by M. Viollet-le-Duc.
The Winchester Volume of the Archæological Institute will
supply a particular description of Porchester Castle. 189
46. Knightly effigy from Haseley Church, Oxfordshire. The sculpture
appears to be of the middle of the thirteenth century, and
affords an excellent _type_ of the military costume of
this age. The knight wears the hauberk of chain-mail over a
gambeson (seen at the skirt), with chausses of chain-mail. The
sleeveless surcoat is girt at the waist by a narrow belt, from
which the sword-carriage is suspended. To equip the warrior
for battle, would still be wanting the helm of plate to fix
over his mail-coif. His shield--a very unusual arrangement--is
placed under his head, in lieu of the second pillow generally
found in knightly monuments. 192
47. Mounted Archer, from Roy. MS. 20, D. i. fol. 127: _Histoire
Universelle_, and other tracts. French art. The drawings are
all coloured, and in great number. It is one of the finest
manuscripts in the world for the illustration of ancient armour
and military usages of all kinds. See note on page 196. 195
48. Group of bowmen from folio 307 of the same MS. The fighters in
both examples wear the hauberk of banded-mail with surcoat, and
the "sugar-loaf" helm. The mounted figure is distinguished by
having chausses also of banded-mail. The helm at his feet shews
the laces by which it was fastened. 199
49. Cross-bowman and Archer from Add. MS. 15,268, fol. 101:
_Histoire de l'ancien monde_. Date, about the close of the
thirteenth century. The armour of the arbalester is probably
meant for chain-mail: that of the archer is very vague, but
seems to express some kind of pourpointing. The artist has
carefully distinguished the barbed head of the arrow and the
pile of the crossbow-bolt. 201
50. Group of soldiers from Harl. MS. 4,751, fol. 8: a Latin
Bestiarium of the commencement of the thirteenth century. The
variety of weapons in this little subject is very remarkable:
they will be noticed under their separate heads. The "castle"
on the elephant's back is, in the original, full of fighters,
all wearing the flat-topped helm, and having their shields
fixed in a row in front of the car, as we see them hanging over
the edge of a vessel in sea-pictures. The "pick-pointed hammer"
in the hand of the swordsman is rather an engineering tool
than a weapon, and in other manuscripts is given to those who
are employed in breaching a wall. 205
51. Group of soldiers armed with the staff-sling, axe, spear, and
bow with lime-phial: from Strutt's _Horda_, vol. i. Plate XXXI.
His authority is the MS. of the "History" of Matthew Paris
in Benet College Library, Cambridge: C. 5, xvi. It has been
suggested, but with no great probability, that the manuscript
in question is the work of Matthew Paris himself. 206
52. Great Seal of King John: drawn from impressions attached to
Harl. Charter, 84, C. 7, and Cotton Charter, viii. 25; and
Carlton Ride Seal, H. 18. The helmet in this figure is of
unusual form; and here, for the first time, the military
surcoat appears in a royal seal of England. The mailing
has been obliterated at the skirt of the hauberk, from the
prominence of the seal at that part. The ornamental "peytrel"
of the horse is well defined in this monument, and the fashion
of the saddle is very distinctly seen. 228
53. The three knights, from a picture of the Martyrdom of Thomas
à Becket, in Harl. MS. 5, 102, fol. 32. The volume is a Latin
Psalter, written in the beginning of the thirteenth century,
and containing many illuminations. Fitzurse is conspicuous
from the figure of the Bear on his shield. The heads of the
knights present a curious variety of arming: one wearing the
flat-topped helmet, another the rounded casque, and the third
having no further defence than his coif of mail. The tunic is
seen passing beyond the edge of the hauberk. The legs of the
foremost figures are coloured red. 230
54. Sculptured effigy of William Longespée, earl of Salisbury,
from his monument in Salisbury Cathedral. His death and burial
(in 1226) are recorded in the curious cotemporary manuscript
of William de Wanda, the dean; which is still preserved in
the Bishop's Records at Sarum. See Dodsworth's History of the
Cathedral, pp. 121 and 201. The statue more fully illustrates
various points of the knightly equipment at this early period
than any other that could be named. These details will be
separately noticed in their particular places. The figure still
retains much of its ancient painting. The chain-mail is of a
brown hue, a singularity not hitherto satisfactorily explained.
The spurs have yet sparkles of gold. The Lions on the shield
are in relief; gold on a blue field. This device has been
repeated, by painting, on the surcoat. The statue, which is of
free-stone, has every appearance of having been sculptured at
the time of the death of Earl William; and, as it is so clearly
identified by the carved device of the shield, becomes one of
the most valuable examples for archæological reference. 232
55. Monumental Brass of "Sire Johan D'Aubernoun, Chivaler," in the
church of Stoke D'Abernon, Surrey. This is the most ancient
sepulchral brass yet observed, whether in England or on the
continent: its date, about 1277. Till lately it was partly
hidden beneath the altar-rails, but is now fully disclosed. On
the shield, the tincture of the field (blue) is represented
by enamel; the copper lining being plainly discernible in the
narrow edge that borders the colour. The heraldic bearing is
repeated on the lance-flag and on the escutcheon above the
effigy. The armour of the knight will be described as the
various parts of it come to be examined in detail. 237
56. From Willemin's _Monumens Inédits_, vol. i., Plate CII. The
original is a drawing in the Album of Wilars de Honnecort, an
artist of the thirteenth century. The chain-mail chausses of
the knight are drawn together behind the leg and under the
foot by lacing. The coif of the hauberk thrown back on the
shoulders, discloses the under-coif, worn by the men-at-arms to
protect the head from the rough contact of the iron garment.
The figure is further curious from the "cotte à mancherons
déchiquetés." 238
57. Chess-knight of ivory, preserved in the Ashmolean Museum: seen
in two views. The knight wears the hauberk of chain-mail,
and the cylindrical helm of its earliest form. The gamboised
chausson is seen overlying the mail chausses. The triangular
bowed shield is very exactly represented, and the draping of
the surcoat has more freedom than is usually found at this
early period. The date appears to be the beginning of the
thirteenth century. 243
58. From a marble bas-relief in a cloister of the Annunziata
Convent at Florence, 1289. After a drawing in the Kerrich
Collection, Add. MSS., No. 6,728. The knight, Gulielmus Balnis,
among several singularities of equipment, presents us with a
very unusual pattern of leg-armour: the whole suit will be duly
examined at a future page. The composition conveys no very
exalted idea of Italian art in 1289; and, in the drapery, the
sculptor might well take a lesson from the humble chess-piece
carver of the days of Magna Charta, whose handiwork was the
subject of our last notice. 244
59. Knightly effigy, of free-stone, in the church of Ash, near
Sandwich. Date, the close of the thirteenth century. The
chain-mail has been expressed in stucco, and painted of
a red-brown colour. Traces of gilding are found on the
genouillères and other parts of the monument. The knight
wears the quilted gambeson; hauberk, hood, and chausses of
chain-mail; genouillères of plate or cuir-bouilli, and long
surcoat. Ailettes are at the shoulders: of the shield, little
is left but the strap that sustained it: the cord looped to the
waist-belt held a dagger, now wanting: the spurs, of a single
goad, have been gilt. 247
60. A mounted knight clothed in banded-mail, and having armoried
ailettes. The shield is carried by allowing the enarmes to
slip over the wrist. A fortified bridge, with flanking towers,
"bretèche," gates, and portcullis, is in face. The miniature
appears on fol 58^{vo}. of Add. MS. 10,293: a collection of
Romances, _dated_ 1316. 250
61. Mounted knight armed in banded-mail and visored bassinet, and
having ailettes of a lozenge form: from Roy. MS. 14 E. iii.
fol. 94^{vo}.; a volume of Romances, written and illuminated
in the first half of the fourteenth century. A fine book for
armour subjects: the drawings clear, richly coloured and gilt,
and the details well made out. This volume passed into the
possession of King Richard III., whose autograph appears on the
second folio. 250
62. Knightly figure of the close of the thirteenth century: from
Roy. MS. 2, A. xxii. fol. 219. The drawing shews very clearly
the manner in which the mail-coif was drawn over the chin, and
tied above the ear on the left side of the head. An opening
at the palm permitted the knight to disengage his hand from
the hauberk at pleasure. The armour of the legs consists of
a chausson of chain-mail, and chausses lacing behind, which
appear to be formed of studs rivetted on cloth or leather. The
helm is of a more enriched character than is usually found at
this period. Other minute points of this equipment will be
noticed in the order of their examination. 254
63. Group of Soldiers, from a Latin Service-book of the end of
the thirteenth century: Add. MS. 17,687: German art: the
drawings richly coloured and gilt, large and well detailed. The
armour fabrics in the subject before us are of three kinds:
banded-mail, plain quilting, and pourpointerie with studs.
The diversity of arrangement of these defences in so small a
group of soldiers strikingly shews how little was thought of a
uniformity of costume. As in other cases, particular points of
equipment will be noticed in the body of the work. 257
64. Effigy in free-stone of a knight of the De Sulney family, from
the church of Newton Solney, Derbyshire. The manor was held
by this house under the Earls of Chester (see "Archæological
Journal," vol. vii. page 368), and the church contains several
early and interesting monumental statues of the successive
lords. The figure before us appears to be of the close of the
thirteenth century: it is armed in hauberk and chausses of
banded-mail: the sleeveless surcoat is slit up in front for
convenience of riding: the shield has been triangular, and is
slightly bowed: the pommel of the sword is cinquefoiled, its
cross-piece curved towards the blade: the spurs are of a single
goad. In lieu of the usual lion or dragon at the feet, the
statue is terminated by clusters of foliage of Early English
character; from which we may learn that the particular purpose
of the carving beneath the feet of these old sculptures was,
not symbolic or heraldic decoration, but the provision of a
strong block of stonework, to prevent the slender and prominent
feet from being broken away by the first act of carelessness. 261
65. A portion of banded-mail from the above-named monument, of the
natural size. The lower figure gives the profile view. 263
66. Group from the "Romance of King Meliadus," Add. MS. 12,228,
fol. 79. This is a manuscript of the fourteenth century (circa
1360); used here to illustrate the subject of banded-mail. 264
67. Coif of banded-mail, from a MS. of the beginning of the
fourteenth century. The subject is given in full in No. 7
of Count Bastard's _Peintures des Manuscrits_, the original
monument being an illuminated Bible. Other figures from this
Bible shew the same mode of tightening the coif. 266
68. Soldiers armed in Banded-mail: from a volume illuminated at
Metz about 1280, and now preserved in-the public library
of that city. The figures here given have been engraved
in Hefner's _Trachten_, Part i. Plate LXXVII.; from which
admirable work we have transferred them to our pages. It will
be observed that no two of these warriors are equipped exactly
alike. 268
69. Chess-piece (a Warder) of walrus-tusk, of the early part of
the thirteenth century. It was presented to the Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland by Lord Macdonald; and exhibited in
the Museum formed at York on the visit of the Archæological
Institute to that city in 1846. (See "Archæological Journal,"
vol. iii. p. 241.) The armour appears to be chain-mail, rudely
expressed by a series of lines and punctures. The shields are
remarkable from having a blunt termination below, instead of
the usual pointed form. 269
70. Monumental statue of an unknown knight in Norton Church,
Durham: from the figure by Blore and Le Keux in Surtees'
History of Durham, vol. iii. p. 155. Date, about 1300. The
hauberk has the hood (or coif?) thrown off the head and lying
on the shoulders: straps tighten it at the wrists. Over the
chausses appear the knee-pieces, which probably terminated
a chausson of gamboised work. The surcoat differs from the
earlier fashion of this garment, in having sleeves. The sword
is of an enriched character, the pommel being ornamented with
an escutcheon, which was no doubt once ensigned with the
bearings of the knight. Similar escutcheons appear on the
genouillères. The hair, short over the forehead, and gathered
into large curls over the ears, is characteristic of this
period. The arming of the figure is almost identical with
that of Brian Fitz Alan, at Bedale, Yorkshire (See Blore's
Monuments, and Hollis's Effigies, Part iv.). 275
71. SERIES OF HELMS OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.--Fig. 1. From the
effigy of Hugo Fitz Eudo, in Kirkstead Chapel, Lincolnshire.
A drawing of the whole figure will be found in Powell's
Collections in the British Museum: Add. MS. 17,462, fol.
71. Fig. 2. From a carving in an arcade of the Presbytery,
Worcester Cathedral. Fig. 3. From a sculpture in the Cathedral
of Constance: the entire figure is given in Hefner's Costumes,
Part i. Plate IV. Fig. 4. From the Seal of Hugo de Vere,
fourth earl of Oxford: 1221-63. Fig. 5. From a knightly figure
on folio 27 of Harleian MS. 32,44: circa 1250. Fig. 6. From
the Great Seal of Alexander II., king of Scotland: 1214-49:
from an impression appended to Cotton Charter, xix. 2. Fig.
7. From Seal of Robert Fitz Walter, Lord of Wodeham and
Castellan of London: circa 1298. See page 334. Fig. 8. From a
glass-painting in Chartres Cathedral, representing Ferdinand,
king of Castille: circa 1250. Fig. 9. A helm of iron in the
Tower collection. Fig. 10. From a miniature on Cotton Roll, xv.
7. Fig. 11. From the Seal of Louis of Savoy: circa 1294. The
whole figure is given by Cibrario in the _Sigilli de' Principi
di Savoia_, Plate XXX. Fig. 12. An example of the so-called
Sugar-loaf helm: from Royal MS. 20. D. i. Compare that on the
brass of Sir Roger de Trumpington, which is somewhat more
ornate (woodcut, No. 73). 278
72. Combat of knights, from Roy. MS. 20, D. i.; a volume already
used for our illustrations numbered 47 and 48. Both figures
are armed from head to foot in banded-mail, and have the
characteristic helm of the period: of "sugar-loaf" form, and
brought so low as to rest on the shoulders. The warrior on the
left hand wears a crown over his helm, and has the further
decoration of a fan-crest of ungainly size. The shields are of
the old kite shape, but much reduced in their dimensions from
their Neustrian prototypes. The crowned combatant has a dagger
at his right side: an early instance of an arrangement which
afterwards became very common. The caparison of the horses
does not appear to be of a defensive construction; but an
under-housing of gamboiserie or chain-work may perhaps in such
cases be implied. 283
73. Monumental brass of Sir Roger de Trumpington, executed about
1290, and still occupying its old position in the parish church
"At Trompington, not fer fro Cantebrigge[1]."
The knight is armed in hauberk, chausses and hood of chain-mail;
with a chausson, of which the knee-pieces seem to be of iron
plate. Ailettes are at the shoulders, and for pillow the
warrior has his helm; from the lower edge of which a chain
passes to the belt of the surcoat, in order to prevent its
being lost in battle. The triangular, bowed shield is sustained
by the usual guige; and here, as well as on the ailettes and
the escutcheons of the sword-sheath, are seen the _Trumpets_
forming, in allusion to his name, the heraldic bearings of our
knight. 285
74. Incised slab to the memory of the knight, Johan le Botiler, in
the church of St. Bride's, Glamorganshire. Date, about 1300.
As in the preceding example, the heraldic figures (borne in
this instance on the shield and cervellière) are allusive to
the name of the bearer, Butler. The sword, with its trefoil
pommel and narrow, curved cross-piece, has quite the character
of the Anglo-Saxon weapon of the eleventh century. In the rowel
spur, however, we recognise the spirit of progress; and the
cervellière of plate, worn, as here, in conjunction with the
coif of chain-mail, is an early example of that arrangement in
a monumental effigy. 287
75. Figure of Goliath, from Add. MS. 11,639, fol. 520: a Hebrew
copy of the Pentateuch and Forms of Prayer, written in Germany
about the close of the thirteenth century. The giant has
hauberk and chausses of chain-mail, with knee-pieces of plate,
and the broad-rimmed chapel-de-fer. The shield retains the boss
and strengthening bands which we have seen in examples from the
Anglo-Saxon and Frankish graves. The round mark at the temple
is the stone hurled from the sling of David. 290
76. Part of a figure from the wall-pictures of the Painted Chamber
at Westminster: to shew the form of the pointed, nasal helmet.
Date, the second half of the thirteenth century. 291
77. Glass-painting in the window of the north transept of Oxford
Cathedral. The tracery formerly belonging to it no longer
appears, and it is now mixed up with glass of a later period.
It is scarcely necessary to say that the martyr's head is a
"restoration." The knights are armed in suits of banded-mail,
with knee-pieces of plate. The uplifted sword is of the
falchion kind. Fitz-Urse has on his shield three Bears' heads
on a diapered field, in lieu of the usual figure of a single
Bear. Compare woodcut, No. 53. The date of this glass appears
to be about the close of the thirteenth century. 296
78. Iron spur found in the churchyard of Chesterford,
Cambridgeshire, and now preserved in the Museum of the Hon. R.
C. Neville, at Audley End. The plain goad, straight neck, and
curved shanks are all characteristic of the knightly spur of
the thirteenth century. 298
79. Great Seal of King Henry III.; drawn from impressions attached
to Harleian Charter, 43, C. 38; Wolley Charter, 5, xxi.;
and Topham Charter, No. 8. The king wears the hauberk of
chain-mail, with a helm somewhat rounded at top, and having
a moveable ventail with clefts for sight and breathing. The
mailing has been obliterated from the chausses, if any ever
were there. The surcoat is still of great length. The bowed
shield exhibits the usual three Lions. But a novelty appears
in the spurs of this figure, which are rowelled. No earlier
instance of the rowel spur has been observed, and indeed it
seldom appears again during the whole century. Usually on
the alert to adopt any novelty of military equipment, the
knights appear to have rejected with particular obstinacy
the innovation of the wheeled spur, though to us it appears
so strongly recommended by the greater humanity of its
contrivance. Compare woodcut, No. 81: the second Great Seal of
Hen. III. 299
80. From Cotton MS., Nero, D. i.; the "Lives of the two Offas,"
by Matthew Paris. This group, which occurs on folio 7 of the
manuscript, represents the Mercian king, Offa I., combating
in behalf of the king of Northumberland, and defeating the
Scottish army. The drawings of this curious volume, all of
which have been copied by Strutt in his _Horda_, appear to be
of the close of the thirteenth century. The body-armour is
for the most part banded-mail. King Offa has the distinction
of greaves and knee-pieces: the mailing of a portion of
his coif differs from the rest of the suits, probably from
carelessness of the artist only. The horse of the king is also
discriminated from the other steeds by having a housing. The
head-defence, composed of a mask of steel placed over the coif
of banded-mail, is very remarkable. In the adjoining figure we
again see an example of the aperture left at the palm, for the
convenience of liberating the hand occasionally from its case
of mail. Compare woodcut, No. 62. 303
81. Second Great Seal of King Henry III. From impressions at
Carlton Hide (R. i. 34), and select seals in Brit. Museum
(xxxiv. 4). The armour consists of hauberk and chausses of
chain-mail, helm with moveable visor, shield and sword. The
surcoat, of diminished length, is without heraldic decoration.
As a work of art, this seal shews a great advance beyond the
previous royal seals: the horse is drawn with much truth and
spirit, while the figure of the king is just in its proportions
and natural in its position. Compare woodcut, No. 79. 307
82. Group from the Painted Chamber. _Vetusta Monumenta_, vol. vi.
Plate XXXVI. We have here many noticeable particulars: the
falchion, the archer with his long-bow and cloth-yard shaft,
armed with its barbed head, the ornamented helmet of the
mounted knight, the conical nasal helmet of the figure behind,
the triangular and the round shields, and the curiously-formed
brow-band of the horse. All these will be duly examined under
their respective heads. 313
83. Incised slab of red sandstone, the memorial of a knight of
the Brougham family, in the church of Brougham, Westmoreland.
The stone is nearly 7 feet long, by 3 ft. 5 in. wide, and is
traditionally known as "The Crusader's Tomb." The "Crusader"
himself was disinterred in 1846, in consequence of some repairs
within the chancel of the church, and found to have been buried
_cross-legged_. For a particular account of this curious
discovery, see the "Archæological Journal," vol. iv. p. 59. 317
84. Military Flail: from Strutt's _Horda_, vol. i. Plate XXXII.
From the same MS. as our No. 51. (Benet Coll. Lib., C. 5. xvi.)
Compare the flail on woodcut 11. 327
85. Great Seal of King Edward I. Drawn from impression at Carlton
Ride marked H. 20; and Harl. Charter, 43, C. 52. The king is
armed in hauberk and chausses of chain-mail, with helm having
moveable visor; and he wears the shorter surcoat without
armorial decoration. The shield presents no new feature.
The mountings of the sword are of an unusual pattern: the
fleur-de-lis ornament at the extremity is again seen at the
hinge of the visor. This is the first English royal seal in
which the housing of the steed is heraldically ensigned. 339
86. Horse in housing of chain-mail: from the Painted Chamber[2].
Representations of the mailed steed are extremely rare, though
the descriptions of them are frequent. The knight has here an
armoried surcoat, and wears the usual "barrel helm" of the
time. 342
87. Seal and counter-seal of Roger de Quinci, second earl of
Winchester, 1219-64. The arming of both figures is exactly
the same: hauberk and chausses of chain-mail, cylindrical
helm, triangular bowed shield, and two-edged sword. The wyvern
which seems to form a crest to the helm in the counter-seal,
is in fact only an ornament used to fill up the space left
after the word "SCOCIE" in the legend. The flower in the same
seal, and the similar wyvern in the obverse, are employed with
a like view of enriching the composition with ornament. De
Quinci was Lord High Steward of Scotland by right of his wife,
and on the reverse-seal before us, where he is described as
"Constabularius Scocie," we have the figure of the Scottish
Lion: the seeming combat between the two being an ingenious
fancy of the artist. Compare Winchester Volume of Archæological
Institute, p. 103, and Laing's Ancient Scottish
Seals, p. 113. 346
88. Wager of Battle between Walter Blowberme and Hamon le Stare,
from the original roll in the Tower. The document is noticed in
Madox's History of the Exchequer, with an engraving, p. 383. He
describes the incident as "a pretty remarkable Case of a Duell
that was fought in the reign of K. Henry III.... A Duell was
struck. And Hamon being vanquished in the Combat, was adjudged
to be hanged". 375
89. Caerphilly Castle, Glamorganshire. Built about 1275. We
have here the type of the "Edwardian Castle;" differing
from the Norman stronghold essentially in this: that, while
the Norman fortress was a massive building surrounded by a
court, the Edwardian arrangement was a court surrounded by
strong buildings. The buildings themselves differed in many
particulars, not only from their Norman predecessors, but
from each other; and it would require a volume to examine at
large the many curious devices for offence and defence that
are exhibited in the various examples left to our times. We
must again refer the student to the admirable work of M.
Viollet-le-Duc, _Architecture Militaire du Moyen-Âge_, and
to the able paper on the same subject in the first volume of
the "Archæological Journal." And, for a complete account of
the works at Caerphilly, see the _Archæologia Cambrensis_,
vol. i., N. S. The engraving before us is from a drawing by
Mr. G. T. Clark, in which some portion of the lost buildings
has been supplied from the indications afforded by a careful
survey of those remaining. Conspicuous in front is the Great
Hall, with its louvre. Below is a water-gate, leading from the
moat into the interior of the castle. Various outworks are
connected with the main structure by means of drawbridges, and
at the right-hand corner is a mill, turned by the stream which
supplies the moat. 377
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Chaucer, Reve's Tale.
[2] Plates XXXI. and XXXVII.
ANCIENT ARMOUR,
_&c._
PART I.
FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE IRON PERIOD TO THE
ELEVENTH CENTURY.
By whatever race Europe may have been originally peopled, this
portion of the world seems to have been swept by successive tribes
of adventurers from Central Asia. The so-called "Allophylian race"
was displaced by the Celts; the Sclaves then drove the Celts to the
west, and the Tshuds into the cold regions of the north; and lastly,
the Teutonic conquerors, dispossessing at will the nations that
had preceded them, laid the foundation of that vast social empire
which at present, in Europe, in America, in Asia, and in the new
world of the South Seas, rules the destinies of half the globe. For
the purposes of art, the long period of time at which we have so
rapidly glanced has been divided into the Stone Period, the Bronze
Period, and the Iron Period; names derived from the materials which
were in _general_ use during the progress of the various races
towards civilization;--a division which, though, from its great
comprehensiveness, necessarily open to some objection, seems likely
to be of much use in simplifying a study hitherto embarrassing alike
to the general reader, and to those whose task it is to extend the
range of our knowledge.
With the nations of the Stone Period and the Bronze Period we do not
purpose to occupy ourselves; not that the relics of their times are
of an inferior interest, but that, in commencing with the days of the
iron-workers, which for general purposes we assume to be identical
with the retirement of the Romans beyond the Alps, and the domination
of the northern nations in the centre and west of Europe, we feel
that we have a task before us already much greater than we can hope
to fulfil, either to the satisfaction of our readers, or our own. If
we leave much undone, we shall endeavour, in that we do, to be exact.
Modern archæology differs from the old antiquarianism especially in
this,--that whatever it contributes to knowledge is required to be
scrupulously true. A monkish chronicler of the fourteenth century is
no longer held to be an authority for the affairs of the twelfth; an
illuminated Froissart of the fifteenth century is no more permitted
to supply us with portraits of the Black Prince, or the costume of
Duguesclin. Our pictures are no longer copies of copies; neither are
they mere _versions_ of old art. We must have line for line, point
for point. This is essential, for two reasons: we are freed from the
danger of any wrong interpretation of an historic fact, and we keep
in view the characteristic art of the period under examination. The
importance of this practice admitted, we shall be excused for stating
that almost all the illustrations of this work have been drawn by
the writer;--when from manuscripts, the collection and folio of the
volume have been carefully recorded, so that the truthfulness of the
copy may be readily tested;--after the drawings had been transferred
to the wood, they were carefully examined before the graver was
permitted to commence its work; and if, in spite of every precaution,
some unlucky error would at last creep in, the mistake was always
rectified with new engraving.
The chief evidences for the military equipment and usages of the
Teutonic conquerors of Europe, from the period of the dismemberment
of the Roman empire to the great triumphs achieved by the Normans in
the eleventh century, are the writers of those times, the miniatures
which decorate their works, and the graves of these ancient races;
which last have of late years yielded a wondrous harvest of valuable
memorials, illustrating as well the domestic practices of their
occupants, as their warlike array. If these three classes of
monuments are useful in supplying each other's deficiencies, still
more valuable do they become to the archæologist and the historian,
by the confirmation which they mutually afford to each other's
testimony. A few discrepancies indeed occasionally appear on points
of minute detail; and it is in the pages of the historians and
chroniclers that these are generally found: but when we consider the
difficulty of the transmission of knowledge in those days, and the
errors that may have crept in from the negligence of book-copyists
through so many successive generations, the wonder is, not that
something has been left obscure, but that so much has been faithfully
transmitted to our times.
The various sons of Odin, whether settled in Germany, in Gaul, in
Iberia, in Scandinavia, or in Britain, bore a strong resemblance to
each other, both in their military equipment, and in such tactics as
they possessed. If we find one branch of this vast family combating
the Romans with more than usual art, or conducting a campaign with
larger strategical views than their fellows, we must attribute it
rather to the superior skill of a particular leader, or to their
having borrowed some valuable hints from the practice of their
opponents, than to any essential difference between this or that
tribe of Teutons,--between the dwellers on the right bank of the
Rhine and the dwellers on the left bank,--between those whose
huts were on the flats of the Waal, and those who had built their
cabins in the valleys of the Loire. Such differences as have been
observed, we shall point out in our progress; but we are inclined to
believe that, as collections are augmented and comparisons extended,
resemblances will be found to increase, and differences to diminish.
Among the writers who afford us information on the early weapons and
mode of warfare of that branch of the Teutonic family which acquired
the name of Franks, there are three whose testimony is of especial
value to us; and we must again remark, that what was particularly
true of the Franks was generally true of the Anglo-Saxons, and
of all the cognate tribes which traversed Europe as conquerors.
These three writers are--Sidonius Apollinaris, bishop of Auvergne,
who, in the fifth century, wrote his Panegyric of the Emperor
Majorian; Procopius, the secretary of Belisarius, who lived in the
sixth century, and was an eye-witness of the facts he records; and
Agathias, a Greek historian, who flourished in the seventh century.
"The Franks," says Sidonius, describing the defeat of their king
Clodion by the Roman general Aetius, "are a tall race, and clad in
garments which fit them closely. A belt (_balteus_) encircles their
waist. They hurl their axes (_bipennes_) and cast their spears
(_hastas_) with great force, never missing their aim. They manage
their shields with much address, and rush on their enemy with such
velocity, that they seem to fly more rapidly than their javelins
(_hastas_). They accustom themselves to warfare from their earliest
years, and if overpowered by the multitude of their enemies, they
meet their end without fear. Even in death their features retain the
expression of their indomitable valour:--
'Invicti perstant, animoque supersunt
Jam propè post animam.'"
Procopius, describing the expedition of the Franks into Italy in the
sixth century, tells us:--"Among the hundred thousand men that the king
(Theodobert I.) led into Italy, there were but few horsemen, and these
he kept about his person. This cavalry alone carried spears (_hastas_).
The remainder were infantry, who had neither spear nor bow, (_non arcu,
non hastâ armati_,) all their arms being a sword, an axe, and a shield.
The blade of the axe was large, its handle of wood, and very short. At
a given signal they march forward; on approaching the adverse ranks
they hurl their axes against the shields of the enemy, which by this
means are broken; and then, springing on the foe, they complete his
destruction with the sword[3]."
Agathias, in the seventh century, writes:--"The arms of the Franks
are very rude; they wear neither coat-of-fence nor greaves, their
legs being protected by bands of linen or leather. They have little
cavalry, but their infantry are skilful and well disciplined. They
wear their swords on the left thigh, and are furnished with shields.
The bow and the sling are not in use among them, but they carry
double axes (πελέκεις ἀμφιστόμους,) and barbed spears (ἄγγωνας.)
These spears, which are of a moderate length, they use either for
thrusting or hurling. The staves of them are armed with iron, so that
very little of the wood remains uncovered[4]. The head has two barbs,
projecting downwards as far as the shaft. In battle, they cast this
spear at the enemy, which becomes so firmly fixed in the flesh by the
two barbs, that it cannot be withdrawn; neither can it be disengaged
if it pierce the shield, for the iron with which the staff is covered
prevents the adversary from ridding himself of it by means of his
sword. At this moment the Frank rushes forward, places his foot on
the shaft of the spear as it trails upon the ground, and having thus
deprived his foe of his defence, cleaves his skull with his axe, or
transfixes him with a second spear[5]."
We here see that the usual arms of the Franks at this time were the
axe, the sword, the spear, of two kinds, and the shield. Body-armour
is not worn by the soldiery at large; and the chief device of the
assailant is to deprive his adversary of the aid of his shield,
in order that no obstacle may stand between his brawny arm and
death. The provision of cavalry is small, and the few horsemen that
are found appear rather as a body-guard to the prince than as an
ingredient of the army. The evidences above quoted are borne out, not
alone by the contents of the Teutonic graves, but by other passages
of ancient writers. Gregory of Tours, in the sixth century, tells us
that Clovis, reviewing his troops soon after the battle of Soissons,
reprimanded a slovenly soldier, by telling him, "There is no one here
whose arms are so ill kept as yours: neither your spear (_hasta_),
nor your sword (_gladius_), nor your axe (_bipennis_), is fit for
service[6]." This author adds a new weapon to the Frankish soldier's
equipment, in which he is equally supported by the evidences from
the graves. They carried also, he tells us, a dagger, which was worn
suspended from the belt. Tacitus, as early as the second century,
describes with great exactness the spear-javelin named by Agathias.
The whole passage is so curiously illustrative of our subject,
that we venture to quote it:--"Rari gladiis, aut majoribus lanceis
utuntur, hastas, vel ipsorum vocabulo _frameas_, gerunt, angusto et
brevi ferro, sed ita acri et ad usum habili ut eodem telo, prout
ratio poscit, vel cominùs vel eminùs pugnent: et eques quidem scuto
frameaque contentus est: pedites et missilia spargunt, pluraque
singuli, atque in immensum vibrant, nudi aut sagulo leves, nulla
cultus jactatio: scuta tantum lectissimis coloribus distinguunt:
paucis loricæ, vix uni alterive cassis aut galea."--(_Germania._)
In the long and fierce contention between the North and the
South,--between the rugged Goth and the polished Roman,--it could
not but happen that an adroit captain of the ruder host would avail
himself of the greater skill of his adversaries; that every campaign
would teach some new formation, that every battle would disclose some
useful stratagem: weapons would be improved, enriched, and augmented
in their variety; the defensive armour of the leaders would extend to
their subordinates; while the leaders, to retain their distinction,
would be induced to render their panoply more splendid and more costly.
We find, therefore, in the poems and chronicles of this later time,
constant mention of rich arms and armour; and in the capitularies
of Charlemagne especially, we get a glimpse of the improvements in
northern warfare. "Let each count," commands the emperor, "be careful
that the troops he has to lead to battle are fully equipped; that
they have spear, shield, a bow with two strings, and twelve arrows,
helmet, and coat-of-fence[7]." We here see the soldiery adding to their
defensive appointments the casque and lorica, and to their offensive
arms the bow and arrows. The equipment of Charlemagne himself has been
handed down to us in the contemporary description of the Monk of Saint
Gall. The head of the monarch was armed with an iron helmet,--"his
iron breast and his shoulders of marble were defended by a cuirasse of
iron." His arms and legs were also covered with armour; of which the
cuissards appear to have been composed of the jazerant-work so much in
vogue at a later period: "coxarum exteriora: in eo ferreis ambiebantur
bracteolis[8]." The followers of the prince, adds his biographer, were
similarly defended, except that they dispensed with the cuissards,
which were inconvenient on horseback.
The proportion of cavalry continued to increase, as we clearly
see from this phrase in a capitulary of _Charles le Chauve_:--"Ut
pagenses franci qui caballos habent, aut habere possunt, cum suis
comitibus in hostem pergant." By the clause, "aut habere possunt," it
appears evident that some effort was expected to be made in order to
extend this force.
Under Clovis and his immediate successors, (sixth century,) the
Frankish army seems to have been pretty strictly limited to that
race. But later, the Burgundians, and then the Germans, and at length
the Gauls themselves, were admitted to the service. The troops
were levied in the various provinces, and bore their names; as the
Andegavi, the Biturici, the Cœnomanici, the Pictavi. Their leaders
were the king, the dukes, and the counts. The Church lands were bound
to furnish their contingent of armed men. The exempts were the very
young, the old, the sick[9], and the newly married for the term of
one year[10]. The provinces not only furnished the fighting men, but
their arms, clothing, and a supply of food. "We order," says another
of the capitularies of Charlemagne, "that, according to _ancient
custom_, each man provide himself in his province with food for three
months, and with arms and clothing for half a year[11]." It may be
inferred from this order, that the prince trusted, for the last three
months' sustenance of his troops, to the maxim always so much in
favour with conquerors, that war should be made to maintain war.
In England, the Teutonic adventurers, when by many a fierce battle
they had established a footing, and by the league of many a tribe
they had united themselves into a large and powerful community, seem
to have divided their society into two classes,--the Eorl, or noble,
and the Ceorl, or freeman. "Before the time of Canute," remarks
Mr. Kemble, "the ealdorman, or duke, was the leader of the _posse
comitatus_, or levy _en masse_, as well as of his own followers[12]."
The only superior dignities were the king and archbishop. The
subordinate commands were held by the royal officers, who led the
nobles and their retainers; the bishops' or abbots' officers, who
were at the head of the Church vassals; and the sheriffs, who
conducted the _posse comitatus_[13]. No distinct intimation of the
dress of the ealdorman has come down to us, but he probably wore a
_beáh_, or ring, upon his head, the _fetel_, or embroidered belt,
and the golden hilt which seems to have been peculiar to the noble
class. The staff and sword were probably borne by him as symbols of
his civil and criminal jurisdiction[14]. But the new constitution
introduced by Canute reduced the ealdorman to a subordinate position.
Over several counties was now placed one eorl, or earl, (in the
Northern sense, a jarl,) with power analogous to that of the Frankish
dukes. The king rules by his earls and húscarlas, and the ealdormen
vanish from the counties. Gradually this old title ceases altogether,
except in the cities, where it denotes an inferior judicature, much
as it does among ourselves at the present day[15].
The _húscarlas_ were a kind of household troops, variously estimated
at three thousand or six thousand men. They were formed on the model
of the earlier _comites_, but probably not organized as a regular
force till the time of Canute. To this prince, living as he was
among a conquered and turbulent people, the maintenance of such a
band, always well armed, and ready for the fray, was of the first
necessity. Their weapons were the axe, the halbard, and the sword;
this last being inlaid with gold. From the collocation of names among
the witnesses to a charter of the middle of the eleventh century, we
may infer that the _stealleras_, or marshals, were the commanding
officers of the húscarlas[16]. In imitation of the king, the great
nobles surrounded themselves with a body-guard of húscarlas, and they
continued to exist as a royal establishment after the Conquest.
Like his ancestors, the ancient Germans, of whom Tacitus tells us,
"nihil neque publicæ neque privatæ rei nisi armati agunt," the
Anglo-Saxon freeman always went armed; a circumstance, however, that
proves, not so much the extent of his freedom, as the smallness of
his civilization. The ancient Egyptians, on the contrary, always
went unarmed; and in the _Kristendom's Saga_ we read, that among
the Icelanders, about 1139, so great was the security, that "men no
longer carried weapons at a public meeting, and that scarcely more
than a single helmet could be seen at a judicial assemblage[17]."
The mode of raising ships among the Anglo-Saxons we learn from an
entry in the Saxon Chronicle under the year 1008:--"This year the
king commanded that ships should be speedily built throughout the
nation; to wit: from three hundred hides, and from ten hides, one
vessel; and from eight hides, a helmet and a coat-of-fence."
On especial occasions, the ships of war appear to have been
decorated in a very costly manner; as we may gather from the
present of Earl Godwin to Hardecanute, described by William of
Malmesbury:--"Hardecanute looking angrily upon Godwin, the earl was
obliged to clear himself by oath. But, in hopes of recovering entirely
the favour of the king, he added to his oath a present of the most rich
and beautiful kind. It was a ship with a beak of gold, having on board
eighty soldiers, who wore two bracelets on either arm, each weighing
sixteen ounces of gold. They had gilt helmets; in the right hand they
carried a spear of iron; on the left shoulder they bore a Danish axe;
in a word, they were equipped with such arms, as that, splendour vying
with terror, might conceal the steel beneath the gold[18]."
The military system of the Danes in their own country, and of their
Scandinavian brethren, may be gathered from what we have told of
the changes wrought in England by King Canute. By the laws of Gula,
said to have been originally established by King Hacon the Good, in
940, whoever possessed the sum of six marks, besides his clothes,
was required to furnish himself with a red shield of two boards in
thickness (_tuibyrding_), a spear, an axe or a sword. He who was
worth twelve marks was ordered to procure in addition a steel cap
(_stál-hufu_); whilst he who was worth eighteen marks was obliged
to have a double red shield, a helmet, a coat-of-fence or gambeson
(_bryniu_ or _panzar_), and all usual weapons (_folkvopn_).
Italy, always the theatre of the most sanguinary wars, torn and
wasted by the troops of pope and of emperor, and of its own citizens
contending against each other; invaded and overrun by barbarian
neighbours,--by the Hungarians on the north, and by the Saracens
on the south,--presented a _mélange_ of warlike usages and warlike
equipment in which the East and the West, the North and the South
became intermingled in such a manner as to give to the whole country
the appearance of a vast military masquerade; an _imbroglio_ which,
in our time, it would be a useless attempt to resolve into its
original elements. In the eleventh century, the consuls of the cities,
succeeding to the functions which had been enjoyed by the dukes and
counts, commanded the troops of their respective districts, and marched
at their head, whether the expedition was undertaken under the banner
of the emperor, or the result of a private dissension between two rival
cities. The forces employed in these services differed in nothing
from those of the west of Europe; the strength of the host consisted
of the heavy-armed knights with lance and target, while the communal
levy fought with such weapons as they could best wield or most easily
obtain. The Hungarians, who overran the country as far as the Tiber
on the north, and the Saracens, who harried the land to the south of
that river, acted in small bodies of light cavalry, compensating by
the rapidity of their movements for the inferior solidity of their
armament. Before the expeditions of these marauders, the Italian cities
had been open; but their depredations at length (that is, about the
close of the ninth century,) caused the citizens to construct walls,
to organize a communal militia for the defence of their homes, and to
place officers selected from their own body at the head of their little
armies.
From very early times, and almost throughout the middle ages, the
clergy are found occasionally taking part in warlike enterprises;--one
principal reason of which may have been, that, by personally heading
their contingent, they escaped from the exactions and caprices of the
vicedomini. Their presence in battle and siege is proved, not only by
the direct testimony of cotemporary writers, but by the prohibitions
that from time to time were issued against the practice. From Gregory
of Tours we learn, that at the siege of Comminges by the Burgundian
monarch, the bishop of Gap often appeared among the defenders of the
town, hurling stones from the walls on the assailants. Hugh, abbot of
St. Quentin, a son of Charlemagne, was slain before Toulouse, with
the abbot of Ferrière; and at the same time, two bishops were made
prisoners. The Saxon Chronicle, under the year 1056, says:--"Leofgar
was appointed bishop. He was the mass-priest of Harold the earl. He
wore his knapsack during his priesthood until he was a bishop. He
forsook his chrism and his rood, his ghostly weapons, and took to his
spear and his sword after his bishophood; and so went to the field
against Griffin, the Welsh king: and there was he slain, and _his
priests with him_." At the Council of Estines, in 743, it is forbidden
"to all who are in the service of the Church to bear arms and to fight,
and none are to accompany the army but those appointed to celebrate
mass, to hear confessions, and to carry the relics of the saints." The
Council of Soissons, in 744, records a similar prohibition against the
abbots:--"Abbates legitimi hostem non faciant, nisi tantum homines
eorum transmittant." The capitularies of Charlemagne contain similar
ordinances: the priests are forbidden to combat "even against the
pagans." The Anglo-Saxon clerics seem to have been no less belligerent
than their neighbours; and Mr. Kemble sums up this part of the question
in the following words:--"Though it is probable that the bishop's
_gerefa_ was bound to lead his contingent, under the command of the
ealdorman, yet we have ample evidence that the prelates themselves did
not hold their station to excuse them from taking part in the just and
lawful defence of their country and religion against strange and pagan
invaders. Too many fell in conflict to allow of our attributing their
presence on the field merely to their anxiety lest the belligerents
should be without the due consolations of religion; and in other cases,
upon the alarm of hostile incursions, we find the levies stated to have
been led against the enemy by the duke and bishop of the district[19]."
If there were Churchmen whom it was difficult to restrain from
fight and foray, there were, on the other hand, laics who sought to
escape the service by donning the cowl or chasuble. A capitulary of
Charlemagne was necessary to prevent certain "liberi homines" from
becoming either priests or monks, in order to avoid the military
duties attached to their station[20].
The matrons of the North appear occasionally to have taken part in
the defence of their country. William of Jumièges, describing the
resistance of the Normans to the attack of the English in 1000,
writes:--"Sed et fœminæ pugnatrices, robustissimos quosque hostium
vectibus hydriarum suarum excerebrantes." Wace, noticing the same
event, says:--
"Li vieilles i sont corues,
O pels, o maches, o machues,
Escorciécs è rebraciées[21]:
De bien férir apareillées."
And the English sailors, on their return after the defeat of their
soldiery, themselves describe them as--
"Granz vieilles deschevelées,
Ki sembloent fames desvées[22]."
As we have before seen, the tactics of the Northern nations were
borrowed in a great measure from the Romans. As early as the time
of Tacitus, the Germans disposed their troops in the form of the
_cuneus_, or wedge: "Acies per cuneos componitur."--(_Germania._) And
in the account given by Agathias of the battle of the Casilinus in
553, we are told that the wedge was still the arrangement adopted for
the central division of the Frankish army, while the remainder was
marshalled in two wings[23].
When a force of infantry had to contend against an army in which many
horse were employed, they sought by serried ranks and by a favourable
position to obtain the advantage over their enemy. This was the plan
of the English at Hastings. A trench was before them,--
"En la champaigne out un fossé"--_Wace, Roman de Rou._
Behind which, says the _Carmen de bello Hastingensi_,--
"Anglorum stat fixa solo densissima turba."--v. 451.
And Henry of Huntingdon: "quasi castellum, impenetrabile Normannis."
And again, Malmesbury: "All were on foot, armed with battle-axes;
and, covering themselves in front by the junction of their shields,
they formed an impenetrable body, which would have secured their
safety that day, had not the Normans by a feigned flight induced
them to open their ranks, which till that time, _according to their
custom_, were closely compacted[24]."
As early as the middle of the eleventh century, it was sought to
familiarize the Anglo-Saxons with the equestrian mode of warfare
of their neighbours, the Normans. In 1055 the alien captain of the
garrison of Hereford, Raulfe, directed the English to serve on
horseback; which, says the chronicler, was contrary to their usage:
"Anglos _contra morem_ in equis pugnare jussit[25]."
Omens in the earlier times, saintly relics in the later, were held
in the highest estimation for the assurance of victory. The ancient
Germans, as we learn from Cæsar, consulted their matrons as to
the lucky hour for them to engage battle, and would not advance
till the moon was propitious[26]. At the battle of the Casilinus,
already noticed, some of the German auxiliaries of the Franks were
unwilling to engage because their augurs had declared the moment
to be unfavourable[27]. Gregory of Tours notices the custom of the
Christian kings of France to seek a lucky omen from the services
of the Church; and recounts that Clovis, arriving in Touraine on
his expedition against Alaric, sent his retainers to the church in
which the body of Saint Martin was deposited, in order to notice the
words that should be uttered on their entry within the sacred walls.
The king's satisfaction was extreme when the courtiers reported
the passage of the eighteenth Psalm: "Tu mihi virtute ad bellum
accinctos meos adversarios subjicis[28]."
Harold's "lucky day" was Saturday; on which he therefore fixes, to
measure his strength with Duke William. Saturday was his birthday,
and his mother had frequently assured him that projects undertaken on
that day would bring him good fortune:--
"Guert, dist Heraut,----
Jor li assis à Samedi,
Por ço ke Samedi naski.
Ma mere dire me soleit
Ke à cel jor bien m'aveindreit."
_Rom. de Rou_, l. 13054.
Saintly relics were carried in procession to insure a successful
expedition, or worn about the person of the combatant, or enclosed in
a feretory and set up on the field of battle. Pope Gregory the Great
included among the presents which he sent to Childebert II., certain
relics which, worn round the neck in battle, would defend him from
all harm: "quæ collo suspensæ a malis omnibus vos tueantur[29]." When
Rollo, duke of Normandy, besieged Chartres, the bishop assembled the
clergy and people, and--
"Traist horz entre sis mainz, d'une châsse ù el fu,
La kemise à la Virge.
* * * * *
Reliques è corz sainz fist mult tost avant traire,
Filatieres è testes et altres Saintuaires[30]:
Ne lessia croix, ne châsse, ne galice[31] en aumaire.
* * * * *
Li Eveske meisme porta _por gonfanon_
Li plus chières reliques par la procession."
The effect of all this upon Rollo was most startling:--
"Quant Rou si grant gent vei, si s'en est esbahi
De la procession ki de Chartres issi:
Des relikes k'ils portent, è des cants k'il oï;
De la Sainte Kemise ke la Dame vesti,
Ki Mere è Virge fu----
N'i osa arester, verz sis nés[32] tost s'enfui;
E, come pluséors distrent, la véue perdi.
Mez tost la recovra et asez tost gari."--
_Rom. de Rou_, vol. i. p. 81.
William the Conqueror and his barons, wanting a wind to invade
England, addressed themselves to the monks of S. Valery; and--
"----unt tant li covent préié
Ke la châsse Saint Valeri
Mistrent as chams sor un tapi.
Al cors saint vinrent tuit orer
Cil ki debveient mer passer:
Tant i out tuit deniers offert,
Tot li cors saint en ont covert.
Emprez cel jor, asez briement,
Orent bon oré[33] è bon vent."--_Rom. de Rou_, ii. 146.
But the most curious accumulation of these "saintuaires" was on the
field of Hastings, where Duke William had a portable altar, enclosing
divers relics of saints and martyrs, other relics being suspended round
his neck; while before him was borne a sacred standard which had been
blessed by the Pope, and on his finger was placed a ring, (also sent by
"the apostle,") in which was set, according to some evidences, one of
the hairs of St. Peter; according to others, one of his teeth[34]:--
"L'Apostoile (li otréia,)
Un gonfanon li envéia;
Un gonfanon et un anel
Mult precios è riche è bel:
Si come il dit, de soz la pierre
Aveit un des cheveuls Saint Pierre."
Or, following another manuscript of the _Roman de Rou_,--
"----de soz la pierre
Aveit une des denz Saint Pierre."
In these days, when the shock of armies was not accompanied by the
thunder of cannon, when the silent flight of the arrow, the hum of
the sling-stone, or the whirr of the javelin, were all that preceded
the hand-to-hand conflict, no small account was made of the various
war-cries of opposing chieftains. And not only war-cries, but even
songs, were employed to encourage the assailants or intimidate the
foe; of which the Song of Roland, sung by Taillefer on the field of
Hastings, is an example in the memory of every reader. Snorro, in the
Heimskringla, has preserved a fragment of the improvised verses sung
by Harold Harfagar, as, mounted on his black charger, he passed along
the line of his troops previous to the battle of Stanford-Bridge[35].
The pagan Northmen invoked their divinities,--a practice that
was continued, according to the chronicle of Wace, to the middle
of the eleventh century; for, of Raoul Tesson at the battle of
Val-des-Dunes, he writes:--
"De la gent done esteit emmie[36]
Poinst li cheval, criant _Tur aïe_[37]
* * * * *
Cil de France crient _Montjoie_.
Willame crie _Dex aïe_:
C'est l'enseigne de Normendie.
E Renouf crie o grant pooir,
_Saint Sever, Sire Saint Sevoir_.
E Dam As Denz[38] va reclamant,
_Saint Amant, Sire Saint Amant_."
_Rom. de Rou_, ii. 32, seq.
In the fight between Lothaire, king of France, and Richard I., duke
of Normandy,--
"Franceiz crient _Monjoe_, è Normanz _Dex aïe_:
Flamenz crient _Asraz_ è Angevin _Valie_:
E li Quens Thibaut _Chartres et passe avant_ crie."--
_Ibid._, i. 238.
At the field of Hastings, the English--
"_Olicrosse_ sovent crioent,
E _Godemite_ reclamoent.
_Olicrosse_ est en engleiz
Ke Sainte Croix est en franceiz;
E _Godemite_ altretant
Com en frenceiz Dex tot poissant."--_Ibid._, ii. 213.
To complete our sketch of the Anglo-Saxon warrior, we may add that he
wore both beard and moustache, neither of which were in vogue among the
soldiers of Duke William. Wace has not omitted this point. The Normans--
"N'unt mie barbe ne guernons[39],
Co dist Heraut, com nos avons."--_Rom. de Rou_, ii. 174.[40]
Let us now examine a little more in detail the arms, offensive
and defensive, of the various Northern tribes, at whose military
institutions and practices we have taken so rapid a glance.
[Illustration: PLATE II.]
[Illustration: PLATE III.]
The SPEARS seem to have been of two kinds: the longer spear in use
among the cavalry, or to be employed against them; and the shorter
kind, which, as we have seen, might serve either as a javelin, or
for the thrust at close quarters. In the accompanying groups of
spear-heads, found in graves in different parts of Europe, we have
collected the principal varieties of form[41]: the leaf-shaped,
the lozenge, the spike, the ogee, the barbed, and the four-edged.
These forms are infinitely varied in the monuments of the time, by
giving to the weapons more or less of breadth or of slenderness.
The blades are always of iron, and those found in England have a
longitudinal opening in the socket. Their length is various, but
they usually range from ten to fifteen inches. In the cemetery at
Little Wilbraham, Cambridgeshire, the smallest found was two and
a half inches, the longest eighteen inches[42]. In the Ozingell
cemetery (in Kent), they occur of twenty-one inches in length[43].
The spear-heads of this period found in Ireland differ but little
from the examples discovered in England and on the Continent. Those
from the Ballinderry find, observes Mr. Wakeman, "are singularly like
specimens found at Ozingell." In Anglo-Saxon interments, the spears
occur in much greater numbers than any of the other weapons. The
cemetery at Little Wilbraham produced thirty-five spears, but only
four swords; and the axes, in all similar explorations, are of still
greater rarity. These usual types of the spear-head found in Great
Britain closely resemble those discovered in the graves of France,
Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland. Numerous examples of them will
be found figured in the Abbé Cochet's work[44], in Lindenschmit's
Selzen Cemetery[45], in Worsaae's Copenhagen Museum[46], and in
Troyon's _Tombeaux de Bel-Air_.
One of the first things that strikes the student in turning over
the illuminated manuscripts of the Anglo-Saxons, and comparing
their pictures with the relics procured from the graves, is the
great frequency in the paintings of the barbed spear or _angon_,
and its extreme rarity in real examples. We have already seen, in
the description of Agathias, that this weapon was employed with
fearful effect by the Franks in the seventh century; and the constant
occurrence of it in the vellum-paintings of a later date, leaves
us no room to doubt that it was a familiar form to our Teutonic
ancestors. Yet its occurrence in the graves is of the greatest
rarity. We have given, in our plate of spears, figure 17, a specimen
of the barbed javelin, forming part of the Faussett Collection,
found in 1772 in a grave on Sibbertswould Down, in Kent. Its length
is eleven inches. Figure 23 in the same plate is from Mr. Wylie's
paper in the Archæologia, (vol. XXXV.); the original, of iron, and
in length sixteen inches, was found in a Norwegian tumulus. Mr.
Wylie has also engraved another example, preserved in the _Musée de
l'Artillerie_ at Paris, said to have been procured from a Merovingian
grave. In the Abbé Cochet's work (Plate XVI.) is figured another
specimen, from a grave at Envermeu, the length of which is five
inches; the barbs spreading out widely on each side, exactly in
the manner of the royal "broad-arrow." Several examples are given
in Worsaae's Copenhagen Museum, p. 69; one of which differs from
the rest in having the barb on one side only, the other side being
leaf-shaped. The barbed spear or javelin has also been found at
Mainz, Darmstadt, and Wiesbaden[47]; but in all cases it occurs in
very small proportion to the other weapons discovered.
The four-edged spear-head is of still greater rarity. In the graves
opened by Mr. Wylie at Fairford, in Gloucestershire, one of these
curious weapons was obtained; which we have copied from the volume
describing this find[48], in our plate of spears, fig. 18. It is of
iron, sixteen and a half inches in length, and two inches across
at the broadest part. "It reminds one," remarks Mr. Wylie, "of the
spear of Thorolf in Eigil's Saga:" "Cujus ferrum duas ulnas longum,
in mucronem _quatuor acies habentem_, desinebat." These four-edged
weapons are of the highest antiquity;--compare those of the
Egyptians, figured and described in Sir Gardner Wilkinson's work[49].
Another variety, found at Douvrend, and figured at page 283 of _La
Normandie Souterraine_, has a leaf-shaped blade with recurved hooks
at the socket end. Mr. Wylie has given this example in his paper in
the Archæologia, (vol. xxxv. p. 48,) and considers it to be the weapon
named by Sidonius as forming part of the Frankish warrior's equipment:
"_lanceis uncatis_, securibusque missilibus dextræ refertæ." Four other
examples of this spear were found in the valley of the Eaulne[50].
Occasionally the spear-head was formed with its two sides on
different planes; with the object, as it would appear, of giving a
rotary motion to the weapon when used as a javelin. Two examples of
this construction are described and engraved in the account of the
excavations, by Mr. Akerman, at Harnham Hill, near Salisbury[51].
The spear-head was generally attached to its shaft by means of rivets
passing through the socket into the wood beneath. Sometimes, in
lieu of the socket, there was a spike at the base of it, which was
driven _into_ the wood, as in one of the Livonian examples, now in
the British Museum, and figured in Dr. Bähr's work, _Die Gräber der
Liven_. Sometimes, again, a ferule of bronze or iron was added to
the socketed spear-head at its junction with the staff, as in the
example in Mr. Rolfe's museum, at Sandwich, obtained from the Ozingell
graves, and figured on our Plate II., fig. 6. In this instance the
ferule was of bronze. One of iron occurred in the cemetery at Linton
Heath, Cambridgeshire, (figured in Archæol. Journal, vol. xi. p. 106).
In manuscript illuminations the spear-head of the Anglo-Saxons is
constantly represented with one or more cross-bars at the base of the
blade. A spear of iron having a cross-piece of analogous form was found
among Anglo-Saxon relics near Nottingham in recent excavations, and has
been added to the Tower Collection. It is engraved in the Archæological
Journal, vol. viii. p. 425. Similar examples are figured in the
Illustrated Catalogue of Mr. Roach Smith's Museum, p. 103.
The shaft itself appears to have been generally of ash. Portions of
the wood have been found at Wilbraham, at Ozingell, at Northfleet,
and other places. Some of that from Northfleet, having been examined
by Professor Lindley and by Mr. Girdwood, has been pronounced to
be undoubtedly ash[52]. The general use of this wood is strikingly
confirmed by several passages in "Beowulf," that curious Anglo-Saxon
poem which the concurring opinion of the best Northern scholars has
assigned to the close of the eighth century:--
"Their javelins piled together stood,
The seamen's arms, of ashen wood."--_Line_ 654.
And again, line 3535:--
"Thus I the Hring-danes
for many a year
governed under heaven
and secured them with war
from many tribes
throughout this earth
with spears and swords."
(_Æscum and ecgum._)
In this passage, _æscum_, ash, is put for the spear itself. Mr.
Roach Smith has collected several other instances of a similar kind.
"In Cædmon, the term _æsc-berend_, or spear-bearer, is applied to
a soldier." In the fragment of the poetical "History of Judith" we
have _æsc-plega_, the play of spears, as a poetic term for a battle.
So we have _æsc-bora_, a spear-bearer; and in the Codex Exoniensis,
_æsc-stede_, a field of battle. And again, in "Beowulf:"--
"_Eald Æsc-wiga._"
Some old spear-warrior[53].
In the eleventh century we find the ashen spear again mentioned.
Robert of Aix, describing the knights his companions in the First
Crusade, says: "Hastæ _fraxineæ_ in manibus eorum ferro acutissimo
præfixæ sunt, quasi grandes perticæ[54]." The Abbé Cochet, however,
describes the remains of a lance-shaft found at Envermeu as being of
oak; black with age, and of an extreme hardness[55].
The staves were sometimes of a rich and costly character. The heriot
of the Anglo-Saxon Wulfsige consisted of two horses, one helmet, one
byrnie, one sword, and a spear twined with gold[56].
The spear-staves deposited in the graves are necessarily of the
shorter kind: the length of the entire weapon being about six feet;
a fact easily ascertained by measuring the distance from the blade
to the iron shoe, where that is found. This iron shoe is generally
a hollow spike, into which the wood was fitted; as in that of the
"Fairford Graves," Plate XI.; the one from Northfleet, (figured in
the Journal of the Archæological Association, vol. iii.); and another
in the Faussett Collection, found at Ash-by-Sandwich. Sometimes it
was a button, to be driven into the shaft by means of a nail issuing
from its centre. An example of this variety is engraved in the _Nenia
Britannica_ of Douglas.
Those who used the shorter spear or javelin were provided with
several of these weapons, which they hurled successively at the
enemy. In Harleian MS., No. 603, folio 30[57], may be seen a
spearman holding three lozenge-headed javelins. Cædmon's Paraphrase
(Archæologia, vol. xxiv. Plate LV.) has a figure carrying three
barbed javelins (_angones_). In Harl. MS., 603, folio 56^b,
the Destroying Angel has three barbed spears, one of which is
represented in its flight, another poised in the right hand, ready
to follow, while the third is held in the left hand, to be employed
in its turn. This curious example has been figured by Mr. Akerman,
to illustrate his paper, "On some of the Weapons of the Celtic and
Teutonic Races," in vol. xxxiv. of the Archæologia.
Vegetius (lib. i. c. 2.) tells us that, in his day, the barbarians
were armed with two or three javelins, a weapon which had fallen into
disuse among the Romans. In the Bayeux tapestry there are figures
of the Anglo-Saxons furnished with three or four of these missiles.
Even in the graves of these people, the spears are sometimes found
in pairs. Sir Henry Dryden, in his explorations at Marston Hill, in
Northamptonshire, met with two warriors having two spears each. And
the Hon. Mr. Neville found at Little Wilbraham, in Cambridgeshire,
another example of a similar kind. The Wilbraham Cemetery disclosed
another curious usage. Where cremation had been employed, spear-heads
(and knives also) were in several cases discovered in the urns. Kings
as well as their followers were buried with their weapons beside
them. The spear-head found in the tomb of Childeric, which is of
lozenge form, is engraved in the _Milice Françoise_ of Father Daniel.
This tomb was discovered in 1655, and the weapons found in it are
preserved in the Imperial Library at Paris[58].
A singular usage appears to have prevailed when the spear and
the axe were deposited in the same grave. The spear in this case
was reversed,--the point at the feet of the warrior. Examples of
this practice have been observed in Normandy, at Mondorf, and at
Selzen[59]. At Wilbraham, spear-heads were found at the feet[60].
The pagan Northmen sought to enhance the value of their arms by
referring their fabrication to weapon-smiths of a preternatural
power. The Christianized Germans of the tenth century obtained a
similar result by the employment of iron from the reliquary. At the
coronation of the Emperor Otho the Great, in 961, Walpert, archbishop
of Milan, presided at the solemnities: the prince placed on the
altar of Saint Ambrose all the royal insignia; the lance, of which
the head had been forged out of one of the nails of the true cross,
the royal sword, the axe, the belt, and the royal mantle. After some
intervening ceremonies, he was again armed with the weapons which had
been laid upon the altar, and the archbishop placed on his head the
iron crown of Lombardy[61].
Not the least interesting among the many singular objects discovered
by the Abbé Cochet in his researches in Normandy, is the little
silver coin containing the portrait of "un guerrier frank debout." In
his right hand the warrior carries his lance, while the left appears
to hold the well-known round target of his time. This curious little
relic is engraved on page 359 of the _Normandie Souterraine_.
[Illustration: PLATE IV.]
[Illustration: PLATE V.]
The SWORDS of the ante-Norman period may be divided into three
classes: the earlier broadsword without cross-piece, straight,
double-edged, and acutely pointed; the later sword, similar in
fashion to the above, but having a guard, or cross-piece; and the
curved weapon with a concave edge, called in Anglo-Saxon the
_seax_; the _sica_ of classical times. The first has become familiar
to us from the numerous examples procured from the graves of France,
Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and England. This type agrees exactly
with the description left us by Sidonius Apollinaris; who, recording
a victory obtained by the Franks over the Goths, has this passage:
"Alii hebetatorum cæde gladiorum latera dentata pernumerant. Alii
_cæsim atque punctim_ foraminatos circulos loricarum metiuntur[62]."
We have engraved, figure 1 of our plate of swords, a fine specimen of
this kind of weapon, which was found among the "Fairford Graves." It
is nearly three feet in length (the usual size of these swords), and
when dug up, had fragments of the wood and leather which once formed
its scabbard, still adhering to the iron. Other examples discovered
in England are engraved in Mr. Neville's "Saxon Obsequies," Mr.
Akerman's "Pagan Saxondom," and in the account of the Ozingell
Cemetery[63]. German specimens appear in the "Selzen Cemetery," Swiss
in the _Tombeaux de Bel-Air_, Danish in the "Copenhagen Museum," p.
66, and Frankish in _La Normandie Souterraine_. The Irish swords are
shorter than others of this date,--not exceeding thirty inches,--as
we learn from the researches of Mr. Wakeman[64]. That this sword of
the earlier Iron Period resembled the anterior bronze sword in being
without cross-piece, seems clear from two facts. Firstly, no such
provision (except in one or two isolated cases) is found to accompany
the weapons disclosed by the graves; secondly, it has been remarked,
that in many instances, where the wood of the handle and that of the
sheath remain, they approach so closely together, that there is no
space left for any intervening appendage.
The sword with cross-piece appears to belong to the later Iron Period.
When real examples are found in this country, and in others early
Christianised, they are generally dredged from the beds of rivers,
or turned up among old foundations; though in states where paganism
held a longer sway, they are obtained from the graves. Two very early
English specimens are figured in the "Pagan Saxondom:" one found at
Gilton, in Kent, and now in Mr. Rolfe's Museum; the other found at
Coombe, in Kent, and preserved in the collection of Mr. Boreham. The
cross-piece in these examples has projected but little beyond the edges
of the blade. From specimens given in our plates, and from the numerous
representations of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, we see that the guard
eventually became a much more prominent feature of the Northern brand.
The third variety of the Anglo-Saxon sword, the _seax_, which Mr.
Kemble[65] defines to be "ensis quidam curvatus," is apparently that
old Thracian weapon, the _sica_, which among the Romans was in such
little repute, that _sicarius_ came to mean a bandit, or an assassin.
The Anglo-Saxon curved sword never appears in their book-paintings,
and has not been found in their graves. But in the Copenhagen Museum
is a weapon which seems exactly to answer this description of the
Northern _seax_. It is engraved in Mr. Worsaae's "Illustrations of
the Copenhagen Museum," p. 97, fig. 384.
The handle of the earlier sword appears often to have been a mere
haft, like that of our knives; sometimes it had a pommel. The later
sword-handle consisted of grip, pommel, and cross-piece. The grip
seems to have been commonly of wood, and it is not unusual to find
portions of this wood still adhering to the tang of those swords
which have been recovered from the graves. Part of such a hilt, found
at Northfleet, in Kent, was submitted to the examination of Professor
Lindley, and pronounced to be pine. Mr. Worsaae is of opinion that
the Danish swords had the handle covered with "wood, leather, bone,
or horn; which, however, is now consumed[66]." Mr. Wakeman tells us
that some of the Ancient-Irish iron swords "have been found with the
handle of bone remaining." Generally the cross-bar was straight; but
sometimes it curved towards the blade; as in Cott. MSS., Tiberius, C.
vi. fol. 9; Cleopatra, C. viii., in many places; in that fine sword
found in the river Witham, and preserved in the British Museum; in
the sword discovered in a tumulus in Lancashire (engraved in Archæol.
Journal, vol. vi. p. 75); and in the examples given in our plate of
swords, figs. 9, 10, 11, from Dr. Bähr's Livonian Collection. These
cross-pieces of metal were often, as well as the pommels, richly
decorated. The specimen from the Witham, named above, has both pommel
and guard, which are of iron, inlaid with gold and copper in a
pattern of lozenges. The most usual forms of the pommel were trefoil,
cinquefoil, hemispherical, round, and triangular. To some a little
ring was added, probably to attach a sword-knot; as in the example
already noticed from Gilton, and figured in the "Pagan Saxondom." Of
the other kinds named above, the first four occur constantly in the
miniatures of Anglo-Saxon books, and it is difficult to understand
on what grounds the swords with foliated pommels, when found in this
country, are so generally assigned to the Danes. The triangular
pommel is more rare. In our plate, fig. 7, we give an example in
an ancient Norwegian sword in the possession of Dr. Thurnum. It is
entirely of iron, measuring 3 feet, 1-1/2 inches. A sword of similar
form is engraved in Worsaae's "Copenhagen Museum," p. 97.
That the sword-hilts were occasionally of a costly character, we have
the concurring testimony of ancient charters, poets, chroniclers, and
of the graves. The poetical Edda records that Gunnar, a _regulus_
of Germany, replied to the messenger of Attila,--"Seven chests have
I filled with swords; each of them has a hilt of gold: my weapon
is exceedingly sharp; my bow is worthy of the bench it graces; my
byrnies are golden; my helmet and white shield came from the hall of
Kiars[67]." Kiars was a _regulus_ of Gaul. In "Beowulf" (line 1338),
the "Great Prince" delivers into the keeping of his servant "his
ornamented sword, the costliest of blades" (_irena cyst_). Again:
"The son of Healfdene gave to Beowulf a golden ensign, as the reward
of victory; a treasure with a twisted hilt, a helm and byrnie, a
mighty valued sword many beheld borne before the warrior." (Line
2033.) At line 3228, we have "the hilt variegated with treasure;" and
afterwards (line 3373,) we read of a "sword, the costliest of irons,
with twisted hilt, and variegated like a snake." In this passage,
both sword and simile are curiously illustrative of the ornamental
art of the Anglo-Saxons, of which so many examples have come down to
us. A document of the early part of the tenth century, given in Mr.
Thorpe's "Anglo-Saxon Laws[68]," distinguishing between the _eorl_
and the _ceorl_, declares, that if the latter "thrive so well, that
he have a helm and byrnie, and a sword ornamented with gold, if he
have not five hides of land, he is notwithstanding a ceorl." We have
already seen that Canute's huscarlas were armed "with axes, halbards,
and swords inlaid with gold." Eginhard tells us that the belt of
Charlemagne was "of gold or silver, and the hilt of his sword was
made of gold and precious stones." And of the splendid galley fitted
out by Earl Godwin, as a present to Hardiknut, we are told that the
warriors had "swords whose hilts were of gold."
Among the heriots enumerated by Mr. Kemble[69], that of Beorhtric,
about 962, includes a sword worth eighty mancuses of gold. And Duke
Ælfheah was possessor of another of the same value. In the will of
prince Æthelstan, dated 1015, is named "a silver-hilted sword which
Woolfricke made." Guillaume de Jumièges and Dudon de S. Quentin tell
us that Richard the First, duke of Normandy, rewarded the services of
two knights by presenting to each a sword whose hilt of gold weighed
four pounds, and a bracelet of gold of the same weight. In illuminated
manuscripts of this period, the mountings of swords are generally
coloured yellow, implying probably a surface of gold, whether from
thin plates of that metal, or from gilding. In the Fausset Collection
is the bronze pommel of a sword, which has been richly gilt. The
mountings of another in the British Museum are inlaid with gold. In
Mr. Rolfe's possession are examples both in gilded bronze and of
silver. In Denmark, hilts have been found "partly of silver, or inlaid
with silver, or with gold chains attached to them[70]." Other Danish
swords were surrounded with chains of gold, or covered with plates
of gold and silver; and swords with handles entirely of silver have
also been discovered[71]. Coloured beads appear sometimes to have
formed part of the decorations of the Anglo-Saxon sword. Mr. Neville
remarks, in his description of the relics found at Wilbraham, that "an
immense blue-and-white perforated Bead accompanied three out of the
four swords, probably as an appendage to the hilt or some part of the
scabbard." On Plate XXI. of his "Saxon Obsequies" he has figured two of
these beads: one is an inch and three-quarters in diameter, the other
an inch and a quarter. Occasionally, runic or Latin inscriptions appear
upon these weapons. In "Beowulf" this usage is noticed:--
"So was on the surface
of the bright gold
with runic letters
rightly marked
set and said,
for whom that sword,
the costliest of irons,
was first made."--_Line_ 3373.
Mr. Rolfe had the good fortune to become the possessor of a
sword-pommel thus "rightly marked." It is of silver, and was found
at Ash-by-Sandwich. The runes occupy one side only of the pommel,
the other having zigzag and triangular ornaments. This curious relic
has been figured in the "Archæological Album," "Pagan Saxondom,"
and in Mr. Wright's "Celt, Roman, and Saxon." Professor Thomsen of
Copenhagen informs the writer of these pages that, in Denmark, swords
of the latest pagan period have been found, having runic inscriptions
formed by letters of iron let into the iron blade. In the Tower
collection may be seen a sword of somewhat later date, in which also
is exhibited this curious practice, of inserting letters of iron into
an iron blade. Among the swords found in Ireland, attributed to the
Scandinavian settlers in that country, instances have occurred of
inscriptions "in Latin letters[72]." In the Northern Sagas, frequent
mention is made of the swords of their heroes being marked with
runes; and the evidences we have adduced are of no small value in
shewing the correctness of these writings as regards the ordinary
usages of the time.
A further distinction was conferred on the swords of the great heroes
of the North;--they were honoured with particular names. In the
Wilkina Saga we read of "the sword called _Gramr_, which is the best
of all swords," with which Sigurdr slays the cunning smith, Mimer;
and again, of the weapon named _Naglhringr_, obtained for Dietrich
of Bern, by the dwarf Alpris, (c. xvi.) Vermund the Wise armed his
son Uffe with the brand _Skrep_, none other being proportioned to his
strength. That of Rolf Krage was called _Skrofnung_. In "Beowulf"
(canto xxi.), we have "the hilted knife named _Hrunting_,"--
"wæs þam hæft-mece
Hrunting nama;"
whose "edge was iron stained with poisonous twigs, hardened in
gore." And in canto xxvi. of the same poem we learn that--
"_Nægling_, old sword and gray of hue,
False in the fray, in splinters flew."
King Hacon the Good, Snorro tells us, "girded round him his sword
called _Kuernbit_" (millstone-biter). Thorolf, in Egil's Saga, "was
armed with a sword named _Lang_, a mickle weapon and good." In Magnus
Barfot's Saga (cap. xxvi.), the king wore "a most sharp sword called
_Leggbitr_, the hilt of which was made of the tooth of the Rosmar
(walrus), and ornamented with gold." The sword _Mimung_ was no whit
inferior to any of these. It was forged by Weland, in a trial of
skill with another celebrated weapon-smith, Amilias by name. Weland
first made a sword with which he cut a thread of wool lying on the
water. But not content with this, he re-forged the blade, which then
cut through the whole ball of floating wool. Still dissatisfied, he
again passed it through the fire, and at length produced so keen a
weapon that it divided a whole bundle of wool floating in water.
Amilias, on his part, forged a suit of armour so much to his own
satisfaction that, sitting down on a stool, he bade Weland try his
weapon upon him. Weland obeyed, and there being no apparent effect,
asked Amilias if he felt any particular sensation. Amilias said he
felt as though cold water had passed through his bowels. Weland then
bade him shake himself. On doing so, the effect of the blow was
apparent: he fell dead in two pieces[73].
The skilful weaponer was always a person of high consideration in these
days. This is curiously shewn in the law of Ethelbert which enacts that
"if one man slay another, he is to pay his wergyld: but not so, if the
slayer happen to be the king's weapon-smith or his messenger; in that
case, he is to pay only a moderated wergyld of a hundred shillings[74]."
We have already noticed the curious custom of burying the spear-head
in the same vase with the bones of the Anglo-Saxon warrior. An
analogous practice has been observed in Denmark; where the sword of
the hero, broken into several pieces, is placed over the mouth of the
urn. An example of this kind of interment is engraved in Worsaae's
"Copenhagen Museum," p. 98. Occasionally the iron sword, having
been softened by the fire, was bent, and in this state deposited in
the grave. The Abbé Cochet remarks:--"Cet usage des sabres ployés
au feu et enterrés avec les morts est très-rare chez nous: il
s'est rencontré en Allemagne, en Danemark, et en Suisse, ou M. de
Bonstetton en a vu un grand nombre, en 1851, dans les sépultures
de Tiefenau, près Berne. Ce savant ajoute que cette coutume, plus
barbare que romaine, peu connue des Helvètes, était très-fréquente
chez les peuples Scandinaves. Il existe, dit-il, au musée de Schwerin
plusieurs glaives en fer que l'on croit provenir des Vendes, et qui
ont été rougis dans le feu et ensuite ployés. Baehr signale le même
fait dans les tombes d'Ascheraden et de Segevold[75]."
The Sheaths of the swords were commonly of wood covered with leather,
as we learn from the graves; and they were sometimes mounted in
bronze. Figure 2 of our fourth Plate shews an example from Wilbraham,
in which the locket and chape are of bronze; and the Livonian sword,
Plate V. fig. 10, has an ornamented bronze chape. In the British Museum
is an Anglo-Saxon blade found in a grave at Battle Edge, Oxfordshire,
which retains the bronze chape and locket of its scabbard. These
fitments were sometimes gilt, or even of gold. Mr. Worsaae, in his
"Primeval Antiquities of Denmark," page 50, has figured the gold locket
of a sword-sheath, adorned with the winding pattern so characteristic
of this period. Wood and leather were the ordinary materials used in
the Danish scabbards. Of the sheaths formed of these substances, which
have been partially preserved to our times, the most curious example
is that figured by Mr. Bateman in vol. vii. of the Journal of the
Archæological Association. It was found in a barrow in Derbyshire,
and is constructed of thin wood overlaid with leather, the surface
of the latter being covered with a pattern of alternate fillets and
lozenges. A scabbard found at Strood, in Kent, was formed externally of
a substance resembling shagreen. Dr. Bähr, in _Die Gräber der Liven_,
Plate XV., has engraved a dagger-sheath, which is entirely of bronze,
from Ascheraden; and in the _Abbildungen von Mainzer Altherthümern_ for
1852, is another bronze dagger-sheath, containing an iron dagger, which
was found near Treves. Several are in the British Museum. Mr. Roach
Smith has another, found in the Thames;--all of them probably belonging
to the period under consideration. There is also a curious type of
sword-scabbard, formed entirely of bronze, which further observation
may probably shew to be of Northern make. The example here engraved
was found on a moor near Flasby, in Yorkshire; it contains the blade
of an iron sword. Several similar ones have been discovered. One dug
up at Stanwick has been presented by the Duke of Northumberland to
the British Museum. Another is engraved in Dr. Wilson's "Annals of
Scotland," found near Edinburgh. A fourth, from the bed of the Isis,
is figured in the Archæological Journal, vol. x. p. 259. The Earl of
Londesborough has another, dredged from the Thames, which differs
from the rest in having been ornamented with enamelled studs. This is
engraved in vol. iii. of the _Collectanea Antiqua_. See also the Danish
example, figured in Worsaae's "Copenhagen Museum," p. 66. All these
bronze scabbards have contained iron blades.
[Illustration: No. 6.]
The Sword-Belts appear to have been usually girt round the waist; the
buckles and tongues of them having often been found in the graves.
These fitments are generally of bronze, sometimes of copper; and the
metal is not unfrequently gilt, or embossed, or enamelled. Some buckles
in the Faussett collection, found in Kent, are set with garnets. The
belt was occasionally worn across the body, suspended from the right
shoulder; as in the fine figure in Cotton MS., Tiberius, C. vi. fol.
9. Our woodcut, No. 17, furnishes an example of the belt girt round the
waist, from an illumination in Add. MS., No. 18,043.
The AXE, as we have seen, was a characteristic weapon of the Northern
nations. It is not unfrequently found in the graves of these people
on the Continent, but in Anglo-Saxon interments it is of the
extremest rarity. In the Wilbraham excavations, a hundred graves
yielded only two axes. In the Fairford researches, not one was found
in a hundred and twenty graves; and in the many Kentish barrows
examined by the Earl of Londesborough in 1841, not a single specimen
was obtained. The axe appears to have been of three principal forms:
the "taper axe," the broad axe, and the double-axe, or bipennis. The
pole-axe and the adze-axe were varieties of these. The battle-axe was
also called _francisca_, from the favour with which it was regarded
by the Franks. Isidorus (lib. xviii. c. 8.) tells us of "Secures quas
Hispani ab usu Francorum per derivationem _franciscas_ vocant."
[Illustration:
PLATE VII.]
Examples of the Anglo-Saxon taper-axe, from the Ozingell Cemetery,
are given in figures 1 and 2 of our Plate. Figures 3 and 4, found in
Ireland, fig. 6, from Selzen in Germany, and fig. 9, from Livonia,
closely resemble the Kentish ones. Fig. 8, from Livonia, differs
chiefly in having a prolongation at the back. Specimens of the
taper-axe found in France are given in Plates VII., IX., and XI.
of _La Normandie Souterraine_; and Danish examples occur at pages
68 and 96 of Worsaae's "Copenhagen Museum." Some of the axe-heads
dug up in Denmark exhibit a very curious transitional construction;
the blade being of copper edged with iron. Another axe in the
Copenhagen Museum, "of the very earliest times of the iron period,"
is inscribed with runes. The axe found in the tomb of Childeric is of
the "taper" form already described; it is represented in Plate II. of
Daniel's _Milice Françoise_. We have already, by the passages from
Sidonius and Procopius, seen how the sons of Odin commenced their
attack by hurling their axes at the foe. A curious illustration of
this practice of throwing the axe is afforded by a charter of Canute,
granting to the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury, the port-dues of
Sandwich, "from Pepernesse to Mearcesfleote, as far as a taper-axe
can be thrown on the shore from a vessel afloat at high water[76]:"
[Saxon: swā feorr swā mæȝ ān taper-æx beon ȝeworpen ūt of ðam scipe
ūp on dæt land].
Figure 10 of our Plate, from Livonia, offers a variety from the axe
already described, in having an angle in its under line. A similar
contour is found in examples discovered in Normandy, and figured
on Plate VII. of the Abbé Cochet's work. The broad-axe is seen in
our figures 5 and 7; the first from Selzen, the other from Livonia.
Compare the Frankish specimen engraved at page 233 of _La Normandie
Souterraine_. Others have been found in England.
The single-axe used by the Anglo-Saxons in battle does not seem to
have differed in form from those employed in woodcraft; as may be seen
by referring to the Calendar contained in Cotton MS., Julius, A. vi.,
faithfully copied in Shaw's "Dresses and Decorations." Indeed, it is
probable that the blade which had felled an oak was often called upon
to strike down an enemy. Manuscripts do not frequently give pictures
of the battle-axe; but examples occur in Cott. MS., Cleop., C. viii.,
and in the Anglo-Saxon Benedictional of the Library of Rouen.
The double-axe is of still more rare occurrence in book-paintings.
It appears in two places in Harleian MS., No. 603, but this is a
work not earlier than the close of the eleventh century. In the
graves, the bipennis has never been found at all; neither is it seen
in the hands of the Anglo-Saxons in the Bayeux Tapestry. But if the
bipennis of the true classical form, that is, having two vertical
blades, has not hitherto been seen among the varied contents of the
Northmen's graves, a very singular variety of this implement has been
discovered among the tombs of the Valley of the Eaulne. It is a kind
of adze-axe, the one blade being vertical, the other horizontal. It
was found by the Abbé Cochet in the cemetery of Parfondeval, and
has been engraved in his work, p. 306, and in the _Archæologia_,
vol. xxxv., p. 229. The adze form of one of the blades would seem to
indicate rather an artificer's tool than a warrior's weapon, and the
Abbé tells us that the peasants have still such an implement, which
they call their _bisaiguë_ (p. 307). We may remember, however, that
an authority for the military use of the horizontal blade exists in
the effigy at Malvern[77].
The Pole-axe is the almost universal form of this arm in the Bayeux
tapestry. Not only the Saxon soldiery, but Harold, and even Duke
William himself, are armed with this fearful weapon. Indeed, for
a force of infantry, as the English were, contending against
cavalry, no other kind of axe could have been of much service.
Wace, whose minute descriptions, wearisome enough to the general
reader, are invaluable to the archæologist, has not lost sight of
the long-handled axes of the islanders. He has even given us the
particular dimension of the head,--"ki fu d'acier:"--
"----un Engleiz vint acorant:
Hache noresche[78] out mult bele,
Plus de _plain pié_ out l'alemele[79].
* * * * *
---- la coignie
K'il aveit sus el col levée,
Ki mult esteit _lonc enhanstée_[80]."
_Rom. de Rou_, ii. 225.
And again, line 13536:--
"Un Engleiz od une coignie,
Ke il aveit, _lungue emmanchie_,
L'a si féru parmi li dos
Ke toz li fet croissir les os."
The same Master Wace has recorded his objection to the Northern axe;
that, requiring both hands to wield it, the weapon cannot be used
effectively with the shield:--
"Hoem ki od hache volt férir,
Od sez dous mainz l'estuet tenir[81].
Ne pot entendre à sei covrir,
S'il velt férir de grant aïr[82].
Bien férir è covrir ensemble,
Ne pot l'en faire, ço me semble."
_Rom. de Rou_, ii. 262.
The handle of the Axe was of wood, traces of which have been observed
in the relics obtained from the graves. In a single instance, it has
been found of iron. This example occurred at Lède, in Belgium, and
has been described by M. Rigollot in the _Mémoires de la Société des
Antiquaires de Picardie_, vol. x.
The Guisarme is a weapon frequently mentioned by our early
chroniclers and poets; but, though it is sometimes made to be
identical with the pole-axe, at others it is distinguished from that
arm. Wace tells us it was "sharp, long, and broad:"--
"E vos avez lances agües,
E granz gisarmes esmolues."--_Rom. de Rou_, l. 12907.
"Dous Engleiz vit mult orguillos:
* * * * *
En lor cols aveient levées
Dui gisarmes lunges è lées[83]."--_Ib._, l. 13431.
The Statute of Arms of King William of Scotland (1165-1214) enacts:
"Et qui minus habet quam XL. solidos, habeat Gysarm, quod dicitur
Hand-axe[84]." From another Scottish ordinance we learn that the
hand-axe was a long-handled weapon. The Provost of Edinburgh in 1552
directs: "Because of the greit slauchteris done in tyme bygane within
the burgh, and apperendlie to be done, gif na remeid be provydit
thairto; that ilk manner of persone, occupyaris of buthis or chalmeris
in the hie-gait, that they have lang valpynnis[85] thairin, sic as
handex, Jedburgh staif, hawart jawalyng[86], and siclyk lang valpynnis,
with knaipschawis[87] and jakkis; and that they cum thairwith to the
hie-gait incontinent efter the commoun bell rynging[88]."
[Illustration: No. 8.]
Knives of various sizes are constantly found in the Northern graves.
The smaller were evidently for domestic purposes, for they are
discovered in female interments as well as in those of the other sex.
But the larger kind appear to have been used as daggers. They have
been more frequently observed in the continental tombs than in those
of our island; and, as they very rarely appear in the pictures of
the Anglo-Saxons, we may conclude that they formed no necessary part
of the equipment of these warriors. A fine example of this weapon
is given on our ninth Plate (fig. 1,) from the Ozingell Cemetery.
It is sixteen inches in length, of iron, and is provided with a
cross-piece. In the following group from the Anglo-Saxon and Latin
Psalter of the Duc de Berri, in the Paris Library, the spearman's
adversary appears to be employing exactly such an instrument as
the example from the Kentish grave[89]. Figure 2 in our Plate is a
two-edged dagger of iron from the Faussett collection. It was found
near Ash-by-Sandwich, and measures ten inches in the blade. Figures
3 and 4 are Ancient Irish. The first is the ordinary type of this
weapon, of which many have been found. The second is remarkable from
the retention of its handle, which is of wood, and ornamented with
carving. Both these are from Mr. Wakeman's paper on Irish Antiquities
in vol. iii. of the _Collectanea Antiqua_. Figures 5 and 6 are German
examples, from the Selzen graves. The first is very remarkable from
the ring at the extremity of the tang. In Denmark, daggers have
been found of a transitional period, the bulk of the blade being of
bronze, edged on both sides with iron. Other Danish examples are
given in Mr. Worsaae's "Copenhagen Museum," pages 66 and 97. In Dr.
Bähr's explorations in Livonia, a dagger of iron was discovered with
its bronze sheath. (See _Die Gräber der Liven_, Plate XV.) Gregory
of Tours, in the sixth century, mentions in several places that the
Frankish soldiers carried large knives at their belts; and there
seems no reason to doubt that the examples from the graves are the
very "cultri validi" of the historian. Of these Frankish war-knives,
several specimens are figured in the _Normandie Souterraine_. They
closely resemble those found in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and
England. The handles appear to have been of wood. One of the Frankish
examples still had portions of the wooden haft remaining[90]. Other
specimens of the Northern _cultelli_ will be found collected on Plate
LVIII. of the second volume of the _Collectanea Antiqua_. Some of
these weapons appear to have been inlaid with copper or other metal;
for which purpose one or more incised lines are formed near the back
of the blade. An Anglo-Saxon knife found in excavations in the city
of London, and engraved (fig. 3.) in the Plate of the _Collectanea
Antiqua_ already noticed, still retains the bronze inlaying in the
channels of its blade.
[Illustration:
PLATE IX.]
A curious variety of the war-knife is in the collection of Mr. Roach
Smith, of which the single edge is straight, or nearly so, and the
point formed by a diagonal cut at the back of the blade. It is
believed, in its perfect state, to have measured upwards of thirty
inches; is of steel; and has on both sides a double line of the
channelling already noticed[91]. A weapon of similar form appears
among the Livonian antiquities now in the British Museum, and is
represented on Plate XIX. of Dr. Bähr's _Gräber der Liven_.
The LONG-BOW was another weapon of this era. Agathias, indeed, has
told us that the Franks used neither bow nor sling. But arrows
are expressly mentioned in the Salic Law; and, to reconcile these
conflicting testimonies, it has been suggested that the archery
of the Salic Law is that of the chase alone. _Poisoned_ arrows,
however, are here named, and the hunter does not ply his art with
poisoned shafts. "Si quis alterum de sagitta toxicata percutere
voluerit[92]," &c. Further on, a fine is fixed for him who shall
deprive another of his "second finger, with which he directs his
arrow:"--secundum digitum, quo sagittatur. At a later period, the
bow is especially commanded as a part of the soldier's equipment.
One of the capitularies of Charlemagne directs--"that the Count be
careful to have his contingent fully furnished for the field; that
they have lance, shield, a bow with two strings and twelve arrows,"
&c. According to the testimony of Henry of Huntingdon, William the
Conqueror reproached the English with their want of this weapon. The
Bayeux tapestry, however, seems to authorize the belief that they
were not entirely without it. (See the first group of Anglo-Saxons
in Stothard's XIV^{th}. plate.) The probability seems to be that,
while the Normans employed archers in large bodies, the English
merely interspersed them in small numbers among their men-at-arms.
The bow, at all events, was in use among the Anglo-Saxons: it is
frequently represented in manuscript illuminations, and arrow-heads
have been found in the graves. Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 in our Plate
are from Kentish interments. The first two form part of the Fausset
collection; the others, figured in the _Nenia Britannica_, were
found on Chatham Lines. The whole are of iron. Pictorial examples of
the Anglo-Saxon bow, arrows, and quiver may be seen in Cotton MSS.,
Cleop., C. viii., Claudius, B. iv., Tiberius, C. vi., and in the fine
_Prudentius_ of the Tenison Library. See also Strutt's _Horda_, vol.
i. plate XVII. Arrow-heads of iron have also been found in France,
Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and Livonia. Figures 5 and 6 of our
Plate are examples from the cemetery at Selzen in Rhenish Hesse;
figs. 7 and 8 from Livonian graves. With the latter was also found
part of a quiver. The Abbé Cochet[93] has engraved and described
specimens found in France, and M. Troyon notices Swiss examples in
his paper in the _Archæologia_, vol. xxxv., and Plate XVII. Compare
also Archæological Journal, vol. iii. pp. 119, 120. In the Suabian
graves at Oberflacht, bows also were found. See _Archæologia_, vol.
xxxvi. Among the figures of the ivory carving forming the cover of
the "Prayer-book of Charles the Bald" are two archers, each holding
a leash of barbed arrows; the arrows very clearly represented. This
curious sculpture, illustrating the lvii^{th}. Psalm, (a favourite
subject with the middle-age artists,) has been carefully engraved in
the sixth volume of the _Revue Archéologique_. The original is in the
Imperial Library at Paris.
[Illustration:
PLATE X.]
These were the usual weapons of the Northern nations: these are
seen in their pictures, are named in their laws, are described in
their Sagas, are found in their graves. But other arms appear to
have been of occasional employment: the mace, the pike, the sling,
the stone-hammer, the "morning-star," the fork, and the bill. The
Mace is seen in the hands of the Anglo-Saxons (as well as of the
Normans) in the Bayeux tapestry; and it seems not unlikely that those
dentated hoops of bronze[94] which have been found both in England
and on the Continent were the heads of similar weapons; for it must
not be forgotten that, even in the "Iron Period," objects of bronze
continued in use. From the inexhaustible Wace we learn that the
"vilains des viles" who joined Harold's army,--
"Tels armes portent com ils trovent:
Machues portent è granz pels[95],
Forches ferrées[96] è tinels[97]."--_Line_ 12840.
It will be remembered that the mace is a weapon of the most remote
antiquity, and is found, almost identical in form with those of the
Northern nations, among the monuments of the ancient Egyptians and
Assyrians.
[Illustration: No. 11.]
The Stone-Hammer appears to have been employed by the troops of
Harold. William of Poictiers says: "Jactant cuspides ac diversorum
generum tela, sævissimas quasque secures, et _lignis imposita
saxa_[98]." Of the Bill, an example occurs in the fine Anglo-Saxon
Benedictional of Rouen: it closely resembles the common long-handled
hedging-bill of our own day. The Morning-star, an instrument formed
of a ball of metal (sometimes spiked) attached by a chain to a
short staff, after the manner of a whip, is believed to have been
another of the arms of this period. Dr. Bähr found the head of one
of these in his Livonian researches; a complete one, of bronze,
(here engraved) was discovered at Mitau. Professor Thomsen mentions
also a bronze specimen, in his account of the Copenhagen Museum. The
Sling, according to the opinion of the Père Daniel, was employed by
the Franks in intrenched positions and beleaguered towns[99]. This
ancient instrument, which is found in Egyptian[100] and Assyrian[101]
monuments, was certainly in use among the Anglo-Saxons, whether
for warfare or the chase alone, it is not easy to determine.
The figure here engraved is that of David, from the Anglo-Saxon
and Latin Psalter of Boulogne. See also the slinger in Strutt's
_Horda_, Plate XVII., from Cotton MS., Claudius, B. iv., and Plate
III. of Stothard's Bayeux Tapestry. In the Copenhagen Museum are
sling-stones, "either with a groove cut round the middle, or with
two grooves cut cross-wise; having, in the latter case, the shape
of a ball somewhat flattened." It does not appear that the Northern
nations used leaden pellets; as the Greeks and Romans did, inscribing
them with a thunderbolt, or some quaint sentence, as "Take this."
[Illustration: No. 12.]
It will have been observed, from several passages already cited, that
the use of poisoned weapons is imputed to the Northern tribes of this
period. In "Beowulf," and elsewhere, we read of poisoned swords,
poisoned arrows, and poisoned daggers; and, however rare may have been
the employment of such terrible ministers, it does not seem permitted
us to deny altogether their existence. The famous sword of Beowulf,
"Hrunting nama,"
had its edge "stained with poisonous twigs." This, indeed, is the
evidence of a poet: but the Salic Law, as we have seen, speaks
of "sagittæ toxicatæ[102]." And Gregory of Tours tells us, of
Fredegonda: "Fredegundis duos cultros ferreos fieri præcipit, quos
etiam caraxari profundiùs et veneno infici jusserat, scilicet si
mortalis adsultus vitales non dissolveret fibras vel ipsa veneni
infectio vitam possit velociùs extorquere[103]." And again, the
same writer speaks of these poisoned daggers, or _scramasaxi_: "Cum
cultris validis quos vulgò scramasaxos vocant, infectis veneno,
utraque latera ei feriunt[104]."
[Illustration: No. 13.]
Let us now examine, as far as we are enabled to do so, what was
the Teutonic warrior's defensive equipment. The structure of the
Body-armour can only be inferred from indirect evidences; for the
vague terms of the writers, such as _lorica_ and _byrnie_, and the
rudely conventional forms of the painters, who indicated a tree by a
cluster of three or four leaves, and a coat-of-fence by a few circles
penned on the parchment or punched on the bronze, afford us little
help in determining with exactness how the armour-smith achieved his
task. It is curious that the best testimony we obtain is that of the
poets. A simile or an epithet lets in more light than all the limners
and all the historians. It seems clear that in the earlier days of
Northern rule, none but leaders wore body-armour; but, as years
rolled on, and prosperity increased, the subaltern ranks affected
this distinction. As we have already shewn (page 38), the Ceorl vied
with the Eorl in the richness and completeness of his equipment; and
at length, under the rule of Charlemagne, the troops of the Count,
as we have seen, are _all_ required to have defensive armour: "Omnis
homo de duodecim mansis, bruniam habeat." Those who had not this
amount of land, clubbed together and furnished amongst them the
panoply in which one of their number went forth to the host. Was this
_byrnie_ of interlinked chain-mail? The Anglo-Saxon poem of "Beowulf"
may throw some light on the question:--
"The war-byrnie shone, hard (and) hand-locked (_heard
hond-locen_); the bright ring-iron sang in their trappings when
they proceeded to go forward to the hall, in their terrible
armour."--_Canto_ i. _line_ 640.
"Beowulf prepared himself, the warrior in his weeds, he cared
not for life: the war-byrnie, twisted with hands (_hondum
ge-broden_), wide and variegated with colours, was now to try the
deep," &c.
_Canto_ xxi. _line_ 2882.
In Canto xxii. we have,--"the war-dress, the locked battle-shirt."
... "On his shoulder lay the twisted breast-net (_breost-net
broden_) which protected his life against point and edge." ... "his
war-byrnie, his hard battle-net (_here-net hearde_)."
If there is meaning in words, surely "the _twisted_ breast-_net_,"
the "hard battle-_net_," the "_locked_ battle-shirt," the "byrnie
_twisted_ with hands," the "war-byrnie, hard and _hand-locked_," can
mean nothing but the hauberk of interlinked chain-mail; that garment
which, we have so often been told, came to us at some unknown time,
from some unknown people, dwelling in some unknown region of the
East. If this fabric, which, for brevity, we will call chain-mail,
came from the East, where are the eastern monuments that exhibit
it? It is not seen in Egyptian, Assyrian, nor Indian sculptures or
paintings; and the triumph-scenes of these nations represent in
great diversity the numerous tribes of Asia. The same origin has
been given to Cannon; but every one who has made any research in
this direction knows that the Oriental derivation of this engine
has not the smallest foundation in fact[105]. In the Volsunga Saga,
a work of the eleventh century, we read that "Sigurd's sides so
swelled with rage that the rings of his byrnie were burst asunder;"
which could scarcely have happened (adds Von Leber, who notices this
passage,) with a garment made of rings sewn contiguously[106]. The
well-known enigma of Bishop Aldhelm, written in the eleventh century,
so curiously illustrates our inquiry, that we shall be pardoned for
reprinting it. It is headed "De Lorica:"--
"Roscida me genuit gelido de viscere tellus:
Non sum setigero lanarum vellere facta:
Licia nulla trahunt, nec garrula fila resultant:
Nec croceâ seres texunt lanugine vermes:
Nec radiis carpor, duro nec pectine pulsor:
Et tamen, en, vestis vulgi sermone vocabor.
Spicula non vereor longis exempta pharetris."
_Roy. MS._, 15, A. xvi.
A _lorica_ formed of metal, without the aid of any texture of wool or
of silk, could scarcely be anything else than a coat of chain-mail.
We may further refer to the Bayeux tapestry (Stothard, Plate XVI.),
where the _pillards_ are appropriating the armour of the slain. The
last figure in the second border of that plate is stripping the
hauberk over the head of a fallen warrior; and, in thus turning it
inside out, discloses the interior of the garment, which exhibits the
ring-work exactly in the same manner as it is seen on the outside
of others. At a later period, a similar evidence is afforded by the
sculptured monumental effigies; the overlapping folds of the hauberk
shewing the ring-work on the inside as well as on the outside.
Figures of the thirteenth century in the Temple Church and in St.
Saviour's Church, London, offer illustrations of this fact. Further
instances may be found at Stowe-Nine-Churches in Northamptonshire,
and at Aston, Warwickshire; and probably no English county is without
similar examples. Compare also the curious fragment of chain-mail
found at Stanwick, Yorkshire, and now deposited in the British Museum.
The defence made of iron rings, of which Varro attributes the
invention to the Gauls, appears to be no other than the hauberk of
chain-mail:--"Lorica a loris, quod de corio crudo pectoralia faciebant,
postea succuderunt Galli e ferro sub id vocabulum, ex annulis, ferream
tunicam." Whoever may have been the inventors of this armour, the
probability seems to be that it came into use gradually: from its
costliness and rarity, leaders only could at first obtain it; that,
as handicraft improved, and the efficiency of the defence became
acknowledged, its adoption was extended, and its costliness diminished.
The notion, that in the thirteenth century the hauberk of chain-mail
came suddenly and generally into use, is against all known precedent,
and contrary to the natural course of human inventions.
Other kinds of body-armour were worn at this time. Charlemagne, as we
have seen, was defended by a kind of jazerant-work. Ingulphus tells
us that Harold, finding the heavy armour of his troops an incumbrance
in their mountain warfare with the Welsh, clothed them in a defence
of leather only. Something similar is seen in this figure from Cotton
MS., Cleop., C. viii.
The coat here seems to be of hide, with the fur left upon it; a dress
still in use among some of the Cossack soldiers of Russia. Wace
appears to describe this garment, where, recounting the death of Duke
Guillaume Longue-Espée by the traitorous Fauces, he says:--
"Fauces leva l'espée ke soz sez _peaux_ porta,
Tel l'en dona en chief ke tot l'escervela."--_Rou_, i. 138.
[Illustration: No. 14.]
Armour of padded-work, a defence of a very high antiquity, and of
a very wide adoption, was also probably in vogue; and also coats
covered with scale-work; but these are difficult to be identified in
the monuments of the time. The hauberks of the Anglo-Saxons at the
battle of Hastings are remarked to have been both short and small:--
"Corz haubers orent è petis,
E helmes de sor lor vestis."--_Wace._
[Illustration: No. 15.]
In Anglo-Saxon illuminations, a very large majority of the fighting men
appear to have no defensive armour at all but the helmet and shield; as
in this example from a MS. of _Prudentius_, of the eleventh century, in
the Tenison Library. The leg-bands seen on these figures, and on many
others of the same period, were in common use among the soldiery. It is
a fashion of which we find an early example in the _calceus patricius_
of the Romans, and a remnant in the chequered hose of the Scottish
Highlanders. Those of the Anglo-Saxons were generally wound round the
leg, and then turned down and fastened below the knee. Sometimes they
were tied in front; as may be seen in the Ethelwold Benedictional; and
compare Stothard's Bayeux Tapestry, Plate IV. Henry of Huntingdon, who
wrote in the beginning of the twelfth century, gives us incidentally
the full arming of a warrior of the eleventh[107]. When Sigeward,
duke of Northumberland, found death approaching him, not on the field
of battle, but in the peaceful chamber, he exclaimed: "Quantus pudor
me tot in bellis mori non potuisse, ut vaccarum morti cum dedecore
reservarer. Induite me saltem lorica mea impenetrabili, præcingite
gladio, sublimate galea: scutum in læva, securim auratam mihi ponite
in dextra, ut militum fortissimus modo militis moriar. Dixerat: et ut
dixerat, armatus honorifice exhalavit."
[Illustration: No. 16.]
In an age when missiles were much in use; javelins, arrows, and the
stones of the mangona and of the slinger; the soldier would naturally
employ his first care to the arming of his head. Consequently we find
in the monuments of this period that, even when the body appears to
have no defensive covering, the head is carefully protected by the
helmet.
[Illustration: No. 17.]
In the beginning, even the helmet was rare among the Teutonic
tribes. Tacitus tells us, of the ancient Germans: "Paucis loricæ, vix
uni alterive cassis aut galea." And Agathias in the seventh century
mentions that few of the Franks had helmets. Leaders, however, wore
them. Dagobert, in a contest with the Saxons, received a blow which,
dividing his casque, carried away a part of his hair[108]. And when
his father, Clotaire II., came to his relief, this latter prince
placed himself on the bank of the Veser, announcing his arrival
to the Saxon leader by taking off his helmet and displaying his
long locks[109]. In the time of Charlemagne, as we have seen from
his capitularies, the count is required to furnish troops who are
provided with helmets. The fashion of these headpieces we learn from
various vellum-paintings of a little later date. We find them to
have been hemispherical, conical, of the Phrygian form, combed, and
crested: sometimes of a complicated make, with a sort of crocketed
ridge[110]; sometimes terminating in a kind of fleur-de-lis[111].
The figure here given from Add. MS., 18,043, a Psalter of the tenth
century, affords a good example of the combed helmet. The personage
represented is Goliath; and it may be necessary to add, in order
to understand the girding of the sword, that the warrior presents
his back to us. In lieu of the combed crest, the figure of a boar,
sacred to the god Freya, was often placed on the helmets of the pagan
Teutons; a practice which at length became so general, that the word
_eofor_ (boar) was poetically used for the casque itself. Thus, in
"Beowulf:" "He commanded them to bring in the boar, an ornament to
the head, the helm lofty in war:"--
"eofor heáfod-segn
heaþo-steápne helm," &c.--_Line_ 4299.
Again: "The white helm covered the hood of mail, ... surrounded with
lordly chains, even as in days of yore the weapon-smith had wrought
it, had wondrously furnished it, had set it round with the shapes of
swine, that never after brand nor war-knife might have power to bite
it." (l. 2895.)
Here we see the particular object of this device: it was to act as
a holy charm. In Canto 15, the boar seems also to be implied; and
in this instance it is "fastened to the helm with wires." "About
the crest of the helm, the defence of the head, it held an amulet
fastened without with wires, that the sword, hardened with scouring,
might not violently injure him when the shield-bearing warrior should
go against his foes." Tacitus, in the _Germania_, has a passage
curiously illustrating this superstition. The Æstii, he says, "Matrem
Deum venerantur: insigne superstitionis, formas aprorum gestant. Id
pro armis omnique tutelâ, securum Deæ cultorem etiam inter hostes
præstat." Mr. Bateman, in opening a barrow in Derbyshire, was
fortunate enough to meet with one of these Northern helms surmounted
with the boar crest. The casque is made of iron and horn, with
silver-headed rivets. The hog is of iron, having eyes of bronze. See
Mr. Bateman's "Antiquities of Derbyshire" for a more full account
of this curious relic[112]. The practice of adorning the helmet
with a crest is of a very high antiquity, and is first observed
among the Asiatics. The Shairetana, first enemies, then allies, of
the Egyptian Pharaohs, "wore a helmet ornamented with horns, and
frequently surmounted by a crest, consisting of a ball raised upon a
small shaft, which is remarkable from being the _earliest instance
of a crest_[113]." In the Assyrian monuments, the crested helmet
is of frequent occurrence; the form of the crest being generally
that of a fan, or of a curved horn, or a kind of crescent, with its
cusps turned downwards. See Layard's "Nineveh and its Remains," for
examples of all these.
[Illustration: No. 18.]
In addition to the "white" (or polished) helmet named in a former
extract from "Beowulf," we have, at line 5,226, a "brown-coloured"
one, (_brun-fagne helm_). This may have been of leather, of iron
bearing the stain of years, or even of bronze. On several occasions,
relics of bronze have been disinterred which have every appearance
of being the framework of helmets. These metal frames--for they
occur of iron as well as of bronze--are presumed to have been fixed
over a cap of leather. The example here engraved was found in 1844,
on the skull of a skeleton exhumed on Leckhampton Hill, near
Cheltenham. The material is bronze, but worked very thin. At the
summit is a ring, and on one side appears a portion of the chain
which seems to have fastened it beneath the chin. The ring may
have served to attach a tufted ornament, or a grelot. A Livonian
headpiece, engraved on Plate V. of Dr. Bähr's work, has a boss at
the summit exactly similar to this, but with the addition of a
grelot fixed to the ring. The bronze fragments found by Sir Henry
Dryden in a grave at Souldern, Oxfordshire, appear to have formed
part of a helmet like that before us[114]. The example of iron,
already noticed, discovered by Mr. Bateman, is also of framework,
though somewhat differing in pattern from the Leckhampton relic.
Another iron framework helmet, of the thirteenth century, was found
in an old fort in the Isle of Negropont, and is figured by Hefner
in Plate LXIII. of his _Trachten_. Compare also Plate XXXIV., Part
ii., of the same book[115]. The secretum engraved in vol. vii. of
the Archæological Journal, page 305, is of analogous character: as
are also the so-called Spider Helmets, and the "skulls for hats;"
examples of which may be seen in the Tower Armories. But the most
curious illustration of the purpose of the bronze relic represented
in our woodcut, is the helmet proposed for the Royal Artillery in
1854. The metal framing of this was identical in arrangement with the
ancient defence; consisting of a hoop encircling the head and two
semicircular bands, crossing each other at the crown, and surmounted
by a metal knob. The metal in this case was brass, and it did not
greatly differ in substance from the ancient bronze. The cap beneath
was of felt. In Anglo-Saxon illuminations, it is not unusual to
see headpieces in which bands of gold-colour traverse a ground of
different hue; and it seems not improbable that these examples may
represent the kind of helmet under consideration. Similar banded
casques occur in the Bayeux tapestry, in the pictures of the Painted
Chamber at Westminster, and in other monuments. See also Archæol.
Journ., vol. xii. p. 9.
The bronze helmet has also been discovered in Scotland. Dr. Wilson
tells us that "part of a rudely-adorned helmet of bronze was found
in Argyleshire[116]." Another bronze headpiece is preserved in the
Copenhagen Museum, and Professor Thomsen mentions similar ones,
"overlaid with gold." (Manual.)
A helmet of wood is mentioned by Wace as being worn by one of the
Anglo-Saxon combatants at the battle of Hastings:--
"Un helme aveit tot fait de _fust_,
Ke colp[117] el chief ne recéust.
A sez dras[118] l'aveit atachié,
Et envirun son col lacié."
A Norman knight attacked him:--
"Sor li helme l'Engleiz féri,
De suz les oils[119] li abati,
Sor li viare[120] li pendi,
E li Engleiz sa main tendi,
Li helme voleit[121] suz lever,
E son viaire delivrer;
E cil li a un colp doné,
E sa hache à terre chaï[122]."
In book-illuminations of this period the helmet is frequently
coloured yellow, which may either signify bronze or gilding. A
crown is sometimes added, not in the case of kings alone, but of
distinguished personages generally. One of the crowned figures in our
woodcut, No. 13, represents the patriarch Abraham. The nasal appears
to have been given to the helmet about the end of the tenth century:
of which an early example is furnished in the figure of a warrior in
Cotton MS., Tiberius, C. vi. fol. 9, a work of this period. By the
middle of the next century, its adoption has become general, and in
the Bayeux Tapestry it is worn equally by Norman and Saxon.
[Illustration:
PLATE XIX.]
To a soldiery with whom body-armour appears to have been a secondary
consideration, the SHIELD would be of the first consequence. We
find, therefore, the Northern warrior seldom unaccompanied by this
useful defence. Leader and retainer, horseman and foot-soldier,--all
are equipped with the target. Its form was usually round, though in
the pictures, being seen in profile, it often has the appearance of
an oval. And, as the plump-cheeked houris of the East were called
"moon-faced damsels," so the round targets of the Teutons were named
by the poets "moony shields." They were convex, and in the centre was
a boss of metal, generally terminating in a button or in a spike,
but sometimes without either. The spiked shield was no doubt used as
an offensive arm. The buttons are sometimes plated with silver, or
tinned, as are the heads of the rivets remaining in the edge of the
umbo. Across the hollow of the boss was fixed a handle of wood covered
with iron; and by this handle the shield was held at arm's length,
the hand entering the hollow of the boss: see woodcut, No. 13. In the
Wilbraham Cemetery was found the umbo of a shield to which the handle
was still attached by its rivets. (See fig. 10 of our XXth plate.) The
shield was sometimes strengthened with strips of iron fixed across the
inside; these strips being prolongations of the handle just described.
Such a shield-handle was found at Envermeu by the Abbé Cochet, and is
figured on Plate XVI. of his work. In this example the handle has a
_single_ strip on each side, running towards the edge of the shield.
A similar one was found in a Merovingian cemetery near Troyes. In a
Frankish grave at Londinières was discovered a variety of this type, in
which the strips proceeding from the handle were _three_ on each side,
radiating towards the rim. This very curious example is engraved in the
_Normandie Souterraine_, Plate VIII. Others were found in the recent
excavations in the Isle of Wight.
The body of the shield was usually of wood; the lime having a marked
preference. Thus, in "Beowulf[123]," the heroic Wiglaf "seized
his shield, the yellow lindenwood" (_geolwe linde_). And a spell
preserved in Harl. MS., 585, f. 186, has:--
"Stod under linde
under leohtum scylde:"
"I stood under my linden shield, beneath my light shield." In the
Anglo-Saxon poem of "Judith:"--
"The warriors marched:
the chieftains to the war,
protected with targets,
with arched linden shields."
(_hwealfum lindum_[124].)
In a fragment on the battle of Maldon:--
"Leofsunu spake
and lifted his linden shield."
(_and his linde ahof_[125].)
[Illustration:
PLATE XX.]
And the Saxon Chronicle tells us, in recounting the defeat of Anlaf
in 937, how King Athelstan and his heroes
"the board-walls clove:
and hewed the war-lindens."
Leather was sometimes used in the construction of shields, as we learn
from the Laws of Æthelstan, which forbid the employment of sheepskins
for this purpose under a penalty of thirty shillings. In an example
from the cemetery at Linton Heath, Cambridgeshire, the leather covering
seemed to have been stretched over the iron umbo as well as over the
wooden surface of the shield[126]. The edge was protected by a rim of
metal. Portions of these rims have been found in the graves, both in
England and on the continent; and as they present segments of circles,
become of use in determining the shape of the shields themselves.
In the Museum of Schwerin is an example of the metal rim which is
complete: it is circular, and the central boss is also present.
The oval shield appears in a few examples only. One was found among
the graves explored at Oberflacht, in Suabia; another is figured
by Silvestre, (vol. i. pl. CXLIV.) from a Longobardic miniature of
the eleventh century; and a third occurs in the Bayeux Tapestry,
Plate XVI. The surface of the Northern shields was painted in
various fanciful devices, sometimes heightened with gilding. And,
as Christianity was embraced by the various Northern tribes, the
cross became a frequent decoration. The encomiast of Queen Emma, in
describing the fleet of Canute the Great, says: "Erant ibi scutorum
tot genera, ut crederis adesse omnium populorum agmina. Si quando sol
illis jubar immiscerit radiorum, hinc resplenduit fulgor armorum,
illinc vero flamma dependentium scutorum[127]."
Among the devices, there is nothing of a heraldic character, and even
as late as the time of the Bayeux Tapestry, as Stothard has well
remarked, "we do not find any particular or distinguished person
twice bearing the same device[128]."
In the accompanying figure from Cotton MS., Cleopatra, C. viii., we
observe that the Anglo-Saxon horseman carried his shield, when not
in use, slung at his back. The knights of the fourteenth century
carried their helmets in the same manner, as may be seen in the
fine manuscript of the _Roman du Roi Meliadus_, Additional MSS.,
12,228. Besides the ordinary Northern shields, we sometimes find
them represented of so large a size as to cover the whole person.
In Harleian MS. 2,908, fol. 53, are two such, but perhaps mere
exaggerations of the draughtsman. Shields of this kind were, however,
certainly in use in the East at an early date, and may be seen in
Egyptian, Assyrian, and Indian monuments[129].
[Illustration: No. 21.]
It has been conjectured that the bronze coatings of shields which
have from time to time been discovered in this country, and commonly
attributed to the Ancient Britons, may belong to the Anglo-Saxon
period: while we admit this probability, we must not forget that they
have not yet been found in the Anglo-Saxon graves.
The shields placed in the graves were the ordinary "lindens," of
which no part commonly remains but the metal boss and handle. The
chief varieties of forms offered by the bosses will be found in our
Plates XIX. and XX., figs. 1 to 10; all from English tombs[130].
Similar relics have been dug up in Scotland; of which No. 11 in
our Plate offers an example. This was procured from a tomb in the
county of Moray, accompanied with fragments of oak and remains
of the hero's horse and its bridle. See Dr. Wilson's "Archæology
of Scotland," to which we are indebted for this specimen. On the
continent similar objects have been found, differing but slightly
from our own examples. No. 12 is from the cemetery at Selzen, in
Rhenish Hesse. No. 13 is from a Danish tomb. See also the examples
given in Worsaae's Copenhagen Museum, p. 68. The shields of the Danes
appear to have been ornamented with gold and colours, the favourite
hue being red. In Sæmund's poetical "Edda" we read of a "red shield
with a golden border," and Giraldus de Barri tells us that the Irish
"carried red shields, in imitation of the Danes." Some of the Danish
shields, like the weapons, were inscribed with runes[131]. In the
tumulus opened at Caenby, in Lincolnshire, believed to have been that
of a Danish viking, part of a wooden shield was procured, ornamented
with plates of silver and bronze, bearing the serpentine and scroll
patterns so characteristic of this period. These fragments are
engraved in the seventh volume of the Archæological Journal.
The _guige_ or strap by which the target was occasionally suspended
from the combatant's neck, leaving the hands free to direct the steed
or ply the weapon, appears (at least during the later days of Saxon
rule) to have been in use among our countrymen, as well as with their
Norman neighbours. Of Harold's nobles, Wace tells us:--
"Chescun out son haubert vestu,
Espée ceinte, _el col l'escu_."--_Rom. de Rou_, ii. 213.
And in the Bayeux Tapestry, the kite-shield thus fixed may be seen on
the English side.
The place occupied by the shield in the graves of the Frankish,
Germanic, and Scandinavian heroes is by no means uniform. It has
been found on the breast, on the right arm, upon the knees, and
beneath the head. It is by the position of the umbo in the grave
that this fact has been exactly ascertained. Examples will be found
in the Ozingell Cemetery, in the explorations at Harnham Hill
(_Archæologia_, vol. xxxv.), in the Selzen find, in the _Normandie
Souterraine_, and in the account of the cemetery at Linton Heath
(Archæol. Journ., vol. xi. p. 108).
The HORSE FURNITURE of the Northern cavalry appears to have been
usually very simple. By referring to our engravings, Nos. 16 and 21,
it will be seen that the saddle was provided with girth, breastplate,
and crupper, the latter being fixed to the sides of the saddle:
pendent ornaments are attached to the bridle, breastplate, and
crupper. From the poem of "Beowulf" we learn that the war-horse was
occasionally furnished with much costliness:--
"Then did the Refuge of warriors command eight horses, ornamented
on the cheek, to be brought into the palace: ... on one of which
stood a saddle variegated with work, made valuable with treasure:
that was the war-seat of a lofty king when the son of Healfdene
would perform the game of swords."--_Canto_ 15.
A donation of the Anglo-Saxon king Ethelbert affords another
example:--"Missurum etiam argenteum, scapton aureum, item _sellam
cum freno aureo gemmis exornatam_, speculum argenteum, armilaisia
oloserica, camisiam ornatam prædicto monasterio gratanter obtuli[132]."
[Illustration: No. 22.]
As it was an occasional practice to bury the horse of the hero in
the same grave with his master, the metal portions of the fitments
have been preserved to our time. Examples of stirrups may be seen
in the _Annaler for Nordisk Oldkyndighed_, in Worsaae's Copenhagen
Museum, and in _Die Gräber der Liven_: all these are of a single
piece, having a loop for the attachment of the leather. The bits
are of two kinds,--snaffles with rings at the sides, and snaffles
with long cheeks. The example here given is from a Kentish barrow
opened by the Earl of Londesborough. A similar one is in the Livonian
collection of the British Museum. Compare also the York volume of the
Archæological Institute, page 29; Worsaae's Copenhagen Museum, pp.
70, 95 and 96; and M. Troyon's paper in the _Archæologia_, vol. xxxv.
p. 396, and Plate XVIII. The snaffle with cheeks was found among the
Wilbraham relics[133], and occurs also in the Selzen Cemetery[134].
A very curious variety, in which the snaffle is of iron, while the
cheeks are of bronze richly foliated, was discovered in an old fort
at Lough Fea, in Ireland, and is engraved in the third volume of the
Archæological Journal. In a tumulus opened in Denmark were found the
remains of a bridle which had been covered with thin plates of silver.
A good example of the Anglo-Saxon Saddle, seen without the rider,
occurs in Cotton MS., Claudius, B. iv.; which has been engraved by
Strutt in the _Horda_. See also our cut from Cleopatra, C. viii.
(page 77) where the breastplate, crupper, and single girth are very
clearly made out.
[Illustration: No. 23.]
The Spur of this period consisted of a single goad, sometimes of a
lozenge form, sometimes a plain spike. The shanks were straight.
The following illustration of the lozenge goad is from the bronze
monument of Rudolf von Schwaben, in the Cathedral of Merseburg, a
work of the eleventh century[135]. A very similar example, dug up in
railway excavations near Nottingham, has lately been added to the Tower
collection. This is of iron. Compare the Swiss specimen engraved by M.
Troyon in vol. xxxv. of the _Archæologia_, Plate XVII. This also has
a lozenge goad, but the neck of the spur is much longer. A Livonian
example in the British Museum has the goad in the form of a plain
quadrangular spike. The conical spike is seen among the Danish relics
figured on pages 70 and 95 of Mr. Worsaae's "Copenhagen Museum." A
very curious variety was found in the excavations of the Anglo-Saxon
cemetery at Linton Heath, and is figured in the eleventh volume of the
Archæological Journal. The buckles in this specimen, instead of being
attached to the strap, form part of the spur itself; being contrived at
the ends of the shanks.
Among the many curious usages revealed by the examination of the
ancient tombs, not the least singular is the practice of burying the
equestrian warrior with a single spur. This fact has been noticed,
not alone among the pagan Northmen, but as late as the thirteenth
century; and it does not rest on the doubtful evidence of careless
observers, but has been vouched by the testimony of skilful and
practised archæologists. It has been further remarked that the spur,
in all such cases, is attached to the left heel. M. Troyon, in his
excavations in the Colline de Chavannes, Canton de Vaud[136], found
three spurs, all of different sizes, which he therefore concludes
"ont appartenu chacun à des cavaliers différents." At Bel-Air, near
Lausanne, this gentleman found an interment where a single spur
had been fixed to the left heel of the entombed warrior. And in a
note to his interesting memoir on the exploration of the Colline
de Chavannes, he says: "J'ai retrouvé quelquefois des éperons dans
des tombes antiques, mais le mort n'en portait jamais qu'un seul,
qui était fixé au pied gauche." The similar instance which has been
noticed in an interment of the thirteenth century is that recorded in
the fourth volume of the Archæological Journal, page 59. A knight
of the Brougham family, found buried in the chancel of the church at
Brougham, in Westmoreland, had a single iron spur "round the left
heel." "No spur was found upon the right heel." This knight presented
the further singularity of having been buried cross-legged[137].
However highly his steed might be prized by the Northern warrior, it
was not alone in feats of horsemanship that he was required to excel.
The youthful Grymr, in the old poem of "Karl and Grymr," "as he grew
up, was accustomed to make his sword ruddy in the warlike play of
shields; to climb the mountains; to wrestle; to play well the game of
chess; to study the science of the stars; to throw the stone; and to
practise such other sports as were held in estimation."
Olaff Trygvason, according to an old Norwegian chronicle quoted by
Pontoppidan, "could climb the rock of Smalserhorn, and fix his shield
on the top; he could walk round the outside of a boat upon the oars,
while the men were rowing; he could play with three darts, throwing
them into the air alternately, and always keeping two of them up:
he was ambidexter, and could cast two darts at once with equal
force; and he was so famous a bowman that none could equal him." At
a little later date, Kali, an earl of the Orkneys, boasts of his
acquirements:--"I know," says he, "nine several arts. I am skilful
at the game of chess, I can engrave runic letters, I am expert at my
book, I can handle the tools of the smith, I can traverse the snow on
wooden skates, I excel in shooting with the bow, I ply the oar with
address, I can sing to the harp, and I compose verses[138]."
In the tenth century, Richard, duke of Normandy
"---- sout en Daneiz, en Normant[139] parler:
Une chartre sout lire, è li parz deviser:
Li pere l'out bien fet duire è doutriner.
De tables è d'eschez sout compaignon mater:
Bien sout paistre[140] un oisel è livrer è porter:
En bois sout cointement è berser[141] è vener.
As talevas[142] se sout bien couvrir è moler[143],
Mestre pié destre avant è entre d'els dobler:
Talons sout remuer è retraire è noxer,
Saillir deverz senestre è treget[144] tost geter:
C'est un colp damageux ki ne s'en seit garder,
Mais l'en ne s'i deit lungement demorer."
_Roman de Rou_, vol. i. p. 126.
Of the STANDARDS in use at this period, the notices that have reached
us are neither numerous nor clear. In Asser's "Life of King Alfred"
we read, that the Christian English gained a signal victory over
the pagan Danes in Devon, slaying their king, and capturing "among
other things, the standard called Raven; and they say that the three
sisters of Hingwar and Hubba, daughters of Lodobroch, wove that flag
and got it ready in one day[145]. They say, moreover, that in every
battle, wherever that flag went before them, if they were to gain
the victory, a live crow would appear flying on the middle of the
flag; but if they were doomed to be defeated, it would hang down
motionless. And this was often proved to be so." (Sub an. 878.) The
Danish chronicles and sagas, however, make no mention of this Raven
standard. Mr. Worsaae ("Danes in England") gives the engraving of a
coin of Anlaf, on which he recognises the national device, and finds
it again in that figure of a bird on one of the flags of the Bayeux
tapestry; "for it is very natural," he says, "that the Scandinavian
vikings, or Normans, who had achieved such famous conquests under
Odin's Raven, should continue to preserve this sign," &c.
Ancient evidences are not agreed as to the Anglo-Saxon standard
used at the battle of Hastings. William of Poitiers describes it as
"memorabile vexillum Heraldi, hominis armati imaginem intextam habens
ex auro purissimo." Malmesbury follows him: "vexillum--quod erat in
hominis pugnantis figura, auro et lapidibus arte sumptuosa contextum."
In the Bayeux tapestry this design does not appear, but the old
Dragon Standard, derived by the Northern nations from the Romans.
And it will be observed that the dragon of Harold is not a picture
painted on a flag; but, like the Roman _draco_, a figure fixed by
the head to a staff, with its body and tail floating away into the
air. Compare the representations on the Trajan and Antonine columns,
and in the Bayeux tapestry. The dragon is found also among the
continental Saxons. Of Witikind we are told: "Hic arripiens Signum,
quod apud eo habebatur sacrum, leonis atque _draconis_ et desuper
aquilæ volantis insignitum effigie[146]," &c. And this device of a
dragon appears to have been in use till at length displaced by the
more exact distinctions of hereditary heraldry.
The well-known custom mentioned by Plot, of the inhabitants of
Burford, in Oxfordshire, carrying the figure of a dragon yearly "up
and down the town in great Jollity, to which they added the Picture
of a Giant," in memory of a victory over Ethelbald, king of Mercia,
in which this prince lost his "Banner, whereon was depicted a Golden
Dragon;" seems entitled to greater consideration than most of the
customs of old times. The Dragon Standard of the Anglo-Saxons is a
fact substantiated by many monuments; and the portraying a vanquished
enemy under the lineaments of a hideous giant, is a practice which
has had the sanction of all times and all nations.
A very curious kind of flag occurs in the Anglo-Saxon manuscript
of _Prudentius_ in the Tenison Library. It is suspended from a
horizontal bar near the spear-head, after the manner of a sail
looped up to its yard, and from the side hangs a kind of fringe. It
decreases below, presenting altogether a triangular form, and seems
to be the same object as that figured by Mr. Worsaae, from a coin of
Anlaf, in his "Danes in England."
The celebrated _Carrocio_ or Car Standard of the Italians appears
to have been invented during the war between the Milanese and the
Emperor Conrad, about 1035, by Heribert, the archbishop of Milan.
This car had four wheels, and was drawn by four yoke of oxen,
caparisoned in red. The chariot itself was red: in the midst of
it was a tall red mast, surmounted by a golden globe, and bearing
the banner of the city: beneath the banner was a large crucifix, of
which "the extended arms appeared to bless the troops." A kind of
platform in front of the _carrocium_ was occupied by a company of
chosen heroes, elected for its especial defence; while, on a similar
platform behind, the trumpets of the army contributed by their
inspiriting strains to give confidence to all around. Before leaving
the city, mass was solemnised upon the platform of the chariot,
and not unfrequently a chaplain was assigned to accompany it into
the field of battle, and to give absolution to the wounded. This
device of the Milanese was soon imitated by others of the Italian
cities, and with all it was held to be in the last degree humiliating
to abandon the _carrocio_ to the enemy[147]. Other origins have,
however, been given to the Car Standard. It has been attributed to
the Saracens; and the monk Egidius ascribes its invention to the Duke
of Louvain, who caused the banner which had been embroidered by the
Queen of England to be placed in a superb chariot drawn by four oxen.
The Italians have a large balance of evidence on their side.
Of the various kinds of "GYNS" in use, the notices are not very
distinct. And a chief source of the vagueness arises from the
circumstance that, as the earliest chroniclers wrote in Latin, they
applied the names of Roman engines to instruments which probably
differed both in form and principle from their ancient prototypes.
Tacitus, indeed, tells us that the barbarians borrowed these engines
from those of the Romans; deserters or prisoners from whose ranks
taught to the Northmen the art of their construction. But there seems
good reason to believe that the motive principle of the classic
periers, _torsion_, was no longer in use among the middle-age
engineers: their instruments consisting of a lever furnished at one
extremity with a sling and at the other with a heavy weight; the
sudden liberation of the latter contributing the force necessary to
propel the stone from the sling. See this subject fully discussed in
the second volume of the _Études sur l'Artillerie_ of the Emperor of
the French; and compare the evidences furnished by monuments of the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries, given in later pages of this work.
In 585, we learn from Gregory of Tours, that the Battering Ram
and the Testudo were employed by the Burgundians in the siege of
Comminges[148]. This Tortoise, or screen for the propellers of the
Ram, is described by the translator of Vegecius in 1408 under the
name of the "Snayle or Welke[149]:" "For, righte as the snaile hath
his hous over hym where he walkethe or resteth, and oute of his hous
he shetethe his hede whan he wolle, and draweth hym inne a-yene, so
doth this gynne." In the ninth century we obtain considerable light
on this subject from the curious description of the Siege of Paris,
written in Latin verse by Abbo, a monk of St. Germain-des-Prez, who
was an eye-witness of the events he records. He names the Musculus
and the Pluteus, both of which were contrivances to shelter the
besiegers while at work; the Balista and Mangana, machines for
casting large stones; the Catapulta, which cast both stones and
darts; the Terebra, a spiked beam for boring into the walls; and
the Falarica, a gyn throwing darts to which burning substances were
affixed; a terrible instrument in those days, when the roofs of
houses were almost invariably covered with thatch.
The Moveable Towers formed of wood, in imitation of those of the
Romans, and placed by the walls of city or castle in order to bring
the assailants to a level with the defenders, are first mentioned
in medieval annals under the eleventh century; but they play no
conspicuous part in the military history of these days till the
succeeding century, when their employment appears to have been
frequent. In 1025, Eudes, comte de Chartres, is said to have used the
Moveable Tower in besieging the Castle of Montbrol, near Tours; and so
high was it, that it overtopped the keep-tower of the fortress[150].
In the east of Europe, the Greek Fire had been known as early as the
year 673; when, according to the historians of the Lower Empire,
Callinicus, the philosopher, taught the use of it to the Greeks.
He himself had probably derived the knowledge of this composition
from the Arabians; for, though powder acting by _detonation_ (and
consequently cannon) appears to have been first produced in Europe,
and that not earlier than the beginning of the fourteenth century,
the Asiatics had the use of powder that would _fuse_ at a very early
date. The Greek Fire was discharged from tubes, which could be turned
in any direction. The Princess Anna Comnena, in the _Alexiad_,
describes its use, as it was employed by the Emperor Alexis against
the Pisans, from tubes fixed at the prow of his vessels:--"They (the
Pisans) were astonished to see fire, which by its nature ascends,
directed against them, at the will of their enemy, downwards and on
each side." The receipt for the composition of the Greek Fire may be
found in the Treatise of Marcus Grecus. The terrors of these early
fire-mixtures were enhanced by the belief that not only they, but the
flames kindled by them, were inextinguishable by water: "de quibus
fit incendarium quod ab aqua non extinguitur[151]." The Greek Fire
did not, however, reach the west of Europe till a much later period.
It was objected against its use, that such an agent was contrary to
the spirit of religion and the nobleness of chivalry: it was felt
that a weapon which could be used alike by the weak and the strong,
by the humble and the powerful, might become a dangerous rival to the
knightly lance and panoply.
[Illustration: 24.]
[Illustration:
PLATE XXV.
GREAT SEAL OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.]
FOOTNOTES:
[3] De Bello Goth., lib. ii. c. 25.
[4] See Archæologia, vol. xxxvi. p. 78.
[5] Bk. ii.
[6] Lib. ii. c. 27.
[7] Vol. i. p. 508, ed. Baluz.
[8] Life of Charlemagne, bk. ii.
[9] Laws of the Visigoths.
[10] Capit. of Charlemagne.
[11] Lib, iii. c. 74.
[12] Saxons in England, vol. ii. p. 138.
[13] Ib., p. 164.
[14] Ib., p. 145.
[15] Ib., p. 149.
[16] Codex diplom. Ævi Sax., no. 956.
[17] c. 14.
[18] Malmesb., ad an. 1041.
[19] Saxons in England, ii. 395.
[20] Lib. i. cap. 120.
[21] _découvertes et retroussés._
[22] _femmes enragées._
[23] Lib. ii.
[24] Lib. iii.
[25] Roger of Hoveden, _sub an._ 1055.
[26] "Quum ex captivis quæreret Cæsar, quamobrem Ariovistus
prœlio non decertaret, hunc reperiebat causam: quod apud Germanos
ea consuetudo esset, ut matresfamilias eorum sortibus et
vaticinationibus declararent, utrum prœlium committi ex usu esset,
necne: eas ita dicere, non esse fas Germanos superare, si ante novam
lunam prœlio contendissent."--_Bell. Gall._, lib. i.
[27] Agathias.
[28] Lib. ii. c. 37.
[29] Epist. Greg. Papæ ad Childebert. Apud Scrip, rer. Franc., iv. 17.
[30] Holy things.
[31] Chalice.
[32] Ships.
[33] Gale.
[34] Chron. of Battle Abbey; Ordericus Vitalis; Wace.
[35] Heimsk., iii. 161.
[36] "in the midst."
[37] "Thor, aid!" or perhaps Tyr, the Mars of the Northmen. See
Kemble's _Saxons in England_, i. 350; and Thierry's _Conquête de
l'Ang. par les Normands_, sub an. 912-997.
[38] Hamon-aux-Dents, seigneur de Thorigny, of which place the church
is dedicated to S. Amand.
[39] Moustaches.
[40] See also Malmesbury, bk. iii., sub an. 1066.
[41] The particular localities where the spears and other weapons
have been found are mentioned in the Description of the engravings.
[42] "Saxon Obsequies," by the Hon. R. C. Neville.
[43] Collectanea Antiqua, vol. iii.
[44] La Normandie Souterraine.
[45] Das germanische Todtenlager bei Selzen in der Provinz
Rheinhessen.
[46] Afbildninger fra det Kongelige Museum for Nordiske Oldsager i
Kjöbenhavn.
[47] See the examples engraved in the Archæologia, vol. xxxv. p. 78.
[48] "Fairford Graves."
[49] Ancient Egyptians, vol. i. p. 353, sq., ed. 1854.
[50] See the Abbé Cochet's work, p. 283.
[51] Archæol., vol. xxxv.
[52] Journal of Archæol. Association, vol. iii.
[53] Ibid.
[54] Apud Bongars, p. 241.
[55] Normand. Souterr., p. 369.
[56] Kemble, Codex Dipl., No. 979.
[57] In quoting illuminated manuscripts, we shall be careful to give
the Collection and the folio; but, where not expressed to the contrary,
beg it to be understood that the place of deposit is the British Museum.
[58] See Henault, 1655; and Chiflet, _Anastasis Childerici Primi_.
[59] See Cochet, Lindenschmit, and the Transactions of the Luxembourg
Society, vol. viii. p. 45.
[60] Saxon Obsequies.
[61] Landulphi senioris Mediolanens.--Hist. Rer. Ital., tom. iv. p. 79.
[62] Lib. iii. Ep. 3.
[63] Collect. Antiq., vol. iii.
[64] Ibid.
[65] Glossary to "Beowulf."
[66] Primeval Antiq. of Denmark, p. 49.
[67] Atla-Quida, vol. ii. p. 370.
[68] Vol. i. p. 186.
[69] Saxons in England, ii. 100.
[70] Manual of the Society of Northern Antiquaries of Copenhagen.
[71] Worsaae's Antiq. of Denmark.
[72] Worsaae's "Danes in England."
[73] For a fuller account of this transaction, and of other notable
deeds of our hero-smith, see the Völundar Quida of the Edda Sæmundar,
and the Wilkina Saga (c. 21, sq.); also Grimm's Heldensage, p. 14,
and Teut. Mythol., 221.
[74] Kemble's "Saxons in England," p. 280.
[75] _Normandie Souterraine_, p. 44.
[76] Boys' Hist. of Sandwich. The charter is given in Mr. Kemble's
_Codex Diplom. Ævi Sax._, iv. 23.
[77] Stothard, Pl. XIX.
[78] Northern.
[79] blade.
[80] long-handled.
[81] must hold it.
[82] From _ira_.
[83] The passage which has furnished these lines is further curious, as
it would seem to shew that the _Fraternitas Armorum_ was not confined
to the knightly order. These two English guisarmiers enter the field of
Hastings under a similar compact to triumph or fall together:--
"Dous Engleiz vit mult orguillos,
Ki s'esteient acumpaignié
Por ço ke bien erent preisié.
Ensemble debveient aler:
Li uns debveit l'altre garder:
En lor cols aveient levées
Dui gisarmes lunges è lées."
[84] Cap. 23. sect. 4.
[85] weapons.
[86] javelin.
[87] iron headpieces.
[88] Wilson's "Memorials of Edinburgh," vol. ii. p. 3; from the
Borough Records.
[89] We are indebted to Mr. Westwood for this curious drawing.
[90] Abbé Cochet, p. 237.
[91] Figured in _Collect. Antiq._, ii. 245, and at p. 101 of the
Illustrated Catalogue of Mr. Roach Smith's Museum.
[92] Titulo de Vulneribus, n. 2.
[93] _Normandie Souterraine_, pp. 285, 351, 385.
[94] See Archæol. Journal, vol. vi. p. 181; and Wilson's "Archæology
of Scotland," p. 393.
[95] pikes.
[96] forks.
[97] bâtons.
[98] Ap. Duchesne, p. 201.
[99] _Mil. Fran._, i. 7.
[100] See Wilkinson's Egyptians, vol. i. p. 357, ed. 1854.
[101] See Layard's Nineveh, p. 332, ed. 1852.
[102] Ante: page 54.
[103] Hist. Franc., lib. viii. c. 29.
[104] Ibid., lib. iv. c. 46.
[105] See the able work of M. Reinaud and Captain Favé, _Du
Feu Grégeois, &c._; and M. Lacabane's paper in the _Biblio. de
l'Ecole des Chartes_, Second Series, vol. i.; and the _Etudes sur
l'Artillerie_, by the Emperor of the French.
[106] "Und so schwollen Sigurds Seiten, dass seine Panzerringe
entzweisprangen;" welches Entzweispringen doch von nebeneinander
gehefteten Ringen nicht füglich gesagt werden könnte.--_Wien's
kaiserliches Zeughaus._
[107] Lib. vi.
[108] Gesta Regum Franc., cap. 41.
[109] Ibid.
[110] See the Tenison _Prudentius_.
[111] See Strutt, "Dress and Hab.," Pl. XXIX.
[112] It is engraved in vol. ii. of _Collectanea Antiqua_.
[113] Wilkinson's "Ancient Egyptians," p. 287, ed. 1837; vol. i. p.
338, ed. 1854.
[114] See Archæol. Journ., vol. iii. p. 352.
[115] _Trachten des christlichen Mittelalters._ There is also a
French version of this admirable work.
[116] Archæology of Scotland, p. 266.
[117] _coup._
[118] _draps._
[119] _yeux._
[120] _visage._
[121] _voulait._
[122] _tomba._
[123] Line 5215.
[124] Thorpe's Analecta, p. 137.
[125] Ibid., p. 128.
[126] Archæol. Journ., vol. xi. p. 98.
[127] Ap. Du Chesne, p. 168.
[128] Archæologia, vol. xix.; and Memoirs, p. 298.
[129] Compare Wilkinson's "Egyptians," i. 349, ed. 1854; Layard's
"Monuments of Nineveh," Plate LXXII.; and the wall-painting of the
Ajunta Caves, of the first century of our era, a fine copy of which has
been placed in the Museum of the East India House. The Chinese still
use a large round shield of cane-wicker, behind which they crouch so as
to conceal themselves entirely from the view of the enemy.
[130] See Description of Engravings, for the particular localities
where they were discovered.
[131] Copenhagen Manual.
[132] Monast. Ang., vol. i. p. 24.
[133] Saxon Obsequies, Plate XXXVIII.
[134] _Todtenlager bei Selzen_, p. 6.
[135] Hefner; _Trachten des christlichen Mittelalters_, Pt. I.
[136] Described in _Archæologia_, vol. xxxv.
[137] For much curious information relating to the practice of
interring with the hero his horse, chariot, hawks, hounds, &c., and
the discovery of their remains in the graves, see _Archæologia_, vol.
xxxiii.; the York volume of the Archæolog. Instit., p. 28; Saxon
Obsequies, pl. XXXVIII.; Archæol. Journal, vol. vii. p. 43; Kemble's
Saxons in England, vol. i. p. 428; Appendix to Kemble's trans. of
"Beowulf;" Wilson's Archæol. of Scotland, pp. 457 and 552; Worsaae's
Antiq. of Denmark, p. 100; Bähr's _Die Gräber der Liven_, pl. XVI.
Compare also Tacitus, _Germania_, x.; Cæsar, _Bell. Gall._, lib. vi.;
and Wilkinson's Anc. Egypt., vol. ii. pp. 270 and 399, ed. 1854.
[138] _Orkneyinga Saga._
[139] That is, in the Romance language.
[140] feed.
[141] use the long-bow.
[142] shield.
[143] contend.
[144] sling.
[145] It is curious to compare these highborn ladies of the ninth
century with another fair standard-weaver somewhat nearer our own
times. Katherine of Arragon, writing to Wolsey, when the king
was campaigning in France, says: "I am horridly busy with making
standards, banners, and badges."
[146] Gestor. Sax., lib. i.
[147] Arnulphus Mediol., 1. ii. c. 16; Ricordano Malespina, Hist.
Fior., cap. 164; Burchardus, Epistola de excidio urbis Mediolanens.,
tom. vi.; Hist, Rer. Ital., p. 917.
[148] Lib. vii. c. 37.
[149] Roy. MS. 18, A. xii., f. 105.
[150] _Ap._ Labbæum in Chronolog., lib. ii.; Daniel, _Mil. Fran._, i.
557.
[151] Reinaud et Favé: _Du feu grégeois_, &c., p. 218.
PART II.
FROM THE NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND TO THE END OF
THE TWELFTH CENTURY.
For the period now to be examined, namely, from about the year 1066
to the close of the twelfth century, our chief evidences are still
the illuminations of manuscripts, the writings of chroniclers and
poets, tapestry-pictures, ivory carvings and metal chasings. The
valuable testimonies of the graves are lost to us; but a new source
of information is opened to our inquiries in the royal and baronial
seals, which from the second half of the eleventh century appear in
great abundance wherever the feudal system is in vogue. Among these
various evidences, there are two which, for our particular purpose,
are especially valuable,--the Bayeux tapestry and the Chronicle of
Robert Wace. There seems to be no reasonable doubt of this tapestry
having been embroidered at the close of the eleventh century; and
whoever has carefully examined it, will be at once convinced that it
was wrought, not by courtly ladies, but by the ruder hands of the
ordinary tapestry-workers. Curious analogy is found in the decorations
of _subsellæ_ of a somewhat later date[152]. The especial value of
the Chronicle of the Dukes of Normandy is in the minuteness with which
Wace delights to describe the incidents of knightly achievement. Taking
his crude facts from William of Jumièges and Dudo of St. Quentin, he
fills up their outlines with unwearying elaboration. Not content with
drily noting the gathering of a host or the issue of an onslaught, he
tells us how the levies came into the camp "by twos, and by threes,
and by fours, and by fives," and with what weapons they contended, the
material of their staves, and the length and breadth of their blades.
He himself lived so near the time of which he writes, and the changes
in the interval were so few, that his descriptions have, in most
instances, the exactness of those of an eye-witness. The incidents of
Duke William's Conquest of England he learns from the lips of his own
father, who lived probably in the eleventh century:--
"---- jo oï dire à mon pere:
Bien m'en sovint, maiz varlet ere."
_Roman de Rou_, l. 11564.
We must still, however, keep in view that Wace, like all writers and
illuminators of the middle-ages, does not hesitate to fill up his
pictures from the scenes around him; so that, while we concede him
a large measure of authority, especially for the events near his
own time, we must on some occasions withhold our confidence, when
his testimony is not in accordance with evidence which is strictly
cotemporary.
With the feudal system was introduced a scheme of military rank which
was altogether distinct from social position. Esquire, knight, and
banneret had no necessary connection with prince, baron, or private
person. The heir of a crown might be but an esquire; a fortunate
soldier often became a knight. The esquire was the aspirant to knightly
honours, and patiently served his apprenticeship to arms in the court
of his prince or the hall of some neighbouring baron. At the age of
twenty-one he was eligible to knighthood: he became, if he had property
enough to support the dignity, a knight-bachelor: "s'il a bien de quoi
maintenir l'estat de chevalerie; car aultrement ne lui est honneur,
et vault mieulx estre bon escuyer que ung poure chevalier[153]." In
the field, the knight's contingent was led under a Pennon, a flag that
differed from the square Banner of the banneret in being pointed at
the fly. The dignity of the Knight Banneret required a retinue of at
least fifty men-at-arms with their followers, so that it could only
be enjoyed by the rich. The chronicles of the middle-ages are full
of examples in which the knight who has distinguished himself on the
field of battle declines this dignity on the plea of inadequate funds.
When accepted, the Pennon of the knight was often at once converted on
the spot into a Banner; as in the instance recorded by Olivier de la
Marche:--"Si bailla le Roi d'Armes (de la Toison d'Or) un couteau au
Duc (de Bourgogne), et prit le pennon en ses mains, et le bon Duc, sans
oster le gantelet de la main senestre, fit un tour autour de sa main de
la queue du pennon, et de l'autre main coupa ledit pennon et demeura
quarré; et la Banniere faite[154]." Froissart offers several similar
instances.
The feudal Levy was conducted on the very simple principle, that
they who held the land should defend the land, and contribute to
the king's army in proportion to the extent of their holdings. Those
who could not serve in person, as clerics and ladies, were bound to
furnish substitutes. The various contingents due from the vassals
were carefully recorded in rolls; and in the _Milice Française_
of Père Daniel is preserved a curious note of such a roll, of the
time of Philippe Auguste, in which the contributors to the host
are arranged in the following order: archbishops, bishops, abbots,
dukes, earls, barons, castellans, vavassors, knights-banneret, and
knights[155]. The usual time of service at this period was forty
days: any further attendance was voluntary, and was probably much
dependent on the prospect of booty.
That knight and esquire were not necessarily of gentle blood, might
be proved by numerous ancient evidences: one or two may suffice.
Matthew Paris, under the year 1250, tells us that the king "gave a
charter of the liberty of warren in the land of Saint Alban's to a
certain knight named Geoffry, although not descended from noble or
knightly ancestors." This knight had obtained the privilege "from
having married the sister of the king's clerk, John Maunsell." The
"lady's name was Clarissa, and she was the daughter of a country
priest, but exalted herself in her pride above her station, to the
derision of all." Froissart, in the fourteenth century, gives us
the history of Jacques le Gris, the bosom-friend of the Earl of
Alençon,--"qui n'étoit pas de trop haute affaire, mais un écuyer
de basse lignée qui s'étoit avancé, ainsi que fortune en avance
plusieurs; et quand ils sont tous élevés et ils cuident être au plus
sûr, fortune les retourne en la boue et les met plus has que elle ne
les a eus de commencement[156]."
In fact, numerous exceptional cases might be adduced on almost every
point of knightly usage, and to chronicle the whole would be a labour
of many pages. A detail of such usages (the education of the varlets,
the probation of the knights, the ceremonies of investiture, and
the institutions of the various brotherhoods) is by no means within
the province of this work. A large amount of information on these
points will be found in the _Mémoires sur l'ancienne Chevalerie_ of
St. Palaye, and in the various works of Ducange; from whose pages
numerous references will lead the more critical investigator to a
wide range of valuable authorities. An able sketch of the Feudal
System, as it existed in Italy, appears in the first volume of
Sismondi's _Républiques Italiennes au Moyen-âge_, p. 80, sq.
Besides the feudal troops already noticed, there was a more general
levy, when any pressing danger menaced the state. Thus, in 1124,
Louis le Gros met the threatened invasion of the Emperor Henry V. by
raising an army of more than 200,000 men[157]. And under Philippe
le Bel, we have an ordinance calling upon all his subjects, "noble
and non-noble, of whatsoever condition they be, between the ages
of eighteen and sixty," to be ready to take the field. A similar
provision was found in England. The _Posse Comitatûs_, which was
under the command of the sheriffs of the various counties, included
every freeman capable of bearing arms between the ages of fifteen
and sixty. In 1181, Henry II. fixed an assize of arms, by which all
his subjects, being freemen, were bound to be in readiness for the
defence of the realm, "Whosoever holds one knight's fee shall have
a coat-of-fence (_loricam_), a helmet (_cassidem_), a shield, and a
lance; and every knight as many coats, helmets, shields, and lances,
as he shall have knights' fees in his domain. Every free layman,
having in rent or chattels the value of sixteen marks, shall have a
coat-of-fence, helmet, shield and lance. Every free layman having in
chattels ten marks, shall have a haubergeon (_halbergellum_), iron
cap and lance (_capelet ferri et lanceam_). All burgesses and the
whole community of freemen shall have each a 'wambais,' iron cap,
and lance. On the death of any one having these arms, they shall
remain to his heir. Any one having more arms than required by this
assize, shall sell or give them, or so alienate them, that they may
be employed in the king's service. No Jew shall have in his custody
any coat-of-fence or haubergeon (_loricam vel halbergellum_), but
shall sell it or give it, or in other manner so dispose of it that
it shall remain to the king's use. No man shall carry arms out of
the kingdom, or sell arms to be so carried. None but a freeman to
be admitted to take the oath of arms (_et præcepit rex, quod nullus
reciperetur ad sacramentum armorum nisi liber homo_[158])." In this
curious document it will be remarked that the old national weapon,
the axe, is altogether omitted; and the bow, which afterwards became
so effective an arm among the infantry of this country, is equally
unnoticed. The extensive levy indicated in these passages was clearly
that of the so-called _Arrière-ban_, the _Milice des Communes_, or
_Communitates Parochiarum_; troops who marched under the banners of
their respective parishes. For in an ordinance of Charles VI. of
France, in 1411, we find the _ban_ and _arrière-ban_ very exactly
defined:--"Mandons et convoquons par devant nous, tous noz hommes et
vassaulx tenant de nous, tant en fiefs qu'en arrière-fiefs: et aussi
des gens des bonnes villes de notre royaume qui out accoustumé d'eulx
armer par forme et manière de arrière-ban[159]."
As the vassals were not always disposed to exchange hawk and hound
for lance and destrier, and as kings found themselves but ill-served
by barons who had become almost as powerful as themselves, a plan was
devised, by which both were relieved from this embarrassment of feudal
relations. The vassal compounded by a money-payment called Scutage for
the service due to his lord; and the lord, with the proceeds of this
shield-tax, obtained the aid of foreign soldiery. Henry II. in England,
and Philip Augustus in France, employed these mercenaries, who were
called Coterelli, Rutarii, Bascli, and Brabantiones, names derived from
their condition or country[160]. William the Conqueror, Wace tells us,
had mercenary troops mixed with his feudal followers:--
"De mainte terre out soldéiers:
Cels por terre, cels por déniers."--_Rom. de Rou_, l. 13797.
Again:--
"Dunc vindrent soldéirs à lui:
Et uns è uns, è dui è dui,
E quatre è quatre, è cinc è sis,
E set è wit, è nof è dis:
E li Dus toz les reteneit:
Mult lor donout è prameteit.
* * * * *
Alquanz soldées demandoent,
Livreisuns è duns covetoent."--_Line_ 11544.
Besides the troops enumerated above, the King's Body-guard became
a corps of some celebrity at the close of the twelfth century.
Philip Augustus is said to have instituted this corps in the Holy
Land, to protect his person from the machinations of the Old Man
of the Mountain; and in imitation of his ally, Richard of England
embodied a similar force. The _Servientes armorum, Sergens d'armes_,
or _Sergens à maces_, were armed _cap-à-pie_, and besides their
distinctive weapon, the mace, carried a bow and arrows[161], and of
course a sword. In the fourteenth century they had a lance[162].
In the beginning of the fifteenth century, as we learn from the
curious incised stones[163] formerly placed in the church of their
brotherhood, St. Catherine-du-val, at Paris, and now preserved in
the Church of St. Denis, the _sergens d'armes_ were still clad in
complete armour, their weapons being a mace and sword. The number of
these guards at their first institution is not clear, but in the time
of Louis VI. of France they were _reduced_ to a hundred. It must be
borne in mind that the name of _serviens_ or _sergent_, as applied
to military persons, had a much wider signification than this of a
body-guard. It often included all beneath the dignity of a knight.
The Archers in the army of William the Conqueror fulfilled those
duties of preliminary fight which at a later period fell to the lot
of the musquetiers, and in our own day have passed to the cannonier.
The Norman bowmen are the first of the invading troops to set foot on
English soil:--
"Li archiers sunt primiers iessuz:
El terrain sunt primiers venuz.
Dunc a chescun son arc tendu,
Couire et archaiz el lez pendu.
Tuit furent rez è tuit tondu,
De cors dras furent tuit vestu."--_Rom. de Rou_, l. 11626.
These shaven and shorn, short-coated archers, with their quivers hung
at their side, are exactly reproduced in the Bayeux tapestry (Plates
XIII., XV., and XVI.):--
"La gent à pié fu bien armée:
Chescun porta arc et espée.
Sor lor testes orent chapels,
A lor piez liez lor panels.
Alquanz unt bones coiriés,
K'il unt à lor ventre liés.
Plusors orent vestu gambais,
Couires orent ceinz et archais.
* * * * *
Cil a pié aloient avant
Serréement, lors ars portant."--_Line_ 12805.
From this curious passage it appears that the archers of William
were not a particular and distinctly organized corps, but that _all
the foot_ were armed with the bow. The caps and boots are clearly
portrayed in the Bayeux tapestry; and from this valuable monument
we obtain an exact confirmation of the statement of Wace, that
some of the archers were clad in armour. See Plate XIII. We must
observe also, that the advantage of a close formation was thoroughly
appreciated at this day. The serried order of the foot noted above
was also adopted by the cavalry:--
"Cil à cheval è cil à pié
Tindrent lor eire è lor compas,
Serréement lor petit pas,
Ke l'un l'altre ne trespassout,
Ne n'aprismout ne n'esloignout.
Tuit aloent serréement,
E tuit aloent fièrement."--_Line_ 12825.
In Plate XIII. of the Bayeux tapestry, we find an archer who carries
his quiver, not "el lez pendu," but slung at his back, so that the
arrows present themselves at the right shoulder. In Plate XVI. we
have a mounted archer joining a group of knights in the chase of the
discomfited Saxons; from which we may venture to infer, that on the
rout of an enemy it was the practice of such bowmen as could obtain
horses, to act with the cavalry in the pursuit of the flying foe.
[Illustration: GREAT SEAL OF WILLIAM RUFUS.
No. 26.]
If the Norman archers were for the most part clad in "cors dras,"
the horsemen were fully furnished in the choicest military equipment
of the day:--
"Dunc issirent li Chevalier,
Tuit armé è tuit haubergié[164]:
Escu al col, healme lacié:
Ensemble vindrent al gravier[165],
Chescun armé sor son destrier.
Tuit orent ceintes les espées,
El plain vindrent lances levées.
Li Barunz orent gonfanons,
Li chevaliers orent penons."--_Rom. de Rou_, l. 11639.
"Chevaliers ont haubers è branz,
Chauces de fer, helmes luizanz,
Escuz as cols, as mains lor lances."--_Line_ 12813.
In the south, military science was already so far advanced that a
Code for the discipline of troops had been established. The rules
laid down by the Emperor Frederic for the control of his army in
Italy in 1158, have been preserved by Radevicus of Frisinga[166], and
are given by Sismondi[167].
Wherever the feudal system had taken root, a similar arming and
similar tactics prevailed. The military
"Chevals quistrent et armes à la guise franchoise,
Quer lor semblout è plus riche è plus cortoise."
But in the border-nations of Europe, where the old liberties of Celt
and Teuton still lingered, the fashions of war were very different.
In Ireland, in Scotland, in Wales, and in the Scandinavian North, the
heroes were by no means clad in the pattern of the Bayeux tapestry.
From Giraldus Cambrensis we learn that the Irish in the twelfth
century wore no body-armour. In riding they used neither saddle nor
spur. Their shields were circular, and painted red. Helmets they had
none. Their weapons were a short spear, javelins, and an axe. The
axes, which they had derived from the Norwegians and Ostmen, were
excellently well steeled. "They make use of but one hand when they
strike with the axe, extending the thumb along the handle to direct
the blow; from which neither the helmet can defend the head, nor the
iron folds of the armour the body; whence it has happened in our time
that the whole thigh of a soldier, though cased in well-tempered
armour, hath been lopped off by a single blow, the limb falling on
one side of the horse, and the expiring body on the other. They are
also expert beyond all other nations in casting stones in battle,
when other weapons fail them, to the great detriment of their
enemies[168]." The bow not being in use among the Irish of this time,
and consequently there being nothing to oppose to the distant attack
of the Norman archers, the havoc made by these latter troops was
terrific; so that Giraldus, in his chapter, "Qualiter Hibernica gens
sit expugnanda," recommends that in all attacks upon them, bowmen
should be mixed with the heavy-armed force.
The Welsh also retained their old mode of warfare:--
"Gens Wallensis habet hoc naturale per omnes
Indigenas, primis proprium quod servat ab annis,"
says Guillaume le Breton. "They are lightly armed," writes Giraldus
Cambrensis, "so that their agility may not be impeded; they are clad
in haubergeons (_loricis minoribus_), have a handful of arrows, long
lances, helmets, and shields, but rarely appear with iron greaves
(_ocreis ferreis_). Fleet and generous steeds, which their country
produces, bear their leaders to battle, but the greater part of the
people are obliged to march on foot over marshes and uneven ground.
Those who are mounted, according to opportunity of time and place,
both for the retreat and advance, easily become infantry. Those of
the foot-soldiers who have not bare feet, wear shoes made of raw
hide, sewn up in a barbarous fashion. The people of Gwentland are
more accustomed to war, more famous for valour, and more expert
in archery, than those of any other part of Wales. The following
examples prove the truth of this assertion. In the last assault of
Abergavenny Castle, which happened in our days, two soldiers passing
over a bridge to a tower built on a mound of earth, in order to take
the Welsh in the rear, their archers, who perceived them, discharged
their arrows, penetrating an oaken gate which was four fingers thick:
in memory of which deed, the arrows are still preserved sticking in
the gate, with their iron piles seen on the other side.... Their bows
are made of wild elm, unpolished, rude, and uncouth, but strong; not
calculated to shoot an arrow to a great distance, but to inflict
very severe wounds in closer fight[169]." Guillaume le Breton, in
describing the Welsh troops who accompanied Richard Cœur-de-Lion into
France, deprives them of defensive armour altogether:--
"Nec soleis plantas, caligis nec crura gravantur:
Frigus docta pati, nulli oneratur ab armis,
Nec munit thorace latus, nec casside frontem[170]."
But he allows them a greater variety of weapons on this occasion than
is found in the account of Giraldus:--
"Clavam cum jaculo, venabula, gesa, bipennem,
Arcum cum pharetris, nodosaque tela vel hastam."
The _gesa_ of this passage is the often-mentioned _guisarme_. The
_nodosa tela_ is not so clear, but may have been a dart with a ball
at the end; the object of which ball was to arrest the javelin when,
sliding through the hand, it had inflicted its wound, so that it
might be employed afresh. Such weapons were used by the ancient
Egyptians[171], and are still employed in the manner mentioned above
by the Nubians and Ababdeh.
Hoveden, describing the battle of Lincoln in 1141, and the disposition
of the Earl of Chester's army, says: "On the flank, there was a great
multitude of Welshmen, better provided with daring than with arms."
In Scotland, two leading influences were at work. The highlanders
adhered to their old habits and their old arms with a pertinacity
which has not been extinguished even in our own day. The round shield
ornamented with knot-work subsisted to the field of Culloden, and
the dagger with its hilt of the same pattern, is still in vogue. But
in the south of Scotland the fashions of France and of England had
made great inroads; especially advanced by the crowds of discontented
nobles of Saxon and of Norman blood, who sought in the court of the
Scottish king solace for their misfortunes, or revenge for their
wrongs. Thus in the seal of Alexander I. (1107-1124,) we find that
monarch wearing the hauberk with tunic and the nasal helmet, and
armed with lance and kite-shield, exactly as seen in the monuments
of his more southern cotemporaries. This equipment, however, was
only found among the leaders of their hosts, and even they did not
always think fit to adopt the new fashion. Thus, at the battle of
the Standard, in 1138, the Earl of Strathearne exclaims:--"I wear no
armour, yet they who do will not advance beyond me this day."
[Illustration: FROM THE GREAT SEAL OF ALEXANDER I., KING OF SCOTLAND.
No. 27.]
This Battle of the Standard, so called from the _Carrocium_, or
Car-standard, which was brought into the field by the English,
affords us a good insight into the warfare of the Scots of this
day. Let us remember, however, that it is an English chronicler who
records the fight. Roger of Hoveden tells us that the bishop[172] who
accompanied the English army, addressing the troops previous to the
engagement, said of the Scots: "They know not how to arm themselves
for battle; whereas you, during the time of peace, prepare yourselves
for war, in order that in battle you may not experience the doubtful
contingencies of warfare.... But now, the enemy _advancing in
disorder_, warns me to close my address, and rushing on _with a
straggling front_, gives me great reason for gladness." At the end of
his speech, "all the troops of the English answered, 'Amen, Amen.'"
"At the same instant the Scots raised the shout of their country,
and the cries of 'Albany, Albany!' ascended to the heavens. But the
cries were soon drowned in the dreadful crash and the loud din of the
blows. When the ranks of the Men of Lothian, who had obtained from
the king of Scotland, though reluctantly on his part, the glory of
striking the first blow, hurling their darts and presenting their
lances of extraordinary length, bore down upon the English knights
encased in armour, striking, as it were, against a wall of iron, they
found them impenetrable. The archers of King Stephen, mingling among
the cavalry, poured their arrows like a cloud upon them, piercing
those who were not protected by armour. Meanwhile the whole of the
Normans and English stood in one dense phalanx around the standard,
perfectly immoveable. The chief commander of the Men of Lothian fell
slain, on which the whole of his men took to flight. On seeing this,
the main body of the Scots, which was contending with the greatest
valour in another part of the field, was alarmed and fled. Next,
the king's troop, which King David had formed of several clans, as
soon as it perceived this, began to drop off: at first, man by man,
afterwards in bodies; the king standing firm, and being at last left
almost alone. The king's friends seeing this, forced him to mount his
horse and take to flight. But Henry, his valiant son, not heeding the
example of his men, but solely intent on glory and valour, bravely
charged the enemy's line, and shook it by the wondrous vigour of
his onset. For his troop was the only one mounted on horseback, and
consisted of _English and Normans who formed a part of his father's
household_. His horsemen, however, were not long able to continue
their attacks against soldiers on foot, cased in armour, and standing
immoveable in close and dense ranks; but, with their lances broken,
and their horses wounded, were compelled to fly. Rumour says that
many thousands of the Scots were slain on that field, besides those
who, being taken in the woods and standing corn, were put to death.
Accordingly, the English and Normans happily gained the victory, and
with a very small effusion of blood." The standard which gave to this
battle of Cuton Moor its popular name, was formed of a mast placed
on a car, having at its summit a silver pix containing the Host, and
beneath, three banners, those of St. Peter, St. John of Beverley, and
St. Wilfrid of Ripon.
The equipment of the Scandinavian heroes in the twelfth century has
come down to us in several cotemporary writings. The author of the
_Speculum Regale_, an Icelandic chronicle of this period, instructs
his son in his military duties: when combating on foot, he is to wear
his heavy armour, namely, a byrnie, or thick panzar[173] (_thungann
pannzara_), a strong shield (_skiold_) or buckler (_buklara_), and
a heavy sword. For naval actions the best weapons are long spears,
and for defence, panzars made of soft and well-dyed linen cloth,
together with good helmets (_hialmar_), pendant steel caps (_hangandi
stálhufur_), and broad shields[174]. The directions for a knight's
equipment are more minute: Let the horseman use this dress: first,
hose made of soft and well-prepared linen cloth, which should reach
to the breeches-belt (_broka-belltis_); then, above them, good
mail-hose (_bryn-hosur_), of such a height that they may be fastened
with a double string. Next, let him put on a good pair of breeches
(_bryn-brækur_), made of strong linen; on which must be fastened
knee-caps made of thick iron and fixed with strong nails. The upper
part of the body should first be clothed in a soft linen panzar
(_blautann panzara_), which should reach to the middle of the thigh;
over this a good breast-defence (_briost biorg_), of iron, extending
from the bosom to the breeches belt; above that a good byrnie, and
over all a good panzar of the same length as the tunic, but without
sleeves. Let him have two swords,--one girded round him, the other
hung at his saddle-bow; and a good dagger (_bryn-knif_). He must have
a good helm, made of tried steel, and provided with all defence for
the face (_met allri andlitz biaurg_); and a good and thick shield
suspended from his neck, especially furnished with a strong handle.
Lastly, let him have a good and sharp spear of tried steel furnished
with a strong shaft[175]. It will be remarked that the body is here
clothed in four different garments, one over the other; which
appear to be the _tunic_, reaching to mid-thigh; the breast-defence
of iron (whether formed in a single piece, or of several smaller
plates, does not appear); the _hauberk_ of the chain-mail, and the
_gambeson_, a quilted coat, made in this instance without sleeves.
Besides the weapons named above, the axe was still in favour among
the Northern warriors. By the ancient laws of Helsingia, every youth
on attaining the age of eighteen, was bound to furnish himself
with five kinds of warlike equipment: a sword, an axe, a helmet
(_jernhatt_), a shield, and a byrnie or a gambeson. A spirited
passage of Giraldus Cambrensis brings the Norwegian troops vividly
before us. Describing their attack upon Dublin, about 1172, he has:
"A navibus igitur certatim erumpentibus, duce Johanne, agnomine _the
wode_, quod Latine sonat insano vel vehementi, viri bellicosi Danico
more undique ferro vestiti, alii loricis longis, alii laminis ferreis
arte consutis, clipeis quoque rotundis et rubris, circulariter ferro
munitis, homines tam animis ferrei quàm armis, ordinatis turmis, ad
portam orientalem muros invadunt." The round painted shields edged
with metal will bring to remembrance the similar defences of the
Anglo-Saxons; and in the laminated cuirass we see another instance
of the _jazerant_ armour worn by Charlemagne. In King Sverrer's
_Saga_, written towards the close of the twelfth century, by the
abbot of Thingore in Iceland, and others, from the narrative of
the king himself, we have a curious passage: "Sverrer was habited
in a good byrnie, above it a strong gambeson (_panzara_), and over
all a red surcote (_raudan hiup_[176]). With these he had a wide
steel hat (_vida stálhufu_), similar to those worn by the Germans;
and beneath it a mail cap (_brynkollu_), and a 'panzara-hufu.' By
his side hung a sword, and a spear was in his hand[177]." From this
description it seems clear that those singular broad-rimmed helmets
found occasionally in monuments of the twelfth, thirteenth, and
fourteenth centuries, and more frequently in later times; of which
examples occur among the sculptures of the tomb of Aymer de Valence,
in Westminster Abbey, and on the great seal of Henry III., king of
Spain; were introduced into the north and west of Europe through
Germany; the Germans, on their part, probably deriving them from
the Italians; to whom this form of headpiece had come down from
the well-known _petasus_ of classic times. The _panzara-hufu_ was
probably a quilted coif worn under the steel hat. Compare Willemin,
vol. i., Plate CXLIII.; and see our woodcut, No. 56.
The Prussians in the twelfth century differ but little in their
appearance from the Anglo-Saxon warrior of the preceding age. They wear
the tunic, reaching to the knees, and belted at the waist; but, in lieu
of leg-bands, have tight hose. They have spears little exceeding their
own height, and the shield they carry is a mean between the kite and
the pear-shape. We derive these particulars from the curious figures of
the bronze doors of Gnesen Cathedral, given by Mr. Nesbitt in the ninth
volume of the Archæological Journal, (p. 345); the subject represented
being the Legend of Saint Adalbert. Hartknoch (_De Rebus Prussicis_)
tells us that the arms of the Prussians were clubs, swords, arrows,
spears and shields, and their dress consisted of a short tunic of
linen or undyed woollen cloth, tight linen chausses reaching to the
heels, and shoes of raw hide or bark.
Throughout the period which we are now investigating, the Clergy not
unfrequently appear in knightly equipment at siege and battle. But
in order to avoid an infringement of _the letter_ of the canons,
which forbade them to stain their hands with human blood, they armed
themselves with the mace or bâton. At the battle of Hastings, Odo,
bishop of Bayeux,--
"Un haubergeon aveit vestu
De sor une chemise blanche:
Lé fut li cors, juste la manche.
Sor un cheval tot blanc séeit:
Tote la gent le congnoisseit:
Un baston teneit en son poing."--_Rom. de Rou_, l. 13254.
In the disorders of Stephen's reign, the prelates appear to have
been still more frequently trespassers on the canons of the Church;
for the author of the _Gesta Stephani_ exclaims, "The bishops, the
bishops themselves, I blush to say it,--not all of them, but many,
bound in iron, and completely furnished with arms, were accustomed to
mount war-horses with the perverters of their country, to participate
in their prey." Everyone will remember the answer attributed to
Richard Cœur-de-Lion, who, when the pope required him to release
from captivity his spiritual "son," the bishop of Beauvais, sent
back the hauberk in which the prelate had been taken, adding, in
the words of the history of Joseph: "This have we found: know now
whether it be thy son's coat or no." The monk of St. Edmund's,
Jocelin of Brakelond, tells us under the year 1193: "Our abbot, who
was styled 'the Magnanimous Abbot,' went to the siege of Windsor,
where he appeared in armour, with _other abbots_ of England, having
his own banner, and retaining many knights at heavy charges; being
more remarkable there for his counsel than for his piety. But we
cloister-folks thought this act rather dangerous, fearing the
consequence, that some future abbot might be compelled to attend in
person on any warlike expedition."
On other occasions, however, the clergy fulfilled in the field duties
more in harmony with their peaceful calling,--attending the wounded
or consoling the dying. At the battle of Hastings, the Norman priests
gathered together on a hillock, where, during the contest, they
offered up prayers for their companions:--
"Li proveire è li ordené
En som un tertre sunt monté,
Por Dex préier è por orer."--_Wace_, l. 13081.
And frequent injunctions forbade these holy men from joining in
military exploits. Among the decrees of the synod of Westminster,
promulgated in 1175, we read: "Whoever would appear to belong to the
clergy, let them not take up arms, nor yet go about in armour. If
they despise this injunction, let them be mulcted with the loss of
their proper rank[178]."
The TACTICS of this period are pretty clearly exemplified by the
proceedings of Duke William at the field of Hastings. The army was
divided into three corps:--
"Normanz orent treiz cumpaignies,
Por assaillir en treiz parties."
The hired troops were placed in the first division, to bear the brunt
of the fight:--
"Li Boilogneiz é li Pohiers[179]
Aureiz, è _toz mes soldéiers_."
The second consisted of the Poitevins and Bretons,
"E del Maine toz li Barons."
The third corps was the largest:--
"E poiz li tiers ki plus grant tint."
And this, led by William himself, appears to have held the position
of a reserve:--
"E jo, od totes mes granz genz,
Et od amiz et od parenz,
Me cumbatrai par la grant presse,
U la bataille iert plus engresse[180]."
The battle was opened by the archers:--
"Cil a piè aloient avant
Serréement, lor ars portant."
The charge of the horse, as is well known, was preceded by the feat
of Taillefer, to whom the duke had accorded the privilege of striking
the first blow. The charge of the knights was at this time, and long
after, made in a single line, or _en haie_, as it was called; the
attack in squadrons being a much later practice. The Normans acted
against their opponents as well by the weight of the horse as by dint
of weapons. One knight--
"Assalt Engleiz o grant vigor
Od la petrine du destrier:
En fist maint li jor tresbuchier,
Et od l'espée, al redrecier,
Véissiez bien Baron aidier."--_Line_ 13491.
Another--
"----un Engleis ad encuntré,
Od li cheval l'a si hurté,
Ke mult tost l'a acraventé,
Et od li piez tot défolé[181]."--_Line_ 13544.
Spare horses and arms are provided for distinguished leaders:--
"Li Dus fist chevals demander:
Plusors en fist très li[182] mener.
Chescun out à l'arçon devant
Une espée bone pendant.
E cil ki li chevals menerent
Lances acérées porterent."--_Line_ 12699.
In the crusades, the European knights occasionally, though very
rarely, contended on foot; and the Princess Anna Comnena remarks
that the French men-at-arms, so terrible on horseback, are little
dangerous when dismounted[183].
To disorder the enemy's ranks by a simulated flight appears to have
been a favourite stratagem of the Normans. Duke William Sans-peur
used this device against the Germans before Rouen:--
"Li Normanz par voisdie[184] s'en alerent fuiant,
Por fere desevrer cels ki vindrent devant;
Et Alemanz desrengent, si vont esperonant:
As portes de Roen la vindrent randonant[185]."
_Wace_, l. 3972.
The similar incident of the battle of Hastings is in the recollection
of all:--
"Normanz aperchurent è virent
Ke Engleiz si se desfendirent
E si sunt fort por els desfendre,
Peti poeint sor els prendre:
Privéement unt cunseillié,
Et entrels unt aparaillié,
Ke des Engleiz s'esluignereient,
E de fuir semblant fereient."--_Line_ 13311.
Another device of Duke William on this eventful day was to assail
the English by a downward flight of arrows, for he had found that
the shields of his opponents had secured them from the effects of
a direct attack: "Docuit etiam dux Willielmus viros sagittarios ut
non in hostem directe, sed in aëra sursum sagittas emitterent cuneum
hostilem sagittis cæcarent: quod Anglis magno fuit detrimento[186]."
War-cries were still in vogue, and saintly relics and emblems were
regarded with a veneration commensurate with the power of the Church
and the confiding credulity of the soldiery. The sacred symbol of the
Cross is seen constantly on the shields of the knights; and one of
the barons of Rufus, on departing for the Crusades, tells the king
that his shield, his helmet, his saddle, and his horses, shall all
be marked with this holy device[187]. It was even found useful to
enrol mock-saints in the armies contending against the enemies of the
faith. Thus, in the contest between the Saracens in Sicily and Count
Roger, about the year 1070, Saint George mounted on a white horse is
seen to issue from the Christian ranks, and head the onslaught on the
unbelievers:--"Apparuit quidem eques splendidus in armis, equo albo
insidens, album vexillum in summitate hastilis alligatum ferens, et
desuper, splendidem crucem et quasi a nostrâ acie progrediens. Quo
viso nostri hilariores effecti Deum Sanctumque Georgium ingeminando
ipsum præcedentem promptissimè sunt secuti[188]." It is perhaps
unnecessary to say that the narrator of this incident gives it in
implicit belief of the saintly character of the splendid knight.
Not saints alone, but necromancers were occasionally attached
to military expeditions. Such an auxiliary, according to Wace,
accompanied Duke William in his expedition to England:--
"Un clers esteit al Duc venuz
Ainz ke de Some fust méuz:
D'Astronomie, ço diseit,
E de nigromancie saveit:
Por devinéor se teneit,
De plusurs choses sortisseit."--_Line_ 11673.
Having predicted a safe voyage to William, and the prediction having
been fulfilled, the duke remembered him of his _nigromancien_, and
desired that search might be made for this learned clerk. But the
poor fellow had himself been drowned in the passage:--
"En mer esteit, ço dist, néiez,
Et en un nef perilliez."
On which the duke wisely remarks:--
"Malement devina de mei,
Ki ne sout deviner de sei."
Adding:--
"Fol est ki se fie en devin,
Ki d'altrui ovre set la fin,
E terme ne set de sa vie:
D'altrui prend garde è sei s'oblie."
[Illustration: GREAT SEAL OF KING HENRY THE FIRST.
No. 28.]
In examining the BODY-ARMOUR of the period under review, though
we find some change in the adaptations of the old fabrics,--of
the quilted-work, of the interlinked chain-mail, of the scale and
jazerant,--there appears to be only one piece which is entirely
new,--the so-called _Plastron de fer_, a breastplate that was worn
beneath the gambeson or other armour that formed a general covering
for the body. In a preceding passage from the _Speculum Regale_, we
have read of a breast-defence of iron, extending from the throat to
the waist, which may have been the breastplate in question. But a
passage of Guillaume le Breton more exactly defines this contrivance.
In the encounter between Richard Cœur-de-Lion (then earl of Poitou),
and Guillaume des Barres:--
"Utraque per clipeos ad corpora fraxinus ibat,
Gambesumque audax forat et thoraca trilicem
Disjicit: ardenti nimium prorumpere tandem
_Vix obstat ferro fabricata patena recocto_,
Qua bene munierat pectus sibi cautus uterque."
_Philippidos_, lib. iii.
A further evidence of this additional arming of the breast may
be derived from the present practice of the East, where quilted
coats-of-fence have a lining of iron plates at that part only. In the
museum of the United Service Institution may be seen Chinese armours
of this construction.
[Illustration: No. 29.]
Though from written testimonies we learn that the fabrics already
enumerated were in use, and that the materials of the defences were
iron, leather, horn, and various kinds of quilting, it is by no
means easy to identify these structures in the pictorial monuments
of the day. Nothing perhaps can more strongly mark this fact, than
the diversity of interpretation that has been given to the armours
in the Bayeux tapestry by some of the latest and most critical
investigators of the subject. Von Leber sees in them a contrivance
of leather and metal bosses: "ein Lederwamms mit aufgenähten
Metallscheiben oder Metallbukeln[189]." M. Allou attires the warrior
in a "vêtement particulier formé d'anneaux ou de mailles de fer, ou
bien de petites pièces de même métal assemblées à la manière des
tuiles ou des écailles de poisson[190]." In the _Bulletin Monumental_
of the Société Française, vol. xi., page 519, we have: "On croit
distinguer, d'après l'indication de la broderie, des disques en métal
appliqués sur une jaque de cuir." Mr. Kerrich[191] considers the
coats marked with rounds as chain-mail. M. de Caumont has remarked
that "in the Bayeux tapestry some of the figures are in chain-mail,
and others in a kind of armour composed apparently of metallic discs
sewn to a leathern _jaque_[192]." In the following we have collected
the various modes of indicating the armour in this tapestry, and
it must be confessed that to appropriate each is no easy task. It
is indeed rather from a comparison with numerous other monuments,
than from the testimony of these examples alone, that one is able to
form any opinion as to the fabrics intended; and even at last the
conclusion _must_ be doubtful, and may be erroneous. From analogous
representations of various dates, however, it seems likely that the
figures 1 and 2 are intended for interlinked chain-mail; Nos. 3 and 4
for jazerant-work (armour formed of small plates fastened by rivets
to a garment of cloth or canvas); Nos. 5 and 6 appear to be plain
quilted defences; No. 7 seems only a rude attempt to represent the
quilted coif; No. 8 is one of many examples where different markings
are used on the same garment. In some instances, the markings copied
above are so strangely intermixed in the same dress, that one is
led to doubt if, in any case, each differing pattern is intended to
represent a different kind of armour.
If from the tapestries we turn to the seals of this period, we shall
find a similar difficulty in appropriating the armours represented.
The modes of marking the defences are four. One of these is a sort
of honeycomb-work, formed by a number of small, shallow, circular
apertures, leaving a raised line running round their edges, so as to
give a reticulated appearance to the surface. See woodcuts 42 and 43.
This texture seems to represent interlinked chain-mail. A second mode
consists of a series of lines crossing each other, so as to form a
trellis-work of lozenges.
[Illustration: GREAT SEAL OF KING STEPHEN.
No. 30.]
The great seal of King Stephen here given affords an instance of
this method. Compare also woodcut No. 41. This, if not another
conventional mode of representing interlinked chain-mail, may be
intended for quilted armour. A third kind of engraving presents a
number of raised half-circles covering the surface of the hauberk.
See woodcut No. 26. This, though often described as scale-armour,
seems to be no more than the ordinary chain-mail, the difficulty of
representing which threw the middle-age artists upon a variety of
expedients to obtain a satisfactory result. In the fourth method,
lines of half-circles placed contiguously cover the whole exterior of
the garment; and that this is another mode of indicating chain-mail
is clearly proved by the similar work found on monuments of all
kinds, even to the sixteenth century. See woodcut No. 1, fig. 1.
From this glimpse at the seals and tapestries, (and the illuminated
manuscripts of the period contribute similar testimony,) we may
gather that the artists of this day had no uniform method of
depicting the knightly harness; so that, instead of endeavouring to
find a different kind of armour for every varying pattern of the
limners, we should rather regard the varied patterns of the limners
as so many rude attempts to represent a few armours. In the following
sketch we have collected some of the methods in use at various times
to indicate the ordinary interlinked chain-mail.
[Illustration: No. 31.]
Figure 1 is the most usual, and is found from the twelfth century to
the sixteenth. See woodcut No. 1, the seal of King Richard I. Late
examples occur in the brass of Sir William Molineux, 1548[193]; in
the sculptured effigy of Sir Giles Daubeny in Westminster Abbey; and
in the statue of Sir Humfrey Bradburne, on his monument in Ashborne
Church, Derbyshire, 1581. Fig. 2 is seen on our woodcuts 32, 37,
and 53, from manuscript miniatures: it occurs in sculpture among
the effigies of the Temple Church, London. Fig. 3 is of frequent
appearance. See woodcut No. 59. The most ancient monumental brass
extant, that of Sir John D'Aubernoun, (woodcut 55,) also exhibits
this mode of indicating the armour. Fig. 4 occurs in the brass of
Sir Richard de Buslingthorpe, c. 1280, figured by Waller, Part x.
Fig. 5 is from one of the effigies in the Temple Church: the lines
are undulating channels in the stone. Fig. 6 is from the sculptured
effigy of Rudolf von Thierstein, at Basle: engraved in Hefner's
Costumes, part ii., Plate XLI. Fig. 7 occurs on the monumental statue
of Sir Walter Arden, in Aston Church, Warwickshire[194]. Fig. 8 is
found in early woodcuts: as in the _Morte d'Arthur_, printed by
Wynkyn de Worde in 1498. Fig. 9: an early example of this marking
occurs in Willemin's _Monuments Inédits_, vol. i., Plate 30; a late
one (sixteenth century) in the incised slab of a Bagot, in the church
of Blithfield, Staffordshire. Fig. 10: a variety of the foregoing.
See Hefner's _Trachten_, part i., Plate LXV., and part ii., Plate
XXXIV. Fig. 11: from an ivory chess-piece of the thirteenth century:
woodcut No. 69. The lines are incised, the rounds are punctured. Fig.
12 is a very frequent pattern. It appears in the Bayeux tapestry, in
manuscript miniatures, and in ivory carvings. See the chess-piece
engraved in _Archæologia_, XXIV. 238, from the Isle of Lewis; and
compare the figures of that very curious Asiatic roll in the Museum
of the Royal Asiatic Society. Fig. 13: this trellis-work is common
in seals of the twelfth century. See our woodcuts No. 30 and 41. The
lozenges are slightly sunk, the fillets in relief. Fig. 14: found in
the Bayeux tapestry; in the _Bible de St. Martial_ of the Imperial
Library of Paris, twelfth century; and in Add. MS., 15,277, of the
fifteenth century, where the mailing is expressed throughout in this
manner. The Asiatic roll named above has it also. Fig. 15: from the
statuette of "Sir de la Tremouille," 1514, in the collection at
Goodrich Court. The figure is of steel, and the squares appear to
have been formed by a punch. Fig. 16: from the sculptured effigy of
a Berkeley in Bristol Cathedral. The markings are channels in the
stone. Fig. 17: from Roy. MS., 14, E. iv. The mailing in this volume
is expressed by close, fine lines: the manuscript is of the fifteenth
century. Fig. 18: the honeycomb-work found on early seals. The great
seal of King Stephen (woodcut 42) affords a good example. The rounds
are depressed, the edges have a reticulated appearance. Figs. 19 and
20: from the illuminations of a Sanscrit MS. in the British Museum,
(Add. MSS., 15,295-7.) These very curious volumes abound in armed
figures, which are large, and carefully finished. Fig. 21: from
Egerton MS., No. 809, twelfth century; and Add. MS. 15,268, of the
thirteenth century. Fig. 22: from Harleian MS., 2803. This differs
but little from fig. 20; but fig. 20 has more of the _scale_ form,
while this is rather of _ring_-work. Fig. 23 is a marking found in
early etchings, and very well represents the texture of chain-mail.
As we have already seen, the Body-armours which may most safely be
assigned to early Norman times are chain-mail, quilted-work, jazerant,
scale, and a small proportion of plate used as an additional protection
to the breast: the materials, iron, leather, and horn, with wool, tow,
or cotton for quilting pourpointed defences. The ordinary series of
body-garments worn by the knight are the Tunic, the Gambeson and the
Hauberk. The Surcoat, though found in some rare instances at the close
of the twelfth century, does not become a characteristic part of the
knightly equipment till the thirteenth century.
The Tunic appearing from beneath the hauberk may be seen in the seals
of Alexander I. of Scotland, and of Richard I. of England, (cuts 1 and
27,) and in the accompanying group from Harleian Roll, Y. 6, the "Life
of Saint Guthlac," a work of the close of the twelfth century. Compare
also woodcuts 34, 35, and 40. We have already had written notice of
this garment in the "blautann panzara" of the _Speculum Regale_. Wace
gives it also to Bishop Odo, for the field of Hastings:--
"Un haubergeon aveit vestu
De sor une chemise-blanche."
[Illustration: No. 32.]
The Gambeson (or Wambasium[195],) was a quilted garment, used either
alone, or with other armour. This defence is as early as the Ancient
Egyptians, and figured examples of it may be seen in Sir Gardner
Wilkinson's work, Plate III., and cut 46, (ed. 1837). From a curious
passage of the _Chronicon Colmariense_ we learn that it was stuffed
with wool, tow, or old rags:--"_Armati_ reputabantur qui galeas
ferreas in capitibus habebant, et qui _wambasia_, id est, tunicam
spissam ex lino et stuppa, vel veteribus pannis consutam, et desuper
_camisiam ferream_, id est vestem ex circulis ferreis contextam." An
ancient authority quoted by Adelung has also: "vestimenti genus, quod
de coactili ad mensuram et tutelam pectoris humani conficitur, de
mollibus lanis," &c.
As the sole armour of the soldier, the gambeson is mentioned both by
Wace and Guillaume le Breton. The former tells us, in his description
of the troops of Duke William preparing for the fight:--
"Plusors orent vestu gambais."--_Rom. de Rou_, l. 12811.
The latter says:--
"Pectora tot coriis, tot gambesonibus armant."
--_Philipp._, lib. ii.
These were probably foot-troops; but a document of the next century
shews us that horsemen were sometimes armed in the wambais only.
In 1285, land in Rewenhall, Essex, is held by Eustace de Ho, "per
serjantiam inveniendi unum hominem equitem cum uno gambesone in
exercitu Dom. Regis, cum contigerit ipsum ire in Wallia, sumptibus
suis propriis per XL. dies[196]." It seems likely that many of
these quilted coats-of-fence were reinforced by plates of iron
over the breast, as in the pourpointed armours of the East in the
present day. As an additional reason for considering the defences
of gamboised work to be those indicated by the cross-lines of the
ancient vellum-pictures, we may mention that the garments thus
marked are occasionally tinted in various colours. Thus, the figures
in a Massacre of the Innocents, in Cotton MS., Caligula, A. vii.,
are painted with red, blue, green, and buff; and another in Count
Bastard's work, from a French manuscript of the twelfth century, has
the garment marked with stripes of red[197]. The "Aketon" appears to
be but another name for the gambeson.
[Illustration: No. 33.]
The Hauberk was the chief knightly defence. It reached to the knees;
the skirt sometimes opening in front, sometimes at the sides. The
sleeves usually terminated at the elbow, but occasionally extended to
the wrist. Sometimes the hauberk reached as high as the neck only,
but more generally it was continued so as to form a coif, leaving
only the face of the knight exposed to view. In many examples in
the Bayeux tapestry, it is furnished with a kind of pectoral, the
construction of which has not been ascertained: in other cases, the
whole surface is of a uniform structure. In this rude but curious
little figure from Harleian MS., 603[198], a work of the close of the
eleventh century, probably executed in France, we have a good example
of the hauberk of the period, with its short sleeves, and the skirts
open in front for convenience of riding. This is exactly the hauberk
of the Bayeux tapestry, though more clearly depicted here than in
the needle-work of the tapestry. The rounds on the surface appear to
be a conventional mode of representing chain-mail. The figure is that
of Goliath, to whom therefore has been given the long beard and round
target of the pagan Northmen. He wears, however, the conical nasal
helmet of the knightly order.
In this example, from Cottonian MS., Nero, C. iv. fol. 13, written
in France, about 1125, we have a curious instance of the hauberk
with lateral openings at the skirt. It is remarkable also for the
manner in which the sword is carried partially beneath the hauberk;
a contrivance seen also in the Bayeux tapestry, (Plate VI.,) and of
which analogous examples will be found throughout the middle-ages.
In the figure before us, it will be observed that the defence is
continued over the head as a coif or hood, and is surmounted by the
usual conical nasal helmet, or "Casque Normand." The subject of which
this forms part, is the Massacre of the Innocents. The stigma of a
moustache is therefore added, in the same spirit as the beard was
given to Goliath in the preceding example.
[Illustration: No. 34.]
The continuous Coif to the hauberk is seen constantly in the Bayeux
tapestry, (Stothard, Plates X. to XIII.). It occurs also on many of
the seals of the twelfth century, (see our cuts, No. 27, 43 and 44;)
and in vellum-paintings of this time, (see cuts 32, 34, 37 and 38).
The hood of mail made separately from the hauberk does not appear
till the thirteenth century. The short sleeves of this garment are
seen in our woodcuts 25, 32 and 38. Examples of the long-sleeved
hauberk occur in cuts 28, 37, 42 and 43.
The Haubergeon, as the name indicates, was a smaller hauberk; though
it does not appear by the pictorial monuments of the middle ages
in what it especially differed from the latter defence. While Duke
William, preparing for the battle of Hastings,--
"Sun boen _haubert_ fist demander;"
Bishop Odo--
"Un _haubergeon_ aveit vestu."
The Duke was armed with lance and sword; the Prelate--
"Un _baston_ teneit en son poing."
All which seems to shew that Odo was equipped as a light-armed
fighter. And perhaps we may gather from the prominent notice accorded
to his "white tunic," that it was the _shortness_ of the haubergeon
which caused that garment to be so particularly remarked. In
documents of the thirteenth century, the haubergeon is distinguished
from the hauberk and gambeson, taking its place between them. Thus
the Statute of Arms of 1252 directs every man, according to the rate
of his lands and chattels, to provide himself with the _lorica_, or
with the _habergetum_, or with the _perpunctum_. And the Statute
of Winchester, in 1285, makes the same distinction. From Guillaume
Guiart we learn that this garment was of mail:--
"Armez de cotes a leurs tailles,
Et de bons hauberjons a mailles."--_Sub an._ 1304.
And the Teloneum S. Audomari has: "Lorica, IV. denar.; Lorica minor,
quæ vulgo _Halsbergol_ dicitur, II. den."
Body-armour of Leather is found throughout the middle ages. According
to Wace, some of the Norman soldiers in the Conqueror's train had
defences of this material fastened to their breasts:--
"Alquanz unt bones coiriés,
K'il unt à lor ventre liés."--_Line_ 12,809.
And Guillaume le Breton in the "Philippidos" has,--
"Pectora tot _coriis_, tot gambesonibus armant;"--
while a passage cited by Ducange shews us that, sometimes at least,
this cuirass was of leather boiled in oil; a material much in vogue
in the middle-ages, under the name of "cuir boulli:"--
"Cuirie ot bonne, qui fust de cuir boilly."
[Illustration: No. 35.]
A good example of the Scale-armour worn occasionally about the close
of the eleventh century is afforded in the following group, given
by Hefner[199] from a vellum-painting in his possession. The armour
in the original is silvered, and the pendent scales of the foremost
figure are ornamented with bosses of gold. The tunics are white,
shaded with blue. The Princess Anna Comnena tells us that some of
the French knights at this period were clothed in scale-armour[200].
The material of the scale-armour is occasionally Horn. In the twelfth
century, the Emperor Henry V. clothed a body of his troops in an
impenetrable scale-armour of horn: "So trug im Jahre 1115 eine Schaar
im Heere Heinrichs V. undurchdringliche Harnische von Horn[201]." And
in the poem of "Wigalois," written about the close of the twelfth
century, we have a curious description of this horn-mail worn over
the hauberk and richly adorned with gold and precious stones:--
"Ein brunne het er an geleit
Uber einen wizzen halsperch.
Daz was heidenischez werch
Von _breiten blechen hurnin_;
Mit golde waren geleit dar in
Rubin, und manec edel stein
Der glast da wider einander schein
Saffire und berillen."
[Illustration: No. 36.]
The accompanying little figure from Harleian MS., No. 603, fol.
13^{vo}., appears to wear a defence of scale-work, but of what material
it is difficult to say. The original is a pen-drawing only: the
manuscript, of the close of the eleventh century. The figure is further
curious for the mantle fastened at the right shoulder by a fibula.
From the monuments of this time, it does not appear that leg-defences
were general. In the Bayeux tapestry they are accorded only to the most
distinguished personages: in these cases, they are generally marked
with rounds, as the hauberks are, probably indicating chain-mail. In
this tapestry, three other modes of clothing the leg are seen: in some
figures the crossing lines forming lozenges are found, which we have
assumed to be pourpointerie; in others appear the fasciæ, or winding
bands, which we have already observed among the Anglo-Saxons: and in
many, the chausses are merely represented of a single colour, as red,
blue, or yellow; which does not seem to imply armour of any kind. Wace
makes mention of iron chausses:--
"Chevaliers ont haubers è branz,
Chauces de fer, helmes luizanz."--_Line_ 12,813.
They are seen in the great seals of Richard the First, (cut 1,) and
in other monuments of the twelfth century. In this curious group of
David and Goliath, from a German manuscript in the British Museum,
dated 1148[202], we have a singular example of studded chausses: the
chain-work of the hauberk being marked in rows of half-circles, and
coloured grey in the original, the chausses marked in rounds, and
silvered, it becomes clear that the latter garment is of a different
construction from the coat. From its being elastic, as shewn at the
foot, it probably was a defence of pourpointerie, the bossed rivets
being for the purpose of keeping the quilting in its place.
[Illustration:
PLATE XXXVII.]
[Illustration: No. 38.]
Such defences are frequently seen in monuments of the fourteenth
century, and real armour of this fabric will be found among the
Eastern examples in the Tower collection and the United Service
Museum. Where the chausses are not of a defensive construction,
the warrior has commonly short boots, similar to those seen on the
figure of David in the foregoing woodcut. In the following example
they are of a more ornamental character than usual; and the chausses
in this figure are also of a peculiar fashion. The subject is from
Harl. MS. 2803, written about 1170, and represents Goliath. The short
boot occurs likewise on the seals of William the Conqueror and of
Alexander I. of Scotland, (cuts 25 and 27). See also examples from
illuminated manuscripts in our engravings 32, 34 and 36. At the close
of the eleventh century, the fashion of the boots ran into an excess
which much disturbed the equanimity of churchmen and chroniclers.
"Then," says Malmesbury, under the reign of William Rufus, "was
there flowing hair and extravagant dress; and then was invented the
fashion of shoes with curved points." (Bk. iv. c. 1.) This device is
said to have originated with Fulk, earl of Anjou, who sought thus to
hide a deformity of his feet. Ordericus Vitalis, who gives us the
information, adds, that the fashion soon spread, and the shoemakers
made their wares with points like a scorpion's tail: "unde sutores
in calceamentis quasi caudas scorpionum, quas vulgo _Pigacias_
appellant, faciunt." This not being enough, a fellow of the court of
Rufus,--"Robertus quidam _nebulo_ in curia Rufi Regis,"--filling the
peak with tow, twisted it round in the form of a ram's horn; a fancy
much approved by the courtiers, who distinguished the inventor of the
fashion with the surname of Cornardus. (Eccl. Hist., lib. viii.)
[Illustration: No. 39.]
Examples of the Mantle worn over the armour are somewhat rare. The
two following illustrations, from monuments of the twelfth century,
exhibit this arrangement. The first is from a sculptured doorway of
Ruardean Church, in Gloucestershire, and represents St. George. The
cloak is here fastened by a fibula in front. The second subject is
from an enamel preserved at the Louvre. The patriarch Abraham, armed
as a knight, with hauberk and nasal helmet, has his mantle fastened
at the right shoulder. Another subject from this enamel is engraved
in the _Revue Archéologique_, vol. vi., page 99: Heraclius slaying
Cosroes. "Eraclius Rex" is armed exactly like the figure of Abraham
before us, and though engaged in the decollation of the infidel
monarch, still retains the flowing and capacious mantle. See also,
for the cloak of this period, our woodcut No. 36, and "Glossary of
Architecture," vol. ii., Plate LXXIII.
[Illustration: No. 40.]
The characteristic Helmet of this time is the conical nasal helmet,
of which we have seen examples in the close of the former period.
The face-guard, or nasal, was a revival from classic days. Good
examples, of Greek art, appear among the figures on the tympana of
the temple of Minerva at Ægina; careful casts of which have been
placed in the collection at Sydenham. The nasal helmet is found, not
alone in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but occasionally in
every century down to the seventeenth. In the Bayeux tapestry it is
almost universal, the nasal being much broader than that of Greek
times, the crown conical, and not much raised above the head. In
some cases tasselled cords appear at the back of the head-piece (see
Plate XI. of the tapestry), which may have served to fasten it to the
coif below; but the chief fastening of the casque was by means of
laces meeting under the chin. See the seal of William the Conqueror
(woodcut 25), and the excellent example in the Kerrich Collections,
from a sculpture at Modena (Add. MSS., 6728, fol. 17). The round and
flat-topped helmets of the twelfth century have also the nasal. Of
the first an instance occurs in the seal of Patrick Dunbar, earl of
March, engraved in Laing's "Scottish Seals." The second appears in
the figures of the Harleian Roll, Y. 6, (woodcut 32). In seals, it is
often very difficult to tell whether a nasal has existed or not, from
the melting of the wax, and from this defence following so closely
the line of the face. In some rare instances, a sort of peak is used
instead of the nasal, not descending below the eyebrows. See Plate 65
of Hefner's "Costumes;" and compare the figure on folio 9 of Cotton.
MS., Tiber., C. vi., an example of Anglo-Saxon times. To the nasal
helmet, cheek-pieces and a neck-defence were occasionally added.
These pieces are also found on Greek examples, and appear, too, in
modern Eastern armour; as may be seen in the helmet of Tippoo Saib,
preserved in the India House Museum. The casque with neck-piece
appears in the Bayeux tapestry (see Plate IX.), and on the seal of
Stephen de Curzun, (Cotton Charter, V. 49). The nasal helmet with
neck-guard and cheek-defences occurs among the chess-pieces found in
the Isle of Lewis, and now in the British Museum.
[Illustration: No. 41.]
The helmets not having nasals are chiefly conical, round and
flat-topped. The old combed form of Anglo-Saxon times occurs in Harl.
MS. 603, fol. 13^{vo}., a book of the close of the eleventh century.
The Phrygian form appears in Harl. MS. 2800, fol. 21 of vol. ii.,
a work of the close of the twelfth century. The conical casque is
found in the annexed seal of Conan, duke of Britanny, circa 1165:
from Harl. Chart., 48, G. 40. The round-topped helmet is seen on the
first seal of Richard I., (woodcut 1, fig. 1,) and in many examples
in Cotton MS., Titus, D. xvi. The cylindrical or flat-topped helmet
appears to have come into fashion towards the close of the twelfth
century. In its earliest form it resembled that on the second seal
of Richard I., (woodcut 1, fig. 2,) and the similar examples figured
in Stothard's Monuments, Plate XXIV., and Surtees' Durham, vol. i.
p. 24, and vol. ii. p. 139. In all these examples the casque is
of one piece, having two horizontal clefts for vision, and being
strengthened by bands crossing each other over the face and on the
top. The Durham examples are without ornament, but the helmet of
Richard has a fan-crest, ensigned in its lower portion with a lion.
The seal of Baldwin, earl of Flanders, circa 1191, badly engraved by
Vredius, offers another early example of the flat-topped knightly
helm. The cylindrical casque common in the next century differs from
this in having a _grated ventail_; by which a better supply of air
could always be obtained by the warrior, and a still more abundant
provision occasionally acquired by opening the ventaglia, which to
this end was constructed with hinges at the side. Some varieties
of the casque worn during the twelfth century may be seen in the
_Archæologia_, vol. xxiv., copied by Sir Frederic Madden from the
Isle of Lewis chess-pieces in the British Museum. Among these will be
remarked the "Iron Hat," with its round crown and flat rim, of which
we have already traced the descent from the _petasus_ of classic
times[203]. Sometimes the helmets are surmounted with a kind of knop
or button; as in the picture given by Silvestre from a Latin Horace
in the Paris Library[204]; in the seal of William the Conqueror, in
the Bayeux tapestry, and in the Spanish manuscript of the year 1109
in the British Museum, (Add. MS. 11,695, fol. 194).
The fan-crest represented in the seal of Richard I. is a very early
instance of a fashion which came into more favour towards the close
of the thirteenth century. Fan-crests, as we have seen, were in use
among the Ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, and again
among the Anglo-Saxons. But they do not appear during the rule of
the Norman kings in England till the end of the thirteenth century;
except in this single instance of Richard's seal. It may perhaps be
doubted if the monarch ever wore such a decoration: an embellishment,
perhaps, added by the seal-engraver from some monument of classic
times. This seems the more likely from the fact that, in classic
examples, the union of a fan-crest with a casque adorned on its sides
with an animal form, is of constant occurrence. Among a thousand
examples that might be cited, we may quote, as a readily accessible
authority, Montfaucon's _Antiquité Expliquée_, vol. i., Plate XLII.
At a later period of the middle-ages, this combination is again
found: the helmet on the seal of Reinald, Graf von Geldern in 1343,
has a striking resemblance to that of Richard: a lion is figured on
the part surmounting the crown of the head, and over that again is
placed the fan-crest. A copy of this monument may be seen in the
useful series of "Ancient Seals" in the collection at Sydenham. Early
examples of the casque ornamented with a heraldic device on its
_surface_ are offered by the enamelled tablet at Le Mans, attributed
to Geoffry of Anjou, (Stothard, Plate II.,) and the effigy of "Johan
le Botiler," circa 1300, engraved in our woodcut No. 74.
The Shields of this period are chiefly the kite-shaped, the triangular,
and the round. The first two are sometimes flat, and sometimes bowed;
the round are flat or convex. The kite-shield is of most frequent
occurrence during the earlier part of the period under examination, the
triangular during the latter. As the round target was most convenient
for the foot-fighter, so the kite-shield, broad in its upper part, so
as to cover the body of the warrior, and narrow where the leg only
required to be defended, and where the position of the knight on his
horse necessitated a tapering form, seems to have been most in favour
with the horseman. The bowed kite-shield is very distinctly shewn in
many cotemporary monuments: in Cotton MS., Titus, D. xvi., of the close
of the eleventh century; in the curious pyx from the collection of the
late T. Crofton Croker, Esq., engraved in the "Gentleman's Magazine"
for 1833; in Harl. MS., 2895, fol. 82; in the enamelled figure
attributed to Geoffry of Anjou; and in the seals of King Stephen,
(woodcuts 30 and 42). The Princess Anna Comnena, at the close of the
eleventh century, tells us that the shields of the French crusading
knights were of this fashion:--"For defence they bear an impenetrable
shield, not of a round, but of an oblong shape; broad at the upper
part and terminating in a point. The surface is not flat, but convex,
so as to embrace the person of the wearer; an umbo of shining brass is
in the middle; and the exterior face is of metal so highly polished by
frequent rubbing as to dazzle the eyes of the beholder[205]."
The flat kite-shield is not always to be identified in the drawings
of the time, because the shadeless outlines of the limners may pass
for either flat or bowed surfaces. But that some at least of those
in the Bayeux tapestry were flat, seems clear from the soldiers
using them as trays on which to set the cups and dishes of their
"Prandium." (See Plate XI.) Ivory carvings also shew the flat
kite-shield: the Isle of Lewis chessmen afford good examples.
As we have seen from the above passage of Anna Comnena, the old
Northern fashion of the boss or umbo was still occasionally retained;
but such an adjunct to a horseman's target seems rather for ornament
than use. The bossed kite-shield occurs in the enamel of Geoffrey
Plantagenet; in the pyx named above; and in Harl. MS. 2895, fol. 82.
[Illustration: GREAT SEAL OF KING STEPHEN.
No. 42.]
In lieu of the convex boss, the shield has sometimes a projecting
spike; as in the great seal of King Stephen, here given; and in the
first seal of Richard I. It occurs also in the seals of William de
Romara (temp. Hen. I.), in the office of the Duchy of Lancaster, and
of a Curzun (Cotton Charter, V. 49).
About the middle of the twelfth century appears the triangular
shield,--a form obtained by reducing the arched top of the kite to
a straight, or nearly straight, line. This variety also was either
bowed or flat; and though the earliest examples are as tall as the
kite-shields of the eleventh century, the triangular target soon
became much reduced in its height. The form of this defence, both the
flat and the bowed kind, may be seen in the seals of Henry II. and
Richard I. (cuts 1 and 44), the figures from Hefner's _Trachten_,
(cut 35), and those from Harleian Roll, Y. 6 (cut 32).
The round shield is of more rare appearance. It occurs in Harl. MS.
603, of the close of the eleventh century; in the Spanish MS. of 1109,
already cited; and in the Psalter of Eadwine, circa 1150. Though the
circular target does not often appear in miniature paintings, it is
probable that it was in frequent use among the foot troops.
The kite and triangular shields were provided with straps for
attachment to the arm and for suspension round the neck. The first
were called _enarmes_:--
"Por la crieme des dous gisarmes,
L'escu leva par les enarmes."
_Wace, Rom. de Rou_, l. 13,450.
"Li Dus vit sa gent resortir:
Par les enarmes prinst l'escu."--_Idem_, l. 13,880.
There was some variety in their arrangement, but the object was
always to attach the shield to the fore-arm: the round target of
the Anglo-Saxons, on the contrary, was held at arm's-length by a
bar grasped by the hand. Examples of the _enarmes_ of this period
may be found in Plate V. of the Bayeux tapestry. See also the seal
of Henry II., (woodcut 43). The _guige_ or strap for suspension has
already been described, as to its purpose, in our first division.
It is represented in our woodcuts 32, 35, 42 and 43. By aid of the
_guige_, the shield, when not in use, could be carried at the back.
An example, of the close of the twelfth century, is offered by a
vellum-painting of Harl. MS. 2800, vol. ii. fol. 21. It is also seen
in the very curious carved church-door from Iceland, figured at page
103 of Mr. Worsaae's "Copenhagen Museum."
The Devices upon the Shields in the earlier part of the period under
examination are devotional or fanciful. In the second half of the
twelfth century, heraldic bearings that became hereditary, began
to appear. The earlier shield-paintings consist of crosses, rounds
or bezants, dragons, interlacing bands, flat tints bordered with a
different hue, or simple flat tints; with some varieties which the
pencil only can explain with clearness. Numerous examples of these
in all their diversity will be found in the Bayeux tapestry, in Sir
Frederic Madden's paper on the Isle of Lewis chessmen, (_Archæol._,
vol. xxiv.) and among the plates of Shaw's "Dresses and Decorations."
The two seals of Richard the First very exactly mark the growth of the
science of heraldry. In the earliest, the monarch's shield is ensigned
with the symbol of valour, a lion. (See woodcut, No. 1). But it is a
rampant lion, and as the bowed shield presents only one half of its
surface to view, it has been conjectured that the complete device would
consist of two lions combatant. This device, whether of one or two
lions, has passed away, among the serpents and knot-work of the earlier
time; but the bearing on Richard's second seal, three lions passant
gardant, retains its place in the royal escutcheon to the present day.
In this second seal of Richard (see woodcut, No. 1, fig. 2), the lion
passant appears also on the helmet of the monarch. Another example of
the repetition of a royal device is afforded by the seal of Alexander
II. of Scotland (circa 1214), where the lion rampant figured on the
shield is repeated on the saddle. (Cotton Charters, xix. 2.)
The shields were often highly decorated with painting, and even, if
we may interpret literally the evidences of chroniclers, with inlaid
jewels. Examples of richly ornamented shields of the twelfth century
may be seen in Shaw's "Dresses and Decorations," and in Harl. MS.
2895, fol. 82. Robert of Aix, in the eleventh century, writing of the
first crusade, tells us that the European knights carried shields
"auro et gemmis inserti variisque coloribus depicti."
On board ship, the knights arranged their shields along the side of
the vessel, so as to form a kind of bulwark. This is very clearly
shewn in Plates II. and X. of the Bayeux tapestry.
And when at length the knight fell in battle, his kite-shield served
him for a bier. The nephew of the emperor Otho having been slain
before Rouen, the Germans--
"O li cors se trahistrent el chief d'une valée;
Sor un escu l'ont miz, la teste desarmée."
_Roman de Rou_, l. 4024.
As we have learned from a preceding passage, the "shaven and
shorn" knights of the Conqueror's time had, in the reign of his
successor, fallen into disrepute as models of fashion. Long hair
came into vogue, called down the anathemas of the Church, suffered
a temporary discredit, and again rose into favour. Malmesbury has a
curious sketch of this fluctuation of fashion. In the twenty-ninth
regnal year of Henry I., he tells us, "a circumstance occurred in
England which may seem surprising to our long-haired gallants, who,
forgetting what they were born, transform themselves into the fashion
of females, by the length of their locks. A certain English knight,
who prided himself on the luxuriancy of his tresses, being stung
by conscience on the subject, seemed to feel in a dream as though
some person strangled him with his ringlets. Awaking in a fright,
he immediately cut off all his superfluous hair. The example spread
throughout England; and, as recent punishment is apt to affect the
mind, almost all military men allowed their hair to be cropped in
a proper manner without reluctance. But this decency was not of
long continuance; for scarcely had a year expired, before all who
thought themselves courtly relapsed into their former vice, vying
with women in the length of their locks, and whenever they were
defective, supplying their place with false tresses[206]." In 1102,
at a council held in London by Archbishop Anselm, it was enacted that
those who had long hair should be cropped, so as to shew part of the
ear and the eyes. Compare also the well-known passage of Ordericus
Vitalis, where he tells us how Bishop Serlo, preaching before Henry
I. and his court, inveighed so successfully against the iniquity of
long locks, that his audience saw the folly of their ways; and the
prelate, seizing the favourable moment, produced a pair of scissors
from his sleeve (_de manticâ forcipes_), and cropped the king and
many of his courtiers with his own hand[207].
From Wace and the Bayeux tapestry we have found that the Beard was
not worn by the Normans at the time of the Conquest, though in
fashion among the Anglo-Saxons:--
"Li Normant * * *
N'unt mie barbe ne guernons,
Co dist Heraut, com nos avons."--_Line_ 12,252.
And the Normans continued their custom till the second half of the
twelfth century. The monumental effigy of Henry II. at Fontevraud
represents him without either beard or moustache. "The beard,"
says Stothard[208], "is painted, and pencilled like a miniature,
to represent its being close shaven." Among the English, however,
the beard was often retained, and became a sort of protest against
the new dynasty[209]. In 1196 William Longbeard, "le dernier des
Saxons," as he is named by M. Thierry, became conspicuous from his
opposition to the Norman rule, the inveteracy of which was manifested
to the world by the excessive length of his beard[210]. At this time,
however, a beard and moustache of moderate dimensions were in vogue
among both races. The effigy of Richard I. at Fontevraud and that of
King John at Worcester offer good examples of this change of fashion.
The WEAPONS in use among the knightly order were the lance, the
sword, the mace, and, towards the middle of the twelfth century, the
axe. The shaft of the Lance was of uniform thickness throughout, the
swell at the grip being a much later invention. The material was
usually ash or pine. Wace, in the _Roman de Rou_, has:--
"Mult i véissiez colps è de fer è d'achier,
Mainte hante[211] de sap è de fresne bruissier[212]."
--_Line_ 4639.
Guillaume le Breton, describing the combat of Richard I. and
Guillaume des Barres, says:--
"Utraque per clypeos ad corpora _fraxinus_ ibat."
And Albertus Aquensis, speaking of the French, tells us: "Hastæ
fraxineæ in manibus eorum ferro acutissimo præfixæ sunt, quasi grandes
perticæ." The heads of the lance were commonly of the leaf-form or
the lozenge; more rarely barbed. All three appear in the Bayeux
tapestry, and are found in many monuments throughout the twelfth
century. Lance-flags (or streamers) of two, three, four, and of five
points are found at the close of the eleventh and during the twelfth
centuries. See Harleian MS. 603, the Bayeux tapestry, and our woodcuts,
Nos. 1, 27, 28, 30 and 37. A curious Eastern example of the use of
the lance-flag is found in the wall-painting of the Ajunta caves, a
work referred to the first century of our era. A fine copy of this
interesting monument has been placed in the Museum of the East India
House. The spear was also a weapon of the inferior troops:--
"Archiers trovent vilainz, dont la terre est planiere,
Ki porte arc è ki hache, ki grant lance geldiere."
_Rom. de Rou_, l. 4680.
Geldon was a name often given to the foot soldiery: "Et ceciderunt
de Israël triginta millia _peditum_:" 1. Kings iv. 10. "Kar il i
chaïrent trente milie de _gelde_."
[Illustration: GREAT SEAL OF KING HENRY II.
No. 43.]
The Sword was of the old form: straight, broad, two-edged, and
pointed. The cross-piece was generally straight: in other cases,
curved towards the blade. Examples of the latter fashion occur in the
great seal of King Henry II., here given; in Harl. MS. 603, _passim_;
and in Cotton MS., Titus, D. xvi. See also our woodcut, No. 41.
The pommel was round, hemispherical, square, lozenge, trefoiled or
cinquefoiled. All these forms may be seen in Harl. MS., 603, Titus,
D. xvi., the Bayeux tapestry, Addit. MS. 11,695, and the effigy of
Henry II., figured by Stothard. This effigy also shews very clearly
the Belt with its buckle, by which the sword was fastened round the
waist. Compare also the second plate of the Bayeux tapestry, where
the form of this short belt is very distinctly exhibited. We have
already noticed that the sword was sometimes worn with its handle
projecting through a cleft in the hauberk, the scabbard being fixed
beneath the hauberk. See cut 34, and Bayeux tapestry, Plate VI. As
in our own day, swords attributed to ancient heroes had an especial
value, and became the most cherished gifts of kings and nobles. Thus,
when Richard Cœur-de-Lion was on his way to the Holy Land, "the
king of Sicily sent to him many presents of great value, consisting
of gold and silver, of horses and cloth of silk. But the king of
England would receive nothing from him, except a little ring, which
he accepted as a token of their mutual esteem. On the other hand,
King Richard gave to King Tancred that most excellent sword which the
Britons call _Caliburn_, and which had been the sword of Arthur, once
the valiant king of England[213]."
The Sword of William the Conqueror became the feudal instrument
by which the Umfrevilles held the lordship of Riddesdale, in
Northumberland:--"In the tenth year of William the Conqueror, Robert
de Umfranvil, knight, obtained from that king a grant of the Lordship,
Valley and Forest of Riddesdale, by the service of defending that part
of the country for ever from Enemies and Wolves, with that Sword which
King William had by his side when he entered Northumberland[214]."
From a very curious drawing in the Psalter of Eadwine, written at
Canterbury in the middle of the twelfth century, and now preserved
in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, we learn the exact
manner in which the soldiery of this day furbished and ground their
swords. The implement for furbishing is in the form of an ordinary
axe-head, fixed in the centre of a rod or staff, which is held by
both hands. This curious subject has been engraved by Mr. Westwood in
his _Palæographia Sacra_.
The Mace does not often appear in the pictorial monuments of the
period. It is, however, seen in the Bayeux tapestry, in the hands of
both armies. The heads are quatrefoil, or of a heart-shape. What Wace
calls the "gibet" is considered to be the mace, and it is carried at
the right-hand side of the knight, to be used when the lance had been
broken:
"Endementrez ke il versa,
Sa lance chaï è froissa,
Et il a le _gibet_ seisi,
Ki a sun _destre bras pendi_."--_Rom. de Rou_, 1. 13,456.
It was also the usual arm of Churchmen when they went to battle; who
sought thus to avoid the denunciation against those "who smite with
the sword." Under the name of _clava_, it is mentioned by Guillaume
le Breton:--
"Nunc contus, nunc clava caput, nunc vero bipennis
Excerebrat."--_Philippidos_, p. 213.
The Axe, which in the Bayeux tapestry is never seen in the hands of
the Norman knights, appears in the twelfth century to have come into
favour among them, for even the kings of this race are said to have
contended with it. Thus Hoveden, describing the valour of Stephen
at the battle of Lincoln, in 1141, says:--"Then was seen the might
of the king, equal to a thunderbolt, slaying some with his immense
battle-axe, and striking down others. Then arose the shouts afresh,
all rushing against him, and he against all. At length, through
the number of the blows, the king's battle-axe was broken asunder.
Instantly, with his right hand, drawing his sword, he marvellously
waged the combat until the sword also was broken. On seeing this,
William de Kahamnes, a most powerful knight, rushed upon the king,
and seizing him by the helmet, cried with loud voice, 'Hither, all of
you, come hither! I have taken the King.'"
In the quotation from the _Philippidos_, above, we have seen that
the double-axe, the _bipennis_, was also in use at this time. Like
the mace, it is of rare occurrence in the pictures of the day, but
several representations of it will be found in Harleian MS. 603, a
Latin Psalter of the close of the eleventh century, probably written
in France.
Among the weapons in use by the common soldiery are the cultellus, the
guisarme, the pike, the bisacuta, the javelin, the sling, the long-bow,
the cross-bow, (at the close of the twelfth century,) and some others
in which fire was the offensive agent. The Cultellus, or coustel, was a
short sword or long dagger, well calculated for use of the foot-troops,
rushing upon the knights who had been unhorsed in the charge of the
cavalry; and equally well adapted for close fight of foot against foot.
A statute of William, king of Scotland, (1165-1214,) shews the identity
of the coustel and dagger: "Habeat equum, habergeon, capitium e ferro,
et cultellum qui dicitur _dagger_[215]." In the fourteenth century,
Knighton has: "Cultellos, quos _daggerios_ vulgariter dicunt, in
_powchiis_ impositis[216]." And Walsingham, in the fifteenth century,
writes: "Mox extracto cultello, quem _dagger_ vulgo dicimus, ictum
militi minabatur[217]." The cultellus, like the sica of classic times,
not only became the weapon of the depredator, but gave its name to that
class; as we see from a statute of the Count of Toulouse in 1152: "Si
quis aliquem hominem malum, quem Cultellarium dicimus, cum cultellis
euntem nocte causa furandi occiderit, nullum damnum patiatur propter
hoc." The Guisarme, which we have already noticed in the previous
chapter, was still in favour in the twelfth century, and is frequently
mentioned by the writers of this period. A striking passage of the
_Philippidos_ brings before us a rich group of the weapons of this
day:--
"Nunc contus, nunc clava caput, nunc vero bipennis
Excerebrat: sed nec bisacuta, sudisve vel hasta
Otia vel gladius ducit."--_Page_ 213.
The contus and the sudis of these lines are pikes, of which the
particular difference from each other would be a vain enquiry for our
times. The clava (mace) and bipennis have been already noticed. The
Bisacuta appears to have been an arm of the pick kind. Père Daniel
cites from a French poet who lived in 1376, these lines:--
"Trop bien faisoit la besaguë
Qui est par les deux becs aguë."--_Mil. Franç._, i. 433.
The phrase, _deux becs_, seems to indicate a form of the kind we have
mentioned, and the exact structure of the weapon is perhaps presented
to us in the well-known brass of Bishop Wyvil, at Salisbury[218].
A letter remissory of the fourteenth century appears to confirm
this view: "Le dit Hue d'un gran _martel_ qu'il portoit, appellé
besague, getta au dit Colart," &c. The head of the martel-d'armes
was constantly, on one or both sides, of this pick or beak form. The
besague was also a carpenter's tool. Thus Wace, on the invasion of
England by the Normans, tells us:--
"Li charpentiers, ki emprès vindrent,
Granz coignies en lor mains tindrent:
Doloères è besaguës
Orent à lor costez pendues."--_Line_ 11,650.
The Sling of this time may be seen, though rudely drawn, in the group
from Add. MS. 14,789, copied in our woodcut No. 37. Compare also cuts
12 and 50. The Javelin is found at the close of the eleventh century;
in the hands of the English in the Bayeux tapestry, and in the French
manuscript, Harl. 603, fol. 60. In the twelfth century it seems to have
fallen into discredit among these nations, though probably employed
to a much later period by the Spaniards[219], with whom it was always
a favourite weapon, and by those races who had retained the rough
fashions and the heroic traditions of their Old-Northern ancestry.
The Long-bow was of the most simple construction: it appears
frequently in the Bayeux tapestry, (Plates XIII., XV. and XVI.;) in
the cotemporary manuscript, Harleian 603, and in many monuments of the
twelfth century. The arrows are usually barbed. A curious variety of
the arrow is seen in the Spanish codex, Addit. MSS. 11,695, written in
1109. This missile, which is frequently represented in the volume, has
three pairs of barbs, fixed at a little distance from each other along
the shaft; a cruel contrivance, which does not seem to have reached
other nations of Europe, and, we may hope, was not long in vogue within
the Pyrennees. Already in the twelfth century the English began to
evince that skill in archery which afterwards gave them such celebrity.
At the siege of Messina by Cœur-de-Lion, as we learn from Richard of
Devizes, the Sicilians were forced to leave their walls unmanned,
"because no one could look out of doors, but he would have an arrow
in his eye before he could shut it." The king himself did not disdain
occasionally to use the bow. When before the castle of Nottingham,
which had been seized by "Earl John," the monarch, says Roger of
Hoveden, "took up his quarters near the castle, so that the archers
therein pierced the king's men at his very feet. The king, incensed at
this, put on his armour, and commanded his troops to make an assault
upon the castle; on which a sharp conflict took place, and many fell on
both sides. The king himself slew one knight with an arrow, and having
at last prevailed, drove back his enemies into the castle, took some
outworks which had been thrown up without the gates, and destroyed the
outer gates by fire[220]."
The practice of archery was encouraged and protected by statute.
Among the enactments of Henry I. of England, it was provided, that if
any one in practising with arrows or with darts should by accident
slay another, it was not to be visited against him as a crime[221].
The Quivers, as represented in the Bayeux tapestry, are without
covers; but on folio 25 of Harl. MS. 603, is a drawing of a quiver
having a cap attached by cords, so that when the quiver is in use,
the cap remains suspended by the strings. The dress of the archers
has been already noticed.
The Cross-bow does not appear to have been recognised as a military
weapon before the close of the twelfth century. The term _balista_, by
which it is described in monkish annals and other writings, is indeed
found at an earlier period; but there is great doubt whether this
earlier balista meant a hand-weapon, or one of those "gyns" derived
from classic times. The later use of the arm seems confirmed by the
fact that it is not found in pictorial representations till about 1200.
There appears to have been an attempt to introduce it at the beginning
of this century, but it was prohibited by papal decree as unfit for
Christian warfare. A council in 1139, under Innocent II., has: "Artem
illam mortiferam et Deo odibilem balistariorum et sagittariorum
adversus Christianos et Catholicos exerceri de cetero sub anathemate
prohibemus[222]." This denunciation was renewed under Innocent III.;
but by this time Richard Cœur-de-Lion and Philippe Auguste had
sanctioned the use of the arm, and the cross-bow was triumphant. Both
Guillaume le Breton and Guiart place the introduction of the weapon at
the close of the twelfth century; and both tell us that Richard was the
first to adopt it, and that Philip followed his example. Describing the
siege of the castle of Boves, Brito says[223]:--
"Francigenis nostris illis ignota diebus
Res erat omnino quid balistarius arcus
Quid balista foret, nec habebat in agmine toto
Rex, quemquam sciret armis qui talibus uti."
And again, writing of the death of Richard I., he makes Atropos speak
thus[224]:--
"Hac volo, non alia Richardum morte perire.
Ut qui Francigenis balistæ primitus usum
Tradidit, ipse sui rem primitus experiatur,
Quamque alios docuit, in se vim sentiat artis."
Guiart has this similar passage:--
"Ainsi fina par le quarrel[225],
Qu' Anglois tindrent à deshonneste,
Li roís Richart, qui d'arbaleste
Aporta premier l'us en France.
De son art ot mal chevance."--_Chron. Métr._, l. 2644.
The form of the arbalest of this time may be seen in our woodcut,
No. 50. It was bent by placing the foot in the loop or "stirrup" at
the extremity, and then drawing the cord upwards with the hands.
At a later period, the bow was made much stronger, and of steel,
then requiring mechanical contrivances to bend it. The arrow of the
cross-bow was shorter and stouter than that of the long-bow. As may
be seen in our woodcut, No. 50, it was feathered; a particular which
is noticed in the _Roman de Garin_:--
"Volent piles plusque pluie par prés,
Et les saiettes et _carriax_ empennés."
This name of Carriaux (quadrelli or quarrels) was given to these
missiles from the four-sided (or pyramidal) form of the head. Thus
Guillaume le Breton, speaking of the death of Richard the First:--
"----Quadratæ cuspidis una
Pendet arundo."
From an ordinance of Theobald, count of Champagne, in the next century
(1256), we learn that the provision of quarrels for a cross-bow was
fifty: "Chascun de la commune dou Neufchastel qui aura vaillant xx.
livres, aura arbaleste en son hostel et quarraus jusqu'à cinquante."
The arrow of the arbalest is sometimes called _vireton_, from the
French _virer_, on account of its rotary flight. Compare the classical
_verutum_, a javelin which owed its name to a similar property. Though
the English appear to have used the cross-bow from near the close of
the twelfth to the end of the thirteenth century, in the succeeding age
the long-bow obtained a signal triumph over its rival.
In the hands of a stout soldiery, indeed, the long-bow is a much
superior weapon; for a dozen arrows may be discharged while the
arbalester is winding up his instrument and fixing a single quarrel:
and the long-bow being a vertical arm, permits a close array, which
cannot be attained with the horizontal cross-bow: again, the long-bow
is a weapon of very light carriage, while its rival, with its thick
bow of steel and its apparatus for bending, is both ponderous and
unwieldy: the size of the quarrels also permitted only eighteen of
them to be brought by each man into the field, ("et auront trousses
empanées et cirées de dix-huit traits du moins:" Ordinance of Charles
VII. of France), while the English archer carried "twenty-four
Scotchmen under his belt." "Les arbalestriers Gennevois," says
Froissart, "commencèrent à traire, et ces archers d'Angleterre firent
voler ces sagettes de grand' façon, qui entrèrent et descendirent si
ouniement sur ces Gennevois que ce sembloit neige. Les Gennevois,
qui n'avoient pas appris à trouver tels archers que sont ceux
d'Angleterre, quand ils sentirent ces sagettes qui leur perçoient
bras, têtes et banlèvre, furent tantôt desconfits[226]." But to
handle the long-bow thus effectively, required a race strong in sinew
and practised in their art: to wind up and discharge a cross-bow was
the feat of a boy.
The Greek fire, still discountenanced among the Christian states
of the West, was in frequent use with the enemies of the Cross in
the East. All the accounts of the Crusades contain instances of its
employment. Of the tubes from which it was discharged we have already
spoken. In the _Bibliothèque des Croisades_ of M. Reinaud[227], we
have the account of a variety of this incendiary agent, from the
pen of an Arabian historian of the Third Crusade, Ibn Alatir. "When
Acre was besieged by the Christians," he tells us, "there came into
the town a man of Damascus, to assist in its defence. He began by
casting upon the towers erected by the besiegers, pots filled with
naptha and other ingredients. These not being alight, fell harmlessly
among the Christians, who laughed at and jeered the Mussulmans for
their seeming failure. Meanwhile, the man of Damascus waited till
the mixture had diffused itself over every part of the tower. Then,
casting forth a lighted missile, in an instant the tower was in
flames, and so rapid and so extensive was the combustion, that the
Christians had no time to descend: men, arms, all was consumed."
From a curious passage of Wace we learn what were the weapons employed
by the peasantry when driven to revolt against their lords. In
describing the insurrection of the "vilains" under Richard the Second,
duke of Normandy, he makes these "bachelers de bele juvente" exclaim:--
"A machues è à grant peus,
A sajetes et as tineus,
As arcs, as haches, as gisarmes,
Et as pierres ki n'ara armes,
Od la grant genz ke nous avum,
Des chevaliers nus desfendum."--_Rom. de Rou_, l. 6043.
The _peus_, or _pieux_, were pikes; the _tineus_ were poles used
to carry the grape-tubs at the vintage, which, when converted into
instruments of war, we may suppose were armed with heads of iron. The
idea of contention by throwing stones is by no means a mere poetical
fancy of our author. Froissart even tells us of a victory achieved
by this means. A band of French knights and nobles going to attack
a section of the Free Companies, these latter posted themselves on
a hill, and being well provided with stones, "cast them so forcibly
upon those who approached, that they broke their bassinets, however
strong they might be, and wounded and maimed the men-at-arms to such
an extent, that none either could or dared to advance further, however
good his shield might be, (tant bien targé qu'il fut). And this first
division was so thoroughly crushed that never again could it do good
service." Reinforcements arriving to the Companies, a more regular
onset was made: "Que vous ferois-je long parlement? De celle besogne
dont vous oyez parler, les François en eurent pour lors le pieur[228]."
In the manufacture of arms, the steel of Poitou had already become
celebrated. John, monk of Marmoustier, who lived in the middle of
the twelfth century, in describing the knighting of Geoffry, duke
of Normandy, tells us that he had a lance of ash, armed with a head
of Poitou steel. Malmesbury distinguishes also Lorraine. "At the
siege of Antioch," he says, "Godfrey of Bouillon, with a Lorrainian
sword, cut asunder a Turk who had demanded single combat, so that one
half of the man lay panting on the ground, while the other half was
carried off by the horse at full speed; so firmly did the unbeliever
keep his seat. Another also, who attacked him, he clave asunder
from the neck to the groin; nor did the dreadful stroke stop here,
but cut entirely through the saddle and the backbone of the horse."
Hungary had at a very early period enjoyed a celebrity for its weapon
manufacture. Charlemagne, writing to Offa of Mercia, offering him
presents for his churches, adds: "And for your own acceptance I send
a belt, a Hungarian sword, and two silk mantles[229]." The method of
hardening steel, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, by immersion,
when red hot, in cold water, may be seen in Theophilus Presbyter,
lib. iii. cap. 19.
The FLAGS AND STANDARDS in use during this period were the prince's
standards, the banner, the pennon, and the small lance-flag or
streamer. The consecrated standard of William I., bestowed by the
Pope, appears to be represented on the ninth plate of the Bayeux
tapestry, where it is figured of a square form and ensigned with
a cross. It was carried near the person of William throughout the
day by the knight Toustain: "Turstinus, filius Rollonis _vexillum
Normannorum_ portavit[230]."
"Et quant li Dus tournout, tournout;
E quant arestout, arestout."--_Wace_, l. 13,807.
It was also used to indicate any danger into which the leader might
have fallen. Thus, when Philip Augustus was unhorsed at the battle of
Bovines, Rigord tells us that his standard-bearer signified the king's
peril by depressing the Royal Standard several times over the spot.
The Dragon-standard, of which we have seen some examples in our first
division, is still found among the Germans and the English. We have
already observed its exact form in the pictures of Harold in the
Bayeux tapestry. It accompanied the hosts of Richard Cœur-de-Lion.
Richard of Devizes, in recording the attack upon the "Griffones" at
Messina, says: "The king of England proceeded in arms: the terrible
standard of the Dragon is borne in front; while, behind the king,
the sound of the trumpet excites the army[231]." Hoveden, under
date 1191, tells us that Richard "delivered _his Dragon_ (_Draconem
suum_) to be borne by Peter de Pratellis." Guillaume le Breton, in
the _Philippidos_, gives to the Emperor Otho a standard formed of a
dragon and an eagle.
"Erigit in carro palum, paloque Draconem
Implicat, ut possit procul hinc atque inde videri,
Hauriat et ventos cauda tumefactus et alis,
Dentibus horrescens rictusque patentis hiatu,
Quem super aurata volucer Jovis imminet ala."
Guiart has a similar passage; adding that the Dragon of the emperor--
"Vers France ot la gueule baée,
Pour le réaume chalengier,
Come s'il deust tout mangier.
Cis Dragons soustint la Bannière
Des connoissances l'emperiere,
Qu'il porte au bel et à loré.
Desus ot un Aigle doré:
C'est _signe de guerre cuisant_."
The Car-standard, or Carrocium, of the English king Stephen has already
been noticed in the sketch of the battle of Cuton Moor, (p. 107.) The
Carrocio of the Milanese was still regarded as their Palladium.
Banners were carried by knights banneret, by the Church Advocati, and
by the Town troops, or Communitates Parochiarum. The knight's banner,
as we have already seen, was square; and, as soon as heraldic devices
became settled, was ensigned with the bearing of the leader to whom
it belonged. Its especial use was to muster and to rally the troops
of the banneret:--
"Cil treis orent treis gunfanuns,
A ralier lur cumpaingnuns."--_Rom. de Rou_, i. 337.
Bishops and abbots appointed knights to defend their possessions,
to lead their contingent, and to fight under their banner. These
advocati in time made their office hereditary. The Counts of Vexin
were the _avoués_ of the Abbey of St. Denis, and the lands of Vexin
coming into the possession of the kings of France, these monarchs
acquired the office of bannerers of the abbey. Thus the plain red
flag of St. Denis became, under the name of the Oriflamme, the most
distinguished banner of the French monarchy.
"L'Oriflamme est une Banniere,
Aucun poi plus forte que guimple:
De cendal roujoyant et simple,
Sans pourctraiture d'autre affaire."--_G. Guiart._
It was Louis le Gros who united the county of Vexin to the crown of
France[232].
A very curious variety of the knightly banner occurs on the twelfth
plate of the Bayeux tapestry; the flag is semicircular, is ensigned
with a bird within a bordure, and has a fringe at the edge. Mr.
Worsaae has suggested that this bird, which appears on the Norman
side, may be the Raven of the Old-Northmen, retained by their
descendants in honour of the deeds of their forefathers.
The banners of the communal troops bore the effigies of Saints,
each parish gathering round the flag on which its particular saint
was portrayed. This usage was as old as the time of Louis VI. of
France: "Tunc ergo communitas in Francia popularis instituta est a
præsulibus, ut presbyteri commitarentur Regi ad obsidionem vel pugnam
cum Vexillis et parochianis omnibus[233]."
The word Gonfanon, Guntfano, so frequently occurring in the writings
of this period, seems to be indifferently applied to the leader's
standard, the knightly banner, and the lance-flag. It has been
derived from the German _kunden_, indicare, and _Fahne_, vexillum; or
from _Fahne_ and the Old-Scandinavian _Gunna_, prœlium. Mr. Kemble
inclines to the latter derivation; see glossary to _Beowulf_, in v.
_Guth_. A capitulary of Charles the Bald gives the name of Gonfanon
to the banner of the Church vassals: "Let our envoys (missi nostri)
see that the troops of every bishop, abbot, and abbess, march forth
properly equipped, and with their Gonfalonier (cum Guntfannonario)."
The standard sent by the pope to William the Conqueror is by Wace
named a gonfanon:--
"L'Apostoile
Un gonfanon li envéia."--_Line_ 11,450.
He gives it also to the barons and more powerful captains:--
"N'i a riche home ne baron
Ki n'ait lez lui son gonfanon;
U gonfanon u autre enseigne,
U il se maisnie[234] restraigne."
In the following passages, it is the lance-flag:--
"Les lances bessent, o sont li gonfanon."--_Rom. de Garin._
"Baisse la lance ou li gonfanon pent."--_Rom. d'Aubery._
"Moult si siest bien au col la lance au gonfanon."
_Rom. de Duguesclin._
The Pennon, as we have before seen, (p. 95,) was the flag of those
knights who had not attained to the dignity of banneret. It appears
to have terminated in a point or points, but its exact form at this
period has not been ascertained. It probably differed in nothing but
its size from the lance-flags seen in the Bayeux tapestry and on the
seals and other monuments of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
Wace, however, in the following passage, seems to use the word in a
more general sense; for it is the Vicomte du Cotentin, lieutenant of
the duke of Normandy, of whom he is speaking:--
"Les li fist un penun porter,
U lur gent pussent recuvrer."--_Rom. de Rou_, l. 7839.
If these various flags were found sufficient to keep together the
troops of an ordinary expedition; in large armaments such as those
of the Crusades, the want of some more general distinction must
soon have been felt. Hoveden therefore tells us, under the year
1188, that the leaders against the Saracens, "for the purpose of
recognising their various nations, adopted distinguishing signs
for themselves and their people. For the king of France and his
people wore red crosses; the king of England and his people, white
crosses; while Philip, earl of Flanders, and his followers, wore
green crosses." The existence of a mode of recognition among troops
at this period is confirmed by the passage of Wace in which he names
the "cognoissances" of the Norman host and their allies:--
"E tuit orent fet cognoissances,
Ke Normant altre conéust,
Et k'entreposture n'éust.
Ke Normant altre ne férist,
Ne Franceiz altre n'océist."--_Line_ 12,816.
The particular nature of the sign of recognition intended by the
chronicler, it is in vain now to inquire. The note of M. Pluquet on
the passage gives "Signes de convention."
The Lance-flag is found throughout the period now under notice. Many
examples occur in the Bayeux tapestry, and in the royal and baronial
seals of the time. The usual device upon it is a cross, a square, a
number of rounds, or stripes of different colours; or the streamer is
of a single tint. It is dentated in two or more cuts, and sometimes
fringed at the edge. See our engraved examples.
The Musical Instruments used in war were the horn, the trumpet, and a
variety of the latter called the _graisle_. Wace mentions all these
in his account of the battle of Hastings:--
"Dez ke li dous ost[235] s'entrevirent,
Grant noise è grant temulte firent.
Mult oïssiez graisles soner,
E boisines è cors corner."--_Line_ 13,135.
The horn of battle of this period is very clearly figured on folio 25
of Harleian MS. 603, a work of the close of the eleventh century. It
is of the common semicircular form. The trumpet (boisine: buccina) is
found, though in a monument of somewhat later date, on the inscribed
slab of "Godefrey le Troumpour," now preserved in the library of the
London Guildhall[236]. Compare also our woodcut, No. 73. The graisle
(from _gracilis_) was, as its name indicates, of a slender form; its
exact fashion has not been ascertained.
The Horse-furniture presents some new features; especially in the
arming of the steed in chain-mail, a practice which appears to have
originated towards the close of the twelfth century. Wace indeed
tells us that William Fitz-Osbert, at the field of Hastings, rode a
steed thus accoutred:--
"Vint Willame li filz Osber,
Son cheval tot covert de fer."--_Line_ 12,627.
But we may well believe that it was rather the necessity of a rhyme
to "Osber" than the usage of the period, that gives us this iron
horse at so early a date. Wace, writing in the second half of the
twelfth century, appears merely to have availed himself of the usual
license of middle-age authorities: to depict a past generation in
the lineaments of his own. The practice of arming the horse does not
seem to have become general till towards the close of the thirteenth
century. A pictorial example of the trapper of chain-mail will be
found in our woodcut, No. 86. The Saddle had a high pommel and
cantle, as may be seen in our engravings of the royal seals of this
period. In many examples of the Bayeux tapestry they form volutes,
(viewed laterally,) exactly like the sides of an Ionic capital. The
saddle-cloth does not appear in this tapestry, but it is found on the
second seal of Henry I., on the seal of King Stephen, and on that of
Louis VII. of France. In these examples it is quite plain; but later
it acquires an ornamental character, as in the seal of Conan, duke of
Britanny, c. 1165, (woodcut 41). It is of a more enriched pattern in
the Great Seal of Henry II., here given.
[Illustration: SECOND SEAL OF KING HENRY II.
No. 44.]
From Wace we learn that the girths and breastplate were named, in the
"Romance" of that day, _cingles_ and _poitrail_:--
"Li peitral del cheval rompi,
E li dui cengles altresi."--_Rom. de Rou_, l. 14,674.
This poitrail has generally, in the period under examination,
pendants attached to it, in the form of rounds,--perhaps grelots. See
woodcuts 1, 25, 28 and 29.
Roman monuments offer similar examples, as in Trajan's Column, the
Pillar of Antonine, and other remains, where the pendants are bells,
crescents, trefoils, rounds, and guttæ. Such collars are found
also in the paintings of the Ajunta Caves, where bells and rounds
alternate. This monument is assigned to the first century of our era.
In the curious Spanish manuscript, dated 1109, in the British Museum,
Addit. MSS., 11,695, the circular pendants occur, attached not only
to the poitrail, but to the saddle (fol. 223). The Bits used for the
war-horse have long cheeks, which are often of an ogee form. The rein
is generally quite plain, though sometimes ornamented with studs, as
in examples in the manuscript last cited.
The Spur was still of a single goad, and fastened by a single
strap. The form of the goad offers some variety: it is leaf-shaped,
conical, lozenge-shaped, and sometimes consists of a ball from which
springs a short spike. A variety is fashioned into a sort of button,
having a slender spike in the centre. The first three kinds are seen
in the Bayeux tapestry and many of the seals of the period. The
ball-and-spike spur is well shewn in the effigies of Henry II. and
Richard I. at Fontevraud, figured by Stothard in his "Monuments." The
last variety may be seen in Addit. MS. 11,695, fol. 223. The shank of
the spur is sometimes straight, as in Anglo-Saxon times: sometimes
curved. The curved form appears in the sculptured effigies of King
Henry II. and Richard I. The spur of Richard the First seems to have
been attached to the strap by rivets.
The Caltrop, or _tribulus_, an instrument derived from classic
times, was in use, but not of frequent employment. Anna Comnena
tells us that the Emperor Alexis strewed them in the path of the
French cavalry; and at a later period, we read of knights fixing
their spurs point upwards in the way of their advancing enemy, after
the manner of caltrops: but this cruel device appears to have been
practised very rarely, and we may venture to believe that it was
generally discountenanced as beneath the dignity and generosity of
true chivalry. At a later period, caltrops were used to strew over
the slope of a breach, to impede the advance of a storming party.
From a very curious passage in the _Roman de Rou_, we learn that the
knight sometimes went to battle _tied to his saddle_:--
"Li reis aveit un soldéier,
Brun out nom, novel chevalier.
Sor son cheval sist noblement,
Apareillié mult richement.
A sa sele fu atachiez,
E par li coisses fu liez," &c.--_Line_ 16,064.
However strange such a device may appear, the mention of it by other
ancient writers forbids us to regard it as a mere vagary of the poet.
Matthew Paris, under the year 1243, recounting the irruption of the
Tartars into Europe, says: "They have horses, not large, but very
strong, and that require but little food, and they bind themselves
firmly on their backs." And, in the fifteenth century, the writer of
the life of Earl Richard of Warwick tells us that, at a justing-match,
his hero was obliged to dismount from his horse, because some of his
adversaries had accused him of being tied in his saddle.
For the Horse itself, Spain appears to have been in the highest favour
for the purity of its breed. Walter Giffard had brought from Gallicia
the steed on which Duke William rode at the field of Hastings:--
"Sun boen cheval fist demander.
Ne poeit l'en meillor trover.
D'Espaigne li out envéié
Un Reis, par mult grant amistié.
Armes ne presse ne dotast,
Se sis Sires l'esperonast.
Galtier Giffart l'out amené,
Ki à Saint Jame aveit esté."--_Rom. de Rou_, l. 12,673.
And in the well-known passage of the Monk of Marmoustier, where he
describes the knighting of Geoffry, duke of Normandy, we are told
that the young hero was "mounted upon a Spanish horse, which had been
presented by the king."
How the horses of the knights were conveyed in ships and disembarked
from the vessels, is curiously shewn in the ninth and tenth plates of
the Bayeux tapestry.
Of the ENGINES employed in sieges, all those mentioned in our first
division appear to have been still in use. The ancient Vinea (Cat or
Sow) is frequently mentioned, and the moveable Tower, or _Beffroi_,
becomes a prominent feature in all the great siege operations of this
century. William of Malmesbury has left us an excellent description of
these two contrivances in his account of the siege of Jerusalem[237]:--
"There was one engine which we call the Sow, the ancients, Vinea;
because the machine, which is constructed of slight timbers, the roof
covered with boards and wicker-work, and the sides defended with
undressed hides, protects those who are within; who, after the manner
of a sow, proceed to undermine the foundations of the walls. There
was another, which, for want of timber, was but a moderate-sized
tower, constructed after the manner of houses. They call it
Berefreid[238]. This was intended to equal the walls in height. And
now the fourteenth day of July arrived, when some began to undermine
the wall with the Sows, others to move forward the Tower. To do
this more conveniently, they took it toward the works in separate
pieces[239], and putting it together again at such a distance as to
be out of bowshot, advanced it on wheels nearly close to the wall.
Meantime the slingers with stones, the archers with arrows, and the
crossbow-men with bolts, each intent on his own department, began
to press forward and dislodge their opponents from the ramparts.
Soldiers, too, unmatched in courage, ascend the Tower, waging nearly
equal war against the enemy with missile weapons and with stones.
Nor indeed were our foes at all remiss, but trusting their whole
security to their valour, they poured down boiling grease and oil
upon the Tower, and slung stones on the soldiers, rejoicing in the
completion of their desires by the destruction of multitudes. During
the whole of that day the battle was such that neither party seemed
to think they had been worsted. On the following, the business was
decided: for the Franks, becoming more experienced from the event
of the attack of the preceding day, threw faggots flaming with oil
on a tower adjoining the wall, and on those who defended it; which,
blazing by the action of the wind, first seized the timber, and then
the stones, and drove off the garrison. Moreover, the beams which
the Turks had left hanging down from the walls, in order that, being
forcibly drawn back, they might, by their recoil, batter the Tower
in pieces, in case it should advance too near, were by the Franks
dragged to them, by cutting away the ropes; and being placed from
the engine to the wall, and covered with hurdles, they formed a
bridge of communication from the Tower to the ramparts. Thus what the
infidels had contrived for their defence, became the means of their
destruction; for then the enemy, dismayed by the smoking masses of
flame, and by the courage of our soldiers, began to give way. These,
advancing on the wall, and thence into the city, manifested the
excess of their joy by the strenuousness of their exertions."
William of Tyre mentions also the use of the beffroi at the
siege of Jerusalem; adding that the side towards the city was so
constructed that a portion of it might be let down, after the manner
of a drawbridge, thus enabling the assailants to enter upon the
walls[240]. Philippe Auguste frequently employed this engine. At the
siege of Château-Roux, in Berry,--
"Cratibus et lignis rudibus _Belfragia_ surgunt
Turribus alta magis et mœnibus."--_Philippidos_, lib. ii.
And again, at the siege of Radepont, in Normandy: "Erectis in
circuitu _Turribus_ ligneis _ambulatoriis_, aliisque tormentis quam
plurimis viriliter impugnavit et cœpit[241]."
King Richard I. constructed also in Sicily a wooden tower, which
he afterwards carried with him to the Holy Land. After forcing the
city of Messina, "the king," says Richard of Devizes, "having but
little confidence in the natives, built a new wooden tower of great
strength and height by the walls of the city, which, to the reproach
of the Griffones, (Greeks,) he called _Mate-griffun_," (sub an.
1190). In 1191, "the king of England, about to leave Sicily, caused
the tower which he had built to be taken down, and stowed the whole
of the materials in his ships, to take along with him." And "on the
third day after his arrival at the siege of Acre," continues Richard
of Devizes, "the king caused his wooden tower, which he had named
'Mate-griffun' when it was made in Sicily, to be built and set up;
and before the dawn of the fourth day the machine stood erect by the
walls of Acre, and from its height looked down upon the city beneath.
And by sunrise were thereon archers casting missiles without ceasing
against the Turks and Thracians."
The name _Mate-griffon_ appears to be derived from the favourite game
of the courtly in these days; "donner eschec et mat" being equivalent
to the "check-mate" of our modern chess-players. Ordericus Vitalis
has a passage curiously illustrative of this subject: "Castrum
condere cœpit, quod Mataputenam, id est, devincens meretricem, pro
despectu Haduissæ Comitissæ, nuncupavit[242]."
In 1160, the Emperor Frederick besieging Crema, in Italy, employed
the beffroi, filling it with chosen troops. He placed crossbowmen
on the upper story, in order that, shooting down upon the walls,
they might clear the parapet of its defenders; while, from the lower
stage, soldiers of tried boldness might fix their drawbridges on the
wall, and advance to the capture of the city[243].
At this same city of Crema, in 1159, occurred an act of patriotism,
admirable from the resolution which inspired it, though terrible
in its consequences. The emperor advanced a Beffroi towards the
beleaguered city, in front of which he placed the youthful hostages
whom he had obtained from the unhappy Cremans, in hopes of thus
forcing the inhabitants to a capitulation. But the citizens,
regardless of all save their liberty, continued to ply their engines
against the tower, though every stone that was cast forth fell in
death among their children[244].
The siege of Ancona, in 1174, offers another instance of heroism in
connection with the belfragium, more pleasing in its circumstances.
The besieged had been successful in their endeavours to beat back the
towers and scatter their occupants; but as these latter still kept up
a steady discharge of missiles from a short distance, no one dared
venture beyond the walls to set fire to the deserted structures. At
last a widow named STAMURA, seizing a torch, advanced into the plain,
and regardless of the storm of bolts and arrows that fell around her,
steadily achieved the task she had undertaken, and having set the
towers in flames, returned in safety to the city[245].
The siege of Ancona is further remarkable for the employment by the
citizens of divers; who succeeded in capturing several of the vessels
engaged in blockading the port. Taking advantage of a strong wind
blowing from the sea, the divers contrived to cut the cables of seven
of the Venetian ships, which then drifted helplessly ashore[246].
The _Vinea_ mentioned in a foregoing extract from Malmesbury, was
called also the Cat. Thus Vegetius: "Vineas dixerunt veteres, quas
nunc militari barbaricoque usu Cattos vocant[247]." Guillaume le
Breton also mentions this machine and its use:--
"Huc faciunt reptare Catum, tectique sub illo
Suffodiunt murum."--_Philipp._, lib. vii.
While, from the Monk of Vau-de-Cernay we learn that the contrivance
was of small dimensions: "Machinam quandam parvam, quæ lingua vulgari
Catus dicitur, faciebat duci ad suffodiendum murum[248]." There
were, however, varieties of the Cat, one of which was used to oppose
the besiegers in the beffroi. Thus Radevicus: "Magnaque audacia,
super muros et in suis machinis quos Cattas appellant, operiuntur,
et cum (oppugnatores) admoverentur pontes, ipsi eos vel occuparent,
vel dejicerent, murumque scalis ascendere nitentes vario modo
deterrent[249]." And another kind was employed by the assailants in
crossing the ditch[250].
The Battering-ram, according to Richard of Devizes, was employed by
Cœur-de-Lion at the siege of Messina: "In the meantime, the king
with his troops approached the gates of the city, which he instantly
forced by the application of the Battering-ram, and entering within,
took possession of every part, even to Tancred's palace and the
lodgings of the French around their king's quarters, which he spared
out of respect to the king."
Among the stone-throwing machines, the Mangona and the Mangonella
are discriminated as casting, the former large, the latter smaller
stones. The monk Abbo has already, in his account of the siege of
Paris in 886, mentioned the
"Mangana----
Saxa quibus jaciunt _ingentia_."
Guillaume le Breton, in the _Philippidos_, tells us:--
"Interea grossos Petraria mittit ab intus
Assidue lapides, Mangonellusque _minores_."
Among the effects recorded of these great projectiles, we may cite
the account of Otto of Frisinga, who tells us that when the Emperor
Frederic attacked Tortona in 1155, a stone was cast from one of the
periers of such magnitude, that, falling before the door of the
cathedral, where three of the principal citizens were in deliberation
on the best means of defending the city, it killed them all[251].
The term _mangonneaux_ is sometimes applied to the stones or other
missiles discharged by the instrument. From the name _mangona_
our word _gun_ appears to be derived: a supposition that seems
strengthened by the fact that the earliest "gonnes," like the
mangonæ, were employed to cast stones.
The terrors of the balistæ were occasionally aggravated by their
being made the instruments of a special vengeance. Thus Malmesbury
informs us that, at the siege of Antioch in 1097, the Turks,
irritated by losses sustained from the besieging Crusaders, "wreaked
their indignation on the Syrian and Armenian inhabitants of the city;
throwing, by means of their balistæ and petraries, the heads of those
whom they had slain into the camp of the Franks, that by such means
they might lacerate their feelings." A somewhat similar incident is
reported by Froissart in his account of the siege of Thun l'Evêque in
1327[252]; so that these cruelties do not appear to be mere tales of
credulous pilgrims, or inventions of monkish chroniclers.
Forts of wood were of occasional employment, the materials of which
were transported from place to place, so that the structure might be
speedily raised. Wace gives us a description of that brought over by
William the Conqueror, and built up at Hastings:--
"Donc ont des nés mairrien[253] geté,
A la terre l'ont traïné,
Trestut percié è tut dolé:
Li cheviles tutes dolées
Orent _en granz bariz_ portées:
Ainz ke il fust bien avespré,
En ont un chastelet fermé."--_Line_ 11,658.
Mines were in use both by Richard I. and Philippe Auguste. At the siege
of Acre in 1191, Richard attacked the city with archers and balistæ:
"But more important than these," adds Devizes, "were the miners, making
themselves a way beneath the ground, sapping the foundation of the
walls, while soldiers bearing shields, having planted ladders, sought
an entrance over the ramparts." The French king employed the mine at
the siege of the Castle of Boves, as we learn from William the Breton.
See also Rigord, page 185. The mines of these days were large caverns
in which pillars of wood supported the incumbent mass. The posts being
smeared with pitch and surrounded with combustibles, fire was then
brought, and the stanchions being consumed, the walls fell in. With
the mine came the counter-mine; an example of which occurs in the
description by Guillaume le Breton of the siege of Château-Gaillard;
where the English, countermining against the French, met them in their
works and drove them back with slaughter:--
"Suffodiunt murum. Sed non minus hostis ab illâ
Parte minare studet factoque foramine nostros
Retrò minatores telis compellit abire."--_Philipp._, lib. vii.
Later, challenges were made, to be fought out in the mines, the
combatants contending over a barrier of wood fixed in the midst. And
Upton tells us that the aspirant to knighthood in a besieging army,
no church being at hand, performed in the mine his vigil of arms.
While the besieging force plied their attack by means of the engines
and mines already noticed, they had begun, in imitation of the
ancients, to construct lines of circumvallation; in order at once to
cut off the citizens from all communication with the open country,
and to defend themselves against the sorties of the town. An example
of this may be seen in the siege of Crema by the Emperor Frederic in
1159[254].
Under the general name of Hastilude (spear-play) were in use several
kinds of MILITARY EXERCISES: the joust, the tourney and the behourd.
"Torneamenta, justas, burdeicias, _sive alia_ Hastiluda[255]." The
joust and the tourney were, in their primary sense, mere modes of
attack. The joust was the charge of a single horseman against a
single antagonist. The tourney was the onset of a troop, who, having
made their charge, turned back to acquire the necessary speed for a
fresh attack. At the siege of Rouen--
"Mult voissiez, forment armez, issir Normanz,
Querre tornoiement è joste demandanz,
E joster è férir de lances è de branz."
_Rom. de Rou_, i. p. 209.
Again, at the siege of Mount Saint-Michael,--
"Mult véissiez joster sovent,
E _torneier espessement_
* * * * *
Chescun jor, al flo retraiant,
Vunt chevaliers jostes menant."--_Ibid._, ii. p. 314.
The Behourd (_Bohordicum_) was an exercise with lance and target, of
which the distinctive character has not been ascertained. "Trepidare
quoque, quod vulgariter _biordare_ dicitur, cum _scuto et lancea_
aliquis clericus publicè non attentet[256]."
Military games, whose object was to familiarize the soldier in time of
peace with the usages of war, had been long known. They were practised
in classic times: they were in vogue, as Tacitus tells us, among
the ancient Germans: they were pursued in Germany, as we learn from
Nithard[257], in the ninth century. But that splendid and costly image
of battle called a Tournament is not found earlier than the epoch which
we are now considering. Several nations lay claim to its invention,
but none offer such good proofs as the French. The Chronicle of Tours
expressly says, under the year 1066: "Gaufridus de Pruliaco (Preulli),
qui torneamenta invenit, apud Andegavum occiditur." And the Chronicle
of St. Martin of Tours has a similar passage: "Anno Henrici Imp. VII.
et Philippi Regis VI. fuit proditio apud Andegavum, ubi Gaufridus de
Pruliaco et _alii barones_ occisi sunt. Hic Gaufridus torneamenta
invenit." Matthew Paris, again, names the tournament "conflictus
Gallicus." And Ralph of Coggeshall has: "Dum, more Francorum, cum
hastis vel contis sese cursim equitantes vicissim impeterent."
Tournaments seem to have first obtained favour in England in the
troublous times of Stephen[258]. They were, however, discountenanced
by Henry II., and the young aspirants to military renown were forced
to seek in other lands the opportunity of distinguishing themselves.
"Tyronum exercitiis in Anglia prorsus inhibitis, qui forte armorum
affectantes gloriam exerceri volebant, transfretantes, in terrarum
exercebantur confiniis[259]." Under Richard I. they again began to
flourish, and from that time to the end of the middle ages, though
often discountenanced by kings and churchmen, they enjoyed the highest
favour among all who practised or admired knightly deeds and military
splendour. "After the return of King Richard to England," says Jocelin
of Brakelond, under the year 1194, "licence was granted for holding
tournaments; for which purpose many knights met between Thetford and
St. Edmund's, but the Abbot forbade them. They, however, in spite of
the Abbot, fulfilled their desire. On another occasion, there came
fourscore young men with their followers, sons of noblemen, to have
their revenge at the aforesaid place; which being done, they returned
into the town to put up there. The Abbot hearing of this, ordered
the gates to be locked, and all of them to be kept within. The next
day was the vigil of Peter and Paul the Apostles. Therefore, having
promised that they would not go forth, they all dined with the Abbot on
that day. But, after dinner, the Abbot having retired to his chamber,
they all arose and began to carol and sing, sending into the town for
wine, drinking and then screeching, depriving the Abbot and convent
of their sleep, and doing everything in scorn of the Abbot; spending
the day, until the evening, in this manner, and refusing to desist,
even when the Abbot commanded them. When the evening was come, they
broke open the gates of the town and went forth bodily. The Abbot,
indeed, solemnly excommunicated them all, yet not without having first
consulted Hubert, at that time justiciary; and many of them came,
promising amendment and seeking absolution."
The more regular tournaments, however, were controlled by royal
ordinances. They were restricted in England to five localities:
namely, between Sarum and Wilton, between Warwick and Kenilworth,
between Stamford and Wallingford, between Brakeley and Mixeberg, and
between Blie and Tykehill. And, as nothing in these days could be
done without a fine to the king or a tax to the pope, every earl had
to pay twenty marks for his privilege to appear as a combatant; every
baron, ten; every knight having a landed estate, four; each knight
without such estate, two; and all foreigners were excluded[260].
In France, under Philip Augustus, tournaments appear to have been
held on a large scale, as Père Daniel has remarked, from the incident
of Philip having suddenly procured at an assemblage of this kind,
troops sufficient to repel an unexpected attack on Alençon[261].
It is not within the province (if it were in the limits) of this
work, to give any detailed account of tournaments and their usages;
for at this period and long after, the defensive armour used for the
joust (as shewn by the pictorial monuments of the time) differed in
no respect from that worn in battle[262].
In the curious sketch of London in the twelfth century by
Fitzstephen, an eye-witness of the incidents he records, we have a
spirited notice of the military exercises of the young citizens in
these days. "Every Sunday in Lent, after dinner, a company of young
men go into the fields, mounted on war-horses:--
----in equis certamine primis:
each of which
Aptus et in gyros currere doctus equus.
The lay sons of the citizens rush out of the gates in crowds,
equipped with lances and shields (_lanceis et scutis militaribus_);
the more youthful with blunt spears; and they engage in sham fights
and exercise themselves in military combats. When the king happens
to be near the city, most of the courtiers attend, and the varlets
(_ephebi_) of the households of earls and barons who have not yet
attained knighthood, resort thither to try their skill. The hope of
victory animates every one. The spirited horses neigh; their limbs
tremble; they champ the bit; impatient of delay, they fret and paw
the ground. When at length
----sonipedum rapit ungula cursum,
the young riders, having been divided into companies, some pursue
their fellows, but are unable to overtake them; others push their
companions out of the course and gallop beyond them.
"In the Easter holidays they have a game resembling a naval conflict.
A target is fastened to a post in the middle of the river: in the prow
of a boat, driven along by oars and the current, stands a young man who
is to strike the target with his lance: if, in hitting it, he break his
lance and keep his position unmoved, he gains his point, his wish is
fulfilled; but if his lance be not broken by the blow, he is tumbled
into the river and his boat passes by. Two boats, however, are placed
there, one on each side of the target, and in them a number of young
men, to take up the tilter when he emerges from the stream. On the
bridge and in chambers by the river-side, stand the spectators:--
----multum ridere parati.
"During the Summer holidays the young men exercise themselves in
leaping, in archery, wrestling, stone-throwing, casting javelins
beyond a mark, and in fighting with shields."
In the Winter, skaters, "binding under their feet the shin-bones
of some animal, take in their hands poles shod with iron, which at
times they strike against the ice, and are thus carried along with
the rapidity of a bird on the wing, or a bolt discharged from a
cross-bow. Sometimes two of the skaters having by mutual agreement
placed themselves far apart, come together from opposite sides: they
meet, and with their poles strike each other: one or both fall, not
without some bodily hurt: even after their fall, they are carried
along to a great distance from each other by the velocity of the
motion; and whatever part of their heads comes in contact with the
ice, is laid bare to the very skull. Frequently the leg or arm of the
person who falls, if he chance to light on either, is broken. But
youth is an age eager for glory and desirous of victory: thus, in
order to distinguish themselves in real fight, these tyros contend
with so much boldness in counterfeit battle."
Among the exercises glanced at in this sketch of the Londoner's
sportive year, the Quintain is conspicuous. This was especially the
game of the "non-noble," and might be practised either on horseback
or on foot. The more ancient quintain was merely a post or a shield
fixed on a pole, which the tyro attacked in lieu of a living
antagonist. But a new element was soon given to the quintain, which
at once brought it into favour with the populace: it was so contrived
as to inflict summary punishment on the inexpert. To one kind, a bag
of sand was fastened, which, whirling round from the force of the
blow struck at the opposite end, buffeted the tilter who was not
expeditious enough to get out of its way. Others were made in the
form of a Turk, armed with sword and shield; and these, moving on a
pivot as before, inflicted a smart blow on the lagging assailant.
In another variety, a large tub of water was fixed on a post, which
discharged its contents on the person of any clumsy jouster. Other
kinds are described and figured in Strutt's Sports. And in the
little village of Offham, in Kent, may still be seen an example of
the quintain, which is fixed "opposite to the dwelling-house of the
estate, which is bound to keep it up[263]." It now consists of a
post, having a cross-piece moving on a pivot, terminating at one end
with a broad perforated board, and at the other with a pendent log of
wood. The log, however, seems to have been substituted for a "bag of
sand," which is mentioned in old accounts of this relic.
"Besides the practice of feats of arms," says John of Salisbury,
writing in the reign of Henry II., "the young knight should qualify
himself for the duties of his station by a variety of toil and
exemplary abstinence. From the beginning he must learn to labour,
run, carry heavy weights, and bear the sun and dust: he must use
sparing and rustic food: he must accustom himself to live in tents,
or in the open air." Then, turning upon the luxurious and effeminate
knights of his day, he upbraids them in a diatribe which gives us a
singular picture of the manners of this age. "Some," he says, "think
that military glory consists in the display of elegant dress, in
wearing their clothes tight to the body, so binding on their linen
or silken garments that they seem a skin coloured like their flesh.
Sitting softly on their ambling horses, they think themselves so
many Apollos. If you make an army of them, you will have the camp of
Thaïs, not of Hannibal. Each is boldest in the banqueting-hall, but
in the battle every one desires to be the last: they would rather
assail the enemy with arrows than come to close fighting. Returning
home without a scar, they sing triumphantly of their battles, and
boast of the thousand deaths that wandered near their temples. If
diligent idleness can procure any spears, which, being brittle as
hemp, should chance to be broken in the field; if a piece of gold,
minium, or any colour of the rainbow, by any chance or blow should
fall out of their shields; their garrulous tongues would make it an
everlasting memorial. They have the first places at supper. They
feast every day splendidly, if they can afford it, but shun labour
and exercise like a dog or a snake. Whatever is surrounded with
difficulty, they leave to those who serve them. In the meantime, they
so gild their shields, and so adorn their tents, that you would think
each one, not a learner, but a chieftain of war[264]."
[Illustration: PORCHESTER CASTLE, HAMPSHIRE.
Built about 1150.
No. 45.]
[Illustration:
PLATE XLVI.
KNIGHTLY EFFIGY in HASELEY CHURCH, OXFORDSHIRE.]
FOOTNOTES:
[152] The events depicted in the Bayeux tapestry have been carefully
identified and described by M. Lancelot in the _Mémoires de l'Acad. des
Inscrip._, viii. 602. This paper has been reprinted by M. Thierry among
the _Pièces justificatives_ of his _Conquête de l'Angleterre_, vol. i.
[153] Antoine de la Sale, cited by St. Palaye, _Anc. Chevalerie_, i.
118.
[154] Liv. vi. c. 25.
[155] Vol. i. p. 70. See other Rolls of an early date in the _Traité
du Ban_ of the _Sieur de la Roque_.
[156] Sub an. 1386.
[157] Henault, i. 177.
[158] New Rymer, vol. i. p. 37.
[159] Collect, des Ordonnances, viii. 640.
[160] Madox, Hist. Excheq., 435 seq.; Rigord, sub an. 1183. See also
Du Cange or Adelung.
[161] Statute of Philip IV. sub an. 1285.
[162] Daniel, Mil. Fran., ii. 95.
[163] Figured by Daniel, by Lenoir, by Willemin, and by Guilhermy.
[164] Having hauberks.
[165] The shore.
[166] Lib. i. cap. 25.
[167] Répub. Ital., vol. ii. p. 84.
[168] Topographia Hiberniæ.
[169] Iter Cambriæ, c. 3.
[170] Philippidos, l. 5.
[171] Wilkinson, i. 356, ed. 1854.
[172] Of the Orkneys, says Hoveden; of Durham, according to Wendover.
[173] _Panza_, abdomen, alvus; whence _Panzeria_, lorica quæ ventrem
tegit. Adelung. _Pansière._ Fr.
[174] Cited by Sir Frederic Madden in _Archæologia_, vol. xxiv. p. 259.
[175] Speculum Regale, p. 405.
[176] _Germ._ Iupe; _Fr._ Jupe.
[177] Noregs Konunga Sögor, iv. 298.
[178] Hoveden, sub anno 1175.
[179] Men of Poix, in Picardy.
[180] From _ingruens_.
[181] foulé.
[182] auprès de lui.
[183] Alexiad., bk. v.
[184] par ruse.
[185] charging impetuously.
[186] Henry of Huntingdon.
[187] Ordericus Vitalis, p. 769.
[188] Gaufridus Malaterra, lib. ii. c. 33.
[189] Wien's kaiserliches Zeughaus.
[190] Mem. de la Soc. Royale des Antiq. de France, iv. 277. Nouv. Série.
[191] Collections in British Museum, Add. MSS., No. 6731.
[192] Archæol. Journ., vol. ii. p. 409.
[193] Waller, Part xiii.
[194] Hollis, Part iv. Plate VII.
[195] Vocis etymon a veteri Germanico quidam accersunt, _Wamba_,
venter; vel a Saxonico _Wamb_, quod idem sonat: ita ut _Wambasium_
fuit Ventrale, ventris et pectoris tegmen, quod Germanni _Wammes_
vocant.--Adelung sub v. _Gambeso_.
[196] Plac. Cor., 13 Edw. I.
[197] V^e. Livraison: Bible de St. Martial.
[198] Folio, 73 verso.
[199] _Trachten_, Part I., Plate XII.
[200] _Alexiad_, p. 397.
[201] Raumer's _Hohenstauf_: in Von Leber's _Wien's kaiserliches
Zeughaus_, p. 507.
[202] Add. MSS., 14,789, fol. 10. The date appears in the colophon.
The figures copied in our engraving form part of an illuminated
letter: hence the constrained attitude of Goliath. David has in his
left hand a sling; at his belt is the pouch for the sling-stones.
[203] See page 112.
[204] Paléogr. Univ., Pl. CLXXX.
[205] Alex., lib. xiii. p. 314.
[206] Will. of Malmesbury, Mod. Hist., bk. i.
[207] Eccl. Hist., lib. xi.
[208] Monum. Eff., p. 6.
[209] "Cujus genus avitum ob indignationem Normannorum, radere barbam
contempsit."--Math. Paris, p. 127.
[210] "Recalcitrante Willelmo, cognomento _cum barbâ_."--Math. Paris.
"Cognomento _à la barbe_."--Math. of Westminster.
[211] shaft.
[212] briser.
[213] Hoveden, sub an. 1191.
[214] Blount's "Antient Tenures."
[215] Cap. 23.
[216] Sub an. 1348.
[217] Hist., p. 252.
[218] Waller, part ix.
[219] See Guiart, _Chron. Mét._, pt. ii. v. 10,518, and Froissart,
vol. ii. p. 572, ed. Buchon.
[220] Sub an. 1194.
[221] Laws of Henry I., c. 88.
[222] Cap. 30.
[223] Philippidos, lib. ii.
[224] Philippidos, lib. 5.
[225] Arrow of the cross-bow.
[226] Chron., ed. Buchon, i. 237.
[227] Vol. iv. p. 264.
[228] Chron., i. 547.
[229] Malmesbury, lib. i. c. 4.
[230] Ordericus Vitalis, p. 501.
[231] Sub an. 1190.
[232] Henault, i. 179.
[233] Ord. Vitalis, lib. xi.
[234] His retainers; from _mansio_.
[235] les deux osts.
[236] Engraved in Boutell's Christian Monum., pt. i. p. 100.
[237] Sub anno 1099.
[238] Berfredus, belfredus, beffroi. See Ducange and Adelung.
[239] Compare Froissart, vol. ii. p. 444, ed. Buchon.
[240] Lib. viii. c. 12.
[241] Rigord.
[242] Lib. xii.
[243] Radevicus Frising., lib. ii. c. 59.
[244] Ibid., lib. ii. c. 47.
[245] Boncompagni Obsidio Anconæ, cap. iv. p. 931.
[246] Obsid. Anconæ, c. iv. p. 931.
[247] Lib. iv. c. 15.
[248] Hist. Albig., cap. xlii.
[249] Lib. iv. c. 63.
[250] See Adelung in v. _Catus_.
[251] De Gestis Frid., lib. ii. c. 17.
[252] Vol. i. p. 102.
[253] The timbers.
[254] Radevicus Frising., lib. ii.
[255] Charta Edw. I. apud Prynne, cited by Ducange.
[256] Concilium Albiense, cap. xv.
[257] Lib. iii. p. 27.
[258] See William of Newbury, lib. v. cap. 4.
[259] Newbury. This is confirmed by Hoveden.
[260] Harl. MS. 69.
[261] Milice fran., i. 124.
[262] All that may be desired on this subject will be found in
St. Palaye's _Mémoires sur l'ancienne Chevalerie_, the treatises
of Ménestrier, La Colombière, Honoré de Sainte-Marie, Favin, the
_Thurnierbuch_ of Rüxner and Feyerabend, and of Schlichtegroll,
Champollion's _Tournois du roi René_, Maximilian's Triumph,
Ducange's notes to Joinville and article in Glossary, Adelung in v.
_Torneamentum_, and Strutt's Sports.
[263] Hasted's Kent.
[264] Polycraticus, 181.
PART III.
THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
The authorities which throughout the last division of our inquiry
have served us as guides--seals, vellum-paintings, metal-chasings,
ivory-carvings, and the writings of chroniclers and poets--are still
available to us: but in the thirteenth century a new and most valuable
source of information is offered by the numerous knightly effigies
which are found in cathedral and chantry, in wayside chapel and lofty
monastery. These sepulchral figures, of the proportions of life, are of
especial value to the student of military costume, permitting him to
follow his inquiry into the minutest detail. Not a belt nor a lace, not
a buckle nor a strap, but he can trace the exact form and assign the
particular purpose of it. Whether the effigy be a statue or "a brass,"
he finds in it abundant material for furthering his inquiry; and while
from the illuminations of cotemporary manuscripts he obtains precise
information on the point of _colour_, in the effigy he sees the exact
moulding of each knightly adjunct, and the smallest pattern that adorns
the smallest ornament of the knightly equipment. The military brasses
of this century are but few; but the statues, in stone, in wood, or
in Purbeck marble, are scattered through our English counties in
surprising numbers. The value of these national memorials is beginning
to be understood: the crumbling figure is no longer permitted to perish
in the open churchyard, to lie in fragments among the rubbish of the
belfry corner, to form the ridiculous ornament of the churchwarden's
grotto or the squire's glyptotheck. With pious care it is restored to
the sacred fane from which it had been abstracted; it again becomes
part of the chancel or chantry beneath whose pavement lie the bones
of him of whom church, chantry, and statue are alike the monuments.
But from the very consideration which has been newly accorded to these
memorials, has arisen a fresh danger: it has, in some cases, been
thought expedient to submit them to a so-called restoration. They have
been patched up with Roman cement, eked out with supplementary limbs,
plastered over with mock Purbeck marble. The mistakes that have been
committed in costume, equipment, and art-treatment, are more fit for
the pages of a jest-book than those of a sober treatise; and it is
scarcely necessary to say that, for any purpose of the historian, the
archæologist, or even in the more narrow view of ancestral portraiture,
the statue has become, under such a treatment, utterly valueless. Yet
our task is so simple. We have only to preserve. Inheritors of the
finest series of national ancestral memorials that Europe can boast,
let us at least transmit to after-days, in all their integrity, the
admirable works that have come down to us through the troubles and
turmoils of seven centuries[265].
Throughout the thirteenth century the feudal and mercenary TROOPS
continued to be employed together. But towards the middle of this
period, the Italian cities, combating for their liberties, began to
levy their men-at-arms from the non-noble class as well as from the
knightly; a force which, under the name of _Conduttitij Soldati_,
obtained in the next age a very wide celebrity.
[Illustration: No. 47.]
Besides the mounted men-at-arms or heavy cavalry, there were
light-horse troops formed by the mounted archers and cross-bowmen,
and the esquires attending upon the knights. The example here given
is from Roy. MS. 20, D. 1, fol. 127, a work of the close of the
thirteenth century[266].
The foot-troops or _Sergents de pied_ consisted principally of archers,
cross-bowmen and spearmen. There were also the _Sergens d'armes_ or
heavy-armed body-guard, Coustillers, Slingers, Bidaux, and Brigands
or Ribauds; to which may be added the varlets or pages, who followed
their knightly masters into the field, now fighting lustily in the
_mêlée_, now bearing off the wounded body of their lord to some place
of solace and safety. Clientes and Satellites were general names given
to the inferior troops of the feudal and communal levy, including both
horse and foot. There was nothing approaching to a uniform costume for
the soldiery, though occasionally we find a leader seeking to identify
his men by some addition to their dress, as a cross, a scarf, or other
similar token. In 1264, Simon de Montford "ordered his troops to fasten
white crosses on their breasts and backs, above their armour, in order
that they might be known by their enemies, and to shew that they were
fighting for justice[267]." In this case, however, the motive seems to
have been, less the desire of a mark of recognition among friends, than
the assumption, so common in warlike undertakings, of a holy motive
for manslaughter. In the following passage from Guiart relating to
the battle of Mons-en-Puelle, the object is more distinctly that of
friendly recognition:--
"Pour estre au ferrir reconnuz,
Vilains, courtois, larges et chiches,
Sont de laz blans et de ceintures
Escharpés sur leurs armures.
Neis li ribaut les ont mises,
Faites de leurs propres chemises."--_Vers_ 11,059.
Of the Man-at-arms and his barded charger we obtain an admirable
definition from the _Chronicon Colmariense_ under the year 1298:
"Armati reputabantur qui galeas ferreas in capitibus habebant, et qui
wambasia, id est, tunicam spissam ex lino et stuppa, vel veteribus
pannis consutam, et desuper camisiam ferream, id est, vestem ex
circulis ferreis contextam, per quæ nulla sagitta poterat hominem
vulnerare. Ex his Armatis centum inermes mille lædi potuerunt:
habebant et multos qui habebant dextrarios, id est, equos magnos,
qui inter equos communes quasi Bucephalus Alexandri, inter alios
eminebat. Hi equi cooperti fuerunt coopertoriis ferreis, id est,
veste ex circulis ferreis, contexta. Assessores dextrariorum habebant
loricas ferreas: habebant et caligas, manipulos ferreos, et in
capitibus galeas ferreas splendidas et ornatas, et alia multa quæ
me tæduit enarrare." The armour of these sturdy warriors we shall
presently examine piece by piece.
The _Sergens à pied_ (_Servientes_) included the mass of the troops
beneath the knightly dignity. Guillaume Guiart arms them with the
lance and crossbow:--
"----bon serjanz i a
A arbaletes et a lances."
_Chronique Métrique_, 2^e. partie, vers 8567.
And the same weapons are assigned to those levied by the _ordonnance_
of Philip of France in 1303: "Et seront armés les sergens de pie de
pourpoint et de hauberjons, gamboison, de bacinez et de lances: Et
des six, il y en aura deux arbalestriers[268]."
The _Sergens d'armes_, (_Servientes Armorum_,) whose establishment in
the twelfth century we have already observed, (page 100,) continued
to form the royal body-guard throughout the present age. In 1214 they
especially distinguished themselves at the battle of Bovines, as we
find recorded by the monument (before noticed) in the church of St.
Catherine. The inscription of the monument, though itself not earlier
than the beginning of the fifteenth century, probably relates very
exactly the circumstances of their victory, and of the foundation
of the church. It is as follows:--"A la priere des Sergens darmes
Mons^r. Saint Loys fonda ceste Eglise et y mist la premiere pierre:
Et fu pour la joie de la vittoire qui fu au Pont de Bouines lan Mil.
CC et XIIII. Les Sergens darmes pour le temps gardoient ledit pont et
vouerent que se Dieu leur donnoit vittoire ils fonderoient une eglise
en lonneur de Madame Sainte Katherine. Et ainsi fu il." A statute of
Philippe le Bel in 1285 limits the number of these guards attending
the court to thirty: "Item, Sergens d'armes, trente, lesquels seront
à Cour sans plus." From the same statute we learn that one of their
weapons at this time was the crossbow: "Ils porteront toujours leurs
carquois pleins de carreaux."
[Illustration: No. 48.]
The Archer was becoming every day of more importance in the field;
and if the bow was an efficient arm in battle, it was still more
so in sieges, and the defence of strongholds and mountain-passes.
From various Statutes of Arms we find that a portion of the military
tenants are ordered to be provided with the longbow and arrows. The
Statute of Winchester, in 1285, directs that each man "a quaraunte
soudeesz de terre e de plus jeqs a cent souz, eit en sa mesun espe,
ark, setes e cutel.... E tuz lez autres qui aver pount, eient arcs e
setes hors de forestes, e dedenz forestes arcs e piles." Compare the
statute of the 36th year of Henry III., printed in the _Additamenta_
of the History of Matthew Paris[269]. The costume of the ordinary
archer, defended only by his _chapel de fer_, appears to be depicted
in our woodcut, No. 50, from Harleian MS. 4751, fol. 8, written at
the commencement of this century. That the English occasionally
mixed their bowmen with the cavalry, we have the express testimony
of Matthew Paris: "Viri autem sagittarii gentis Anglorum equitibus
permixti." In many illuminations of this time they appear fully armed
in hauberk and helm, as in the miniature here given from Royal MS.
20, D. 1, fol. 307. See also our woodcut, No. 82, a group from the
Painted Chamber of the palace at Westminster, where the archer wears
a hauberk and coif of chain-mail. These examples of heavy-armed
bowmen are fully borne out by written testimony. We have already
observed Richard Cœur-de-Lion plying his arrows under the walls of
Lincoln, (p. 157); and Otto Morena has, "Ipse Imperator optime sciens
sagittare, multos de Cremensibus interfecit." (p. 58.) For further
pictorial examples of archers of this century, see Royal MS. 2, B.
vi. fol. 10; and 20, D. i. ff. 60, 87, 150 and 285.
By a curious volume of "Proverbs" of the thirteenth century, printed
from a manuscript of that date in the _Vie privée des François_[270],
we learn that "the best archers are in Anjou." Other proverbial
celebrities of this manuscript are: Chevaliers de Champagne, Ecuyers
de Bourgogne, Sergens de Hainaut, Champions d'Eu, Ribauds de Troyes.
The provision of an equipped archer to attend the king in his wars, is
the frequent sergeantry for lands at this time; and the particulars
attached to the service occasionally partake of that whimsicality
found in other tenures of the period. It is curious also to trace
the changes which these charters undergo in a small lapse of years,
as they come under the inspection of the jurors appointed to enforce
their engagements. Thus, the service for the manor of Faintree, in
Shropshire, in 1211, is "a foot-soldier, with a bow and arrows, for the
king's army in Wales." In 1274 the soldier is bound to stay with the
host only "till he has shot away his arrows." In 1284 the archer has
"to attend the king in his Welsh wars, with a bow, three arrows, and a
'terpolus[271].'" This terpolus, or tribulus, was probably an "archer's
stake," not the mere small iron _caltrop_, of which the provision of
one only by each archer would be of little use in impeding a charge
of cavalry. The duty of the bowman who had only to stay in the field
till he had shot away three arrows was sufficiently easy; but on other
occasions the archer did not escape so lightly. The manor of Chetton,
co. Salop, supplies in 1283 an archer for the king's host in Wales, who
is to take with him a flitch of bacon, and to remain with the army till
he has eaten it all up[272].
[Illustration: No. 49.]
The Cross-bowman was an essential component of the host during
all this period. He was in the van of battle. "Balistarii semper
præibant," says Matthew Paris[273]; and there is scarcely a conflict
mentioned by this chronicler in which the arbalester does not play a
conspicuous part. In the battle near Damietta, in 1237, "more than a
hundred knights of the Temple fell, and three hundred cross-bowmen
(_arcubalistarii_), not including some other seculars, and a large
number of foot-soldiers[274]." The Emperor Frederic in 1239,
giving an account of his Italian campaign to the king of England,
writes: "After we had by our knights and cross-bowmen reduced all
the province of Liguria[275]," &c. In 1242 the Count de la Marche,
refusing to do homage to Amphulse, the brother of the French king,
"swelling with anger and with loud threats, accompanied by his wife
Isabella and surrounded by a body of soldiers, broke through the
midst of the Poictevin cross-bowmen, and having set fire to the
house in which he had dwelt, suddenly mounted a horse and took to
flight[276]." St. Louis, marching to meet the English in Poitou, had
an army in which there were "about four thousand knights splendidly
armed to the teeth, besides numbers of others, who came from all
directions, flocking to the army, like rivers flowing into the sea;
and the number of retainers and cross-bowmen was said to be about
twenty thousand[277]." The opposing forces of the English king
consisted of "sixteen hundred knights, twenty thousand foot-soldiers,
and seven hundred arbalesters."
The Cross-bowmen were of several kinds, some mounted, some on foot.
The mounted balistarii in King John's time were those possessing one
horse, those having two horses (_ad duos equos_[278]), and others
having three horses[279]. In 1205 the king sends to the sheriff
of Salop, "Peter, a balister of three horses, and nine two-horse
balisters," who are to be paid 10_s._ 4_d._ per day (the whole ten).
The usual pay at this time was: to the cross-bowman with two horses,
15_d._ per diem; with one horse, 7-1/2_d._ per day; and to the
foot-balister, 3_d._ per day.
The quarrels for the crossbows were carried after the army in carts.
Thus Guillaume Guiart:--
"Arbaletriers vont quarriaux prendre,
A pointes agues et netes,
Qui la furent _en trois charrettes_
Venues par mesire Oudart."--_Année_ 1303, p. 291.
The bows themselves, with other weapons and defences, were also
carted after the host, and termed the "artillery" of the expedition:--
"Artillerie est le charroi
Qui par duc, par comte ou par roi
Ou par aucun seigneur de terre
Est charchié (chargé) de quarriaux en guerre,
D'arbaletes, de dars, de lances,
Et de targes d'une semblance."--_Guiart_, an. 1304.
Notwithstanding the services rendered in the front of the battle
by the cross-bowmen, and the other foot-troops; whose post was the
more perilous from their being but slightly provided with defensive
equipment; the knightly body of their own party made no scruple
to ride them down whenever they stood in the way of the glory or
ambition of the equestrian order. At Courtray in 1302, the French
foot having gallantly repulsed the Flemings, Messire de Valepayelle
cried to the Count of Artois,--
"Sire, cil vilain tant feront
Que l'onneur en emporteront."--_Guiart_, pt. ii. v. 6132.
And forthwith the men-at-arms
"Parmi les pietons se flatissent,
Qu'a force de destriers entr'ouvrent:
Des leurs meismes le champ queuvrent,
Et merveilleux nombre en estraignent."
This is confirmed by the _Grandes Chroniques_: "Nos gens de
pie savancent, si auront la victoire et nous ny aurons point
d'onneur[280]." All our readers will remember the similar fate
of the Genoese cross-bowmen at Cressy: "Or tôt, tuez toute cette
ribaudaille, qui nous empêche la voie sans raison[281]."
The arbalester sometimes appears in heavy armour, as in our
woodcuts, Nos. 49 and 50. And Matthew Paris has: "Arcubalistarii
circiter sexaginta loricati[282]." The provision of quarrels for
each cross-bowman of the communal force was fifty, as we learn from
the charter of Theobald, count of Champagne in 1220: "Chascuns de
la Commune de Vitré qui aura vaillant XX. livres, aura aubeleste en
son ostel et quarriaux L." The office of "Master of the Arbalesters"
became one of the chief dignities of the French army, and was
conferred only on persons of the highest rank. Thibaut de Monleart
held this charge under Saint Louis, and in the _Milice Françoise_
of Père Daniel will be found a complete list of the "Maîtres des
Arbalêtriers de France" till the days of Francis I., when the office
ceased[283]. The little window in city or castle wall, through which
the bolts of the crossbow were discharged, was called _arbalestena_.
For other pictures of the cross-bowman of the thirteenth century than
those given in our woodcuts, Nos. 49 and 50, see Add. MS. 15,268,
fol. 122, and Roy. MS. 20, D. 1, fol. 361^b.
The Coustiller, employed, as we have seen, at Bovines in 1214,
continues in request throughout this century; and will be found
again in the pages of Froissart, taking part in the battles of the
succeeding age.
[Illustration:
PLATE L.]
The Slinger is still of occasional occurrence. In this very curious
group from Harl. MS. 4751, fol. 8, a work of the early part of
the thirteenth century, the slinger appears without any defensive
armour, and his weapon differs in no particular from the sling of
Anglo-Saxon times, as shewn in our woodcut, No. 12. Besides the
ancient Cord Sling, there appears in the manuscripts of this century
a variety of the arm, the Staff Sling. It seems to have been in vogue
for naval warfare, or in the conflicts of siege operations. The
example here engraved is from Strutt's Horda, vol. i. plate 31; the
authority being a MS. of Matthew Paris of this century, preserved in
the library of Benet College, Cambridge. Other examples of the Staff
Sling are given in Strutt's Sports, bk. i. chap. 2.
[Illustration: No. 51.]
The Bideaux (_bibaldi_) were foot-troops fighting without defensive
armour, whose usual weapons were a spear, javelins and a coutel.
Guiart exactly describes them:--
"De Navarre et devers Espaingne
Reviennent Bidaux a granz routes.
En guerre par accoustumance
Portent deux darz et une lance,
Et un coutel a la ceinture:
D'autres armures n'ont cure."--_Pt._ ii. _verse_ 10,518.
The Ribaux or Brigans were the humblest of the troops, and by their
extreme poverty were driven to acts of depredation which eventually
made their very name synonymous with marauder. They carried such
weapons as they could obtain:--
"Li uns une pilete[284] porte,
L'autre croc ou macue torte.
* * * * *
L'un tient une epee sans feurre,
L'autre un maillet, l'autre une hache."--_Guiart_, v. 6635.
They are not only without armour, but their equipment altogether is
in a very tattered condition:--
"Et Ribaldorum nihilominus agmen inerme,
Qui nunquam dubitant in quævis ire pericla."
_Philippidos_, lib. iii.
"Leurs robes ne sont mie neuves,
Ainz semble tant sont empirées
Que chiens les aient déciriées."--_Guiart_, v. 6640.
Matthew Paris names them with but little honour: "Ribaldi et viles
personæ[285]." They were, however, by no means useless members of the
host. Thus, when Philippe Auguste appeared before Tours in 1189: "Dum
Rex circumquaque immunita civitatis consideraret, Ribaldi ipsius,
_qui primos impetus in expugnandis munitionibus facere consueverunt_,
eo vidente, in ipsam civitatem impetum fecerunt," &c.[286]
They were made to assist in carrying the baggage of the army:
"Inermes Ribaldos et alios, qui solent sequi exercitum propter onera
deportanda[287]." And, being unprovided with defensive armour,
whenever they obtained any booty, the "soudoyers," who were better
equipped than they, attacked them and appropriated their prizes:--
"Mais li Soudoiers de Biaugiers,
Qui d'armes ne sont mie nuz,
De ce qu'ils portent les desrobent."--_Guiart_, v. 10,826.
The _Roi des Ribauds_ was an officer appointed to restrain the excesses
of the Ribaldi, and is mentioned in many documents of France from the
time of Philip Augustus to that of Charles VI. At the battle of Bovines
in 1214, Roger de Wafalia is named in the list of prisoners as falling
to the share of the King of the Ribauds: "Rogerus de Wafalia. Hunc
habuit Rex Ribaldorum, quia dicebat se esse servientem."
The names Clientes and Satellites were employed, as we have before
mentioned, to indicate generally the inferior troops, whether horse
or foot. At the battle of Bovines, the Clientes are a mounted corps,
armed with sword and spear:--
"----Et quos Medardicus abbas[288]
Miserat immensâ claros probitate Clientes
Terdenos decies quorum exultabat in armis
Quilibet altus equo gladioque horrebat et hastâ."
_Guil. le Breton._
In the following passage, the Clientes seem to be foot-troops. It is
from the History of Dauphiny, where, in 1283, Humbert promises to
assist the Archbishop and Chapter of Vienne: "contra omnes homines,
suis propriis sumptibus et expensis, cum centum hominibus armatis in
equis, et cum tercentis balistariis, et septingentis clientibus cum
lanceis."
Satellites appear at Bovines, both mounted and on foot. The horse
seem to have formed a light corps, and were employed to begin the
combat. They are looked upon, however, with much contempt by the
opponent _knights_; who, disdaining to advance against an ignoble
foe, receive the charge without quitting their post. "Præmisit,"
says Rigord, "idem Electus[289], de consilio Comitis S. Pauli, CL.
Satellites in equis ad inchoandum bellum, ea intentione ut prædicti
milites egregii invenerint hostes aliquantulum motos et turbatos.
Indignati sunt Flandrenses ... quod non a Militibus sed a Satellibus
primo invadebantur: nec se moverent de loco quo stabant, sed eos
ibidem expectantes acriter receperunt," &c. These troops, we are
told, were from the valley of Soissons, and combated both on foot
and on horseback. "Erant Satellites illi probissimi, de valle
Suessionensi, nec minus pugnabant sine equis quam in equis."
Not only were Spies in use, but, what somewhat disturbs one's
confidence in the exalted simplicity of these times, it had already
been discovered that the fair sex might be employed with advantage in
this office. The heroic Edward I., in his campaign against the Welsh
in 1281, gives a shilling to a "certain female spy" for her services:
"Cuidam spiatrici, de dono, xij. denarii[290]." And again, a pound
to another of these useful ladies, "to buy her a house:" "Cuidam
spiatrici, ad unam domum sibi emendam, de dono, xx. s.[291]"
From the various Statutes of Arms of this century we learn very exactly
the equipment of the military tenants. Three of these statutes for
England have been preserved: that of 1252, in the Additamenta of the
Historia Major of Matthew Paris, and printed in Rymer's Fœdera; that
forming part of the Statute of Winchester in 1285, printed by the
Record Commission in vol. i. of the "Statutes of the Realm;" and that
of 1298, printed in the new edition of the Fœdera, vol. i. p. 901. The
Scottish enactments will be found in Skene's _Regiam Majestatem_, and
the French in the _Collection des Ordonnances_.
The Assize of 1252, 36 of Hen. III., closely resembles that of 1285;
but in the first the equipment is of six varieties, while in the second
there are seven classes of armed men. To avoid repetition, we shall
give the earliest of these statutes in the text, and add the readings
relating to the armour from the Statute of Winchester in a note.
The Sheriffs, with two knights elected for that purpose, are to go
round the hundreds, cities, &c., and call before them the "cives,
burgenses, liberè tenentes, villanos et alios, ætatis quindecim
annorum usque ad ætatem sexaginta annorum; et eosdem faciant omnes
jurare ad arma, secundùm quantitatem terrarum et catallorum[292]
suorum; scilicet: Ad quindecim libratas terræ, unam loricam, capellum
ferreum, gladium, cultellum et equum[293]: Ad decem libratas terræ,
unum habergetum[294], capellum ferreum, gladium et cultellum: Ad
centum solidatas terræ, unum purpunctum, capellum ferreum, gladium,
lanceam et cultellum[295]: Ad quadraginta solidatas terræ et eo
amplius usque ad centum solidatas terræ, gladium, arcum, sagittas
et cultellum[296]. Qui minus habent quam XL. solidatas terræ, jurati
sint ad falces, gisarmas, cultellos et alia arma minuta[297].
"Ad catalla sexaginta marcarum, unam loricam, capellum ferreum,
gladium, cultellum et equum[298]: Ad catalla XL. marcarum, unum
haubercum, capellum ferreum, gladium et cultellum: Ad catalla XX.
marcarum, unum purpunctum, capellum ferreum, gladium et cultellum:
Ad catalla novem marcarum, gladium, cultellum, arcum et sagittas: Ad
catalla XL. solidarum et eo amplius usque ad decem marcas, falces,
gisarmas, et alia arma minuta[299].
"Omnes enim alii qui possunt habere arcus et sagittas extra forestam,
habeant: qui verò in forestâ, habeant arcus et pilatos[300]."
View of arms is to be taken by the mayors, bailiffs and provosts of
the cities and towns[301]. Constables to be appointed to command
the force. Tournaments and behourds forbidden:--"Clamare faciant
Vicecomites, &c. quod nulli conveniant ad turniandum vel burdandum,
nec ad alias quascunque aventuras." And none to appear armed except
those specially appointed.
The distinction between the kinds of arrow to be used within and
without the forest bounds, is curious, and not altogether clear at this
distance from the days of archery. The fatal power of the barbed shaft
upon the king's deer is indeed evident enough, but the comparatively
innocuous character of the piled arrow is not so plain. The usage,
however, is well attested by numerous instances. In the Statute of
arms of William the Lion, king of Scotland, we have: "Et omnes alii,
qui habere poterunt, habeant arcum et sagittas extra forestam: infra
forestam, arcum et pyle[302]." And by an agreement made in 1246
between Roger de Quinci, earl of Winchester, and Roger de Somery,
touching certain rights of chace in Bradgate Park, co. Leicester, it is
stipulated "quod Forestarii sui non portabunt in bosco prædicti Rogeri
de Somery et hæredum suorum sagittas barbatas sed pilettas[303]."
Shakespere, who illustrates everything, has a passage bearing on this
subject among the rest. Under the greenwood tree of the forest of
Arden, the Duke, in "As you like it," addresses his companions:--
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison?
And yet it irks me, the poor dappled fools
(Being native burghers of this desert city)
Should, in their own confines, with _forked heads_
Have their round haunches gored."--_Act_ ii. _Sc._ 1.
And the fatal effects of the forked head are familiar to us all in
the case of the
"----poor sequester'd stag,
That from the hunter's aim had ta'en a hurt,"
coming to languish away its life
"On the extremest verge of the swift brook."
The feudal levy of the Ban and Arrière-ban was of course much
influenced by the pressure of the occasion requiring their armament.
In 1205 King John, in a Council held at Winchester, called upon every
tenth knight in the realm to accompany him into Poitou, at the
expense of the other nine; and if, during his absence, the country
should be invaded, every man capable of bearing arms was to join in
its defence, under pain of forfeiting any lands he might hold; or, if
not a landowner, of becoming, with all his posterity, a _slave_ for
ever, and paying a yearly poll-tax of four-pence. Each knight was to
receive two shillings per day[304]. This expedition did not, however,
leave our shores.
When Philip of France was preparing to attack King John in 1213, the
English monarch summoned all his "liberos homines et servientes, vel
quicunque sint," to aid him under pain of culvertage[305].
In 1264, when the Earl of Leicester mustered his forces on Barham
Downs to resist the threatened invasion of Queen Eleanor, the military
tenants were ordered, under pain of felony, to bring into the field not
only the force specified in their tenures, but all the horsemen and
infantry in their power: every township was compelled to send eight,
six, or four footmen well armed with lances, bows, swords, cross-bows,
and axes, who should serve forty days at the expense of the township;
and the cities and burghs received orders to furnish as many horsemen
and footmen as the Sheriff should appoint[306].
The Pay assigned to troops who, having contributed the stipulated
service for their holdings or assessments, were required to render
further assistance to the king in his wars, we discover in the Roll
of Expenses of King Edward I. at Ruddlan Castle in Wales, in 1281-2.
From this curious document, which is printed in full in the sixteenth
volume of the Archæologia, we find:--
_The Pay of_ _Per Diem._ _In modern money._
A knight 12 Pence 15 shillings
An esquire 12 Pence 15 shillings
An archer 2 Pence 2s. 6d.
A cross-bowman 2 Pence 2s. 6d.
A captain-of-twenty } 4 Pence 5s. 0d.
(bowmen) }
A constable (of 100 } 6 Pence 7s. 6d.
bowmen) }
"Saturday the fifth day of January, paid to the Lord Engolrane,
serving with the Lord John de Deynile and his four Esquires, for
their wages from the first day of April to the fourth day of
June, for lxv. days xix. _li._ x. _s._
"To the same, for the pay of his fifth Esquire, for xxiv. days:
xxiv. _s._
"To the said five Esquires, for their pay, for fifteen days
following the fourth of June lxxv. _s._"
* * * * *
"Paid to Geoffry le Chamberlin, for the wages of twelve
cross-bowmen (_balistariorum_) and thirteen archers
(_sagittariorum_) for xxiv. days, each Cross-bowman receiving by
the day iv. _d._, and each Archer ij. _d._ vii. _li._ viii. _s._"
Here the arbalester gets double the wages of the archer, but in the
following and other instances, his pay is the same.
"To Guillemin and his comrade, Cross-bowmen, for their wages, for
twenty-one days, at ij. _d._ by the day xxi. _s._"
On one occasion, Guillemin and his companion receive sixpence per
day: but this is altogether an unusual sum.
The archers were divided into bands of twenties, and over each was
placed a Captain. To every hundred bowmen, with their captains, was
appointed a Constable.
"To Master R. Giffard, for the wages of one Constable of foot,
receiving vi. _d._ per day, and of fifty-three Archers, with two
Captains of Twenties, for three days xxix. _s._
* * * * *
"To Robert Giffard, ---- for the wages of forty-three Captains of
Twenties, each receiving iv. _d._ per day," &c.
There were also Constables of Cavalry, perhaps commanding mounted
archers, and their pay is set down at twelve pence per day.
Occasionally the constables have a command of two hundred men, and
sometimes it sinks as low as fifty. The ordinary number, however, is
a hundred.
Of the Armed Town-Watch in England we obtain some particulars from
the "Breve Regis" of the 36th Hen. III. "Henry, king, &c. to such
or such a sheriff, greeting. Be it known to you that, for the
maintenance of our peace, it has been provided in our Council, that
watch shall be kept in every city, borough and town of your county,
from Ascension Day to the Feast of St. Michael; to wit: that in
every city, six armed men (_armis munitos_) shall watch at every
gate: in every borough, twelve men: in every town (_in singulis
villis integris_) six men, or at least four, likewise furnished with
arms, according to the number of the inhabitants. They shall watch
continually throughout the night from sunset to sunrise; so that all
strangers seeking to pass through, may be detained till morning. And
then, if he be a loyal man (_fidelis_), he shall be set at liberty;
if a suspected person (_suspectus_), he shall be delivered over to
the Sheriff, to be by him kept in a place of safety. But if it happen
that strangers of this latter sort refuse to allow themselves to be
stopped, then the aforesaid Guards shall raise the hue against them
on all sides, and shall follow them with all the inhabitants of the
place (_cum tota villata_) and places adjacent, raising the hue and
cry 'de villa in villam' until they be taken[307]," &c. The manner
of the hue and cry is set down in the "Articuli[308]." "Pursuit by
hue and cry to be made according to the ancient and proper form, so
that those who neglect to follow the cry may be taken as accomplices
of the evil-doers, and delivered to the Sheriff. Moreover, in every
town, four or six men, according to the number of the inhabitants,
shall be appointed to make the hue and cry with promptitude and
perseverance, and to pursue evil-doers, if any should appear, with
bows and arrows and other light weapons (_et aliis levibus armis_);
which weapons ought to be provided for the custody of the whole town,
and to remain for the use of the aforesaid town. And besides the
foregoing, there shall be provided out of each hundred, two free and
loyal men of most influence, to be over them, and to see that the
watch be duly made, as well as the pursuits aforesaid."
Compare the regulations for the Watch of the city of Paris, contained
in an ordinance of Saint Louis in 1254; printed in the _Collection
des Ordonnances_.
The feudal constitution of armies was necessarily modified in different
countries by the nature of the territory, the habits of the people, and
the wealth of the state. In Germany, where the class of nobles was more
restricted than in France and England, the foot-troops were at an early
period regarded with consideration. In hilly countries, where the breed
of horses was of a small stature, a light-armed cavalry was the most
available force. While, in the fastnesses of mountains, the pikes and
halberds of a sturdy infantry compensated for the want of horses and
the poverty of a rugged territory.
The Scottish army in 1244, Matthew Paris[309] tells us, was "very
numerous and powerful, consisting of a thousand armed knights, well
mounted, although not on Spanish or Italian, or other costly horses,
and well protected by armour of steel or linen; and about a hundred
thousand foot-soldiers, who were all of one mind, and who, having
made confession, and been encouraged by the consoling assurance of
their preachers, that the cause in which they were engaged was a just
one and for their country's good, had very little fear of death."
In 1298 Wallace contending against Edward I. in person, formed his
pikemen, who were the strength of his army, into four circular
bodies[310], connected together by a number of archers from the
Forest of Selkirk. Before them he planted a defence of palisades:
behind them, the cavalry was stationed. In front of all was a morass,
dividing them from the English. The latter, having passed the night
on the bare heath, in the morning advanced to the attack. Their
first division, commanded by the Earl Marshal, from its ignorance
of the ground, soon became entangled in the morass. The second, led
by the Bishop of Durham, wheeled round the swamp and came in sight
of the Scottish cavalry, when the prelate ordered his men to await
the arrival of the other bodies. "To thy mass, bishop!" exclaimed
one of his knights, and rushed on the enemy. They gave way at the
first charge; the bowmen were trampled under foot, but the four
bodies of pikemen opposed on all sides an impenetrable front. The
bravest resistance, however, could not restore the fortune of the
day. Edward advanced his archers, supporting them with his military
engines, an opening was made in each circle, the men-at-arms dashed
in among the disordered pikemen, and the battle was won[311]. This
conflict, fought near Falkirk, on the 22nd of July, 1298, affords
one of innumerable instances, shewing that little reliance can be
placed in the numbers of the slain given by even cotemporary writers.
Trivet reports the loss of the Scotch at twenty thousand; Matthew of
Westminster raises it to forty thousand.
The Welsh, keeping up their hostilities to their Norman invaders,
reserved their aggressive operations till the wet and stormy
season of the year, when the land was unfit for the manœuvres of a
heavy-armed cavalry, and the gloomy days favourable for the sudden
onslaught of mountain warriors. "Videntes tempus hyemale madidum sibi
competere," says Matthew Paris[312].
The rich cities of Italy, as we have seen, began about the middle
of this century to employ stipendiary men-at-arms; and it seems
probable that the first of these knightly soldiers were those of the
equestrian class who, from political disgust or family feuds, had
become refugees in the territory of their new masters. The good wages
and the booty obtained by these gentle mercenaries induced others of
a more humble class to take up the trade, and under skilful leaders
(the well-known Condottieri) they obtained fame, fortune and honours.
The Basques were at this time among the most prominent of the
mercenary troops, acting as a light corps, for which their
mountain-life rendered them very apt. They were the Swiss of the
thirteenth century.
Among our northern neighbours we obtain a glimpse of the
Frieslanders, through the means of the indefatigable Matthew Paris.
"These Frieslanders," he says, "are a rude and untamable people:
they inhabit a northern country, are well skilled in naval warfare,
and fight with great vigour and courage on the ice. It is of the
cold regions of these people, and their neighbours the Sarmatians,
that Juvenal says, 'One had better fly hence, beyond the Sarmatians
and the icy ocean,' &c. The Frieslanders, therefore, having laid
ambuscades among the rush-beds along the sea-coast, (in their war
with William of Holland,) as well as along the country, which is
marshy--and the winter season was coming on--went in pursuit of the
said William, armed with javelins, which they call _gaveloches_,
in the use of which they are very expert, and with Danish axes and
pikes, and clad in linen dresses covered with light armour. On
reaching a certain marsh they met with William, helmeted, and wearing
armour, and mounted on a large war-horse covered with mail. But, as
he rode along, the ice broke, although it was more than half a foot
thick, and the horse sank up to his flank, becoming fixed in the
mud of the marsh. The trammelled rider dug his sharp spurs into the
animal's sides to a great depth, and the noble, fiery beast struggled
to rise and free himself, but without success. Crushed and bruised,
he only sank the deeper for his efforts, and at length by his
struggles he threw his rider among the rough slippery fragments of
ice. The Frieslanders then rushed on William, who had no one to help
him from his position, all his companions having fled, to avoid a
similar disaster; and attacking him on all sides with their javelins,
despite his cries for mercy, pierced his body through and through,
which was already stiffened with wet and cold. He offered his
murderers an immense sum of money for ransom of his life, but these
inhuman men, shewing no mercy, cut him to pieces. And thus, just as
he had a taste of empire, was the Flower of Chivalry, William, king
of Germany and count of Holland, the creature and pupil of the Pope,
hurled, at the will of his enemies, from the pinnacle of his high
dignity to the depths of confusion and ruin[313]."
Clerics are still found participating the dangers and glories of
the battle-field; not alone as councillors or leaders, but sturdily
wielding the deadly mace, and clad in hauberk and helm, like the
lay vassals and men-at-arms around them. We have already seen the
Bishop of Durham leading a division of the English at the battle of
Falkirk. At the great battle of Bovines, in 1214, the French army was
commanded by Guerin, bishop-elect of Senlis; and there too, armed
to the teeth, and plying the cleric weapon, the mace, contended
that bishop of Beauvais, whom we have, on a former occasion, seen
the prisoner of Richard Cœur-de-Lion. At the siege of Milan, in
1238, "the bishop-elect of Valentia, who knew more of temporal than
spiritual arms, hastened with the knights whom the counts of Toulouse
and Provence had sent to assist the emperor[314]." In 1239 the
Emperor Frederic, writing to the king of England, complains of the
Pope becoming a general and his monks men-at-arms, to wrest from him
his crown of empire. "He hath openly declared himself the leader and
chief of the war against us and the empire, making the cause of the
Milanese and other faithless traitors his own, and openly turning
their business to suit his own interests. Moreover, he appointed as
his lieutenants over the Milanese, or rather the papal, army, the
before-mentioned Gregory de Monte Longo and brother Leo, a minister
of the Minorite order, who not only girded on the sword and clad
themselves in armour, presenting the false appearance of soldiers;
but also, continuing their office of preaching, absolved from their
sins the Milanese and others, when they insulted our person or those
of our followers[315]." Father John of Gatesden boldly throws aside
alb and chasuble to don the knightly hauberk and chausses in good
earnest. "Anno Domini 1245, King Henry passed Christmas at London,
and observed the solemnities of that festival in the company of many
of his nobles. At that place, on Christmas-day, he conferred the
honour of knighthood on John de Gatesden, a clerk, who had enjoyed
several rich benefices; but who, as was proper, now resigned them
all[316]." In the contest for the empire in 1248, the army raised
against Conrad by the legate, "was commanded by the archbishops of
Mayence, Metz, Lorraine and Strasburg, and consisted of innumerable
bands from their provinces and from Friesland, Gothland, Russia,
Dacia, and from the provinces of Germany and those adjoining who had
_received the cross_[317]," &c. For it was part of the papal tactics
to invest the soldiers who fought in the quarrels of the Holy See
with the sacred dignity of Crusaders. In the revolt of the Scots
under Bruce in 1306, among the prisoners captured by the English were
the Abbot of Scone and the Bishops of St. Andrew's and Glasgow, all
taken in complete armour[318].
The leading principle in the TACTICS of this century was, with the
exceptions already noticed, to compose the _strength of the army_
of the knightly order. It was the knight who fought in the terrible
mêlée of the battle-field: it was the knight who scaled the walls
of the besieged fortress; who directed the discharge of perrier and
mangonel; who filled the towers of assault by the city walls; who
defended those walls from outward attack; and who, in sea-fights,
manned the ships of war, and with pike and javelin contended against
other men-at-arms battling in the adverse fleet. The remainder of the
troops were looked upon as mere accessories, engines useful to clear
the way for the "achievement" of the equestrian order.
The men-at-arms marched to the field of battle in squadrons so dense
that, as a cotemporary writer records, "a glove thrown into the midst
of them would not have reached the ground."
"Chacun conroi lente aleure
S'en va joint comme en quarreure,
Si bien que s'un gant preissiez
Et entr'eux haut le gétissiez,
Il paroit qu'à son asseoir
Ne duste mie tost cheoir."--_Guiart_, 2 par., v. 11,494.
They charged, however, in single line--_en haie_--the onset of
the first rank being supported by the successive charges of those
behind. The ancient formation of the wedge (_cuneus_) was not,
however, altogether abandoned, whether for horse or foot. The
particular manner in which the German cavalry composed the wedge,
beginning with a front of seven men, and increasing each rank by one
additional soldier, as far as to half the depth of the formation,
is very clearly shewn by Fronsperger[319]. "Wie wohl bey den Alten
gebraeuchlich gewesen das sie ihre Schlachtordnung (fur die Reisigen)
gespitzt oder in Dreyangel gemacht haben, also das etwan im ersten
Glied sieben Mann, im andern acht, im dritten neun, im vierten zehn;
also fort an bis auf den halben Theil der Ordnung und Hauffen,
darnach seien si durchaus geviert gemacht worden." In 1302, a body of
Flemish infantry adopted a similar formation in acting against the
French. "Les François virent une très grande bataille des Flamands,
qui contint bien huit mil hommes; et avoient ordonné leur bataille en
guise d'un escu, la pointe devant, et s'estoient entrelaciez l'un en
l'autre, si que on me les peut percier[320]."
Of the circular formation we have already seen an example among the
Scotch at the battle of Selkirk. Guiart furnishes another:--
"Renaut, jadis quens de Bouloingne,
Qui mort ne mehaing ne resoingne,
Tant est plain de grant hardement,
Ot fait dès le commencement
De serjanz plains de grant prouece
Une closture en réondèce,
Ou, en reposant, s'aaisoit
Toutes les fois qu'il li plaisoit;
Et r'issoit de leanz souvent
Quant il avoit pris air ou vent."--_Sub an._ 1214.
The entire army was usually formed into three "battles:" sometimes
into four; and occasionally the whole force was gathered into one
body. In 1249 the Imperialists, fighting against the Bolognese,
distributed their troops into three corps, while the latter formed
four[321]. And in 1266, Manfred, in a battle with Charles d'Anjou,
ranged his cavalry in three bodies, while his adversary divided his
army into four parts[322].
In front of all were placed the various "gyns" of the host; the
mangonels, trebuchets, perdriaux, &c., serving in some degree the
purpose of gunnery in our own day.
"Près du roi devant la banière
Metent François trois Perdriaus,
Jetans pierres aus enniaus
Entre Flamens grosses et males,
Joignant d'eus rot deux Espringoles,
Que garçons au tirer avancent."
_Guiart._--2^e. Par., v. 11,573.
At the battle of Mons-en-Puelle, in 1304, three espringoles were
placed in battery before the French army, of which the force was so
great that the quarrels discharged from them are said to have pierced
four or five ranks of the enemy in succession.
"Li garrot, empené d'arain,
Quatre ou cinq en percent tout outre."--_G. Guiart._
The Archers and Cross-bowmen were usually placed at the wings, the
infantry of the communal levy in the centre, and behind these the
mounted men-at-arms.
"Cil d'armes se rangent derrières."--_Guiart_, _Année_ 1303.
Archers were sometimes intermixed with the cavalry. Thus, in the
23rd of Edward I., the Earl of Warwick fighting against the Welsh,
the latter "placed their men-at-arms fronting the earl's army: they
were furnished with very long spears, which, being set on the ground,
had their points suddenly turned towards the earl and his company,
in order to break the force of the English cavalry. But the earl had
well provided against them; for between every two horsemen he had
placed an archer, so that, by their missile weapons, those who held
the lances were put to the rout[323]." We have already seen _bodies_
of archers interspersed with other troops in the conflict between
Edward and Wallace in 1298[324].
To defend themselves from the attack of cavalry, the army
occasionally formed a barrier of carts and wagons.
"De chars et de charettes vuides,
Qu'à grant diligence ont atruites,
Ont entr'eus trois rengies faites,
En tel sens et par ordre commune
Que le derrière de chacune
Est mis, si com nous estimons,
A l'autre entre les deus limons."
_Guiart_, 2^e. partie, v. 11,108.
The more usual entrenchment was the ancient one of a ditch and
palissaded bank.
Stratagems were still greatly in vogue, and some of them are of so
dramatic a character that they tell rather of the jongleur than of
the sober historian. Others, with enough of the marvellous, are less
out of the bounds of probability. In 1250, Matthew Paris informs
us, the Saracens gained a victory over a body of Crusaders, whom
they slew. Desiring to obtain possession of Damietta, which was in
the hands of the Christians, "a strong body of them, about equal in
number to the Crusaders they had slain, treacherously putting on the
armour, and carrying the shields and standards of the Christians who
had fallen, set out thus disguised towards Damietta; in order that,
having the appearance of French troops, they might gain admission
into the city, and, as soon as admitted, might kill all they found
therein. When they approached the walls, the Christians on guard
looked forth from the ramparts and towers, and at first thought
they were Christians, exultingly bearing spoils and trophies: but
the nearer they approached, the more unlike Frenchmen they seemed:
for they marched hurriedly and in disordered crowds, and sloped
their shields irregularly, more after the manner of Saracens than of
French. And when they reached the extremities of the fortifications
and approached the gates of the city, they were clearly seen to be
Saracens by their black and bearded faces. But who can fully relate
the heartfelt grief of the Christians when they saw the enemies
of the faith giving vent to their pride and derision, clad in the
armour, and bearing the standards and painted devices which were so
well known to them[325]."
The device of equipping several soldiers in similar arms to the
leader of the host, seems also to have been in use. At the siege of
Viterbo in 1243, Matthew Paris tells us, "One illustrious soldier on
the Emperor's side, and adorned with his special arms, (_armis ipsius
specialibus decoratus_,) miserably expired, to the great grief of
the Emperor, being pierced by the quarrel of a crossbow. His enemies
raised a shout of joy, thinking they had slain the Emperor himself;
but the Emperor, preceded by his trumpeters, advanced; and, though
not without difficulty, disengaged his army from the fury of their
opponents, who had suddenly pressed forward to crush them[326]."
The influence of the stars, the power of lucky and unlucky days
over the issue of battle, were still occasionally acknowledged; not
alone by the rude leaders of a company of men-at-arms, but by the
commanders of armies, by crowned dignitaries. The Emperor Frederic
II. had a firm faith in the predictions of astrologers; he never
undertook a march until the fortunate moment for departure had been
fixed by those skilled in divination; and when, in 1239, he was about
to advance against Treviso, his march was suddenly arrested by an
eclipse of the sun[327].
[Illustration: GREAT SEAL OF KING JOHN.
No. 52.]
The usual BODY-ARMOUR of the knightly order was, in the early part
of the thirteenth century, of interlinked chain-mail; but, in the
second half of the century, portions of plate appear, in the form of
shoulder-pieces, elbow-pieces, and knee-pieces. The chain-mail was of
hammered iron, the art of wire-drawing not being found till about the
middle of the next age. Other materials were occasionally employed
for defensive purposes: leather, quilting, scale and jazerant-work,
and, at the close of the century, a kind of armour which has been
named Banded-mail, but of which the structure has not been exactly
ascertained. There can be little doubt that, among the more humble
troops, the Coustillers and the Ribauds, every kind of defensive
material was in use which these men could obtain: a pectoral and a
helmet of some sort were almost indispensable, to protect them from
the downward flight of the arrows, which played so principal a part,
whether in the field or the siege. The knights themselves, indeed,
did not attempt a uniform costume: on the contrary, it is often made
a reproach to them, that each endeavoured to outvie the other in
the magnificence of his apparel. On rare occasions we find a band
of cavaliers who exhibit the marvel of a similar equipment. When
Richard, earl of Gloucester, visited the Pope, in 1250, "he travelled
through the kingdom of France accompanied by the Countess, his wife,
and his eldest son, Henry, with a numerous suite, and attended by a
large retinue, in great pomp, consisting of forty knights equipped
in new accoutrements, all alike, and mounted on beautiful horses,
bearing new harness, glittering with gold, and with five wagons and
fifty sumpter-horses; so that he presented a wonderful and honourable
show to the sight of the astonished French beholders[328]."
The usual series of knightly garments was the tunic, the gambeson,
the hauberk, the chausses, the chausson, and the surcoat. With these
are found various accessories: the ailettes, coudières, poleyns, and
greaves.
The Tunic has already been seen in the first seal of Richard I., and
other monuments. It again appears in this curious group, part of a
martyrdom of Thomas à Becket, from Harl. MS. 5102, fol. 32, a work
of the beginning of the thirteenth century (_overleaf_.) It is found
also in our woodcut No. 63, from Add. MS. 17,687, an example of the
close of the century.
[Illustration: No. 53.]
The Gambeson, that quilted garment which we have seen was worn as an
additional defence beneath the hauberk of chain-mail, is in view in
the monumental effigy from Haseley church, Oxfordshire, (woodcut 46,)
a figure seemingly of the middle of this century. It is again very
clearly shewn in our woodcut No. 59, an effigy in Ash church, near
Sandwich. In both these examples the vertical lines of quilting are
plainly expressed by the sculptor. Ducange, in his Observations on
the History of St. Louis, cites an account of the year 1268, which
includes "Expensæ pro cendatis et bourra ad Gambesones[329]." These
might, however, have been the Gambesons that formed of themselves
the body-armour of the soldier. It is very clearly distinguished
as a horseman's garment in a passage of the Statutes of Frejus, in
1235; where also we see the gambeson _alone_ accorded to the
foot-fighter: "Militem sine equo armato intelligimus armatum
auspergoto et propuncto (with hauberk and gambeson) et scuto: peditem
armatum intelligimus armatum scuto et propuncto _seu_ aspergoto." The
Chronicon Colmariense, under the year 1298, is still more explicit:
"Armati reputabantur qui galeas ferreas in capitibus habebant, et qui
wambasia, id est, tunicam spissam ex lino et stuppa, vel veteribus
pannis consutam, et _desuper_ camisiam ferream."
[Illustration:
PLATE LIV.]
The Hauberk of chain-mail, in the beginning of the thirteenth
century, was made with continuous coif and gloves, the coif somewhat
flattened at the top of the head, and the gloves not divided into
fingers; it descended nearly to the knees, and at the face-opening
left little more than the eyes and nose of the knight in view. A
striking example of the last-named arrangement is afforded by the
figure here engraved, the sculptured effigy of William Longespée, at
Salisbury, c. 1227. See also the seal of King John, p. 228, and the
woodcut, No. 53, from Harl. MS. 5102. The sleeve of the hauberk is
sometimes secured at the wrist by a lace or strap; as in the figure
of Longespée, in the brass of Sir Roger de Trumpington, c. 1289,
(woodcut 73,) and the effigy at Norton, Durham, of the end of the
century (woodcut 70). In order to liberate the hand occasionally from
its fingerless glove, an aperture was left in the centre of the palm.
This is clearly shewn in our woodcuts, No. 80 and 62; the first from
the Lives of the Offas, Cotton MS., Nero, D. i.; and the other from
Roy. MS. 2, A. XXII. The glove turned off and hanging from the wrist
may be seen in Plate 17 of Hefner's _Trachten_, and in the sculptured
effigy of a knight in Bingham church, Nottinghamshire. In the second
half of the century the gloves of the hauberk were divided for the
fingers; from which we may suppose that the armour-smith had by this
time improved his art by making his mail-web more flexible and more
delicate. Early examples occur in the sculptured effigies of knights
at Rampton, Cambridgeshire, and Danbury, Essex; the former figured
in Stothard's Monuments, Plate 20; the latter in Strutt's Dress and
Habits, Plates 45 and 46. Instances both of the undivided and the
fingered glove will be found among our engravings. Occasionally
the sleeves of the hauberk terminate at the wrist, as those of the
archers in cuts 47 and 48; in these instances obviously for the
greater freedom in handling the bow. Where the lancer's hauberk is
thus fashioned, the hand has the supplementary defence of a gauntlet.
Gauntlets of scalework occur in a knightly brass, c. 1280, engraved
by Waller, Part x., and Boutell[330], p. 113. To the elbows of the
hauberk were sometimes affixed, but rarely in this century, plates
of metal called _coudières_. An effigy in Salisbury Cathedral,
circa 1260, (Stothard, Pl. XXX.,) offers a good example. There is
another, a knight of the Clinton family, in the church of Coleshill,
Warwickshire. The hauberk was subject to a further variety: it was
made with or without a _Collar_. Matthew Paris tells us that in a
hastilude "at the abbey of Wallenden" in 1252, the lance of Roger de
Lemburn entered beneath the helm of his antagonist and pierced his
throat, for he was uncovered in that part of his body, and without
a collar (_carens collario_). Ducange cites an analogous passage:
"Venitque ictus inter cassidem et collarium, dejecitque caput ejus
multum a corpore[331]." The hauberk without collar may be seen in
the figures of _Largesse_ and _Debonnaireté_ in the pictures of the
Painted Chamber (Vet. Mon., vol. vi.)
The Continuous Coif was in the early part of the century nearly flat at
the top; in the second half the round-topped coif was more usual. The
flattened form is well shewn in the statue of Longespée (woodcut, No.
54), and in those of De l'Isle and De Braci, (Stothard, Plates XIX. and
XX.) The rounded crown occurs frequently in our woodcuts. The coif was
drawn over the head by means of an opening in the side, and was then
fastened by a lace, a buckle, or a tie. The manner in which the lace,
passing through alternate groups of the links farming the coif, is
made to secure the loose to the fixed part of the cap, is excellently
shewn in the figures of Longespée and the so-called Duke of Normandy
in Gloucester Cathedral, (Stothard, Plate XXII.) A good example of the
fastening by strap and buckle is furnished by the fragment of an effigy
found at Exeter, engraved in the Archæological Journal, vol. ix. p.
188. The coif adjusted by a tie is seen in our woodcut, No. 62. The
side-piece hanging free is shewn in a knightly statue of this century
in the Abbey Church of Pershore, Worcestershire, engraved in the
Journal of the Archæological Association, vol. iv. p. 319. The coif is
sometimes encircled by a fillet. See our woodcuts, No. 46, 59, and 63.
The circles are of gold-colour in figures of the Painted Chamber (Pl.
XXX.): in the effigy of William de Valence the band is richly jewelled,
(Stothard, Pl. XLIV.)
Many examples shew that the warrior often went to battle without any
kind of helmet _over_ the coif of chain-mail; though it is probable
that some additional defence, whether of plate or of quilted-work,
was in this case worn beneath it. The regular and compact form of
the crown in many ancient examples favours this belief; and a modern
instance from the East helps to confirm it. A suit of Birman armour
in the Tower of London has a skull-cap of plate which is quite hidden
from view by the outer armour of the head. In the effigy at Bingham,
Notts., already mentioned, the upper part of the coif is so large
that it almost gives the notion of a turban being worn beneath. The
coif used in battle without any further defence over it, may be seen
in our engravings, No. 80 and 82.
On other occasions, the mail-coif had the additional armament of a
helmet of some kind. This may be better considered in our general
notice of helmets.
[Illustration: No. 55.]
The Hood of Chain-mail appears to have been designed as an
improvement on the Continuous Coif by rendering unnecessary the
side-opening and the lacing about the face. But the hood had this
great disadvantage; that, as it lay on the shoulders of the knight,
it permitted the lance of the adversary to pass beneath it and deal
a deadly thrust on the unguarded neck. This fact is of constant
occurrence, as well in the chronicles as in the pictures of the
times. The hood, like the coif, is both flat-topped and round.
The flattened hood is seen in the effigy of De l'Isle, (Stothard,
Pl. XX.) The round appears in the brasses of Sir John D'Aubernoun
(woodcut, No. 55), and Sir Roger de Trumpington (Waller, Pt. iv.,
and our woodcut, No. 73): in the statues of De Vere, Crouchback, and
Shurland, figured by Stothard; and in our engravings, No. 59 and
63. A simple lace, passing across the forehead and tying behind,
bound the hood firmly to the head. The manner of this may be seen on
comparing the brass of Sir John D'Aubernoun and the statue of Sir
Robert Shurland. Both hood and coif appear occasionally to have been
slipped over the head and suffered to rest on the shoulders. Compare
the effigy in the Temple Church (Stothard, Pl. XXXVIII.), Hefner's
plate 27, and our woodcuts No. 56 and 70. The hood is sometimes shewn
as made of a cloth-like material, (cloth, leather, or pourpointerie?)
as in the front figure of our engraving, No. 68, from a MS. in the
library of Metz. Its colour is brown, while the banded mail in this
drawing is iron-colour. (Hefner, Pl. LXXVII.) Plain and enriched
fillets, which we have seen were worn over the mail-coif, appear
also upon the hood. The plain circle occurs in the Gosberton effigy
(Stothard, Pl. XXXVII.), and in our woodcuts, No. 59 and 63. Enriched
examples are found in the sculptures of De Vere and Crouchback
(Stothard, Pl. XXXVI. and XLII.).
[Illustration: No. 56.]
Beneath the head-defence of chain-mail was worn a coif of softer
material, to mitigate the roughness of the iron-cloth; and perhaps
also to assist in protecting the head by being made of quilted-work.
See our woodcut, No. 56, from a miniature given by Willemin
(Monumens Inédits, j. Pl. CII.) Compare also Painted Chamber, Pl.
XXXV., and Willemin, j. Pl. CXLIII.
Besides the Hauberk already described, which however forms in a great
majority of instances the body-armour of the knights of this time,
we have several varieties of defensive equipment. The Haubergeon is
still mentioned, and seems to imply, not alone the smaller hauberk of
chain-mail, but sometimes a garment of inferior defence and different
material. There is also a chain-mail hauberk made with sleeves which
reach but little below the elbows. A good example occurs on folio
9 of Roy. MS. 12, F. xiii.; a Bestiarium. See also the figures of
Virtues in Plates XXXVIII. and XXXIX. of the Painted Chamber.
The Gambeson or Pourpoint, or _Gambesiata Lorica_, as it is called
in a will of the year 1286, frequently appears as forming of
itself the coat of fence. It is thus noticed in the Statute of
Winchester, already quoted; where, while the first class of tenants
are prescribed a "hauber, chapel de feer," &c., the third class are
to have "parpoint, chapel de feer, espe e cutel." Compare also the
Statute of Arms of 1252. In the eighth of Edward I. we read that
"Rogerus de Wanstede tenet dimid. serjantiam ibidem per servitium
inveniendi unum Valectum per octo dies, sumptibus propriis, cum
praepuncto, capella ferrea et lancea, custodire castrum de Portsmut
tempore guerrae[332]." In the "Ordonnances sur le Commerce et les
Métiers," the duties of the pourpointers of Paris at the close
of this century are very exactly defined. "Se l'on fait cotes
gamboisiees, que elles soient couchees deuement sur neufves
estoffes, et pointees, enfermees, faites a deux fois, bien et
nettement emplies, de bonnes estoffes, soient de coton ou dautres
estoffes[333]." Again: "Item que nul doresenavant ne puist faire cote
gamboisiee ou il n'ait trois livres de coton tout net, si elles ne
sont faites en fremes, et au dessous soient faites entremains, et que
il y ait un ply de vieil linge emprez l'endroit de demie aulne et
demy quartier devant et autant derriere." From these enactments we
see that the counterpointers of the thirteenth century were but too
apt to construct their armours of unstable materials, and to stuff
them with a niggard hand.
The Cuirie (_Cuirena_) was, as its name implies, originally a
defence of leather: it was also made of cloth. It covered the body
alone, requiring the addition of _Brachières_ to complete the coat.
Thus, in the Roll of Purchases made for the Windsor tournament
in the sixth year of Edward I., we have: "De Milōn. le Cuireu͂r
(Milo the Currier) xxxiij. quire͂t, p'c pēc iij. _s._" Each took
two ells of the cloth called Carda in its construction: "I͂t pro
qualibet quiret͂t ij. ul̄n card." The sleeves appear to have been of
pourpointerie: "I͂t pro xxxviij. pa͂r brac͂h, x. bukeran̄n[334]."
An account cited by Ducange, of the date 1239, has:--"Pro hernesio suo,
videlicet baccis et cuireniis suis affecturis IX. lib. v. sol. Item pro
tribus baccis et tribus cuirenis ad eosdem, IV. lib. iv. sol." See the
glossarists under _Baca_. Guiart also mentions the cuirie:--
"Hyaumes, haubers, tacles, cuiries,
Fondent par les grans cops et fraingnent."
_Année_ 1268.
The Cargan seems to have been a collar or tippet of chain-mail. It
occurs as part of a footman's armour in the Statutes of Frejus, A.D.
1233: "Peditem armatum intelligimus armatum scuto et propuncto, seu
auspergoto, et cofa seu capello ferreo, et cargan, vel sine cargan,"
&c. The glossarists derive this and the cognate word, _carcannum_,
from καρκίνος, genus vinculi; and, if this derivation is the true
one, a gorget of chain-mail may be fairly inferred.
Other materials for armour than those mentioned above appear during the
thirteenth century; but, before noticing these, it may be well to take
a glance at the remaining _parts_ of the knightly suit as they occur in
the usual monuments of the time; then to examine the appendages which
are attached to the body-armour, as the ailettes; after which we will
notice the exceptional materials employed for defensive purposes; and
lastly, those portions of the warrior's equipment which have not been
included in the above scheme of investigation.
The Chausses, in the early part of the thirteenth century were
entirely of chain-mail, covering the whole leg; as shewn in our
woodcuts, No. 46, 52, and 54. Sometimes they were tightened below the
knee with a lace, as in the two Salisbury effigies (Stothard, Plates
XVII. and XXX., and our woodcut, No. 54.) A variety of this defence
was laid on the front part of the leg, and then laced up behind. See
woodcut, No. 53, from Harl. MS. 5102, fol. 32, a book of the early
part of the century; and our numbers 56 and 62, towards the close of
this period. Compare also Plates XXXIII. of Hefner, Plate LIV. of
Strutt's Horda, and folio 10 of Roy. MS. 12, F. XIII.
To the chausses, whether of chain-mail or of banded-mail, are sometimes
added Poleyns (or knee-pieces) of plate. It is often, however,
difficult to determine whether the poleyns are fixed to the chausses or
the chausson, from the upper edge of them being covered by the hauberk.
A good example of the chausses armed with the knee-piece is offered
by the knightly statue in Salisbury Cathedral (Stothard, Pl. XXX.),
circa 1260. See also our woodcuts, No. 75 and 77: the first from Add.
MS. 11,639, fol. 520; the latter from a glass-painting in the north
transept of Oxford Cathedral. A German example given by Hefner (Pt. i.
Pl. LXXVII.), from a manuscript illuminated at Metz c. 1280, is copied
in our woodcut, No. 68. Poleyns are named in the Wardrobe Account
of 28 Ed. I. (1300): "factura diversorum armorum, vexillorum, et
penocellorum, pro Domino Edwardo filio Regis, et Johanne de Lancastria,
jamberis, poleyns, platis, uno capello ferri, una cresta cum clavis
argenti pro eodem capello," &c.
[Illustration: No. 57.]
Towards the close of the thirteenth century the Chausses are most
commonly accompanied with a Chausson of leather or quilted-work, the
purpose of which was probably to obviate the inconvenience of the
long chausses of metal in riding. It is found plain, gamboised in
vertical lines, and sometimes richly diapered. The plain chausson
is well shewn in Stothard's Plates XXII. and XXVI., effigies at
Gloucester and in the Temple Church, London. The gamboised chausson
is seen in this drawing of an ivory chess-piece preserved in the
Ashmolean Museum. See also the effigy of a De Vere at Hatfield
Broadoak, (Stothard, Pl. XXXVI.) An excellent example of the
pourpointed chausson worked in a rich diaper is offered by the brass
of De Bures, 1302 (Waller, Pt. 2, and Boutell's "Brasses and Slabs").
A curious variety of the chausson and chausses is found in the figure
of a knight from Roy. MS. 2, A. xxii. fol. 219, given in our woodcut,
No. 62; the chausson here being of chain-mail, while the chausses
appear to be of rivetted plates. A chausson of chain-mail again
appears in our cut, No. 86, from the Painted Chamber. To the chausson
were usually attached knee-pieces of some rigid material: metal,
_cuir bouilli_, or a mixture of both. See our woodcuts, Nos. 59 and
63; an effigy in Ash Church near Sandwich, and an illumination from a
German manuscript, Add. MS. 17,687, both of the end of this century.
Compare also the effigy at Gosberton (Stothard, Pl. XXXVII.), and
those of De Vere and De Bures cited above. Among the embellishments
of these poleyns are sometimes found little shields of arms; as in
our woodcut, No. 70, the effigy of an unknown knight in Norton
Church, Durham, c. 1300[335], and in the statue of Brian Fitz Alan,
in Bedale Church, Yorkshire, engraved in Hollis's Effigies, Pt. 4,
and in Blore's Monuments.
[Illustration: No. 58.]
At the close of this century first appear the Greaves, of metal or
_cuir bouilli_, covering the front of the leg from the knee to the
instep. They were probably of German introduction, for their Latin
name was _Bainbergæ_, from the German _Beinbergen_; and it seems
likely that the Germans may have copied them from the examples of
classic times with which they had become familiar during their wars
in Italy. In the south of Europe, the greaves were already become of
a highly ornamental character, as we may see from this sculpture of
Gulielmus Balnis, 1289, from a bas-relief in the Annunziata Convent
at Florence[336]; while in England they do not once appear among
our monumental effigies or on our royal seals. Nor can a single
example be found among the pictures that adorned the royal palace
of Westminster. They are seen, however, among the illustrations of
a manuscript of Matthew Paris' Lives of the two Offas, (Cott. MS.,
Nero, D. 1,) a work usually assigned to the thirteenth century,
but perhaps not earlier than the next age. Our woodcut, No. 80,
has an example from this manuscript, folio 7. On comparing the two
engravings given by us, it will be seen that, while the vellum
picture shews the defence below the knee only, the Italian figure
has it both below and above. The abundance of ornament in the
latter specimen seems to imply a moulded material--_cuir bouilli_?
Antique examples, however, found at Pompeii and elsewhere, are of
metal, highly ornamented with chasing and embossed-work. The name
Bainberg occurs in several ancient documents. In the Lex Ripuaria
we have: "Bainbergas bonas pro VI. sol. tribuat." And in the will
of St. Everard, duke of Frejus: "Bruniam unam, helmum 1. et manicam
1. ad ipsam opus, _bemberga_ II." &c. And again: "Bruniam unam cum
halsberga et manicam unam, _bemivergas_ duas." The word in the last
passage being probably an error for _beinbergas_.
[Illustration:
PLATE LIX.]
In the last quarter of the thirteenth century appear those curious
appendages to the knightly suit, the Ailettes. But they do not occur
in any frequency till the beginning of the fourteenth century. We
shall, therefore, in noticing this novelty, refer to some examples
of the later period. From their name, _ailettes_, Fr.; _alette_,
Ital.; and _alettæ_ in the Latin of the period, they appear to have
been a French or Italian invention. An early notice of them is in
the Roll of Purchases for the Windsor Tournament in 1278, where they
are made of leather covered with the kind of cloth called Carda. "De
eodem (Milo the Currier) xxxviij. pa͂r alec͂t co͂r p'̄c pa͂r. viij.
d." "I͂t pro xxxviij. pa͂r alet͂t ͂s. pro q̊ pa͂r dī ul̄n card. ͂s.
XIX. ul̄n." They were fastened with silk laces, supplied by "Richard
Paternoster." "D Ricõ pa͂t n͂r viij. Duodēn laqueorum serīc pro
alet͂t p'̄c duodēn viij. d.[337]" Sir Roger de Trumpington was one
of the thirty-eight knights engaged in this tournament, and it is
remarkable that his monumental brass furnishes one of the earliest
and best pictorial examples of the ailette that has come down to us.
(See our woodcut, No. 73.) There is one instance of it, and only one,
in the pictures of the Painted Chamber, Pl. XXXV. It is ensigned with
a bird. In monumental statues it is very rare. The figure here given
is from a knightly tomb in the Church of Ash-by-Sandwich, seemingly
of the close of this century[338]. The ailettes appear _behind_ the
shoulders, rising from the slab beneath, about the eighth of an inch.
They have been quadrangular, the outer corners having become broken
by accident: there is no trace of any fastening, and no remain of
colour. The other monumental statues in England exhibiting the
ailette are those of a Pembridge in Clehongre Church, Herefordshire
(figured, with details, in Hollis's Effigies, Pt. 5), and the
so-called Crusader at Great Tew, Oxfordshire. The Clehongre figure is
especially curious as shewing the ailette fastened by its "laqueus,"
which appears on the outside. In Switzerland there is the statue of
Rudolf von Thierstein, at Basle: the ailettes here are square, and
fixed on the _side_ of the figure. (Hefner, Pt. 2, Pl. XLI.) Our
English monumental brasses furnish several examples. See those of
Septvans and Buslingthorpe, given by Waller, and the Gorleston brass,
Plate LI. of Stothard. The curious painted windows at Tewkesbury,
figured in full by Carter (Sculpture and Painting), and in part
by Shaw (Dress and Decorations), afford the best illustration
contributed by pictured glass. Good examples are found in the ivory
carvings and seals of the period. The seals of Edward the Third, as
duke and as king, are well-known instances; and the ivory casket
engraved by Carter, Plates CXIII. and CXIV., offers a singular
variety of this accessory. Illuminated manuscripts furnish abundant
examples. See, for instance, Roy. MSS., 14, E. III. and 2, B. VII.,
and Add. MS. 10,292. The Louterell Psalter has a good specimen,
copied in Carter's work named above, and in the _Vetusta Monumenta_.
French monumental examples, we learn from M. Allou, are very scarce:
"L'accessoire qui nous occupe est fort rare dans les monuments
français. Nous en trouvons des exemples dans les dessins qui nous ont
été communiqués par M. Achille Deville, des pierres sépulchrales de
Robert Duplessis, 1322, de Robert d'Estouteville, 1331, et de Jean de
Lorraine, Duc de Brabant, 1341[339]."
[Illustration: No. 60.]
[Illustration: No. 61.]
The forms of the ailette are various: the most frequent is the
quadrangular, as in the Ash Church effigy given above, and in this
example from Add. MS. 10,293, fol. 58; a book _dated_ in 1316. The
round form occurs on the ivory casket engraved in vol. 4 of the
Journal of the Archæological Association, and in Plates CXIII. and
CXIV. of Carter's Sculpture and Painting. The pentagonal is seen in
an illumination of Sloane MS. 3,983, engraved as the frontispiece to
Strutt's Dress and Habits; the cruciform, in the figure of a knight
from Roy. MS., 2, A. XXII. fol. 219 (our woodcut, No. 62). And on
folio 94^{vo}. of Roy. MS., 14, E. iij. is an example, the only one
ever observed by the writer, of a lozenge-formed ailette. It is
clear, from the Cross on the shield having the same position as the
other, that the ailette is not a square one worn awry.
The size of this appendage differs greatly in different monuments. In
the round example of the ivory casket, cited above, it is scarcely
larger than the palm of the hand: while, in an illumination of Roy.
MS., 20, D. 1, fol. 18^{vo}, it is little less than the ordinary
shield of the period. Its position is generally behind the shoulder,
or at the side of it: sometimes it appears in front: but too strict an
interpretation must not be given to the rude memorials of these times.
The use of the ailette has somewhat perplexed antiquarian writers.
The French archæologists of the present day confess that it is
"difficile d'en expliquer l'usage[340]." Some writers have considered
it as a simply defensive provision: others look upon it as an ensign,
to indicate to his followers the place of a leader in the field.
Against the supposition that it was _merely_ armorial, may be urged
that in many cases it has no heraldic bearing at all: sometimes it
has a cross only, sometimes a diaper pattern, and sometimes it is
quite blank. See examples of all these varieties in the Tewkesbury
glass paintings, the Gorleston brass (Stothard, Pl. LI.), and the
Buslingthorpe brass (Waller, Pt. 10). In vellum pictures it is
often seen worn by knights in the tilt; where the heraldic bearings
already exhibited on the shield, crest, and surcoat of the rider,
and on the caparisons of the horse, would to no useful purpose be
repeated on the ailette. In the case of the Clehongre example, quoted
above, the outside knotting of the lace does not seem consistent
with the display of armorial distinctions on the wing beneath. In
Germany they are called _Tartschen_ (Hefner: _Trachten_, Pt. 2,
Pl. XLI.), and their purpose of shields seems most in accordance
with the numerous ancient evidences in which they appear. The
knights, indeed, not content with their panoply of steel, seem in
the course of the middle-ages to have fortified themselves with a
complete outwork of shields. Thus we have the ailettes, the shield
proper, the _garde-bras_, or elbow-shield, the shoulder-shield, the
_Beinschiene_, or shield for the legs, the vamplate on the lance,
and the steel front of the saddle, which was in fact but another
shield for the defence of the knight's body. Referring once more to
the Clehongre effigy, it will be observed that, while the "défaut
de la cuirasse" (where the arm joins the body) is strengthened _in
front_ with a steel roundel, this assailable point is covered at the
_back of the arm_ with the ailette. See the Details on Hollis's third
plate of this monument. The analogy between these defences and those
curious upright pieces of steel on the shoulders, so frequent in the
armours of the sixteenth century, will at once be recognised.
Ailettes of a superb construction appear in the Inventory of the
effects of Piers Gaveston in 1313: "Item, autres divers garnementz
des armes le dit Pieres, ovek les alettes garniz et frettez de
perles[341]." They are named also in the Inventory of the goods of
Umfrey de Bohun in 1322: "iiij peire de alettes des armes le Counte
de Hereford[342]."
[Illustration:
PLATE LXII.]
Besides the defences of chain-mail, which, as we have seen, formed
the usual armour of the knights of the thirteenth century, there
were other materials occasionally employed for the warrior's habit.
Scale-work still appears, though in but few monuments; and it seems
to have been used for small portions only of the equipment. See the
brass figured by Waller, Part x., and Boutell, page 113.
In this singular figure of a knight from Roy. MS. 2, A. xxii. fol.
219, the leg-defences are composed of a kind of Bezanted Armour:
small roundels of metal, placed contiguously, appear to be rivetted
to a fabric of cloth or to leather: forming a garment very similar to
the "penny plate armour" of the sixteenth century. In the original
drawing, the chausses are shaded with blue: but, singularly enough,
the chausson is shaded with red, though it seems clearly to be
intended for chain-mail. The date of the figure appears to be about
the close of the thirteenth century. As a curious illustration of
bezanted armour, the late Mr. Hudson Turner told the writer of these
pages that he had seen in an ancient record an account of a hauberk
of Edward III., studded with gold florins; though, with the usual
caution of the antiquarian discoverer, he withheld the name and
locality of the document.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXIII.]
In the engraving given overleaf, from Add. MS. 17,687, a German
illumination of the end of this century, we have an example of
Studded armour. Garments presenting an exterior sprinkled with
studs are of frequent occurrence in the next age, and we shall
therefore freely use the memorials of that time in illustration
of our subject; and indeed we may gather some valuable evidences
from existing armours of Eastern manufacture. Many a mystery of
middle-age lore may be unravelled by an attentive examination of
Oriental productions. As the surface only of the military studded
garments is presented to our view in ancient monuments, we can
seldom determine with exactness their construction: but, from the
comparison of various examples, it seems probable that there were not
less than four or five varieties of this kind of apparel. First, we
have quilted-work, in which the studs appear to be used for holding
together the component parts of the fabric. We have already noticed
an example of the kind in our preceding division (woodcut, No. 37).
The engraving now before us seems to represent a similar armour: the
spots are coloured of a red-brown on a ground of light grey. In the
fine manuscript of Meliadus, Add. MS. 12,228, not only parts of the
knightly suit, but the saddles of the horses, are seeded with studs;
which seems distinctly to imply a quilted covering. See also the
effigies engraved by Stothard, (Plates LX. and LXIII.) And in the
Tower collection will be found Chinese armour of modern date, formed
of a quilted garment sprinkled with metal studs. The next kind of
Studded armour is that of which a real specimen of the fourteenth
century was found by Dr. Hefner in the excavations of the old
Castle of Tannenberg in Germany: a relic which throws the clearest
light on the costume of many a knightly effigy of that period. The
defence is thus contrived: strips of metal, like hooping, are placed
horizontally across the body, the upper edge of each splint being
perforated for rivets. These strips slightly overlap each other: a
piece of velvet, or other material of a similar kind, is then laid
over the whole, and by rows of rivets fastened to the iron splints
beneath. The velvet being of a rich hue, and the rivet-heads gilt
or silvered, the garment presents exactly the appearance of those
knightly suits in which spots of gold or silver are seen studding
the whole superficies of a dress of crimson or other brilliant
tincture. The relic in question is figured and minutely described
in the admirable tract on the results of the find by Doctors Hefner
and Wolf: "Die Burg Tannenberg und ihre Ausgrabungen." The Stapelton
brass, of which there is a facsimile in the Craven Ord Collection
in the British Museum, and an engraving in Stothard's work, and
the brass at Aveley in Essex (Waller, Pt. 1), seem to exhibit the
armour in question. Foreign examples occur in the figures of Conrad
von Saunsheim and those in Bamberg Cathedral, given by Hefner in
Part II. of the _Trachten_. The jazerant coats of the fifteenth
century, of which several real specimens yet remain to us, are of
a very similar construction. A third kind of Stud-work seems to
differ from the articulated sort described above, in its basis being
uniform and rigid, while the surface exhibits the same features, of
a coloured ground-work spangled with bosses of gold or silver. See
Stothard's Plates LXXVI. and XCIII. A fourth variety appears to be
described in this passage of the Inventory of the effects of Piers
Gaveston: "Item, en un autre coffre une peire de plates enclouez
et garniz d'argent, od quatre cheynes d'argent, coverz dun drap de
velvet vermail besaunte d'or[343]." Here we have a garment of velvet
spotted with gold, covering an armour nailed with silver: clearly,
therefore, differing from the preceding kinds, where the rivets
unite the component materials into one vestment. A further item of
the Inventory seems to shew still more clearly that the velvet coat
(whether bezanted or not) was distinct from the iron defence: "Item,
deux cotes de velvet pur plates coverir." Finally, another kind of
studded military garment, of which we trace the existence through the
examples of Modern Asia, consisted of several thicknesses of pliable
stuff, held together by rivets with bossed heads which appear on
the surface. In the Museum of the United Service Institution may be
seen a Chinese armour constructed after this method, but having the
coat lined at the breast with a few plates of iron about the size of
playing-cards. In other examples, the studs are not rivetted, but
only sewn down upon the garment.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXIV.]
Towards the close of the thirteenth century we find an armour
offering a new appearance, to which has been given the name of
Banded Mail. Notwithstanding much careful consideration, its exact
structure has not yet been discovered, though the representations of
it are very abundant. For a whole century, manuscript illuminations,
monumental brasses, painted windows, royal and baronial seals, metal
chasings and sculptures of various kinds, afford us an infinity of
examples; in none of which has hitherto been detected the exact
evidence either of its material or its construction. Monumental
sculptures, from their large size and the careful finish of their
details, might have been expected to solve a problem which they only
perplex. The effigy[344] here engraved, of a knight of the De
Sulney family, exhibits the warrior armed from head to foot in a suit
of banded-mail; and in the following woodcut we have given a portion
of the armour of this figure, of its real size. The profile view has
been copied with particular care, in the hope that it might be of use
in determining the structure of this very singular defence. By many
writers this fabric has been described as pourpointerie; by others
it has been considered as only a conventional mode of representing
the ordinary chain-mail. Mr. Kerrich, whose opinions will always be
received with, the greatest respect, speaking of the rows of little
arcs used to express the latter defence, says: "When there are lines
between the rows, whether _two_ or only one, I conceive it means
still but the same thing[345]." M. Pottier, in the text to Willemin's
_Monuments Inédits_, does not distinguish the so-called banded-mail
from the other, but names it simply "armure de mailles[346]." But
it seems difficult to believe that the common chain-mail could be
intended, so widely different are the two modes of representation,
whether in sculpture or in painting. Observe, for instance, the
details--especially the portion in profile--from the effigy at Newton
Solney. And in the following subject from the Romance of Meliadus,
(Add. MS. 12,228, f. 79,) there seems no assignable reason for
marking one figure so differently from the rest, unless the armour
itself were of a distinct kind[347].
[Illustration: No. 65.]
[Illustration: No. 66.]
That the banded defences under consideration were of pourpointing
is still more unlikely; for a gamboised garment, whether of velvet,
silk, cloth, or whatever material, would, in painted representations,
exhibit those various _colours_ which are so lavishly displayed in
the other portions of the knightly attire. Yet a careful examination
of many hundred figures in illuminated manuscripts has failed in
detecting a single instance of positive colour on banded-mail, except
such as may be referred to the metals. Green, scarlet, crimson,
diaper or ray, never appear. But gold or a golden tincture, silver or
white, and grey of various shades, occur continually. And all these
seem to indicate a fabric in which metal plays at least a conspicuous
part. The examples among vellum-paintings, in which the banding is
tinted grey or left white, are so numerous that one can scarcely open
a manuscript of the period without finding them. Instances of it in
silver may be seen in Cotton MSS., Vitellius, A. xiii., and Nero, D.
vi.; in Roy. MS. 20, D. i., and Add. MS. 12,228. On folio 217^{vo}.
of the last-named book will be found the figure of a knight whose
banded-mail is gilt. The same kind of armour, in gold colour, appears
in the windows of Beer Ferrers Church, Devonshire, and of Fulborn
Church, Cambridgeshire. See Lysons' Devonshire, p. 326, and Kerrich
Collections, Add. MS. 6,730, fol. 61, for faithful copies of these
examples. If from the foregoing evidences we derive the belief that
the basis of this fabric was metal, from a monument figured in the
superb work of Count Bastard, _Peintures des Manuscrits, &c._, we
gather that the lines of arcs were rings; for the fillet that binds
the coif round the temples is clearly passed through alternate
groups of rings, exactly as in the ordinary mail-hood. The figure
is from a French Bible of the beginning of the fourteenth century,
and occurs in the seventh number of the _Peintures_. In fairness we
must admit that this example is not altogether inadmissible as an
evidence in favour of the theory of common chain-mail. And on that
side may be ranged the very curious figure of Offa the First, given
in our woodcut, No. 80, from the "Lives of the Two Offas," by Matthew
Paris (Cott. MS., Nero, D. i. fol. 7); where the upper part of the
warrior's coif is of "banded-mail," while the lower portion is marked
in the manner usually adopted to express the ordinary chain-mail.
[Illustration: No. 67.]
Different from all these is the interpretation offered by M. de
Vigne in his _Recueil de Costumes du Moyen-Age_. On Plate LVI. of
that work, the author has given a series of sketches, shewing the
supposed construction of various ancient armours. The banded mail
is represented as formed of rows of overlapping rings, sewn down
on leather or other similar material, "avec les coutures couvertes
de petites bandes de cuir." Von Leber, in his sketch of medieval
armour, has the same notion: "Vom 13. his nach Anfang des 14.
Jahrh. der lederstreifige Ringharnisch als unschöne und unbequeme
Ritterhülle[348]." This interpretation, however, is at variance with
those ancient monuments where the _inside_ of the defence exhibits
the ring-work as well as the exterior. See our print of the De
Sulney effigy. A more improbable garment, to say the least of it,
than a hauberk of leather, _faced_ with mail and _lined_ with mail,
can scarcely be conceived. Other examples of the hauberk, shewing
the banding on the inside, are furnished by the brass of De Creke
(Waller, Pt. viii.; Boutell, p. 39), a brass at Minster, Isle of
Sheppey (Stothard, Pl. LIV.; Boutell, p. 42), in the effigy of Sir
John D'Aubernoun (Stothard, Pl. LX.), and the brass at Ghent, figured
in the Archæological Journal, vol. vii. p. 287.
Sometimes the knight's horse is barded with banded-mail, as in the
figure from a manuscript in the Library of Cambrai, given by De Vigne
in his _Recueil de Costumes_, vol. ii., plate VIII. In Roy. MS. 20,
D. i. fol. 330, a work of about the close of the thirteenth century,
are elephants with similar caparisons: on their backs are castles,
full of fighting men.
We have already noticed that four sculptured effigies with
banded-mail have been observed in England. The Tewkesbury figure is
given by Stothard; an example further curious from the hauberk being
sculptured as ordinary chain-mail, while the camail alone is of the
banded work. In the "Memoirs," p. 125, Stothard, writing of this
camail to Mr. Kerrich, says: "Amongst other curious things I have
met with, is a figure which has some remarkable points about it;
but, for the discovery of these, I devoted a whole day in clearing
away a thick coating of whitewash which concealed them. The mail
attached to the helmet was of that kind so frequently represented in
drawings, and which you have had doubts whether it was not another
way of representing that sort we are already acquainted with. I am
sorry that I know no more of its construction now than before I met
with it." The effigy at Dodford, near Weedon, is engraved in Baker's
Northamptonshire, vol. i. p. 360. The knight has hauberk, chausses
and coif of banded-mail, with poleyns, coutes and cervellière of
plate. The figure at Tollard Royal, Wilts, has not been engraved; but
from some memorandums kindly furnished by a friend, it appears that
this knight is habited in hauberk, chausses and coif of banded-mail,
with a skull-cap of plate.
[Illustration: No. 68]
Compare also the effigy of gilded metal in Westminster Abbey, of
William de Valence, who died in 1296 (Stothard, Pl. XLIV.). In the
following figures, from a German manuscript of about 1280, copied
from Hefner's _Trachten_, it will be observed that each knight
differs from his fellow in the manner of his equipment, though the
staple defence of all is the banded-mail. Other examples of this
kind of armour will be found in our woodcuts, No. 47, 48, 63, 72 and
77. At last, we can establish no definite conclusion. Our proofs
are but of a negative character. Yet it is always something, to
have determined what a thing is not. It seems pretty clear, then,
from the absence of varied colours which we have remarked, that the
Banded-mail is not pourpointerie of any kind. And, from the presence
of the ring-work on the inside of the armour as well as the outside,
it appears not to be of the construction suggested by the German
and Belgian antiquaries. If meant for ordinary chain-mail, it must
be confessed that the medieval artists never hit upon a mode of
expressing this material so little resembling the original. It is to
the further examination of ancient evidences, or to the discovery of
monuments hitherto unobserved, that we must look for a satisfactory
solution of this knightly mystery.
[Illustration: No. 69.]
In addition to the various armours already noticed, we find in the
thirteenth century the defence expressed by cross-lines which we have
remarked in the earlier periods. Good examples occur on folio 9 of
Roy. MS. 12, F. xiii., and in Laing's Scottish Seals, Plate IV.
And in a chess-piece of the early part of this century, the markings
of the armour are made in a very peculiar manner: by rows of drilled
holes divided by lines. (Woodcut 69.) This seems to be the device of
a rude artist to express the ordinary chain-mail. The example was
first brought into prominent notice in the pages of the Archæological
Journal, vol. iii. p. 241.
Occasionally, but very rarely, the chain-mail was indicated in
monumental statues by merely painting the links on a flat surface.
The effigy of a De l'Isle in Rampton Church, Cambridgeshire, engraved
by Stothard, Plate XXI., affords a good instance of this method.
A further singularity of the period is that the chain-mail sometimes
presents a surface of a hue which does not appear consistent with a
defence of steel. The effigy of Longuespée at Salisbury (woodcut No.
54) has the armour painted brown. The centre figure in our woodcut
No. 53 wears a hauberk which is marked with buff on a white ground,
the other hauberks being blue. The knight on woodcut No. 62 has a
chausson shaded with red. And in Harl. MSS. 1,526 and 1,527 are
many figures in which the chain-mail markings appear on a bright
red ground. It seems probable, however, that such variations may be
charged on the caprice of the artists; as in the colourings of the
Bayeux tapestry, where the near legs of the horses are made blue,
while the off legs are yellow.
Among the knightly effigies in the Temple Church, London, is a
figure which seems to require an especial notice; the armour being
of a fashion not elsewhere remarked. It consists of a back and
breast-piece, each in a single part, united at the sides by straps.
The sculpture being in stone, without any painting preserved, it
is of course impossible to ascertain the material which the artist
desired to represent. It may have been leather (the _cuirie_, of
which we have already noted the existence); but there seems no good
reason why it should not have been iron: and if so, it is perhaps
the earliest example of a body-armour formed of a "pair of plates
large[349]" that Europe has to offer. The effigy in question lies at
the south-east corner of the group in the Round Church.
About the beginning of the thirteenth century arose the use of the
military SURCOAT. The first English monarch who, on his Great Seal,
appears in this garment, is King John: 1199-1216. (See our woodcut,
No. 52.) The seal of the dauphin Louis, the rival of John, (appended
to Harleian Charter, 43, B. 37, dated 1216,) has it also. The
earliest Scottish king who wears the surcoat is Alexander the Second:
1214-1249: a fine impression of his seal is attached to Cotton
Charter, xix. 2. Imaginative writers have affirmed that this garment
was first used by the Crusaders, in order to mitigate the discomfort
of the metal hauberk, "so apt to get heated under a Syrian sun."
Cotemporary authority, however, expressly tells us that its purpose
was to defend the armour from the wet:--
"Then sex or atte[350] on assente
Hase armut hom and furthe wente
* * * * *
With scharpe weppun and schene,
Gay gownus of grene,
To hold thayre armur clene
And were[351] hitte fro the wete."
_The Avowynge of King Arther_, stanza 39.
The Surcoat was of two principal kinds: the sleeveless and the
sleeved. The latter is not found till the second half of the century.
The Sleeveless Surcoat occurs of various lengths: sometimes scarcely
covering the hauberk, sometimes reaching to the heels. Both the short
and the long are seen throughout the century. The long appear on
the royal seals noticed above. And on the seal of De Quinci, circa
1250 (woodcut, No. 87); on the sculpture from Haseley, c. 1250 (cut,
No. 46); on the brass of D'Aubernoun, 1277 (No. 55); on that of De
Trumpington, 1289 (No. 73); on the effigies at Ash and Norton, of the
close of the century (Nos. 59 and 70); and on the statues of De Vere
and Crouchback (Stothard, Plates XXXVI. and XLII.).
The shorter Surcoat occurs on the effigy of Longuespée, d. 1226
(woodcut, No. 54); the knight at Whitworth, c. 1250 (Stothard, Pl.
XXIV.); the figures from the Painted Chamber and the "Lives of the
Two Offas" (woodcuts, Nos. 80 and 86); the knight at Florence, 1289
(cut No. 58); De Valence, in Westminster Abbey (Stothard, Pl. XLIV.);
and our engravings, Nos. 47, 56, 63, 64 and 68: the last-named
examples being of the close of the century.
The Surcoat is either of a uniform tint, or diapered, or heraldically
pictured. Probably, in some early sculptured effigies, the surcoat,
now plain, had armorial devices expressed by painting, which time
has obliterated. The armorial surcoat was a necessary result of
the visored helm; for when the visor was closed, it was no longer
possible to distinguish king from subject, leader from stranger,
comrade from foe. A similar inconvenience had already been found in
the nasal helmet. At the field of Hastings, Duke William was obliged
to remove the bar from his face, in order to convince his followers
that he was still alive. The figure of Longuespée at Salisbury,
c. 1226, still exhibits a portion of the heraldic decoration of
the surcoat. And it is again found on the statue of De l'Isle at
Rampton, circa 1250 (Stothard, Pl. XX.). The pictures of the Painted
Chamber offer many examples. (See our woodcut, No. 86.) See also
our engravings, Nos. 58 and 62. The effigy of William de Valence
in Westminster Abbey, circa 1296, offers a curious variety of this
garment: it is powdered with escutcheons, on each of which are the
bearings of his house. A similar arrangement is seen in one of the
figures of the Painted Chamber (Plate VI.)
The knightly surcoat of this time was slit up in front and behind,
for convenience of riding. A singular deviation from this fashion
of the garment is found in a figure in the Cathedral of Constance,
c. 1220; where from the front part a portion passes under the arms,
overlaps the part hanging from the shoulders behind, and then fastens
at the back. See Hefner's work, Pl. IV. of Pt. i.
Occasionally the surcoat has an ornamental edge of fringe; as in
the brasses of D'Aubernoun, 1277, and De Bures, 1302 (woodcut, No.
55, and Waller, Pt. ii.). In some cases, as in the Temple Church
figure engraved by Stothard, Pl. XV., the garment has a rigid
appearance across the shoulders, which has been taken to indicate a
strengthening of the surcoat at that part. But the same treatment is
seen in the enamelled effigy at St. Denis, of John, son of St. Louis;
where the garment forms part of a civil dress (Willemin, vol. i., Pl.
XCI., and Guilhermy's Monuments of St. Denis, p. 164). The Surcoat
sometimes hangs loose, as in our woodcut, No. 86; but usually it is
girt at the waist by a cord or strap. The cord is seen in the brasses
of Sir John D'Aubernoun and Sir Roger de Trumpington; the strap, with
its long pendent end, in the effigies at Ash Church, Norton Church,
and St. Bride's (our woodcuts, Nos. 55, 73, 59, 70 and 74). The
group from Add. MS. 17,687 furnishes some further examples (cut, No.
63). Rarely, the surcote is made with a "fente" at the throat, and
fastened with a fibula. An effigy in the Temple Church exhibits this
arrangement. (Hollis, Pt. ii.)
The Sleeved Surcoat, as we have already noticed, did not come into
use till the second half of the thirteenth century. It is frequent
in the pictures of the Painted Chamber. A good example is offered by
the effigy at Norton, Durham (our woodcut, No. 70); and very similar
are found in the statue of Lord Fitz Alan at Bedale, Yorkshire,
(engraved by Hollis, Pt. iv., and in Blore's Monuments,) and the
Temple sculpture (Stothard, Pl. XXXVIII.). The knightly figure on our
woodcut No. 56 presents a variety, in the sleeves being "slittered."
Those of the Shurland effigy (Stothard, Pl. XLI.) are divided under
the arm and fastened by ties.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXX.]
[Illustration:
PLATE LXXI.]
The HELMETS of the thirteenth century, though offering many points
of difference on comparing particular examples, may yet be readily
thrown into distinguishable classes. The first division that
Suggests itself is that of the Helm (the great, close casque of
the knight) and the Helmet, a defence, as the word indicates, of
diminished completeness. The Helm must again be divided into two
leading kinds: that in which the plates forming it are all rivetted
together, so as to make one piece; and that in which the front is
provided with a moveable ventail. The successive changes of fashion
supply a further division of the helms; giving us the flat-topped,
the round-topped, and the "sugar-loaf" form. The Helmets may be
classed as the hemispherical, the cylindrical, the conical, the
wide-rimmed (Petasus form), and the nasal. Besides which are some
varieties of peculiar construction, which may be better noticed after
the more general forms have been considered.
The word Helm among the Northern nations merely meant a covering of
any kind: the _Wærhelm_ of the Anglo-Saxons was the little cap worn
by the soldier, of which we have seen many examples in our previous
inquiries. But from the end of the twelfth century, when the great
casque enclosing the whole head, like that seen on the second seal of
King Richard, came into use, the term helm or heaume was restricted
to this new kind of headpiece.
The flat-topped Helm forming a single structure, appears usually
in one of the following fashions. I. A cylinder having bands in
front forming a cross, and sometimes similar bands crossing on the
crown, which is slightly convex or conical; two horizontal clefts
for vision, but without holes for breathing. Examples occur in our
woodcut, No. 71, fig. 1, from the statue of Hugh Fitz Eudo, in
Kirkstead Chapel, Lincolnshire; in the chess-knight (woodcut 57);
in the Whitworth effigy (Stothard, Pl. XXIV.); in the carvings of
the Presbytery arcade of Worcester Cathedral (woodcut 71, fig. 2);
all these early in the century: and in the groups of the Painted
Chamber. II. A cylinder with the cross-bands as before; but, in
addition to the ocularium, having apertures for breathing. This kind
is seen in our woodcut 71, fig. 3, from Hefner's _Trachten_; in the
Walkerne effigy (Hollis, Pt. i.); in the sculptures of the front of
Wells Cathedral, circa 1225; in the miniatures of the Lives of the
Offas (Cott. MS., Nero, D.i.); and in the seal of Hugo de Vere, earl
of Oxford (woodcut 71, fig. 4). III. A cylinder with ocularium and
breathing-holes, but not having the cross-bands: woodcut 71, fig. 5,
from the very curious drawing on folio 27 of Harl. MS. 3,244, date
about 1250. IV. In this variety, the front part is rounded below, has
ocularium, but not any breathing-holes: woodcut 71, fig. 6, from the
seal of Alexander II. of Scotland, 1214-1249 (Cott. Charter, XIX.
2); and compare the seal of Louis the Dauphin, circa 1216. V. This
kind resembles the last, except that it is provided with apertures
for breathing. A good example is furnished by the seal of Robert Fitz
Walter, of the second half of the century: woodcut 71, fig. 7.
We must remark also the difference existing among these helms on the
point of ornament. Some are altogether plain; as in our woodcuts 57
and 71, and the Whitworth effigy (Stothard, Pl. XXIV.): others have a
profusion of ornament, as in the knightly figure from Roy. MS. 2, A.
xxii. (woodcut, No. 62). The term cylindrical, which has been applied
to them, must not always be understood literally. In woodcut No. 57
we have a true cylinder; but in other cases, the helm swells at
the sides, taking the "barrel" form, as in the second seal of Henry
III. (woodcut 81); or, when viewed in profile, it presents a concave
line behind, as in the seal of De Quinci (woodcut, No. 87), or, more
strikingly, in the example at Worcester (woodcut 71, fig. 2).
The helm was worn over the coif of chain-mail. An ivory carving
engraved in the sixteenth volume of the _Archælogia_ affords an
excellent illustration of this usage; the knight being there
represented in the act of raising his helm from his head armed in the
_coiffe de mailles_.
The flat-topped cylindrical Helm, with moveable ventail, appears
about the middle of the century. The figure of Ferdinand, King of
Castille, in the windows of Chartres Cathedral, affords a good
example. He died in 1252: the monument is engraved by Willemin, vol.
i., Pl. XCVII.: the helm is fig. 8 of our cut 71. A real helm of
this type is in the Tower collection: the ventail opens by means of
hinges on the side (see Archæol. Journal, vol. viii., p. 420, and our
woodcut 71, fig. 9). It is entirely of iron, weighing 13lb. 8oz. And
it is not unworthy of remark, that a much later helm, one with the
beaked visor characteristic of the close of the fourteenth century,
also in the Tower of London, differs in weight from the above example
by only four ounces. (Archæol. Journal, vol. ix., p. 93.) The
moveable ventail seems to be portrayed also on the second seal of
Henry III., and on the seal of Edward I. (woodcuts, No. 81 and 85).
About 1270 the round-topped Helm came into vogue: not, however, to
the entire exclusion of the old fashion, of which examples are
found to the end of this century, and even during a portion of the
next. See our Plate LXXI., fig. 10, from Cotton Roll, XV. 7. The
seal of Patrick Dunbar, tenth earl of March, affords another good
illustration of the helm with round crown: engraved in Laing's
"Ancient Scottish Seals," p. 54. It has moveable ventail, with
apertures for sight and breathing, as before. Other instances occur
in the groups of the "Painted Chamber" and the "Lives of the Offas."
A very curious variety of this type is furnished in the seal of Louis
of Savoy, 1294; where the ventail has the form of an eagle displayed,
the clefts for sight and air being contrived between the plumes of
the wings. (Figured by Cibrario, in the _Sigilli de' Principi di
Savoia_, Pl. XXX., and in our woodcut, No. 71, fig. 11.)
About 1280 the Helm takes the "sugar-loaf" form; having bands which
make a cross in the front of it. See woodcut, No. 71, fig. 12, from
Roy. MS. 20, D. i.; and the brass of Sir Roger de Trumpington, 1289
(woodcut, No. 73). It will be observed that this kind of heaume is
continued so low as to rest on the shoulders.
It is not improbable that some of these casques were formed in part
of leather. An early helm made of cuir-bouilli, with iron bands, is
figured by Hefner (_Trachten_, Pt. ii., Pl. LXVIII.); and for the
Windsor tournament of 1278, were provided "XXXVIII. galee de co͂r."
The helm was made fast by laces. In the Romance of Perceval, the hero
"Prant ses armes et s'aparoille:
Sans atargier le haubert vest,
L'iaume lace sans nul arest," &c.--_Fol._ 237.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXXII.]
These laces are very clearly shewn in our engravings, Nos. 47 and
62; from Roy. MSS., 20, D. i. and 2, A. xxii.
In order to recover the helm if struck off in the _mêlée_ it was
attached to some part of the knight's equipment by a chain. The
brass of Sir Roger de Trumpington (cut, No. 73) supplies us with
an illustration. And this usage is noticed in the Romance of _Le
tournois de Chauvenei_, written about 1285:--
"Chescun son hiaume en sa chaaine,
Qui de bons cous attent l'estraine."
_Vers_ 3,583.
[Illustration: No. 73.]
Crests are frequently found surmounting the helm at the close of this
century; but they are not of that distinctive kind, consisting of
lions, griffins, eagles, wings, axes, and-so-forth, which appear in
such diversity during the next age. They are merely of the fan form.
The seal of De Quinci, indeed, seems an evidence to the contrary,
and has been often described as an instance of a helm of the early
part of the thirteenth century bearing a wyvern for a crest (woodcut,
No. 87). But the wyvern in the upper part of this seal seems to be
placed there merely to fill up the space between the letters, and
belongs to the legend, not to the effigy; just as we see a flower
occupying the space beneath the lion's feet, and in the obverse of
the seal, the wyvern filling up the void beneath the horse and under
the housing. Heraldic bearings do in fact appear on the casques
of several figures previously to 1300. But they form part of the
headpiece itself: they do not surmount it. The helm of Richard the
First has a lion, but it is a figure embossed or painted on a part
of the casque. The well-known effigy of a Plantagenet (Stothard, Pl.
II.) is an analogous instance. The monument of Le Botiler at St.
Bride's, Glamorganshire, (woodcut, No. 74,) affords another example:
and in the curious helm of Louis of Savoy (woodcut 71, fig. 11) we
have the heraldic eagle forming the _visor_ of the casque, while the
crest is composed of the usual fan ornament. This fan we have already
seen on the helm of Richard I., but it does not come into general use
till towards the close of the thirteenth century. See examples on our
woodcuts, Nos. 71 and 72. Other instances may be found in Laing's
"Scottish Seals," p. 54; in the Lives of the Offas, Cott. MS., Nero,
D. i.; and in great number among the miniatures of Roy. MS. 20, D.
i., where they are attached to the heads of the horses as well as
to the helms. At the Windsor tournament in 1278, also, crests were
provided both for man and horse:--
"Īt p̴ qualibet galea j. cresta }
Īt p̴ quolibet equo j. cresta } S͂m. LXXVI. Cres̄t."
And for the making of these crests, calf-skins and parchment were
employed:--
"LXXVI. pell' vitul' p̴ cres̄t faciend' p'̄c pell' iij. d."
"Īt p̴ qualibet cresta j. pell' parcamēn rud'. S͂m. LXXVI.
pell' rud' p̴cameni[352]."
Occasionally feathers supply the place of the fan ornament. A plume
of seven peacock's feathers surmounts a crowned helm on folio 205
of Roy. MS. 20, D. i.; and similar examples occur at ff. 60^{vo}. and
239^{vo}. of the same manuscript. Compare also Add. MS. 15,268: both
these books being of the close of the century.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXXIV.]
Another curious appendage to the knightly helm of this time consisted
of Horns; made, as we learn from Guillaume le Breton, of whalebone,
and borne for the purpose of striking terror by the gigantic
appearance of the wearer. The Count of Boulogne at the Battle of
Bovines, in 1214, adopts this expedient:--
"Cornua conus agit, superasque eduxit in auras,
E costis assumpta nigris quas faucis in antro
Branchia balenæ Britici colit incola ponti:
Ut qui magnus erat magnæ super addita moli
Majorem faceret phantastica pompa videri."
_Philipp._, lib. xi. 322.
The Helms of kings have a crown encircling them, as seen in the seals
of Henry III. and Edward I. of England (woodcuts, No. 79, 81 and 85);
but on the capelline of King John is no such ornament. See also our
engraving, No. 72. The crown is occasionally placed on the coif of
chain-mail: as on folio 7 of the Lives of the Offas (woodcut, No.
80), and in the pictures of the Painted Chamber.
[Illustration: No. 75]
Of the smaller casque--helmet, or chapel-de-fer--we have already
observed that some were worn beneath the coif-de-mailles. Others
were placed above it, or formed of themselves the whole arming of
the head. They are cylindrical, hemispherical, conical, wide-rimmed,
and of the nasal kind. The first-named appears in our woodcut, No.
53, from Harl. MS. 5,102, of the beginning of the century. It is
found also on the seal of St. Louis, and in the effigy in the Temple
Church, figured by Stothard, Pl. X. The rounded helmet occurs on
the seal of King John (woodcut 52); in our engraving, No. 53, from
Harl. MS. 5,102, early in the century; and in Nos. 49 and 74, both
monuments of the close of this period. It appears plentifully in
Roy. MS. 20, D. i., and in the groups of the Painted Chamber. The
conical chapel is seen in our engraving, No. 58; it occurs also in
Harl. MS. 1,527, and in the Painted Chamber and Lives of the Offas.
The Wide-rimmed Helmet is found throughout this century. An early
example appears in our engraving, No. 50, from Harl. MS. 4,751. The
figure here given is from Add. MS. 11,639, fol. 520; of the close of
the century. It represents Goliath, and the casque is thus painted:
crown, iron-colour; rim and crest, gold. The book is in Hebrew, but
believed to have been written in Germany. See also our woodcut, No.
49, from Add. MS. 15,268; and Hefner's Plate V.; and the pictures
of the Painted Chamber. A good example in sculpture occurs in the
arcade of the north aisle of the Lady Chapel at Worcester Cathedral.
On Cotton Roll, XV. 7, a variety of this headpiece has an upright
spike at the top. In the Archæological Journal, vol. viii. p. 319,
is engraved a knightly effigy in which the wide and pointed iron-hat
is worn over a close skull-cap of plate, to which, is joined a coif
of chain-mail. The Nasal Helmet is found of three varieties: the
cylindrical, the round-topped, and the conical. The first occurs on
the monumental effigy of Raoul De Beaumont, in the abbey of Estival,
founded by him in 1210. (Kerrich Collections, Add. MS. 6,728.) The
hemispherical appears in the Lives of the Offas and the Painted
Chamber, and on Plate XXXIII. of Hefner. The pointed crown is found
among the subjects of the Painted Chamber, of which the following is
an example. See also our woodcut, No. 82.
[Illustration: No. 76.]
Besides the above, which are the usual types of casque found in
the thirteenth century, there are some varieties of occasional
appearance. Among these may be mentioned the open-faced helmet of
the Temple effigy figured by Stothard, Pl. XV. In this curious
example, all the head above the neck is cased in a defence of some
rigid material (metal or cuir-bouilli?), and encircled by a band or
turban. Another singular headpiece occurs on folio 7 of the Lives
of the Offas (woodcut, No. 80); where the coif of banded-mail is
covered in front with a plate, perforated for vision and breathing,
and strengthened with the cross-bands already seen in the knightly
heaume. Helmets formed of a framework of metal covering a cap of
leather, similar to the defence noticed at an earlier period (see
page 69), seem to have been in use during this century. Hefner has
figured the metal portion of a real one found in the island of
Negropont, which he assigns to this period (_Trachten_, Pl. LXIII.)
It closely resembles the bronze example discovered at Leckhampton
(woodcut 18), consisting of a hoop from which spring two arcs of
metal crossing at the crown. Of similar mixed materials appear
to be those helmets seen in the groups of the Painted Chamber,
where a frame of gold-colour encloses a cap of crimson or purple
(Plates XXXV. and XXXVI.). And compare our woodcut, No. 82, also
from the Painted Chamber, in which the frame of the headpiece is of
iron-colour, while the enclosed portion is painted yellow.
The Bassinet and Cervellière are named in documents of this time,
but do not appear to have been anything more than the round-topped
skull-cap already noticed.
The bassinet is mentioned in the will of Odo de Rossilion in 1298,
cited by Ducange[353]; a monument further curious from its giving us
the detail of a knight's equipment in these days:--
"Idem do et lego domino Petro de Monte Ancelini predicto centum
libras Turonenses et unam Integram Armaturam de Armaturis
meis, videlicet meum heaume à vissere, meum bassignetum, meum
porpoinctum de cendallo, meum godbertum[354], meam gorgretam,
meas buculas[355], meum gaudichetum, meas trumulieres[356]
d'acier, meos cuissellos, meos chantones[357], meum magnum
cutellum, et meam parvam ensem."
The Bassinet with camail _attached_ is not a characteristic of this
century, though isolated examples may perhaps be found. The knightly
effigy at Ashington, Somersetshire, already noticed, seems to be one of
these: the mail-coif being fixed to the plate-cap by rivets. (Archæol.
Journ., vol. viii. p. 319.) It will be remarked in that very valuable
monument, the Pictures of the Painted Chamber, that the skull-caps of
plate are in many instances so placed on the coif-de-mailles as to
shew very clearly that the two defences are quite distinct.
Guiart, in the _Chronique Métrique_, frequently uses the name
_cervellière_:--
"Sus hyaumes et sus cervelières
Prennent plommées à descendre
Et hachètes pour tout porfendre."--_Line_ 1912.
"Aucuns d'entr'eus testes desnuent
De hyaumes et de cervelières."--_Line_ 5267.
"Hauberjons et cervelières,
Gantlez, tacles et gorgières."--_Line_ 5467.
An amusing tale is told in the _Chronicon Nonantulanum_, of the
invention of the cervellière by Michael Scot, "Astrologus Friderici
Imperatoris familiaris." Having foreseen that he should meet his
death from the fall of a stone of two ounces weight upon his head, he
contrived a cap (_infulam_) of plate-iron. But being at mass one day,
at the exaltation of the host, he reverently lifted his cap, when a
little stone fell upon his head, and inflicted a slight wound. Weighing
the stone, he found it to be exactly two ounces; and then, knowing his
doom to be sealed, he arranged his worldly affairs and died.
From the manuscript collection of "Proverbes" of the thirteenth
century, preserved in the Imperial Library at Paris, and cited by Le
Grand d'Aussy in the _Vie privée des François_[358], we learn that the
"Heaumes de Poitiers" had obtained the highest meed of approbation.
The ordinary SHIELD of this period was the triangular: its dimensions
decreasing as the century advanced. It was bowed or flat. Other
targets of this time are the kite-shaped, the pear-shaped, the
heart-shaped, the round, the quadrangular, and a shield angular at
the top and rounded below.
The triangular, bowed shield appears in our engravings, Nos. 52,
53, 57 and 87; all early examples. Later instances occur in the
seal of Edward I. (No. 85), and our woodcut, No. 75, from Add. MS.
11,639. The flat triangular shield is found in the very curious
figure on folio 27 of Harl. MS. 3,244, _circa_ 1250; in the brass of
Sir John D'Aubernoun, 1277 (woodcut, No. 55); in the glass-painting
at Oxford Cathedral (woodcut, No. 77); and in the effigy of Le
Botiler (woodcut, No. 74): the last two monuments, of the close
of the century. See also Painted Chamber, Plate XXXVI. It will be
observed that the shield of D'Aubernoun is curiously small. Those of
Crouchback and William de Valence on their tombs are scarcely larger.
(Stothard, Pl. XLIII. and XLIV.) The Kite-shaped shield appears very
frequently in Roy. MS. 20, D. i.; a subject from which, with this
form of target, is given in our woodcut, No. 72. It occurs also in
Harl. MS. 1,527, and on Plate XXXVI. of the Painted Chamber. This
form, like the foregoing, is sometimes bowed and sometimes flat.
The Pear-shaped variety is found on the seal of Saer de Quinci,
1210--19, engraved in Laing's Ancient Scottish Seals, Pl. XI.; and on
that of John de Methkil, c. 1220 (Laing, Pl. VII. fig. 3). Another
Scottish seal gives us the Heart-shaped shield, a rare and early
example (Laing, Pl. X. fig. 11). The Round target supported by its
guige appears in a group of fighters in Harl. MS. 1,527; again in
the Malvern effigy (Stothard, Pl. XIX.); in the Lives of the Offas;
and among the pictures of the Painted Chamber. The quadrangular
bowed shield is figured in our woodcut, No. 88, from a Tower Roll,
commemorating a wager of battle in the reign of Henry III. The shield
made angular at top and rounded below may be found on Plate XXXI.
of the Painted Chamber, and occurs again on the seal of a Melros
charter of 1285, engraved on page 30 of Laing's Scottish Seals. It is
scarcely necessary to say that the types which we have endeavoured to
distinguish will be found somewhat varied in particular examples: to
describe every modification of the general forms we have detected,
would be a tedious and a useless task.
The Boss is still retained in some of the shields of this time,
though but rarely. It appears in our woodcuts, Nos. 75 and 88, and on
folio 4 of the Lives of the Offas. The Enarmes, or straps by which
the knight sustained his shield in combat, are well shewn in the
effigy of De Shurland (Stothard, Pl. XLI.), and receive some further
illustration from the statues of De Vere at Hatfield Broadoak, Essex,
and of Brian Fitz Alan at Bedale, Yorkshire. Compare also folio 4 of
the Lives of the Offas, and Plate XXXVIII. of the Painted Chamber.
The Guige, or strap by which the shield was hung round the neck, is a
usual adjunct to this defence during the whole of the century, and is
sometimes of a highly enriched character. Many of our woodcuts shew
the manner of its use.
From a passage of "The Ancren Riwle," lately printed by the Camden
Society, from a MS. of the thirteenth century, we learn that the
materials of the shield at this time were "wood, leather, and
painting." (p. 393.) These ingredients frequently reappear in
the real targets of a later time which have been saved from the
destruction of passing centuries.
[Illustration: No. 77.]
Armorial bearings are the usual adornment of the knightly shield
throughout this period; and the field was sometimes richly diapered,
as in this example from the window of the north transept of Oxford
Cathedral. Compare the monument of De Vere at Hatfield (Stothard,
Pl. XXXVI.) Where heraldic devices are not found, a "pattern"
generally takes their place: a cross, a rosette, a star, a fret, or
some such simple ornament. In other cases the face of the shield is
painted of a single colour. In the effigies placed over the tombs of
the knights, the shield is usually represented as borne on the arm.
The figure of William de Valence in Westminster Abbey has it slung at
the hip; an arrangement frequently adopted in French monuments, and
occasionally in those of other continental countries.
Another continental custom sometimes imitated by our own countrymen,
was that of adorning the walls of the banqueting-hall on great
occasions with the shields of distinguished heroes. When, in 1254,
the English king entertained the French monarch in the Temple
in Paris, "the banquet was given," says Matthew Paris, "in the
great hall of the Temple, in which were hung up, according to the
_continental custom_, as many bucklers as the four walls could hold."
Amongst others was seen the shield of Richard, king of England,
concerning which a witty person present said to King Henry, "Why, my
Lord, have you invited the French to dine with you in this house?
See, there is the shield of the noble-hearted English king, Richard!
your guests will be unable to eat without fear and trembling[359]."
From the curious volume already cited, the _Ancren Rule_, we learn
that at the demise of a brave knight, his shield was hung aloft on
the church walls, in honour and remembrance of his valorous deeds.
[Illustration: No. 78.]
The Spur of this century is of three kinds: the simple goad, the
ball-and-spike, and the rowel. The goad is sometimes straight,
sometimes curved. The straight spike is seen in this example of an iron
spur found in the churchyard of Chesterford, Cambridgeshire, and now
preserved in the collection of the Hon. Richard Neville. Compare our
engravings, Nos. 58 and 85. The curved goad appears in woodcuts 55 and
73. Our engravings, Nos. 62, 72 and 81 shew the ball-and-spike kind;
of which we have already seen examples in the statues of Henry II. and
Richard I. at Fontevraud. The rowel spur is found but in one or two
instances during this century. It is represented on the seal of Henry
III., here given; where, in order to bring up the rowel to the middle
of the heel, the seal-engraver has resorted to the singular expedient
of raising the field into a sort of hillock, on the top of which he has
sculptured the star-like rowel. See Harleian Charter, 43, C. 38. The
rowel spur again appears on the effigy of Le Botiler (woodcut, No. 74).
It is, however, rather a characteristic of the fourteenth than of this
century; and, generally speaking, its presence alone should lead one
to hesitate long before assigning a monument to the earlier period,
even though it should exhibit all the other features of the more
ancient costume. The monument of Johan Le Botiler, just named, is by no
means exempt from the operation of this rule.
[Illustration: GREAT SEAL OF KING HENRY III.
No. 79.]
The shank of the spur is curved, each end being formed into a loop
to receive the strap. The strap itself is single, buckling over the
instep. See Stothard's Plates XVII. and XXII. Some exceptions occur
to this usual arrangement. In the effigy of a De L'Isle, figured by
Stothard, Plate XX., the outer shank is flattened into a trefoil and
rivetted upon the leather. In the figure at Norton, Durham, (woodcut,
No. 70,) the shanks terminate in rings, and two straps are employed to
fix the spur to the foot. Both straps and spurs are occasionally shewn
of an enriched character. On folio 27 of Harl. MS. 3,244, the spur
is ornamented with a row of studs or bosses. In the brass at Acton,
Suffolk, 1302 (Waller, Pt. ii.), the pattern consists of rosettes.
The gilded spurs of the knights occasionally became the trophy of a
victory; as in the case of the battle of Courtray, in 1302. More than
five hundred pairs, Froissart tells us, were suspended in a chapel of
the church of Our Lady of Courtray: "Et ces éperons avoient jadis été
des seigneurs de France, qui avoient été morts en la dite bataille;
et en faisoient ceux de Courtray tous les ans, pour le triomphe, très
grand solemnité[360]."
The Beard during this century appears to have been usually worn
by the aged only. The young knight has commonly neither beard nor
moustache: indeed, this imberbed state of the Western cavaliers is
made a reproach to them by the Saracens. The Sultan, we are told by
Matthew Paris, under 1250, addressing his chiefs, in arms against
the forces of St. Louis, exclaimed: "What rash madness excites these
men to attack us and endeavour to deprive us of our inheritance, who
have inhabited this noble country since the Flood? A certain motive,
however slight, urges the Christians to covet the land which they
call Holy: but what have they to do with Egypt? Unfit indeed are they
to lord it over a land which is watered and enriched by the river
sent from Paradise: beardless, shorn men, unwarlike and imbecile,
more like women than men, what rash daring is this[361]!"
For the arrangement of the beard of this time, see the effigies of
King John and Henry III. (Stothard, Plates XI. and XXXI.), and Plate
XXXIX. of the Painted Chamber.
The fashion of the Hair differs considerably in the first and second
portions of the century. In both it was cut short at the forehead: but
in the first half it was allowed to fall in its natural flow to some
length at the sides of the head and behind; while, in the second, it
was most carefully arranged in large curls, which cover the ears, and
give a strongly marked character to the monuments of this time. In the
effigy of King John at Worcester, the side hair is cut sheer off just
below the ear. In the figure of Prince John, the son of St. Louis, in
the Abbey Church of St. Denis, the hair falls in a natural ringlet to
the neck[362]. The large and formal curl of the later period is well
shewn in the knightly sculpture from Norton Church, Durham (woodcut,
No. 70). See also the statue of Henry III. (Stothard, Pl. XXXI.), and
the series of monumental figures sculptured in 1263-4 by order of St.
Louis, to perpetuate the memory of his ancestors entombed at St. Denis.
(Guilhermy, pp. 218, 223, 225 and 228.)
[Illustration:
PLATE LXXX.]
The SPEAR for war of the thirteenth century offers no change from
that of the preceding age. The shaft of it is still uniform from
end to end, not yet being hollowed out for the grip, as in the
lance of a later date. The head is of three forms: the lozenge,
the leaf, and the barbed. The lozenge spear-head is the most usual,
and appears in the accompanying group from the Lives of the Two
Offas, Cott. MS., Nero, D. i. fol. 7. See also our woodcuts, No. 62
and 75. The leaf-shaped head occurs on fol. 4 of Nero, D. i.; on
fol. 27 of Harl. MS. 3,244; and on the Shurland monument (Stothard,
Pl. XLI.) The barbed spear was probably not considered a knightly
weapon, but carried by soldiers of an inferior grade. At all events,
we occasionally find men-at-arms furnished with it, as in Roy. MS.
20, D. i., a book of about the close of this century. And earlier in
the period, at the battle of Bovines in 1214, we have the curious
account of Rigord, shewing the jeopardy in which the life of King
Philip was placed through the attack of a soldier armed with a spear
of this description. This soldier of the emperor's host struck at
the neck of the king, the usual point of attack, and though the
gorget of the monarch prevented the weapon from inflicting any wound,
the barbs of the spear became so firmly fixed between the hauberk
and the head-defence, that the sturdy German was enabled to pull
Philippe Auguste from his horse and lay him prone at his feet. The
king managed to raise himself again, but the soldier held firm. The
emperor, who was near at hand, rushed forward to terminate the strife
by the death of his rival, and all seemed over. Galon de Montigny
meanwhile, the Bannerer of the king, proclaimed the danger of his
master by incessantly _raising and lowering_ the Standard over the
spot where this contest was taking place. The French were animated to
new exertions: a band of seigneurs and gentlemen cut their way to the
spot where the king was struggling in unequal conflict with his
foes: the spearman, struck down or slain, let go his hold: the fight
continued, furiously as ever, but in numbers less disproportionate
than before: Etienne de Longchamp, one of the bravest of the
French nobles, is slain by the side of the king: Pierre Tristan,
another distinguished knight, leaps from his steed, and gives it
to his monarch: Guillaume des Barres at this moment comes up with
reinforcements, charges the German host with impetuous bravery, and
turns their triumph into a rout.
The Lance is occasionally furnished with a streamer, as at a former
period. It is seen in our last engraving (No. 80), from the Lives of
the Offas; and again in woodcuts, Nos. 55 and 62. Compare also Harl.
MS. 3,244, fol. 27, and other groups from the Lives of the Offas.
In some of these examples, the lance-flag is ensigned with a cross
only; in others it is quite blank: in others, again, as the brass of
D'Aubernoun, it bears a device clearly heraldic.
In a few rare instances the spear is represented on the tomb of the
knight. The necessity of reducing it far beneath its legitimate
proportions, in order to be comprised within the narrow limits of the
sepulchral memorial, would furnish a sufficient reason for its being
generally excluded from the monumental design: but it is not improbable
that mere fashion (for the tomb has its fashions) contributed in some
degree to this exclusion; because we find that the royal and knightly
seals, which at a previous date constantly exhibited the lance with its
streamer, now more usually represent the warrior armed with the sword.
The lance is found on the brass of D'Aubernoun (woodcut, No. 55), on
the sculptured effigy of a knight in the churchyard of Ruabon, in
Wales, and in the incised slab at Ashington, Somersetshire, figured in
the Archæological Journal, vol. viii. p. 319.
For the hastilude, the spear-head was blunted, and "about the breadth
of a small knife;" as we learn from Matthew Paris, in his account of
the Round-Table Game held at the Abbey of Wallenden in 1252. Here,
one of the knights, Roger de Lemburn, aimed his weapon, the point of
which was not blunted as it ought to have been, in such a way that
it entered under the helm of his adversary, Arnold de Montigny, and
pierced his throat; for he was uncovered in that part, and without
a collar (_carens collario_). The Earl of Gloucester with the other
knights immediately sought to extract the fragment of the lance,
and when he had succeeded in withdrawing the wooden shaft of it,
the iron head remained behind: on this being at length extracted,
and examined by the surrounding knights, it was found to be very
sharp at the point, like a dagger; though it ought to have been
blunt, and about as broad as a small knife. Its shape was like that
of a ploughshare on a small scale, whence it was commonly called a
little plough (_vomerulus_), and in French, _soket_[363]. We have
here the description of two spear-heads very distinct in character:
one rebated for the Jousts of Peace, seemingly the prototype of
the coronel which afterwards replaced it; and the other a sharp
instrument, the form of which we may perhaps recognise among the
tilting weapons of the _Triumph of Maximilian_. See, for instance,
the group of knights armed for the "Course appelée Bund."
When, in battle, the charge had been made with the Lance, and that
weapon was no longer available in the _mêlée_, it was cast aside, and
the conquest carried on with the Sword:--
"Aprés le froisseis des Lances,
Qui ja sont par terre semées,
Giettent mains à blanches espées,
Desquels ils s'entr'envaissent,
Hyaumes e bacinets tentissent
E plusieurs autres ferreures.
Coutiaux trespercent armeures."--_Guiart._
[Illustration: SECOND GREAT SEAL OF KING HENRY III.
No. 81.]
The knightly SWORD of this day resembled in its essentials that of
the preceding century: indeed, it did not materially change during
the whole Gothic period. The blade was straight, broad, double-edged,
and pointed. The type is well shewn in the second seal of Henry III.
(woodcut, No. 81).
The cross-piece was usually curved towards the blade, as represented
in several of our engravings. Sometimes this curved guard threw out a
kind of cusp in the middle, as in the sculpture at Haseley, (woodcut
46,) and the effigy figured by Stothard, Plate XX. The cross-bar was at
other times straight, as in the seal of King John (woodcut, No. 52),
and in our other woodcuts numbered 53, 56, and 63. Compare the sword of
De Vere (Stothard, Pl. XXXVI.). A variety of the straight guard forms
also a cusp over the centre of the blade, as in the example given in
our engraving, No. 80. The knightly effigy in Walkerne Church (Hollis,
Pt. i.) has a sword-guard in the form of a chevron. Edward I., on his
great seal, (woodcut, No. 85,) offers us a further variety, in which
the outline somewhat resembles that of the Greek bow.
The pommel of the sword during this century takes many forms: the
round, the trefoil, the cinquefoil, the rosette, the lozenge, the
conical, the pear-shaped, the square, and the fleur-de-lis. The round
is either plain or ornamented on its sides: in the latter case the
ornament is usually a cross, or a shield of arms. The plain round
pommel is generally wheel-formed; that is, it has a projection
in the centre something like the nave of a wheel. See Journal of
Archæological Association, vol. i. p. 336. The sacred symbol of
the Cross is very frequently found on the circular pommel; as in
our woodcuts, No. 55 and 77. The shield of arms appears in our
engraving, No. 70. Compare the Fitz-Alan monument (Hollis, Pt. iv.).
The trefoil pommel is represented in our cuts, No. 56 and 74; the
cinquefoil, on our engraving, No. 64, and in Plate XX. of Stothard's
Monuments. The rose form occurs in our woodcut, No. 62; the lozenge
on the effigy of King John (Stothard, Pl. XI.); the conical, in our
print, No. 63; the pear-shaped, in Stothard's 37th Plate; the square,
on Plate XXXV. of the Painted Chamber; and the fleur-de-lis on the
seal of Edward I. (woodcut, No. 85).
The sword-handle is sometimes of a highly enriched character. That of
King John, on his monument in Worcester Cathedral, represents a weapon
in which both pommel and cross-bar were inlaid with precious stones.
Ornamental grips are seen in the monument of Crouchback (Stothard, Pl.
XLIII. fig. 4), and the brass of De Bures, 1302 (Waller, Pt. ii.).
The Sheath also occasionally exhibits enrichments. These are either
metal harnessings, of Gothic patterns, similar to the architectural
designs of the day, as in our woodcut, No. 70, and the effigy
of Brian, lord Fitz-Alan (Hollis, Pt. iv.); or the scabbard is
embellished from end to end with a series of shields of arms, as in
our engraving, No. 73, and the statue of De Montfort (Stothard, Pl.
XXXIX.). These escutcheons were probably tinctured by means of enamel.
The characteristic Sword-Belt of this century consisted of two
straps, a long and a short one. The long strap was looped to the
scabbard about two hands-breadths from the top, passed round the
waist, and fastened to the buckle in front, leaving a long end tipped
with a metal tag. The short strap held the buckle, and was split
into two thongs, one of which was laced into the top of the (leather)
scabbard; the other, passing obliquely across the sheath, being laced
into the loop of the long strap below. See our woodcuts, Nos. 55
and 73. A variety of this mode consisted in attaching the long and
short straps to the scabbard by ring-lockets of metal, in lieu of
the loop and lacings. This occurs late in the century. See woodcut,
No. 70, and the effigy of Brian Fitz-Alan (Hollis, Pt. iv.). The
common sword-belt of the soldiery was formed on the old plan: at one
end of a broad strap were two clefts, through which the two thongs
into which the other end was split were passed and tied into a knot.
See woodcut, No. 63. The figures there given represent the soldiers
of Herod engaged in the Massacre of the Innocents. The knightly
sword-belt is often highly enriched; being covered with elaborate
patterns, worked in the most brilliant colours, and harnessed with
bars and bosses of gilt metal, or perhaps of gold itself; the bosses,
towards the end of the period, taking not unfrequently the form
of lions' heads. The ornament of bars only, appears on a Temple
Church effigy, figured by Hollis, Pt. i.; of bars and rosettes, in
Stothard's 15th and 45th Plates; of a painted pattern, in Plate XXI.
of Stothard's work; of bosses in the form of lions' heads, in Part
iv. of Hollis. The sword-belt of Edmund Crouchback is enriched with
heraldic bearings. See Stothard, Pl. XLIII. detail 1.
Minute variations from the above types of Sword-belt may be found,
but do not seem to require a particular description. We must not omit
to remark, however, that, in some early monuments of this period, the
sword is represented as worn at the right side of the warrior. Three
effigies in the Temple Church, London, exhibit this arrangement.
At York, on Christmas-day, 1252, King Henry III. conferred knighthood
on the young king of Scotland; who, the day following, espoused the
Princess Margaret, daughter of Henry, amidst great rejoicings and a
splendid ceremonial. To obtain a detailed description of the Sword
used by the king of England on this occasion was scarcely within the
hope of the archæologist; but, singularly enough, such an account,
of curious minuteness, has come down to us. It is preserved in the
Tower, (Close Rolls, 36 H. III. m. 31,) and has been Printed in
Walpole's "Painting in England" (vol. i. chap. 1):--
"Mandatum est Edwardo de Westm. quod cum festinatione perquirat
quendam pulchrum gladium et scauberg. ejusdem de serico, et pomellum
de argento bene et ornate cooperiri, et quandam pulcram zonam eidem
pendi faciat, ita quod gladium illum sic factum habeat apud Ebor., de
quo Rex Alexandrum Regem Scotiæ illustrem cingulo militari decorare
possit in instanti festo Nativitatis Dominicæ. Teste Rege apud
Lychfeld xxi. die Novembr. Per ipsum Regem."
Besides the ordinary knightly sword of the thirteenth century, the
size of which is authenticated by many existing monuments, we have
the evidence of cotemporary writers that swords of differing sizes
were employed by different nations. The Germans affected a large
brand, the French a shorter weapon. Thus Guiart:--
"A grans espées d'Allemagne
Leur tranchent souvent les poins outre."
* * * * *
"Là Francois espées reportent
Courtes et roides, dont ils taillent."
And again, under 1301:--
"Epées viennent aux services
Et sont de diverses semblances,
Més Francois, qui d'accoutumance
Les ont courtes, assez legieres,
Gietent aux Flamans vers les chieres."
In the description of the Battle of Benevento, in 1266, Hugues de
Bauçoi, an eye-witness of the conflict, tells us that the troops
of Manfred, Germans and Saracens, fought with long swords, axes
and maces; but the French, coming to close quarters, pierced them
with their short swords: "ex brevibus spathis suis eorum latera
perfodiebant[364]." Guillaume de Nangis gives similar testimony[365].
How far these German weapons approached the great two-hand swords
of later times, or the French reverted to the short blade of the
Romans, it is vain to inquire. Commentators have seen in the above
descriptions both the types here named; but the evidence of pictorial
monuments does not confirm the conclusion. As large and small are but
comparative terms, it is probable that the swords of the French and
Germans differed in no great degree.
Other varieties of Sword which appear in the thirteenth century are
the Falchion, the curved Sabre, the Espée à l'estoc, the Cultellus,
and the Anelace.
The Falchion (_fauchon_, Fr., from the Latin _falx_) is of two kinds:
the first a broad blade, becoming wider towards the point, the edge
convex, the back concave; as in this example from the Painted Chamber:
[Illustration: No. 82.]
the other differing from it only in having the back quite straight.
The latter is figured on Plate XXXI. of the Painted Chamber; and of
this form is the curious tenure sword of the lordship of Sockburn,
co. Durham, engraved in the Archæologia, vol. xv. Plate XXVI. See,
in Blount's "Antient Tenures," an account of this weapon; of the
"monstrous Dragon, Worm, or flying Serpent, that devoured Men, Women,
and Children," which fell at last under its keen edge; and of the "tomb
of the great Ancestor of the Conyers, having carvings of the falchion,
and of a dog, and of the monstrous Worm or Serpent, lying at the
Knight's feet, of his own killing, of which the History of the Family
gives the above account." The passage is too long for extract[366].
The falchion is a weapon of very remote antiquity. It appears among
the paintings on the tomb at Thebes of Rameses III., B.C. 1230. See
Plate III. of Wilkinson's "Ancient Egyptians" (ed. 1837). And it is
found, almost identical in shape, in the wall-paintings of the Ajunta
Caves, of the first century of the Christian era; of which a careful
copy has been made for the Museum of the East India House. Guiart
often mentions it in the _Chronique Métrique_, as in this passage:--
"Là ou les presses sont plus drues
Est le chaple[367] aux espees nues,
Aux fauchons, aux coutiaus à pointes,
Si merveilleus que les plus cointes
N'ont ores soing de vanteries."
The curved Sabre is of very rare appearance. It occurs among the
pictures of the Painted Chamber, Plate XXXV.
The Epée à l'estoc (Stabbing Sword) is named in a judgment of the
Parliament of Paris in 1268: "Sufficienter inventum est quod dictus
Boso dictum Ademarum percussit cum Ense a estoc in dextro latero
propria manu, et de ipso ictu cecidit dictus Ademarus." It appears
also to be the weapon which Rigord assigns to some of the imperial
troops at the battle of Bovines: "Habebant cultellos longos,
graciles, triacumines, quolibet acumine indifferenter secantes, a
cuspide usque ad manubrium, quibus utebantur pro gladiis."
The Cultellus, as we have seen[368], was a weapon partaking of the
character of the sword and the dagger. It clearly varied in size; for
Odo de Rossilion, in 1298, names in his will "meum magnum cultellum
et meam parvam ensem." Being the chief arm of the coustillers, it
must have been of some considerable size: and of this larger kind
must also have been the weapon assigned, in the "Outillement du
villain," to the peasant, for the defence of his home:--
"Si le convient armer
Por la terre garder,
Coterel e hauvet,
Macue e guibet,
Arc e lance enfumée," &c.
In other places, it appears as a mere secondary arm, a knife or
dagger; as in the Statutes of Arms already cited, where the various
classes of proprietors are directed to have "espe, cutel e cheval,"
or "espe e cutel," or "espes, arcs, setes e cutel."
The particular construction of the Anelace, as well as the derivation
of its name, has hitherto eluded the most careful examination of
antiquaries and glossarists. Some have referred the name to the
Latin or Italian, _annulus_, or _annello_. Others to the Old-German,
_Laz_, from _latus_; the weapon being therefore a "side-arm." Matthew
Paris often uses the word, and tells us that the arm was worn at the
girdle: "Loricâ erat indutus, gestans anelacium ad lumbare." Without
hoping to settle this question, we may venture to point out that a
weapon of the dagger kind, carried at the belt, and having a chain
with _a ring running loosely upon the grip_, to prevent its being
lost in the _mêlée_, was certainly in use during the middle-ages; an
example of which may be seen in the effigy of William Wenemaer, at
Ghent, dated 1325; engraved in the Archæological Journal, vol. vii.
p. 287. We may note also that the wheel-like form of the _guard_ may
have supplied the name; for Florio, in the sixteenth century, defines
"Annelle" to be "thin plates of iron made like rings, called of our
gunners washers," &c. Guiart also mentions the anelace: under the
year 1298, he has:--
"Aucuns d'entr'eus testes desnuent
De hyaumes e de cervelieres,
E plantent alenaz es chieres
En pluseurs lieus jusques es manches."
In the manufacture of Swords at this period, Cologne seems to
have had the palm. The volume of Proverbs already noticed gives
the highest place to the "Espees de Cologne." And Matthew Paris,
under 1241[369], relating how certain wicked German Jews, wishing
to assist the Tartars, sent them certain barrels, (filled, as they
told the Christians, with poisoned wine,) adds that, on the toll-man
suspiciously scrutinizing the contents, "all the casks were found to
be filled with Cologne swords and daggers, without hilts, closely
and compactly stowed away. The Jews were, therefore, at once handed
over to the executioners, to be either consigned to perpetual
imprisonment, or to be slain with their own swords."
The Exercise of the Sword and Buckler (_Eskirmye de Bokyler_) was in
vogue in this century, and schools were established for teaching it.
But disorders arising from the practice, the schools were ordered
to be closed. Thus the "Statuta Civitatis London" of the 13 Edw. I.
has: "Primerement pur ceo qe multz des mals com des murdres robberyes
e homycides ont este fetz ca en arrere deinz la Citee de nuyt e de
jour, e gentz batues e mal tretes e autres diverses aventures de mal
avenuz encontre sa pes (du roi), defendu est qe nul seit si hardi
estre trove alaunt ne batraunt parmy les ruwes de la Citee apres
coeverfu parsone a seint Martyn le grant, a espey ne a bokuyler ne a
autre arme pur mal fere ne dount mal suspecion poet vienir, &c....
"Ensement pur ceo qe fous qe sei delitent a mal fere vount aprendre
eskirmye de bokyler e de ceo plus sei abaudissent de fere lour
folyes, purveu est e defendu qe nul ne tiegne eskole ne aprise de
eskirmye de bokyler de deinz la Citee de nuyt ne de jour, e si nul le
faceo, eit la prison de xl. jours."
Representations of the Sword-and-buckler contest occur in Roy. MSS.
14, E. iii. and 20, D. vi., both engraved in Strutt's Sports. See
also Hefner, Pt. ii. Plate VII. All these, however, are miniatures of
the fourteenth century; though 14, E. iii. is early in the period.
From these examples we learn that the buckler was about a foot and
a half in diameter, had a boss in the centre, and was held at arm's
length by a bar crossing the hollow of the umbo, exactly in the
manner of the Anglo-Saxon shields described and figured in a former
page. (See woodcut, No. 20.)
[Illustration: No. 83.]
Occasionally the figure of a Sword was carved on the tomb of the
knight, to indicate his calling, as in this incised slab from Brougham
Church, Westmoreland, commemorating one of the Brougham family. The
example is further curious from its including also the round shield
of the period; differing, as we see, from the buckler named above,
in having no boss. The sword is usually, on tombs of this kind,
accompanied by a Cross: sometimes it forms itself the cross on the
monument, as in the Gorforth memorial, engraved on page 84 of Mr.
Boutell's work on Incised Slabs. At Aycliffe, Durham, is a tomb on
which appears a cross, having on one side a sword, on the other a
hammer and pincers. This group of emblems has been thought to indicate
a weapon-smith. The monument is figured in the Archæological Journal,
vol. v. p. 257. Not the sword only, but the spear, the axe, the dagger,
and other weapons, are found on the incised slabs of the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries; many examples of which may be seen in the works
on these memorials by the Rev. Mr. Cutts and the Rev. Mr. Boutell.
The Dagger by no means filled that prominent place in the knightly
equipment during this century which it is found to occupy in the
fourteenth; though, towards the close of the period, it is seen to
be coming into vogue. It is worn by the knights represented in our
engravings, Nos. 58 and 72; and the Ash Church effigy (woodcut,
No. 59) shews us the lace by which the dagger, now destroyed, was
fastened to the waist-belt. The figure of De Montford (Stothard,
Pl. XXXIX.) has the dagger. It appears also in the Shurland
monument (Stothard, Pl. XLI.), worn by the knight's attendant; and
in this example the guard of it is formed of two knobs, a fashion
occasionally found up to the sixteenth century. In Durham Cathedral
is preserved a real dagger, which is believed to have belonged to
one of the retainers of Bishop Anthony in 1283. It is entirely of
iron, and the blade, which is sixteen inches in length, is inscribed
"ANTON: EPS: DUNOLM.[370]"
Under the name of _Misericordia_, the dagger has an early mention
in the Charter of Arras, in 1221: "Quicumque cultellum cum cuspide,
vel curtam sphatulam, vel misericordiam, vel aliqua arma multritoria
portaverit," &c. Under 1302, Guiart speaks of it by the same name:--
"Plusieurs piétons François ala,
Qui pour prisonniers n'ont pas cordes,
Mais coutiaux et misericordes,
Dont on doit servir en tiex festes."
And under 1303:--
"Fauchons trenchans, espées cleres,
Godendas, lances émoulues,
Coutiaux, misericordes nues."
This name of misericorde appears to have been given because, in the
last struggle of contending foes, the uplifted dagger compelled the
discomfited fighter to cry for mercy. In this view, the murderous
misericorde was by the middle-age poets assigned to "Pity," as an
emblem of her benevolence. Thus Jean de Méun in the Romance of the
Rose:--
"Pitiez, qui à tous bien s'accorde,
Tenoit une Misericorde
Decourant de plors e de lermes."
The Short Axe is very rarely given to the knightly combatant by the
artists of the thirteenth century. It appears to have been resigned to
the less dignified order of soldiery. The form of the head exhibits
three principal varieties: the single blade, of which we have a good
example in Harl. MS. 4,751, fol. 8 (woodcut, No. 50); the double
weapon, in which one side has a vertical axe-blade and the other a
pick (see Strutt's Dress and Habits, Pl. LXV.); and the double weapon,
in which one side has a horizontal blade and the other a pick (see
Stothard's Monuments, Pl. XIX.). Guiart, under 1264, mentions the axe
mingling in the strife of battle with the mace and the sword:--
"Le chaple commence aus espees,
Dont là a de maintes manieres.
Sus hyaumes e sus cervelieres
Prennent plommees à descendre,
E hachetes, pour tout porfendre."
And when, in the same year 1264, the Earl of Leicester assembled his
army on Barham Downs, in addition to the ordinary military levy,
every township was required to send eight, six, or four footmen well
armed with spears, bows and arrows, swords, cross-bows, and hatchets.
(New Rymer, 444.)
From the collection of thirteenth-century Proverbs, which has already
supplied us with several curious particulars of this early time, we
learn that the "Haches de Dannemark" held the first place among the
axes of the period: but whether this distinction is accorded for
the form or the manufacture of the weapon, is not clear. Matthew
Paris speaks of it under 1256: "Cum jaculis----Danisque securibus et
gesis[371]----hostiliter insequuntur."
The "Danish Axe" is mentioned in several military tenures of this
century; but a more remote antiquity is usually assigned to the
origin of the grant itself. The weapon (more or less original) was
always exhibited with great pride in the family mansion. Dugdale
tells us that Plumpton in Warwickshire "was possest in _Henry_ 3.
time by one _Walter de Plompton_, who held these lands by a certain
weapon called a _Danish Axe_: which, being the very Charter whereby
the said land was given unto one of his Ancestors, hung up for a
long time in the Hall of the capitall messuage belonging thereto,
in testimony of the said tenure; untill that the said House was
seized upon by Sir _John Bracebrigge_, Knight, Lord of KINGSBURIE in
_Edward_ 3. time, and pulled to the ground: After which it remained
a great while in the Hall of the mansion belonging to _William de
Plompton_, in HARDRESHULL (about two miles distant), being commonly
reputed and called _the Charter of_ PLOMTON[372]."
And in the 12th Edw. I.: "Robertus Hurding tenet unam acram terrae et
unum furnum in villa Castri de Lanceveton (Launceston, co. Cornwall)
nomine serjantiae essendi in Castro de Lanceveton cum uno Capello
ferreo et una Hachet Denesh per XL. dies tempore guerrae ad custum
suum proprium, et post XL. dies, si Dominus Castri velit ipsum tenere
in eodem Castro, erit ad custus ipsius domini[373]."
The Mace is both named and pictured in evidences of this century.
Matthew Paris, describing the disasters of a tournament near Hertford
in 1241, adds: "Many other knights and men-at-arms were also wounded
and seriously injured with maces (_clavis_) at this same tournament,
because the jealousy of many of those concerned had converted the
sport into a battle[374]." This and similar mishaps led to the mace,
with other weapons, being interdicted at these pastimes; for in a
"Statutum Armorum ad Torniamenta" of this century, it is ordered by
the king "qe nul Chivaler ne Esquier qe sert al Turney ne porte espeie
a point, ne cotel a point, ne bastoun, ne mace, fors espee large pur
turneer[375]." Pictured examples of the mace occur in Roy. MS. 20,
D. i., ff. 12 and 69; and on Plate XXXIII. of the Painted Chamber.
The striking part is formed in the manner of a cogged wheel: the top
sometimes terminates in a knob; sometimes it is prolonged into a pike.
The Bâton named in the above Statute was probably no more than a
stout cudgel. The form of the tournament bâton of a later time is
given in full detail in the "Tournois du roi René."
The long-handled weapons of the infantry named in this century are
the Guisarme, the Godendac, the Croc, the Faus, the Faussar, and the
Pilete.
The Guisarme, or Pole-axe, has already been described, (ante, p. 50).
It is named by Matthew Paris: "Gestabant autem gladios, bipennes,
_gaesa_, sicas et anelacios." It occurs also in the Statute of
Winchester: "E que ad meyns des chateus de XL. soudes, seyt juree
as faus, gysarmes, coteaux e autres menus armes." The Pole-axe with
a single vertical blade is seen in a miniature of the thirteenth
century, inserted into the Gospels of Mac Durnan in the Lambeth
Library (figured in Westwood's Palæographia); and it appears again in
the Lives of the Offas, Cott. MS., Nero, D. i.
The Godendac was the name given by the Flemings to the Halbard.
Guiart, describing the battle of Courtrai, in 1302, has this very
curious passage:--
"A grans batons pesans ferrés
Avec leur fer agu devant
Vont ceux de France recevant
Tiex baton qu'il portent en guerre
Ont nom Godendac en la terre.
_Goden-dac_, c'est _Bon jour_ à dire,
Qui en Francois le veut décrire.
Cil baton sont long e traitis,
Pour férir a deux mains faitis."
Should the axe-stroke fail, then the skilful halbardier repairs his
mishap with a prompt thrust of the piked head:--
"Et quand l'on en faut au descendre,
Si cil qui fiert y veut entendre,
Et il en scache bien ouvrer,
Tantot peut son cop recovrer,
Et férir sans s'aller moquant,
Du bout devant en estoquant
Son ennemi."
The halbard, consisting of an axe-blade balanced by a pick, and
having a pike-head at the end of the staff, is figured on Plate XXXI.
of the Painted Chamber.
The Faus (_falso_: from _falx_) appears to have been a kind of spear
with a broad, cut-and-thrust blade. It is made synonymous with the
spear in this passage of the Synodus Nemausensis, in 1284: (de
Clericis) "Enses non deferant, nec cultellos acutos, nec lanceas _seu
falsones_," &c. But in the Statuta Eccles. Cadurcensis, in 1289, it is
distinguished from the spear: "balistas et arcus, lanceas, falsones,
costalarios seu alia arma non deferant." In the Statute of Winchester,
as we have seen, (ante, p. 211,) it was placed at the head of the
humbler class of weapons prescribed to the militia of small means.
The Faussar, a kindred word, was probably a kindred weapon. Like the
falso, it most likely presented some variety in the exemplars turned
out from the village weaponers' smithies. One kind was three-edged,
and had a second name, the Trialemellum. At Bovines, "Ante oculos
ipsius regis occiditur Stephanus de Longo Campo, in capite percussus
longo, gracili Trialemello[376], quem Falsarium nominant[377]." The
faussar appears to have been sometimes used as a missile: thus, in
the Chron. de Duguesclin (of the fourteenth century) we are told that
the combatants
"Gettent dars et faussars, moult en vont ociant."
The Croc was probably the Bill. It is named by Guiart among the
weapons of the Ribauds in 1214:--
"Li uns une pilete porte,
L'autre croc ou macue torte."
The fashion of the Bill of this time, a broad, cutting blade, forming
a beak near the top and terminating in a pike, may be seen in Plate
XXXI. of the Painted Chamber.
The Pilete (dimin. of _Pilum_) named in the above passage of Guiart,
was a pike, the exact form of which, like that of so many of the
weapons of this period, has not been ascertained. The "macue torte"
is a knotted club.
The missile weapons of this day were the javelin, the long-bow, the
cross-bow, the cord-sling and the staff-sling.
The Javelin is mentioned by Matthew Paris: "cum jaculis Danisque
securibus et gesis[378]."
The Long-bow has already been noticed in our examination of the troops
of this century. Its form is seen in our woodcuts, Nos. 47, 48, 49 and
50. The fashion of the Quiver appears in the engraving from Roy. MS.
20, D. i. (No. 47). The feathering of the arrows is shewn in the same
print; the shaft and head in woodcut, No. 82, from the Painted Chamber.
Besides the ordinary arrows, shafts armed with phials of quick-lime
were occasionally discharged from the long-bow. Strutt, in his
_Horda_[379], has furnished an example of this missile, from a MS. of
Matthew Paris in Benet College, Cambridge (copied in our woodcut, No.
51); and in the Additamenta to the printed History of Matthew Paris,
page 1091, is given the letter of Sir Guy, a knight of the household of
the Viscount of Melun, in which, recounting the capture of Damietta,
he says: "We discharged fiery darts (_spicula ignita_) and stones from
our sea mangonels, and we threw small bottles full of lime (_phialas
plenas calce_), made to be shot from a bow, or small sticks like arrows
against the enemy. Our darts, therefore, pierced the bodies of their
pirates, while the stones crushed them, and the lime, flying out of the
broken bottles, blinded them."
The Cross-bow, as we have seen, (ante, p. 201,) was in general use
throughout this century. It is figured in our woodcuts, Nos. 49 and
50. In both these examples there is a provision for holding down the
bow with the foot, while the cord was drawn up to the notch. The
bow might thus be bent by the hand: but there appears also to have
been, at this early date, some apparatus similar to the moulinet
of later days, by which a stouter bow might be easily bent by
mechanical appliance. Such a bow was called an "arbaleste à tour,"
and the instrument by which it was wound up was named "la clef." No
delineation of this little engine has yet been noticed among the
monuments of the time. Guiart has:--
"Messire Alphonse un jour ataignent,
Qui armez iert[380] de son atour,
D'un quarrel d'arbaleste a tour."
And again:--
"En haste vont les clefs serrant des arbalestes."
2^e. Partie, vers 8,625.
Several further varieties of the Cross-bow are named about this
time:--Balistæ corneæ; ad stapham[381]; ad viceas[382]; de torno vel
de lena[383]; ad unum pedem; ligneæ ad duos pedes; de cornu ad duos
pedes; a pectoribus; a pesarola[384]; and among the rest, a _Double
Cross-bow_, discharging two quarrels: "Balista sine nuce, quæ duos
projicit quarrellos." See Ducange and Adelung, v. _Balista_.
The Quarrel (_carreau_), as its name indicates, was an arrow with a
four-sided or pyramidal head. This distinctive form of the arbalest
shaft is carefully kept in view in the illumination from Add. MS.
15,268 (our No. 49); where, while the archer plies his barbed arrow,
the cross-bowman discharges his angular quarrel. The feathering
of the quarrel is seen very clearly in woodcut, No. 50; where the
markings shew that _feathers_ are really intended, and not slices
of wood, leather, or metal. These last-named materials being found
in later monuments, it seems not unlikely that they may have been
used thus early; and we have the distinct evidence of cotemporary
writers that the _larger_ quarrels discharged from the engines called
espringales were "empennés d'airain[385]."
The Slings of this period have already been noticed (page 204): the
cord-sling is figured in our woodcut, No. 50, the staff-sling in No. 51.
The Military Flail appears in the following woodcut from Strutt's
_Horda_ vol. i., Plate XXXII. The original miniature is in the MS.
of Matthew Paris, at Benet College, Cambridge, which has already
furnished us with examples of the Staff-sling and other weapons of
this time. The flail-man in our engraving is engaged in the assault
of a castle: other assailants in the same vessel are armed with bows
and slings. Adelung cites the following passage, in which the flail
is mentioned under the name of _flaellum_: "Cum ducentis hominibus in
armis, electis et gleatis, et cum flaellis[386]."
[Illustration: No. 84.]
The Greek Fire, still rejected among the nations of Western Europe,
for the reasons assigned in a former page, was in frequent use among
the Saracens. In 1250, the Christians, advancing towards Damietta
by water, were intercepted by their enemies. "The Saracens in their
vessels met the Christians sailing down the river, where a most fatal
naval conflict ensued, the missiles of the combatants flying like
hail. At length, after an obstinate battle, rendered more dreadful by
the Greek fire hurled on them by the Saracens, the Christians, being
worn out by grief and hunger, suffered a defeat[387]." The letter
"to his respected lord, Richard, earl of Cornwall," from "John, his
Chancellor," gives a similar account of this terrible fight; from
which one only of the Christians escaped, "Alexander Giffard, an
Englishman of noble blood." "The Saracens, by throwing Greek fire on
the Christians, burnt many of their boats and killed the people in
them, thus obtaining the victory. The Christians were drowned, slain,
and burnt[388]." The authors of the treatise, _Du feu grégeois_,
Captain Favé and M. Reinaud, remark that during the fifty-seven years
of the reign of French princes at Constantinople (taken in 1204), the
secret of the Greek fire could not have remained concealed from men
who had made some advances in the science of chymistry. "Mais alors
les préjugés de l'ignorance se joignaient aux idées religieuses et
aux sentimens chevaleresques, pour repousser l'emploi d'un art qui
semblait rendre inutiles la force et le courage individuels[389]."
In the East, however, the employment of incendiary weapons was
constant, and the variety of them very great. An Arabic treatise of
this century, published in the work named above by MM. Reinaud and
Favé, gives us the most curious information relating to them, and the
interest of the manuscript is heightened by its containing drawings
(somewhat rude, it is true) of the principal instruments and engines
described. From this "Treatise on the Art of Fighting," by Hassan
Alrammah, we learn that the Arabs of the thirteenth century employed
their incendiary compositions in four different ways: they cast them
by hand; they fixed them to staves, with which they attacked their
enemies; they poured forth the fire through tubes; and they projected
burning mixtures of various kinds by means of arrows, javelins,
and the missiles of the great engines resembling the trebuchets
and mangonæ of their Western neighbours. Among these fire-weapons
we have--"Balles de verre; Pots à feu; La Maison de feu; Massue de
guerre; Massue pour asperger; Lance de guerre; Lance à fleurs; Lance
avec massue; La lance avec la flèche du Khatay; Flèches en roseau;
Flèches du mangonneau; Flèches de la Chine; Marmite de l'Irac;
Marmite de Mokharram; Vase de Helyledjeh; Cruche de Syrie (the last
four for the mangonel); L'œuf qui se meut et qui brûle (Captain Favé
takes this to be a projectile on the principle of our rockets); Dard
du Khatay; Des Coupes; Des Volants; Des Lunes," &c.
The vessels of glass and pottery, discharged by hand or by machines,
were so contrived that on striking the object at which they
were aimed, their contents spread around, and the fire, already
communicated by a fusee, enveloped everything within its reach. A
soldier on whose head was broken a fire-mace, became suddenly soaked
with a diabolical fluid, which covered him from head to foot with
flame; and a flame of so terrible a nature that it was believed to
be absolutely inextinguishable. The receipt for making the Massue
de Guerre is given with great particularity: "Tu feras faire par le
verrier une massue, &c. Ensuite tu feras les mélanges usités, &c.
Tu mettras le feu à la massue et tu la briseras pour le service de
Dieu[390]." One of the lances is furnished with a firework "so that
the spear shall burn the enemy, after having wounded him with its
point." Another lance "brulera bien et s' étendra à plus de mille
coudées." It will be remembered that the Arabic superlative is
commonly expressed by "a thousand." What we learn, therefore, is that
this fire-missile was contrived to wound at a distance. In applying
the Massue à asperger, you are to break it against the person of
your antagonist, "but keep out of the current of the wind, lest the
sparks return upon and burn you." The machines for casting forth the
fire-pots and vases of larger dimension bear so close a resemblance
to the trebuchets and mangonas in use by the Christian nations, that
Captain Favé is inclined to think that the latter warriors copied
their engines from those of the Arabs during the Crusades (p. 49).
On the second plate of the treatise are given examples of two of
the Arabian mangonels. One is formed of a sling and weighted lever,
like the instruments represented in Roy. MS. 16, G. vi., engraved in
Shaw's "Dresses and Decorations," and on the ivory casket figured in
the fourth volume of the Journal of the Archæological Association.
The other differs only in having, in lieu of a weight, a number of
cords hanging from the end of the lever; from which it would appear
that the lever was in this case moved by men acting together by means
of the cords. Captain Favé remarks that the expressions, La flèche
de la Chine, La fleur de la Chine, in shewing us that the Chinese
practised the fabrication of incendiary agents and contributed these
names to the Arabs at so early a period, may permit us to suppose
that this mode of warfare received its chief development from them,
and even that to them may be ascribed its invention (p. 44).
The various STANDARDS and FLAGS found in the last period are continued
throughout the present. But the advancement of the science of heraldry
gave to the devices of this age a permanence which has in many cases
subsisted to the present day. The Dragon Standard was still in use in
England. At the battle of Lewes, in 1264, between the king and his
barons, "the king, being informed of the approach of his enemies,
soon set himself in motion with his army, and went forward to meet
them with unfurled banners, preceded by the royal ensign, which was
called the Dragon[391]." In the same battle, on the barons' side, we
find the ancient Carrocium. When the revolted nobles, with De Montford
at their head, "had reached a place scarcely two miles distant from
the town of Lewes, Simon with his friends _ascended an eminence_ and
placed his Car thereon, in the midst of the baggage and sumpter horses.
There he displayed his Standard, fastening it securely to the car, and
surrounded it with a great number of his soldiers[392]." The Milanese
still held their Carrocio in the utmost veneration. When the Emperor
Frederic, in 1236, crossed the Alps to attack them, "the citizens
sallied forth from the city in great strength, to the number of about
fifty thousand armed men, and proceeded with their Standard, which they
call Carruca, or Carrochium, to meet the emperor, sending word that
they were ready to fight him[393]." In 1237 the Milanese again placed
their defiant Carrocium in front of the imperial host. They went forth
with an army of about sixty thousand men, and fixed their Carrocium
where their ranks seemed to be strongest. At sight of this, the emperor
summoned his counsellors, and, animating them by warlike words, said:
"Behold how these insolent Milanese, our enemies, dare to appear
against us, and presume to provoke me, their lord, to battle; enemies
as they are to the truth and to Holy Church, and borne down by the
weight of their sins. Cross the river, unfurl my Banner, my victorious
Eagle! and you, my knights, draw your formidable swords, which you
have so often steeped in the blood of your enemies, and inflict your
vengeance on these mice, which have dared to creep out of their holes,
to cope with the glittering spears of the Roman Emperor[394]." From
the letter of the emperor himself, addressed to "Richard, earl of
Cornwall, his beloved brother-in-law," we learn that the Standard-Car
was drawn by horses: "quod apud Crucem-Novam (_Nuova Croce_) in equorum
celeritate præmiserant." And further on he writes: "We now directed
our attention to the attack and capture of this standard, and we saw
that some of our troops, having forced their way over the top of the
trenches, had penetrated almost to the mast of the Carrocium. Night,
however, coming on, we desisted from the attack till the following
morning; lying down to rest with our swords drawn, and without taking
off our iron hauberks. When day broke, however, we found the Carrocium
deserted, left amidst a crowd of vile wagons, entirely undefended and
abandoned, and from the top of the staff where the Cross had been, the
Cross was now severed: but, being found too heavy for the fugitives to
carry off in safety, they had left it half-way[395]."
The Car with its Dragon and Eagle, forming the standard of the
Emperor Otho at Bovines, has already been noticed, (page 164). The
Oriflamme of the French monarchs maintains its illustrious position.
Captured by the Mahometans, with Saint Louis and his equipage, it
still miraculously subsists; and when destroyed by the Flemings at
the battle of Mons-en-Puelle, it is discovered that the banner which
has been torn to pieces is, after all, only a counterfeit oriflamme,
the real one being still intact under the guardianship of the Abbot
of St. Denis. Thus Guillaume Guiart:--
"Aussi li Sire de Chevreuse
Porta l'Oriflamme vermeille,
Par droite semblance _pareille_
_A cele_ s'élevoit esgarde
Que l'Abbé de Saint Denis garde.
* * * * *
Et l'Oriflamme _contrefaite_
Chaï à terre, et la saisirent
Flamans, qui après s'enfuirent."
_Chron. Mét._, ann. 1304.
The "Royal Standard" of the French monarchs is described as of blue,
adorned with fleurs-de-lis of gold. That of Philip Augustus at
Bovines is thus noticed by Guiart:--
"Galon de Montigni porta,
Ou la Chronique faux m'enseigne,
De fin azur luisant Enseigne
A fleurs de lys d'or aornée,
Près du roi fut cette journée
A l'endroit du riche Estendart."
An ordinance of Philip IV. in 1306, quoted by Père Daniel (Mil. Fran.
j. 520), under the heading, "L'ordonnance du Roy quant il va en
Armez," directs: That the chief Ecuyer Tranchant shall have charge of
the Royal Standard: that the chief Chamberlain shall carry the Banner
of the king: and that the chief Varlet Tranchant shall follow close
behind the king, bearing his Pennon; and his duty is to accompany the
king wherever he may go, in order that all may know where the monarch
is stationed.
The knightly Banner of this time may be seen in Roy. MS. 20, D. i.;
in the Lives of the Offas (Cott. MS., Nero, D. i.); and in many
of the plates of the Painted Chamber. In all these examples it is
quadrangular, but _not square_: its height is double its breadth. The
effigy at Minster, Isle of Sheppey, (Stothard, Pl. XLI.) gives us in
sculpture a large specimen of the banner, and shews very distinctly
how it was fastened to the staff by tasselled cords.
The office of Bannerer of the City of London was filled in the
thirteenth century by the family of Fitz Walter, who held the
castlery of Baynard's Castle in fee for the performance of this duty.
The services and privileges attached to the office are laid down in
a curious document printed in Blount's "Antient Tenures," from a MS.
preserved by Dugdale. They are recorded under two heads: the rights
in time of war, and the rights in time of peace. We give the first in
full: a mere note will suffice for the other, which are privileges
rather of a civil than a military character:--
"These are the rights which Robert Fitz Wauter, Castellan of London,
Lord of Wodeham, has in the city of London: That is to say, the said
Robert and his heirs ought to be, and are, Chief Bannerers of London,
by fee, for the said Castlery, that _his ancestors_ and he have of
Castle Baynard in the said City. In time of War the said Robert
and his heirs are to serve the city in manner following. The said
Robert is to come on his barded horse (_sus son Destrier covert_),
he the twentieth man-at-arms, all with horses housed with cloth or
iron (_coverts de teyle ou de fer_), as far as the great gate of the
minster of St. Paul, with the Banner _of his arms_ displayed before
him. And when he is come to the great gate of the aforesaid minster,
mounted and equipped as aforesaid, then ought the Mayor of London,
with his Sheriffs and Aldermen (_ove touz ses Viscountz et ses
Audermans_), armed in their arms, to come out of the minster of St.
Paul as far as the said gate, with his Banner in his hand; all being
on foot. And the Banner shall be red, having an image of St. Paul in
gold, the feet, hands and head of silver, with a silver Sword in the
hand of the said image. And as soon as the said Robert shall see the
Mayor and his Sheriffs and his Aldermen come on foot out of the said
minster, bearing this Banner, then the said Robert, or his Heirs, who
owe this service to the said City, shall dismount from his horse,
and shall salute the Mayor as his companion and peer, and shall say
to him: 'Sir Mayor, I am come hither to fulfil the service which I
owe to the city.' Then the Mayor, Sheriffs, and Aldermen shall say:
'We deliver to you, as the Bannerer by fee of this City, this Banner,
to bear and govern to the honour and profit of our City, to the best
of your power.' Then the said Robert or his Heirs shall receive the
Banner. Then the Mayor of the said City and his Sheriffs shall follow
him to the gate, and shall deliver to the said Robert a horse of the
value of twenty pounds[396]. And the horse shall have a saddle of
the arms of the said Robert[397], and shall have a housing of Cendal
silk of the same arms; and they shall take twenty pounds sterling,
and shall deliver them to the Chamberlain of the said Robert, for his
expenses this day. And the said Robert shall mount the horse which
the said Mayor has given to him, holding the Banner in his hand.
And as soon as he is mounted, he shall require the Mayor to cause
to be elected a Marshal out of the troops of the City. And as soon
as the Marshal is elected, the said Robert shall direct the Mayor
and Citizens to have the Tocsin of the said city rung (_que facent
soner le Sein communal de la dicte Citee_); and all the commonalty
shall go with the Banner of St. Paul, which the said Robert shall
carry, as far as Aldgate. Beyond that, the Banner shall be borne by
one approved of the said Robert and the Mayor. If so be (_si issint
soit_) they have to go forth out of the city, then ought the said
Robert to elect two of the most discreet persons from each ward of
the city, to provide for the safe keeping of the city during their
absence. And this council shall be held at the Priory of the Trinity
by Aldgate. And for every town or castle that the host of London
shall besiege, the said Robert shall receive from the commonalty of
London a hundred shillings for his pains, and no more, though the
siege should last for a year. These are the rights that the said
Robert shall have in London in time of War."
The rights of the Chief Bannerer in time of peace were the possession
of one of those jurisdictions called a Soke, the power of imprisoning
and punishing certain offenders within his district, the privilege of
taking part in every "Great Council" held by the Mayor, and some others
of a similar kind. And if the culprit within his jurisdiction has
deserved death for treason, "then shall he be tied to the post which
is in the Thames at the Wood Wharf, where boats are fastened, there to
remain for two floods and two ebbs of the tide. And if he be condemned
_pur commun larcin_, then is he to be taken to the Elms[398], and there
undergo his punishment like other common thieves."
Not less in honour than was the gold-and-silver Banner of Saint Paul
in the south, was the Banner of Saint John of Beverley in the north
of England. It accompanied the heroic Edward the First in his wars in
Scotland; and, besides the military bannerer, appears to have had a
clerical custodian: as we learn from this curious document preserved
in the Tower:--
"Rex dilecto et fideli suo, Johanni de Warenna, Comiti Surr',
custodi suo regni et terræ Scotiæ, salutem.
"Cum nos, ob reverentiam Sancti Johannis de Beverlaco, gloriosi
confessoris Christi, concesserimus dilecto clerico nostro
Gileberto de Grymesby, qui Vexillum ejusdem Sancti ad nos
usque partes Scotiæ, detulit, et ibidem de præcepto nostro
cum Vexillo illo, durante guerra nostra Scotiæ, moram fecit,
quandam ecclesiam, viginti marcarum vel librarum valorem annuum
attingentem, ad nostram donationem spectantem, et in regno Scotiæ
proximo vacaturam.
"Vobis mandamus quod præfato Gileberto, de hujusmodi ecclesia,
in prædicto regno Scotiæ, provideri faciatis, quamprimum ad id
optulerit se facultas.
"Teste Rege, apud Kyrkham xiij. die Octobris." (1296[399].)
The triangular Pennon occurs in many of the groups of the Painted
Chamber. It is not always heraldically charged; but this may have
arisen from the partial decay of the colours.
The Lance-flag, of one, of two, or of three points, may be seen in
our woodcuts, Nos. 55, 62 and 80.
The Horns and Trumpets used in battle are not frequently represented
in the pictures of the time; but good examples occur in Roy. MS.
20, D. i., and on Plate XXXVI. of the Painted Chamber. The trumpets
are of two kinds, straight and slightly curved; and are figured as
of four or five feet long. The straight trumpet appears on folio
222^{vo}. of Roy. MS. 20, D. i.; and is borne as a heraldic charge
on the shield of Sir Roger de Trumpington (woodcut, No. 73). The
long, curved trumpet occurs on folio 21^{vo}. of Roy. MS. 20, D. i.
Both kinds are pictured in Plate XXXVI. of the Painted Chamber. The
smaller semicircular Horn is drawn on folio 70 of 20, D. i.
[Illustration: GREAT SEAL OF KING EDWARD THE FIRST.
No. 85.]
From the collection of medieval "Proverbes" already cited, we learn
that Spain was still the favourite mart for the knightly CHARGER.
Denmark and Brittany had also a celebrity for their breeds of horses
of a different character. The fiat of popular approval is given to the
"Dextriers de Castille.
Palefrois Danois.
Roussins de Bretagne."
Such was the noble nature of the high-bred dextrarius that, when
two knights had been dismounted and were continuing the fight on
foot, their horses, left to themselves, instantly commenced a
conflict of their own of the most gallant and desperate character.
A representation of a double battle of this kind is given on folio
42 of Roy. MS. 12, F. xiii., a treatise _"De natura Pecudum,
Volucrum," &c._ The form of the Saddle of this time, with its high
pommel and cantle, may be seen in the Royal seals engraved on Plates
52, 79, 81 and 85; and again in the figure numbered 58. It was
sometimes heraldically decorated. In the purchases for the Windsor
Tournament[400], in 1278, we have:--
"D Feli͂s Le Seler. viij. sell' de ar̄m Angɫ. p'͂c. LXiiij. ɫi.
P'i͂s.
"D Eodem. iiij. selle brond' de filo auri et argen͂t trac͂t
videlicet una de ar̄m Rob'ti Tibetot una de ar̄m Jo͂his de Neele.
j. de ar̄m Imb'ti Guidonis et una de ar̄m Comitis Cornub' p'͂c
xx/iiij. viij. ɫi.
"D Eodem. j. sella brond' eodem modo de ar̄m Jo͂his de Grely. ͂c
scalo͂p argent' p'͂c. xxxviij. ɫi." &c.
On the seal of Alexander II. of Scotland, 1214--49, the king's saddle
is ensigned with a lion rampant (Cotton Charter, xix. 2). And the
seal of Robert Fitz-Walter, 1299, presents an analogous example
(Plate XVII. of vol. v. of the _Archæologia_). The Stirrup of the
period is shewn by numerous examples to have been triangular. See
woodcuts, No. 47, 48 and 56. The Peytrel or breastplate was sometimes
of plain fashion, as in the first seal of Henry III. (woodcut, No.
79): sometimes it had the pendent ornaments of the preceding period,
as in the example on Plate XXXVII. of the Painted Chamber, where the
pattern is a string of golden trefoils. From the Windsor Roll quoted
above we find that the poitrail was of leather, and that this leather
was occasionally gilt:--
"De Stephano de Perone xi. pa͂r. stre͂p et xi. pectoral' deaura͂t
p'͂c. xxij. ƚi.
"De eodem. iiij frēn cū pecto͂r et strepis de corea. p'͂c. vi.
ƚi.
"De eodem. ij. frēn ij. pecto͂r et ij. stre͂p deau͂r. p'͂c.
iiij. ƚi."
The Bridle presents two kinds of bits: one has the cheeks joined by
a bar from their lower end, as in woodcut, No. 80; the other has no
such cross-bar (see fol. 27 of Harl. MS. 3,244). The last quotation
from the Windsor Roll shews us that the bridles were sometimes gilt.
The group from the Painted Chamber on our woodcut, No. 82, offers a
curious arrangement of the brow-band. The rounds in the original are
gold-colour.
The Caparison of the knightly steed appears to have been of five
kinds. 1. The horse has a "couverture" of chain-mail only. 2.
The couverture is of quilted work. 3. The housing is of a light,
fluttery material, probably covering an armour of chain-mail. 4.
A light housing, heraldically decorated, which seems to have no
armour beneath. 5. The horse has no furniture beyond the ordinary
war-saddle, peytrel and bridle.
Of the mailed dextrier we have already had some notice in the
preceding century (see page 169). The example here given is from the
Painted Chamber.
[Illustration: No. 86.]
The trapper of chain-mail occurs on two of the plates of that
work: those numbered 31 and 37. A fragment of a similar defence is
seen on the Shurland monument at Minster (Stothard, Pl. XLI.). But
representations of this kind of armament are of the greatest rarity.
It is, however, often mentioned by the writers of the time; though,
perhaps, not without some exaggeration of the numbers of mail-clad
steeds gathered in the host. At the battle of Nuova Croce in 1237,
between the imperialists and the Milanese, Matthew Paris tells us
that: "A credible Italian asserted that Milan with its dependencies
raised an army of six thousand men-at-arms with iron-clad
horses[401]." The _Chronicon Colmariense_, under the year 1298,
describing the force of "Australes, qui armis ferreis utebantur,"
brought against the duke of Austria, says: "Habebant et multos qui
habebant dextrarios, id est, equos magnos. Hi equi cooperti fuerunt
coopertoriis ferreis, id est, veste ex circulis ferreis contexta."
An ordinance of Philip the Fair in 1303 provides that every holder
of an estate of 500 livres rental, shall furnish for defence of
the realm "un gentilhomme bien armé et monté à cheval de cinquante
livres tournois et couvert de couvertures de fer ou de couverture
pourpointé[402]." The particular use of the barding of steel or
pourpointerie was to defend the horses against the missiles of the
enemy. Sutcliffe's "Practice of Arms," written in the sixteenth
century, when the musquet was rapidly supplanting the long-bow, has:
"Use of late times hath brought in divers sorts of Horsemen, which,
according to their armes and furniture, have divers names. Some
Horse are barded; others without bardes. The French Men-of-armes,
in times past, used barded Horses, for feare of our Arrowes. Nowe,
since Archerie is not so much reckoned of, and Bardes are but a weak
defence against Shotte, Lanciers, leaving their bardes, are armed
much like to the Albanian Stradiots."
The pourpointed housing is named in the ordinance of Philip IV. quoted
above, and it may probably be implied in most cases where we read of a
"cheval couvert." Rigord, under 1214, (battle of Bovines,) describes
the approach of the Imperialists on their barded horses: "Dixit quod
viderat equos militum coopertos, ... quod erat evidentissimum pugnæ
signum." In a roll of expenses, of 1294, given by Du Cange[403], "Pour
les gages de Monsieur Bertran Massole, retenu aux gages accoustumez
pour lui et deux Ecuyers," we read: "Et estoit luy et autre à chevaux
couverts, et un autre sans cheval couvert:" and again: "Pour onze
Ecuyers à chevaux couverts, à chacun vii. sols vi. deniers par jour, et
pour deux qui n'ont point chevaux couverts, chacun v. sols."
In England, the armed horse came into use between the years 1285 and
1298; for, while the Statute of Winchester in 1285 makes no mention
of any defence for the steed, the Statute of 27 Edw. I. in every case
requires such an armament:--
"Le Rey ad ordene qe sire Thomas de Furnivall voit en les contees
de Notingham et de Derb', de eslire, trier, ordener et asseer gentz
d'armes en meismes les contez, aussi bien a chival come a pie, de
toutz ceus qui sont de age d'entre vint anns e seissaunte: ensi
qe chescun qe eyt XXX. liverees de terre, seit mis a un _chival
covert_: e de seissaunte liverees, a deux _chivaux covertz_: e se
vers mount de chescune XXX. liveree de terre, a un _chival covert_.
E s'il eit plus avant qe XXX. liveree de terre e ne mie seisaunte,
qe en ceo qe il avera entre les XXX. livereez, seit joint e mis a
un autre qe serra de meisme la condicion.
"E de ceus qui averont meins de trente liveree de terre en aval
jusqes a seisaunte soudes, e de ceus qe out seisaunte soudees, e de
seisaunte soudees en amount, soient enjoingnz e mis as autres qe
serront de meisme l'estat, de si qe il seient a XXX. liverees, e
adunkes soient assis a un _chival covert_: ensi qe chescune trente
liveree de terre, aussi de greindres come de meindres, face un
_chival covert_.
"E face le dit sire Thomas mettre en roulle les nouns de touz ceaus
qi serront assis as chivaux covertz, e le noumbre des chivaux par
eus severeaument de chescun wapentakel, e aussi les nouns de gent a
pe par eus.
"E ausitost come il avera ce fet, distinctement e apertement de ce
certifie le Rey.
"Don' a Noef Chastel sur Tyne, le xxv. jour de Novembre[404]."
The housing of a lighter material seems to be presented to us in the
engravings, Nos. 47, 72 and 80. The folds of the drapery in these
examples have in no degree the character of a stiff quilted garment.
The last of the three miniatures (from the Lives of the Offas) is
further curious from its exhibiting in the same group the horse with
and without its housing. The caparisoned steed in front is that of King
Offa the First, who leads his troops to the defeat of the Scots. A very
early example of the trapper is found in the seal of Saer de Quinci,
earl of Winchester, 1210--19: engraved in Laing's Scottish Seals, Plate
XI. In this monument, too, the housing is armoried; which seems to shew
that the heraldic and the plain housing were introduced simultaneously.
Neither of them was at this early time a necessary concomitant of
knightly dignity; for we find no English royal seal exhibiting the
caparisoned steed till the time of Edward I. (See woodcut, No. 85.)
Another early instance of the armorial trapper is afforded by the seal
of Hugo de Vere, earl of Oxford, 1221-63[405]; and in this, as in
other examples, it will be remarked that, while the couverture of the
horse is decorated with heraldic devices, the surcoat of the knight
is altogether plain. The seal here given, of Roger de Quinci, earl of
Winchester from 1219 to 1264, has the same arrangement.
[Illustration:
PLATE LXXXVII.]
Other examples of the armoried housing will be found in the Lives
of the Offas, the Painted Chamber, in the seal of Patrick, earl of
March, 1292 (Laing, p. 54), in the monument of Edmund Crouchback,
1296, (Stothard, Pl. XLIII.) and in our engravings, Nos. 47 and 85.
Towards the end of the thirteenth century came in the fashion of
ornamenting the head of the horse with a Fan Crest, similar to that
fixed on the helm of the knight. This fan crest for the horse is a
decoration of very high antiquity: it appears among the Assyrian
sculptures, and again among the Lycian marbles in the British Museum.
See the engravings at page 159 and page 285 of Mr. Vaux's able work
on our national collection. The seal of Patrick Dunbar, earl of
March, 1292, affords a good example of knight and steed decorated
with the fan crest: it is figured in Laing's Ancient Scottish Seals,
page 54. In the provision for the Windsor Tournament in 1278, crests
are furnished for every knight and every horse[406]:--
"Īt p̴ qualibet galea j. cresta }
Īt p̴ quolibet equo j. cresta } S͂m. LXXVj. Cres̄t."
They were in this case made of parchment, and fastened by means of
nails or rivets and "chastones":--
"Īt p̴ qualibet cresta j. pell' parcamēn rud'.
Īt p̴ qualibet cresta j. pa͂r chastōn et j clauōn."
The clavones are again mentioned in the Wardrobe Accounts of King
Edward I. in 1300[407]: "factura diversorum armorum, vexillorum,
et penocellorum, pro Domino Edwardo filio Regis et Johanne de
Lancastria, jamberis, poleyns, platis, uno capello ferri, una
Cresta cum _clavis argenti_ pro eodem capello," &c. The chasto
(Fr. _châton_) was a kind of socket or cavity, but the particular
arrangement of it in fixing the crest has not been ascertained.
About the same time we first hear of a defence for the horse of the
nature of the later chanfrein. The same Windsor Roll of 1278 gives
us the earliest notice of these "copita" of leather, made after the
fashion (_de similitudine_) of horses' heads:--
"D Milōn le Cuireu͂r. xxxviij. copita co͂r de similitud' capīt
equoȝ p'̄c pēc ij. s."
They appear again in 1301, under the name of _testaræ_ (or _testeræ_)
in the Indenture of Delivery of the Castle of Montgomery to William
de Leyburn (Cott. MS. Vitell. C. x. fol. 154): "Item liberavit eidem
iij. pa͂r coopertorum ferri et ij. Testaras et v. loricas cum capite
et v. sine capite," &c.
The thirteenth century appears to have retained all the ENGINES
for the approach and attack of towns that were in use during the
preceding age. In this century we first obtain pictorial evidence
of the form and principle of the mangona or trebuchet of the
middle-ages, and from this valuable testimony we learn that the
motive power of _torsion_ employed during the classic period is no
longer in favour; but instead, we have a machine from which, by means
of a counterpoised beam, a large stone is cast forth from a sling
fixed at one end of the beam. We have already (page 330) referred to
the drawings of these instruments in an Arabic manuscript of this
century, used by Captain Favé and M. Reinaud in their work, _Du feu
grégeois, &c._ Other early representations occur in Roy. MS. 16, G.
vi., copied in Shaw's "Dresses and Decorations;" in the ivory carving
figured in the fourth volume of the Journal of the Archæological
Association, and in the _Études sur l'Artillerie_ of the Emperor of
the French, Vol. ii. Plate III. In the work of Gilles Colonne[408],
written for his pupil, Philip the Fair of France, we have a distinct
account of four varieties of the trébuchet: "Of pierriers," he says,
"there are four kinds, and in all these machines there is a beam
which is raised and lowered by means of a counterpoise, a sling being
attached to the end of the beam to discharge the stone. Sometimes
the counterpoise is not sufficient, and then they attach ropes to
it, in order to move the beam. The counterpoise may either be fixed
or moveable, or both at once. In the fixed counterpoise, a box is
fastened to the end of the beam, and filled with stones or sand, or
any heavy body. These machines, anciently called _trabutium_, cast
their missiles with most exactness, because the weight acts in a
uniform manner. Their aim is so sure that one may, so to say, hit a
needle. If the gyn carries too far, it must be drawn back or loaded
with a heavier stone: if the contrary, then it must be advanced or a
smaller stone supplied. For without attention to the weight of the
stone, one cannot hope to reach the given mark.
"Others of these machines have a moveable counterpoise attached to
the beam, turning upon an axis. This variety was by the Romans named
_biffa_. The third kind, which is called _tripantum_, has two weights:
one fixed to the beam and the other moveable around it: by this means,
it throws with more exactness than the _biffa_, and to a greater
distance than the trebuchet. The fourth sort, in lieu of weights fixed
to the beam, has a number of ropes; and is discharged by means of men
pulling simultaneously at the cords. This last kind does not cast such
large stones as the others, but it has the advantage that it may be
more rapidly loaded and discharged than they. In using the perriers by
night, it is necessary to attach a lighted body to the projectile: by
this means, one may discover the force of the machine, and regulate the
weight of the stone accordingly[409]."
The trebuchet arranged with cords is represented in the treatise _Du
feu grégeois_ noticed above, and in the _Études sur l'Artillerie_,
vol. ii. Pl. III. Those familiar with the sights of the Thames will
not fail to be struck with the curious resemblance between this
ancient engine of warfare and the apparatus by which a gang of
colliers raise the cargo from the hold of their ships.
Matthew Paris mentions the plying by day and by night of the terrible
trebuchet. Under 1246, he gives us the letter of Master Walter de
Ocra, a clerk of the Emperor, to the king of England, recounting
the events of the Italian campaign: "About eight days before the
end of last July, my Lord laid siege to the Castle of Capaccio, in
which were (certain knights) traitors to him, and who had attempted
his life, with a hundred and fifty others, including knights,
cross-bowmen, and other friends of theirs; all of whom my said Lord,
by uninterrupted discharges of missiles, day and night, from seven
well-ordered Trebuchets, and by vigorous and unceasing assaults,
also made night and day, reduced to such a helpless state that they
could not assist one another[410]." The castle was finally taken
and destroyed, the garrison punished by loss of eye-sight and other
mutilations; and the six leaders who had attempted the life of the
Emperor, having partaken the punishment of their comrades, were by
the imperial order "sent to all the kings and princes throughout the
various countries of the world, with the impression of the papal
bull, which was found there, stamped on their foreheads, to give
public notice of their treachery."
The trebuchets were sometimes distinguished by particular names,
a fancy already begun in the "Mate-Griffon" of Cœur-de-Lion's
war-tower, and afterwards largely indulged in the great bombards of
the fifteenth and succeeding centuries. In 1303, when the Bernese
besieged Wimmis, they had two trebuchets, one of which was named _La
fille de bois_, the other _L'Âne_[411].
In 1850, under the direction of the present Emperor of the French,
a trebuchet of large dimensions was constructed after the ancient
monuments, and set up at the École d'Artillerie at Vincennes. A
minute account of its formation and the experiments made with it, has
been given in the Report to the Minister of War by Capt. Favé: this
report is printed in the _Études sur l'Artillerie_, vol. ii. page 38.
The projectiles thrown from the ancient trebuchets were rounded
stones, barrels of Greek fire or other incendiary compositions,
and occasionally the putrid bodies of animals, when the siege was
obstinately prolonged, or the combatants were greatly exasperated.
The rounded stones are particularly mentioned by Guiart:--
"Giétent mangonniaus et perrières:
La grosse pierre areondie
Demainne a l'aler grant bondie."
_Chron. Métr._, Par. i. vers 3,296.
The English seem to have been somewhat behindhand in the
construction of their perriers, for Matthew Paris tells us that in
1253 the Gascons hurled stones and darts of such wonderful size on
the army of the king, that many of them were carried into England, to
be exhibited as curiosities[412].
The mangonel was used also in sea-fights. In the Additamenta to
the _Historia Major_ of Matthew Paris, we have an account of the
taking of Damietta, in which occurs this passage: "Et lapides de
_mangonellis navalibus_, qui sic parabantur ut quinque vel sex
lapides simul longo jacerent[413]." It does not seem, however, (as it
has been suggested,) that we have here the description of an engine
which threw five or six stones at once: we must rather understand
that five or six mangonels were so managed as to shoot in volleys.
Another variety of the trebuchet was the Biblia or Bible; but its
distinctive character has not been ascertained. It is mentioned
in 1238: "adducens secum Bibliam, Petrariam et caetera bellica
instrumenta[414]." And in the _Roman de Claris_:
"Li rois fait ses engins drecier
Et vers les haus murs charroier;
Bibles et Mangoniaux geter,
Et les Chats aux fossez mener,
Les Berfrois traire vers les mur:
Cil dedens ne sont pas à sur."
And again, in the same romance:--
"Et pierres grans et les Pierriers,
Et les Bibles qui sont trop fiers,
Getent," &c.
Other names occur at this time, indicating machines for casting stones:
some of these are probably mere synonyms of the words already noticed;
and of the particular mechanism implied by others, it is vain, in the
absence of cotemporary drawings, to hope for an exact idea.
Besides the engines of the mangona kind, formed by a sling and
weight, there was another class constructed on the principle of the
cross-bow. The Spingarda and Spingardella (_Espringale_) appear to
have been arbalests mounted on frames with wheels, somewhat after
the manner of the field-pieces of our own day. The French used them
against the Flemings at the battle of Mons-en-Puelle in 1304:--
"Joignant d'eus rot deux Espringales,
Que garçons au tirer avancent."--_Guiart._
They shot forth, not only stones, but darts or quarrels:--
"Et font getter leurs espringales:
Ça et là sonnent li clairain:
Li garrot, empené d'airain,
Quatre on cinq en percent tout outre."
_Guiart_, année 1304.
They were also called _Arbalestes à tour_, and under this name
are included by Christine de Pisan (in the fourteenth century) in
the armament for a strong siege: "Deux cens arbalestres, _trente_
autres _arbalestes à tour_, et cent autres à croc, ... douze tours
tous neufs, à tendre arbalestres," &c. From the last item we see
very clearly that the distinctive name of this arbalest was derived
from the instrument used to bend its powerful bow. The figure of
an espringale mounted on its carriage is given in the _Études sur
l'Artillerie_, vol. i. Plate I.
The old contrivances to cover the sappers as they approached the
walls of a besieged place, still continued in use: the Cat, the
Cat-castle (CHAT-CHASTEL) the Vinea, and other varieties of the
mantlet occurring frequently in the chronicles and poems of the
time. The king, in the _Roman de Claris_,
"----fait ses engins drecier,
Et les Chats aux fossez mener."
In 1256, the Papal troops, led by the Archbishop of Ravenna, attack
Padua, defended by the partisans of the tyrant Eccelino; the
archbishop, surrounded by a medley of knights and monks, soldiers and
priests, assaulted the city at the gate of the Ponte Altinato: they
had made their approaches under cover of a "kind of moveable gallery
which they called _Vinea_." The defendants from their walls poured
burning pitch and boiling oil upon the wooden vinea, so that it took
fire; but the city gate being also of wood, the besiegers pushed the
machine close to the gate, burnt it down and entered the place[415].
The Moveable Towers also were still in vogue. Under the name of
_berfrois_, they are mentioned in the passage on a preceding page from
the _Roman de Claris_. Under the year 1204 they are named by Guiart:--
"Un fort Chastel se fust drécié:
Le sommet plus haut en repose
Que les murs de Gaillart grant chose."
In Roy. MS. 20, D. i., of about the close of this century, the wooden
Tower occurs in several of the miniatures. It is constructed in the
manner of a scaffolding, having at the top an open platform filled
with archers: its height, that of the city walls, close to which it
is placed. Examples will be found on folios 305, 306 and 317. The
besieged, when they were able to discover the point to which the
assaulting tower was to be moved, loosened the soil in that spot
by digging; so that, when the ponderous machine arrived, it was
overturned by its fore-wheels sinking into the soft earth[416]. The
_Chat-Chastel_ combined the _beffroi_ and the _cattus_.
But the best account that can be offered of the Siege operations of
this time, is furnished by a cotemporary writer, the Seneschal of
Carcassone; himself the commander of the defending forces. This very
curious document is preserved in the Archives of France, and has been
published in the _Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes_, vol. vii.
p. 363. Carcassone was besieged in the autumn of 1240 by the son
of the Vicomte de Béziers; and the defender of the city, Guillaume
des Ormes, sends to Queen Blanche, regent of the kingdom during
the absence of Saint Louis, an exact account of the proceedings.
Carcassone was surrounded with a double wall, furnished as usual with
towers, and having several barbicans in advance of its various gates.
The object of the Barbican was to afford the besieged the means of a
flanking attack: it was formed something like a street, with a wall
on each side, terminating in a kind of open tower: and it thus became
necessary that the enemy should act in the first instance against
this outwork; for, by assaulting the curtain, they would be exposed
to a flank attack from the barbican, and might also be assailed in
the rear by sorties from the head of the work.
"To his most excellent and highly illustrious mistress, Blanche, by
the grace of God, Queen of the French, William des Ormes, Seneschal
of Carcassone, her humble and devoted servant, greeting and faithful
service.
"Madame, this is to let you know that the city of Carcassone
was besieged by him who calls himself the Viscount, and by his
accomplices, on the Monday following the Octave of the Nativity of the
Blessed Mary[417]. And immediately we who were within the city took
from them the suburb _Graveillant_, which is before the Toulouse gate;
and thence we obtained much timber, which was of great use to us. The
said suburb extended from the Barbican of the city as far as the corner
of the said city. And the same day, our enemies, through the multitude
of their forces, took from us a mill. Afterwards, Olivier de Termes,
Bernard Hugon de Serre-Longue, Géraud d'Aniort, and those who were with
them, lodged themselves between the corner of the city and the water;
and there, on the same day, by means of the ditches in that spot,
and by breaking up the roads which lay between them and us, they so
fortified themselves that we could by no means get at them.
"On another side, between the bridge and the Castle Barbican, Pierre
de Fenouillet and Renaud de Puy, Guillaume Fort, Pierre de la Tour,
and many others of Carcassone, established themselves. And at both
these places they had so many Cross-bowmen[418], that no man could
stir out of the city without being wounded. Afterwards they set up a
mangonel before our barbican, when we lost no time in opposing to it
from within an excellent Turkish petrary[419], which played upon the
mangonel and those about it; so that when they essayed to cast upon
us, and saw the beam of our petrary in motion, they fled, utterly
abandoning their mangonel. And in that place they made ditches and
palisades. Yet, as often as we discharged our petrary, we drove them
from it, still being unable to approach the spot on account of
the ditches, the pits, and the bolts from their bows(?)--_propter
fossata, quarellos et puteos qui ibi erant_.
"Moreover, Madame, they began to mine at the barbican of the Narbonne
gate; and we, having by listening ascertained where they were at
work, proceeded to countermine; and we built within the barbican a
strong stone wall, so as still to retain half the barbican in surety:
they then set fire to the props of their mine, and a breach was made
in the outer part of our barbican.
"They also began to mine against another tower (_tornellam_) of the
outer ballium, but by countermining we succeeded in dispossessing
them of the work. Afterwards they began (to mine) beneath another
wall, and destroyed two of our battlements (_cranellos de liceis_):
but we speedily set up a good strong palisade between us.
"They mined also at the corner of the city, towards the bishop's
house, and beginning their mine from a very great distance, they came
beneath a certain Saracenic wall (_murum sarraceneum_[420]) to the
wall of the _ballium_, which, when we perceived, we forthwith made
a good strong palisade between us and them, and countermined. Then
they set fire to the props of their mine, and brought down about
ten fathoms of our battlements. But we speedily made a good strong
palisade, on the top of which we constructed a good _bretèche_[421],
with good loopholes for arrows; so that none of them dared to come
near us in this place.
"They began also to mine at the barbican of the _Porte de Rhodez_,
working underneath in order to reach our wall; and in that place
they formed a wonderfully large passage. But when we perceived this,
we immediately made, on each side of their work, a great and strong
palisade; and we also countermined, and having broken into their
mine, speedily dispossessed them of it.
"Be it further known to you, Madame, that, from the beginning of the
siege, they have never ceased making assaults. But we had such good
store of cross-bows, and of brave fellows determined to resist to
the utmost, that they never assaulted us but with very great loss to
themselves.
"At length, on a certain Sunday, they got together all their
men-at-arms, cross-bowmen, and others, and in a body made an
assault on the barbican below the castle: but we went down into the
barbican, and discharged so many stones and quarrels against them
that we forced them to retire; many being killed or wounded. On the
following Sunday, after the Feast of St. Michael, they made a very
fierce assault. But we, thanks to the brave defence of our men,
repulsed them, killing and wounding many: on our side, not one was
either slain or mortally wounded.
"The day after, towards the evening, hearing, Madame, that your
troops were approaching to relieve us, the enemy set fire to the
suburb of Carcassone. They have entirely destroyed the buildings of
the Friars Minor, and those of the monastery of the Blessed Mary, in
the suburb, using the timber from them to construct their palisades.
But at night all the besiegers furtively withdrew; and, with them,
those of the suburb.
"In sooth, Madame, we were well prepared to hold out much longer;
for, during the whole siege, not one of your people, however poor his
estate, ever suffered for want of food; and we had corn and meat enough
for a much more obstinate resistance, if need had been. Be it known to
you, Madame, that these evil-doers, on the second day of their coming,
slew thirty-three priests and other holy men whom they met on entering
the suburb. Know also, Madame, that the Seigneur P. de Voisin, your
Constable of Carcassone, R. de Capendu, and Gerard d'Ermenville, have
greatly distinguished themselves in this affair. But the Constable, by
his vigilance, his bravery and his daring, is entitled to the chief
praise of all. On other matters concerning the district, we can better
render a faithful account, Madame, when we shall be in your presence.
In a word, they began mines against us in seven different places: but
we in most cases countermined them, and offered a stout opposition.
They commenced their mines at their own quarters, so that we knew
nothing of their approach till they were near our walls.
"Given at Carcassone, 13 Oct. 1240.
"Know, Madame, that the enemy burned the castles and towns which they
passed in their flight."
The town of Carcassone in its present state is probably the most
perfect fortification of the middle ages in existence. The whole of the
walls, towers, barbicans, ditches, and even the drawbridges, are still
in being, and wonderfully little injured, considering that they date
from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Enough remains to restore
the whole perfectly, without doubt or hesitation. An admirable series
of plans and drawings of these interesting fortifications has been made
by M. Viollet-Le-Duc for the French Government, shewing every part in
its actual state, and an equally complete series of designs for their
restoration, representing them exactly as they appeared at the siege so
well described by the Seneschal. The accounts relating to the building
of these walls and the preparations for their defence, are preserved
in the French archives. The very valuable and interesting series of
drawings named above was exhibited by the French government in the
Architectural Gallery of the _Exposition des Beaux Arts_ in 1855, and a
great part of them are beautifully engraved on a reduced scale in the
"Essai sur l'Architecture Militaire du Moyen-Age," already noticed. In
these plans the situation of the castle on one side of the town, and of
the different barbicans as described by the Seneschal, are very clearly
marked. There are a few barbicans remaining perfect in England, as at
Warwick and Alnwick.
The siege of Bedford Castle in 1224 affords another good example
of the mode of attacking a stronghold at this period. The garrison
in this instance were rebels to the king; their leader, one Fawkes,
a foreigner, a partisan of the Bishop of Winchester; though not
himself present at the time of the siege. The castle was invested
by the king himself. Two lofty towers of wood, of the kind already
described, were raised by the walls and filled with archers. Seven
mangonæ cast forth ponderous stones from morning till night. Sappers
approached the walls under cover of the Cat. First, the barbican, then
the outer ballium, was taken. A breach in the second wall soon after
gave the besiegers admission to the inner bailey. The donjon still
held out, and the royalists proceeded to attack it by means of their
sappers. A sufficient portion of the foundations having been removed,
the stanchions were set on fire, one of the angles sank deep into
the ground, and a wide rent laid open the interior of the keep. The
garrison now planted the royal standard on the tower, and sent the
women to implore mercy. But a severe example was required, in order to
strike terror among the disaffected in other quarters of the realm. The
knights and others, therefore, to the number of eighty, were hanged;
the archers were sent into Palestine, to redeem their fault by fighting
against the enemies of the faith; while their leader, Fawkes, who now
surrendered himself at Coventry, was banished from the island[422].
Matthew Paris records the existence of a singular and somewhat
poetical Monument of Victory, left to celebrate the capture of a
castle in the Campagna of Rome. The emperor "had taken a castle
near Montfort, belonging to the nephews and other relatives of the
pope, which he, the pope, had newly built with the money of the
Crusaders. The emperor destroyed the fortress, hanged all whom he
found therein, and in token of the destruction of it, left a sort of
_tower half-destroyed_, that the memory of the offence, as well as of
his vengeance, might never die[423]."
SEA-FIGHTS were still achieved by the same knights, men-at-arms,
archers and "satellites," as contended in land warfare. A good
pictorial example of a naval battle of this time occurs on folio 357
of Roy. MS. 20, D. i. See also fol. 23^{vo} of the same MS., for the
picture of an armed fleet. Further examples of a similar kind will be
found in this very curious volume, as well as of Tents and many other
objects of military use.
TOURNAMENTS continued to enjoy a large amount of favour among the
nobles and knights, and their retainers: but princes began to see
that these great armed meetings of their powerful vassals, in the
facilities they afforded for combinations against the royal power,
and in the imposing exhibition of the baronial force and dignity
necessarily involved in these pageants, were full of danger to the
kingly order; and, in consequence, forbade their celebration except
under express permission of the sovereign[424]. The plea was, the
dangers incurred by the competitors at these mock battles, and
the disorders to which they sometimes led. And indeed it was not
difficult to justify the prohibition on these grounds. Among many
instances that might be quoted of the tumultuous termination of
a tournament, we may notice that of Rochester in 1251. "In this
same year," says Paris[425], "on the Feast of the Conception of the
Blessed Virgin, a fierce Tournament was held at Rochester between the
English and foreigners, in which the foreigners were so shamefully
beaten that they disgracefully fled to the city for refuge; but,
being met by knights coming in an opposite direction, they were again
attacked, despoiled, and soundly beaten with sticks and staves: and
thus they returned with much interest the blows and injuries they had
received at the tournament of Brackley. The anger and hatred between
the English and foreigners increased in consequence, and became
daily more fearful." Another striking example of this century is the
hastilude between King Edward I. and the Count of Châlons in 1274,
which was of so serious a nature as to receive the name of "La petite
Bataille de Châlons." The king, returning from the Holy Land, to take
possession of his crown, was invited by the Count to participate in
a tourney which he was preparing. The king's company is said to have
been a thousand only, while those engaged on the Count's side are
estimated at double the number. But this is the estimate of English
chroniclers. The tourneyers met near Châlons, some on horseback,
others on foot, armed with swords. The Count, who was a very powerful
man, singled out the king for an antagonist; cast aside his sword,
threw his arms round the neck of the monarch, and used all his force
to drag him from his horse. But the king, taking advantage of the
tight hold by which the Count had fixed himself to his person, and
relying on his own strength, suddenly clapped spurs to his horse,
carried away the Count out of his saddle, and then by a violent
shake tumbled him to the ground. Being remounted, the Count renewed
the attack, but with no greater success than before. His knights,
meanwhile, exasperated at the discomfiture of their leader, began to
assail the English with all the rancour of real warfare. The English
returned wound for wound: the "Joust of Peace" became a "Joûte à
outrance:" Edward's archers plied their terrible arrows, routed the
troops opposed to them, rushed upon the knights, slew their steeds or
cut their saddle-girths, so as to bring to the ground many a sturdy
baron and rich prisoner[426].
Of the mandates issued for the suppression of tournaments, many
examples have come down to us. The Fœdera contains a considerable
number. Some were sent forth by the temporal prince, others were
launched by the spiritual arm; for it was no difficult matter in
these days to obtain the pope's aid in any scheme of this nature,
where a benevolent intention could be assigned, and a liberal
douceur had been supplied. In 1220, Pandulf the legate forbids a
tournament in England, under pain of the forfeiture of goods and
of excommunication[427]. In 1234, the king of England charges his
subjects that they offend not by tourneying or behourding (_buhurdare
vel torneare_[428]). In 1255 the royal inhibition is again sent
forth, and the reason given for its publication is the peril of
Prince Edward in Gascony: "eo quod Edwardus, filius Regis in gravi
periculo existit in Wasconia[429]." 1265 is the date of another[430].
In 1299, the king again issues his mandate: this time with penalties
of peculiar severity. The knight is forbidden "sub forisfacturâ vite
et membrorum, et omnium que tenet in dicto regno, torneare, bordeare,
seu justas facere, aventuras querere, aut aliàs ad arma ire, quoquo
modo, sine nostrâ licenciâ speciali." Should any dare to disobey,
then they are forthwith to be arrested and placed in safe custody,
"corpora ipsorum, unà cum equis et hernesio suis[431]."
Whilst, however, the monarch of timid character and jealous of
his baronage, looked with disrelish on the Tournament, the prince
of an enterprising disposition and skilled in military exercises,
naturally regarded with more complacency a pastime in which his
own achievements were placed in the most brilliant light, and the
respect and attachment of his nobles secured, by the exhibition of
those qualities on which they themselves founded their chief claim
to power and distinction. Thus, in the thirteenth century, when the
king (Henry III.) had created eighty new knights, the gallant Prince
Edward accompanied them to a tournament which had been proclaimed on
the continent, "that each might try his strength, as was the custom
with newly-made knights[432]." In 1253, the Earl of Gloucester with
a companion also went abroad, to take part in a marriage festivity
and in a tournament which followed it: an adventure in which they
were so roughly handled by the antagonist knights as to require daily
fomentations and bathing to restore them to health[433].
Regarding the equipment of the knights and their assistants at the
Tournament, there are two documents of this century which are of the
highest interest and afford the most curious information. These are
the "Statutum Armorum ad Torniamenta," compiled previous to 1295;
and the roll detailing the "Empciones facte contra Torniamentum de
Parco de Windsore," in the 6th year of Edward I.; from the latter of
which we have already extracted some passages illustrative of various
portions of the knightly armament.
By the tournament statute we learn that there existed at this time
a sort of Court of Honour, to judge all disputes and delinquencies
that might arise during the celebration of the games; and the members
of it were the king's eldest son, Prince Edward; Edmund, earl of
Lancaster; William de Valence, earl of Pembroke; Gilbert de Clare,
earl of Gloucester; and the earl of Lincoln. As De Valence, the last
of his name, died in 1296, and the earl of Gloucester in 1295, the
date of this document cannot of course be later than the year last
quoted[434]. It is not unworthy of note that the effigies of two of
these Judges of the Tournament, fully equipped in the trappings of
armed knighthood, have been preserved to our days: the monuments of
Edmund Crouchback and of William de Valence in Westminster Abbey are
among the most curious memorials that can be consulted by the student
of ancient military costume. There are several copies of the statute
extant. The following, from a manuscript in the Bodleian Library, has
been selected by the Record Commission as the most trustworthy[435]:--
"A la requeste de Contes e de Barons e de la Chivalrie de
Englet're, ordine est e p̴ nostro Seign^r le Rey comaunde: qe nul
ne seit si hardi desoremes, Conte ne Baron ne autre Chivaler, qe al
Torney voysent de aver plus qe treys Esquiers armez, pur li servir
al Turney: e qe chescun Esquier porte chapel des armes son Seignur
qe il servira a la jornee pur enseygne.
"E qe nul C͂hr ne Esquier qe sert al Turney ne porte espeie a
point, ne cotel a point, ne bastoun, ne mace, fors espee large pur
turneer. E qe tuz les baneors, qe baners portent, seent armez de
mustilers[436], e de quisers[437], e de espaulers, e de bacyn[438]
sanz plus.
"E sil avent qe nul Conte ou Baron ou autre Chivaler voyse encontre
le estatut p̴ le assent e le comaundēmt nostre Seign^r Sire
Edward, fiz le Rey, e Sire Eumond frere le Rey, e Sire Willeme de
Valence, e Sire Gil͂bt de Clare, e le Cunte de Nichole[439], qe
celi Chivaler, qe issint s'ra trove en forfetaunt en nul poynt
encontre le estatut, seyt encurru cele peyne: qe il perde chival e
armes, e demeorge en prison a la volunte de avaūtdiz Sire Edward,
Sire Eumond, e le autres. E qe le Esquier qe serra trove fesaunt
encontre le estatut, qe issi est devise, en acun poynt, perde
chival e herneys[440] e seyt iij. aunz en la prison. E qe nul
sake[441] Chivaler a terre, fors ceus qe serrunt armez pur lur
Seign^r servir, qe le Chivaler pusse recovrir son chival, e cely
seit en la forfeture des Esquiers avaunt diz.
"E qe nul fiz de graunt Seignur, ceo est asaver, de Conte ou
de Baron, ne seit arme fors de mustilers, e de quisers, e de
espaulers, e de bacynet, saunz plus, e qe nul aporte cutel a
poynte, ne espeye, ne mace, fors espee large. E si nul seit trove
qe, en ascun de ceos poynz, alast encontre le estatut, qe il perde
son chival le quel il serra munte a la jornee, e seit en la prison
un an.
"E qe ceus qe vendrunt pur veer le turnēmt ne seent armez de
nule manere de armure, ne qe il ne portent ne espee, ne cutel, ne
bastun, ne mace, ne perre, sur la forfeture des Esquiers avauntdiz.
E qe nul garson, ne hōme a pee ne porte espee, ne cutel, ne
baston, ne perrer: e si il seent trovez enforfetaunt, qe il seyent
emprisonez vij. aunz.
"E si acun graunt Seign^r ou autre teygne mangerie, qe nul esquier
ne ameyne eynz fors ceus qe trencherunt devaunt lur Seignurs.
"E qe nul Roy de Haraunz ne Menestrals[442] portent privez armez,
ne autres forz lur espees saunz poynte. E qe le Reys des Harraunz
eyent lur huces des armes saunz plus." &c.
This document affords us some curious glimpses at the customs of the
time; not less by what it forbids than by what it ordains. A tournament
in which the combatants are liable to be pelted by the stones and
slings of the varlets and other lookers-on, does not give us a very
exalted idea of these festivals; and, for a holiday game, the rules
seem oddly severe which decree that the poor squire who infringes them
shall lose horse and armour, and "demeorge iij. aunz en la prison."
The Roll of Purchases made for the Tournament of Windsor Park, "per
manum Adinetti _cissoris_," is preserved in the Tower of London, and
bears date 9th of July in the sixth year of Edward I. (1278). The
jousts were of the kind called "Jousts of Peace," and the knights for
whom armour is provided are thirty-eight in number. Of these, twelve
are styled "digniores," and wore gilded helms, while the remainder
had head-pieces that were silvered only. A "memorandum" informs us
that each suit consisted of one coat-of-fence, one surcoat, one pair
of ailettes, two crests (of which, one for the horse), one shield,
one helm of leather, and one sword made of whalebone. "M^d q̄d in
quo ̱p ͂hne͂s fu'unt j. Tunic' ar͂m: j. coo̱pto͂r: j. pa͂r alet͂t.
It̄m ij. Cres͂t & j. Blazōn & una galea co͂r & j. ensis de Balōn."
Each coat-of-fence was composed of a Cuirass and Arm-defences. The
cuirasses (_quirettæ_) being supplied by "Milo the Currier," were
probably of leather, as the helms were: "De Milōn le Cuireu͂r.
xxxviij. quire͂t: p'̄c pēc iij. s." For each of them were furnished
two ells of the cloth called "Carda;" while eight pieces of "Diaper"
contributed to the formation of the whole thirty-eight:--
"Pro qualibet quiret͂t ij. ul̄n card.
Pro eisd' ͂hne͂s armand' viij. diaspe͂r."
The carda is charged at fourpence an ell; the diaper at eight
shillings the piece. "Ten buckrams" are supplied to form the
arm-defences: "Item ̱p xxviij. pa͂r brac͂h x. bukeran̄n." And the
whole of these are painted: "Item ̱p f̄cu͂r & pictu͂r xxxviij.
pa͂r Brach' de Bokeran p'̄c pa͂r iiij. d." These body-armours must
have differed very widely in their structure or embellishment; for
while the Harness-of-Arms of Walter de Sancto Martino only cost seven
shillings, that of the Earl of Lincoln amounted to thirty-three
shillings and fourpence. Little bells were added to the equipment
either of the knights or their horses; perhaps both: and they were
purchased of Richard Paternoster: "De Ricō pat'n͂r DCCC. Nolaȝ sive
Tintunabul' p'̄c cen͂t. iij. s." This decoration of bells obtained
great favour in the next two centuries.
The surcoats of the four earls[443] were of Cindon silk, the
remaining thirty-four of Carda: "Pro iiij. coo̱pto͂r ̱p iiij^{or}
Comi͂t ij. Cind' & dī. Item ̱p xxxiiij. coo̱pto͂r. CXIX. ul̄n.
card." The ailettes were made of leather and carda, being fastened by
laces of silk: "D. Milōn le Cuireu͂r. xxxviij. pa͂r alet͂t co͂r p'̄c
pa͂r viiij. d.... Item pro xxxviij. pa͂r alet͂t xix. ul̄n. card....
viij. Duodēn laqueoȝ serīc ̱p alet͂t p'̄c duodēn viij. d."
Each helm and each horse had a crest, which was made of calf-skin,
and fastened by the _chastones_ and _clavones_ already noticed at
page 347. Stephen the Joiner supplied thirty-eight shields of wood
at fivepence each: "De Stephō Juncto͂r xxxviij. scu͂t fustīn p'̄c
scuti. v. d." Being elsewhere called _blazonæ_, we may conclude they
were heraldically ensigned. The helms were of leather, supplied by
Robert Erunnler in their crude state at sixteenpence per helm;
but afterwards embellished by Ralph de la Haye, who gilt twelve of
them with pure gold for the chief knights at a shilling apiece,
and silvered the remainder at eightpence each: "De Rob'o Erunnler
xxxviij. galee de co͂r p'̄c galee xvj. d. Item Rādo de la Haye ̱p
Batu͂r xij. galeaȝ de auro pu͂r ̱p dingmo͂r ar̄m prēc galee xij.
d. Eidem pro Batu͂r xxvi. gal' de argento, p'̄c gal' viij. d." The
swords were made of whalebone and parchment, their blades silvered,
the hilt and pommel gilt: "De Petro le Furbeu͂r (the furbisher)
xxxviii. glad' fac͂t de Balēn & Parcomēn, p'̄c pēc vij. d. It̄m
̱p Batu͂r d̄coȝ glad' de argent' xxv.s. It̄m ̱p Batu͂r pomell' &
hil͂t eoȝd' de auro pu͂r iij. s. vi. d."
The sum-total paid for these thirty-eight equipments, including their
carriage from London to Windsor, was £80 11_s._ 8_d._ Other purchases
were made at Paris, of which a portion appears to have been for the
tournament, as the horse furniture, already noticed at page 340.
Other articles are of a miscellaneous character, as hawking-gloves,
furs for mantles, carpets, and "a hundred _fromages de Brie_ for
the King and Queen" (C. casei de Bria pro Rege et Regina, precium
xxxv. s.). The whole of the document, however, deserves a careful
investigation, though we have extracted the chief particulars which
illustrate the subject of our inquiry. It is printed in full in the
seventeenth volume of the _Archæologia_.
There was a variety of the tournament in vogue during this century,
called the Round Table; of which, though some curious details
have been preserved, the particular characteristic has not been
ascertained. Matthew Paris[444] has noted with especial distinctness
that the _Tabula rotunda_ was not a mere new name given to an old
sport, but that it was a pastime of a different kind. "In this year,
1252, he says, the knights of England, in order to prove their
skill and bravery in military practices, unanimously determined to
try their powers, not in the sport commonly and vulgarly called a
Tournament, but in that military game which is named The Round Table:
(non ut in hastiludio illo quod communiter et vulgariter Torneamentum
dicitur, sed potiùs in illo ludo militari qui Mensa Rotunda dicitur:)
therefore, at the Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin,
they assembled in great numbers at the Abbey of Wallenden, flocking
together from the north and from the south, and some also from the
continent. And, according to the rules of that warlike sport, on that
day and the day following, some English knights disported themselves
with great skill and valour, to the pleasure and admiration of all
the foreigners there present. On the fourth day following, two
knights of great valour and renown, Arnold de Montigny and Roger de
Lemburn, came forth completely armed after the manner of knights,
and mounted on choice and handsome horses. And, as they rushed
onward to encounter with their lances, Roger aimed his weapon, the
point of which was not blunted, as it ought to have been, so that it
entered under the helm of Arnold, and pierced his throat: for he was
unarmed in that part of his body, being without a collar (_carens
collario_)." Montigny expired on the spot, and the festivities were
turned to mourning; so that "those who had come thither in joy and
gladness, separated on a sudden amid grief and lamentation; De
Lemburn at once making a vow to assume the Cross and undertake a
pilgrimage for the release of the soul of Arnold."
From this relation we learn that the knights, fully armed, contended
with lances on horseback, and that it was an especial rule of the
combat that the lance-heads should be blunt or "rebated."
In 1280, the eighth of Edward I., earl Roger de Mortimer held a Round
Table at his Castle of Kenilworth. "It was," says Dugdale, "a great
and famous concourse of noble persons called the _Round Table_,
consisting of an hundred Knights and as many Ladies, whereunto divers
repaired from foreign parts for the exercise of Arms, viz., Tilting
and martial Tournaments: the reason of the _Round Table_ being to
avoyd contention touching precedency; a Custome of great antiquity,
and used by the antient _Gauls_, as Mr. _Cambden_ in _Hantsh._ from
_Athenæus_ (an approved Author) observes." The original authorities
for this description of the Kenilworth Round-Table festival are
Trivet and Walsingham, and the passages may be seen either in their
histories, _ad an._ 1280, or in Ducange, _sub voce_ Tabula Rotunda.
Dugdale seems to have had the notion that, to avoid disputes
about precedency, all the jousters dined together at the Round
Table; but it must have been a large table to have accommodated
"an hundred Knights,"--to say nothing of the hundred Ladies. It
seems more probable, comparing this institution with others of an
analogous character, that a certain number of knights, representing
(and perhaps assuming the names of) King Arthur and his far-famed
band of warriors, held the field "against all comers." This view
receives some support from the well-known relic at Winchester, "the
rownde table of Kyng Arthur and hys Knyghtes," which is painted
in compartments, each bearing the name of one of the fraternity.
The table in question is not, indeed, more ancient than about the
beginning of the sixteenth century; but, as the Hall at Winchester
in which it is preserved is of the thirteenth century (the very
period in which the sport of the _Tabula Rotunda_ came into vogue),
it seems likely that this table represents some more ancient one
which time has destroyed. The existing "King Arthur's Round Table" is
figured in the Winchester volume of the Archæological Institute; and
in the notice of it in that volume is cited a curious passage from
Leroux de Lincy (himself quoting Diego de Vera, who was present at
the marriage of Philip and Mary), by which it appears that tradition
had assigned to a particular compartment the name of "the place of
Judas or the perilous seat:" "Lors du mariage de Philippe II. avec
la reine Marie, on montroit encore à Hunscrit[445] la table ronde
fabriquée par Merlin: elle se composoit de 25 compartimens en blanc
et en vert: dans chaque division étoient écrits le nom du cavalier
et celui du roi. L'un de ces compartimens, appelé _Place de Judas_
ou _Siége périlleux_, restoit toujours vide." Judas appears to have
been interpolated from one of the Mystery Plays of the Middle-Ages,
and it must be confessed that a table "made by Merlin" and surrounded
by King Arthur and his knights, with Judas for a boon-companion, has
in it a certain boldness of concatenation which might well strike
with awe the solemn mind of Don Diego de Vera, on the occasion of
his visit to Hunscrit. A passage in the _Faits de Bouciquaut_ seems
to imply that holding a Round Table meant a hastilude in which
the challengers kept open house: "Ainsi fit là son appareil moult
grandement et très honnorablement Messire Bouciquaut, et fit faire
provisions de très bons vins, et de tous vivres largement et' à
plain, et de tout ce qu'il convient, si plantureusement _comme pour
tenir table ronde à tous venans_ tout le dict temps durant, et tout
aux propres despens de Bouciquaut[446]."
If the nobles of the land retained their fondness for the military
pastimes of their order, the commonalty were not less attached to the
cognate sports of their class. Indeed, their enthusiasm sometimes
led them to an excess of ambition which resulted in an armed contest
between the two bodies of knight and craftsman: they dared to practise
the exercise of the quintain for the prize of a peacock! the peacock,
that noble bird, every feather in whose tail was an eye of disdain
contumeliously glowering upon the whole generation of plebeians.
The inexhaustible Matthew Paris again furnishes us with an
illustration:--"In the first fortnight of Lent (1253), the young men
of London tested their own powers and the speed of their horses in
the sport which is commonly called the Quintain, having fixed on a
Peacock as the prize of the contest. Some attendants and pages of
the king's household (he being then at Westminster) were indignant
at this, and insulted the citizens, calling them rustics, scurvy
and soapy wretches, and at once entered the field to oppose them.
The Londoners eagerly accepted their challenge, and, after beating
their backs with the broken spear-shafts till they were black and
blue, they hurled all the royal attendants from their horses or put
them to flight. The fugitives then went to the king and with clasped
hands and gushing tears besought him not to let so great an offence
go unpunished; and he, resorting to his usual kind of vengeance,
extorted from the citizens a large sum of money."
Figures of the quintain and the tilters may be seen in Strutt's
Sports: the manuscripts he has used are of a somewhat later date,
(that is, fourteenth century,) but the forms of the quintains may be
fairly taken as similar to those of the preceding age.
In the thirteenth century we first obtain a pictorial representation
of the LEGAL DUEL, or wager of battle: rude, it is true, but
curiously confirming the written testimony that has come down to us
of the arms and apparel of the Champions.
[Illustration: No. 88.]
This drawing has been carefully traced from one of the "Miscellaneous
Rolls" in the Tower, of the time of Henry III. The combatants are
Walter Blowberme and Hamun le Stare, the latter being the vanquished
champion, and figuring a second time in the group as undergoing the
punishment incidental to his defeat. The names of the duellers are
written over the figures, the central one being that of the victor.
Both are armed with the quadrangular bowed shield and a "baston"
headed with a double beak. Britton (De Jure Angliæ, fol. 41) exactly
describes their arming: "Puis voisent combattre armés sans fer et
sans longe arme, à testes découvertes et à mains nues (à pié?)
ovesque deux bastons cornuts d'une longueur, et chascun de eux d'un
escu de quatre corners, sauns autre arme dont nul ne puisse autre
griever." The exact length of the bâtons we learn from a statute
of Philip of France in 1215: "Statuimus quod Campiones non pugnent
de caetero cum baculis qui excedant longitudinem trium pedum."
They might, however, continues the statute, use staves of shorter
dimensions, if they thought proper.
The arming "sans fer" mentioned above is made more clear by a passage
of the "Coustumier of Normandy," chap. 28: (Les champions doivent être)
"appareillez en leurs cuiries, ou en leurs cotes, avec leurs escus, et
leurs bastons cornus, armez si comme mestier sera de drap, de cuir, de
laine et d'estoupes. Es escus, ne es bastons, ne es armures de jambes,
ne doit aver fors fust ou cuir, ou ci qui est pardevant dit; ne ils
ne peuvent avoir autre instrument à grever l'un l'autre fors l'escu
et le baston." The bare heads and cropped hair of our duellers are in
conformity with another ordinance of the Camp-fight: "Les Chevaliers
qui se combate por murtre ou por homicide, se doive combatre à pié, et
_sans coiffe_, et estre _roignés à la reonde_[447]." Compare the figure
of the champion of Bishop Wyvil, which appears on the monumental brass
of the prelate in Salisbury Cathedral: date 1375. It is engraved in
Waller's Brasses, Part ix., and in Carter's "Painting and Sculpture."
For an extended series of evidences relating to the custom of Wager of
Battle, see Ducange or Adelung, _v. Campiones_, and compare Henault,
_ad an._ 1260.
[Illustration: CAERPHILLY CASTLE, GLAMORGANSHIRE.
Built about 1275.
No. 89.]
FOOTNOTES:
[265] An instructive series of English sculptured figures has been
finely engraved in Stothard's Monumental Effigies, and in the
continuation of this work by the brothers Hollis. The continental
examples, especially those of Germany, are ably figured in Hefner's
_Costumes du Moyen-Age_. The sculptured effigies preserved in the
Church of St. Denis are well described in the _Monographie de l'Eglise
de St. Denis_ of the Baron De Guilhermy. The monumental brasses of
England have been engraved excellently and in large numbers by Messrs.
Waller, and in the subsequent works of the Rev. Mr. Boutell. The
knightly statues given in Blore's Monuments, though not numerous, are
of the highest order of art, and perfect in their truthfulness.
[266] This manuscript is perhaps a little later than the year
1300, but the armour represented in it is essentially that of the
thirteenth century.
[267] Matthew Paris, p. 853. ed. Wats.
[268] Collection des Ordonnances, i. 383.
[269] Abstracts of both are given at a later page of this division.
[270] Vol. iii. p. 403.
[271] Eyton's Antiq. of Shropshire, i. 160, sq.
[272] Blount's Anc. Tenures, and Eyton's Antiq. of Shropshire, i. 180.
[273] Page 248.
[274] Paris, p. 374.
[275] Ibid., p. 467.
[276] Paris, p. 514.
[277] Paris, p. 518, _ad an._ 1242.
[278] Rot. Claus. 6 John, m. 66.
[279] Rot. Claus. 7 John, m. 18.
[280] Vol. v. c. 42.
[281] Froissart, bk. i. c. 287.
[282] Hist., p. 591.
[283] Vol. i. p. 198.
[284] pike.
[285] Ann. 1214.
[286] Rigord.
[287] Brito, _ad ann._ 1202.
[288] The abbot of St. Medard.
[289] The Bishop Elect of Beauvais.
[290] Roll of Expenses of K. Edward I. at Rhuddlan Castle: Archæol.
xvi., 47.
[291] Ibid.
[292] chattels.
[293] "Hauber, chapel de feer, espe, cutel e cheval." Stat. of
Winchester.
[294] "Haubergeon." Ibid.
[295] "Parpoint, chapel de feer, espe e cutel." Ib.
[296] "Espe, ark, setes e cutel." Ib.
[297] "Fans, gisarmes, e cotaus, e autres menues armes." Ib.
[298] These are the same equipments as before, only calculated by
a money qualification instead of a landed property. The Winchester
Statute has a similar provision.
[299] Here the Stat. of Winchester has an additional class: "Qui meins
ad de chateux de vynt marcs, espees, cuteus e autres menues armes."
[300] "Arcs et setes hors de forestes, e dedenz forestes arcs et
piles (_var._ pilets)." Stat. Win.
[301] "Deus foiz par an." Stat. Win.
[302] Cap. 23.
[303] Blount's Ancient Tenures.
[304] Rot. Pat. 55.
[305] "Culvertage means in plain English the penalty of being a
turn-tail. The culprit was liable by law to the forfeiture of all
property, and perpetual servitude." Lingard, Hist, of Eng. See also
Ducange, v. Culvertagium.
[306] New Rymer, 444. See also Hallam's Middle Ages, vol. i. p. 170.
ed. 1855.
[307] M. Paris. Additamenta.
[308] Ibid., p. 1145.
[309] Page 568.
[310] This circular formation, however, was no new invention. We have
it in Cæsar: "Quum illi, _orbe facto_, sese defenderent, celeriter ad
clamorem hominum circiter millia VI. convenerunt." Bell. Gall., L. 4.
[311] Fordun, xi. 34; Hemingford, 59-165; Walsingham, 75.
[312] p. 631.
[313] Hist. _sub an._ 1256. See also the account of the Tartar
warriors. M. Paris, _ad ann._ 1238, 1241, 1243.
[314] M. Paris, _sub an._ 1238. p. 399.
[315] Ibid., p. 467.
[316] Ibid., p. 574.
[317] Paris, 651.
[318] Lingard, vol. iii. p. 280.
[319] Kriegsbuch, b. 2. fol. 66.
[320] MS. Chronicle, cited by the Emperor of the French in the
_Etudes sur l'Artillerie_, vol. i. p. 39.
[321] Sismondi, Repub. Ital., iii. 105.
[322] Giov. Villani, L. 7. c. 8.
[323] Trivet, Annales, fol. 282.
[324] Ante, page 217.
[325] Page 687.
[326] Page 537.
[327] Rolandini: De factis in March. Tarvis., L. iv. c. 13.
[328] M. Paris, p. 669.
[329] Page 74.
[330] Brasses and Slabs.
[331] Tho. Archid. in Hist. Salonit., c. 28. Ducange, v. _Collarium_.
[332] Plac. Coron., 8 Ed. I., Rot. 41.
[333] a. 1296.
[334] Archæologia, vol. xvii. pp. 302, 304 and 305.
[335] Copied from the figure by Blore and Le Keux in Surtees' Durham,
iij. 155.
[336] Add. MS. 6728. Kerrich Collections.
[337] Archæologia, vol. xvii. p. 302, seq.
[338] This illustration has been kindly lent by the Council of the
Archæological Institute.
[339] Mémoires de la Soc. des Antiq. de France, t. xiii. p. 339.
[340] Annales Archéol., t. iv. p. 212.
[341] New Fœdera, vol. ii. pt. i. p. 203.
[342] Archæol. Journ., vol. ii. p. 349.
[343] New Rymer, vol. ii. pt. i. p. 203.
[344] Three sculptured effigies had already been noticed in England,
having defences of Banded-mail, when in the course of a tour in the
midland counties with an archæological friend, the Rev. Mr. Parke,
of Lichfield, the writer had the good fortune to find, in the little
church of Newton Solney in Derbyshire, the monument here figured.
See Archæol. Journ., vol. vii. p. 360. The other statues are those
at Tewkesbury, Dodford, Northants, and Tollard Royal, Wilts. The
engraving of the Sulney effigy and the following three woodcuts
illustrative of Banded-mail have been obligingly lent by the Central
Committee of the Archæological Institute.
[345] Kerrich Collections in Brit. Mus., Add. MS. 6,731, f. 4.
[346] Vol. i. p. 77.
[347] We are again obliged to borrow illustrations of our subject
from the fourteenth century. This manuscript appears to have been
illuminated about 1360.
[348] Wien's kaiserliches Zeughaus.
[349] Chaucer.
[350] Six or eight.
[351] protect.
[352] _Archæologia_, vol. xvii. pp. 302 and 305.
[353] Glossar., v. _Armatura_.
[354] hauberk.
[355] shields? Perhaps, coming with the body-armour, the ailettes.
[356] greaves.
[357] gloves: _gants_? See the glossarists.
[358] Vol. iii. p. 403.
[359] Paris, 773.
[360] Froissart, bk. ii. ch. 200, ed. Buchon.
[361] Page 686.
[362] He died in 1247. The effigy is figured by Willemin, vol. i.,
Pl. XCI.; and by Guilhermy, page 164.
[363] Paris, p. 730.
[364] De Bauçoio: _Descriptio Victoriæ_ &c. apud Duchesne, t. v.
[365] Gesta Ludov. IX. ap. Duchesne, t. v. p. 377.
[366] Compare Surtees' Durham, where there is a rude cut of the
effigy, vol. iii. p. 151.
[367] conflict.
[368] Page 154.
[369] Page 502.
[370] See _Archæologia_, vol. xii. Plate LI.
[371] guisarmes.
[372] Dugdale's Warwickshire, p. 765.
[373] Plac. Cor. 12 Ed. I., apud Blount.
[374] Page 503.
[375] Statutes of the Realm, j., 230: circa 1290.
[376] From _lamina_: dimin. _lamella_.
[377] Albericus in Chron., ann. 1214.
[378] Ad ann. 1256.
[379] Vol. i., Plate XXXI.
[380] étoit.
[381] The stirrup Cross-bow is seen in our engraving.
[382] From the French, _vis._
[383] From the Italian? an arbalest to be bent by "naturall strength"
alone: see Florio, v. _Lena_.
[384] Pesarola is a balance, but the application of the word is not
clear.
[385] Guiart, ann. 1304.
[386] Fragment. Hist. Dalphin., t. ii. p. 64.
[387] Paris, p. 685.
[388] Paris, p. 689; and compare page 1,092.
[389] Page 210.
[390] Page 38.
[391] Paris, p. 853. Compare Chron. of Dunstable, p. 366, and M.
Westminster, p. 387.
[392] Paris, p. 853, ad an. 1264.
[393] Ibid., p. 366.
[394] Ibid., p. 375.
[395] Paris, p. 385.
[396] Evidently a mistake of the transcriber. Such a sum of
thirteenth century money would make about £300 of modern currency.
[397] The silver matrix of the seal of this baron is still in
existence, and was exhibited at a meeting of the Royal Society
of Antiquaries in 1777, as recorded in the fifth volume of the
_Archæologia_. Plate XVII. of that volume gives us a representation
of the seal. It exhibits the "saddle of the arms of the said Robert:"
the arms being repeated on the shield and housing: the knight is
armed with the sword. This seal was made between 1298 and 1304, as
it contains also a shield of the arms of Ferrers; Robert Fitz Walter
having married a lady of that house in 1298: she dying in 1304, the
baron married into another family.
[398] The Elms in Smithfield; an ancient place of execution. A Close
Roll of this century (4. Hen. III.) mentions the "Furcæ factæ apud
Ulmellos com. Middlesex." Strype, b. iii. p. 238.
[399] Pat. 24 Ed. I. in Turr. Lond.--New Rymer, vol. i. p. 848.
[400] _Archæologia_, vol. xvii. p. 306.
[401] Page 385. "Cum equis ferro coopertis."
[402] Coll. des Ordonnances, j. 383.
[403] Gloss. v. Equi cooperti.
[404] Pat. 27 Edw. I., m. 40; in Turr. Lond.--New Rymer, vol. i. p. 901.
[405] Engraved in Archæol. Journ., vol. ix. p. 27.
[406] _Archæol._, vol. xvii. p. 305.
[407] Published by Roy. Soc. of Antiquaries.
[408] "De regimine principum." The author died in 1316.
[409] Lib. iii. pars iii. The Album of Villard de Honnecourt (of the
thirteenth century) contains also directions for constructing the "fort
engieng con apiele trebucet." See _Revue Archéologique_, vol. vi. p. 76.
[410] Matthew Paris, page 624.
[411] Chron. de Justinger: cited by Col. Dufour in his _Mémoire sur
l'Artillerie des Anciens_, p. 89.
[412] Page 751.
[413] Page 1091.
[414] Albericus in Chron. MS. an. 1238, apud Adelung.
[415] Rolandini de factis in March. Tarvis., lib. viii. c. 13;
Monachi Patavini Chron., p. 693.
[416] Compare Christine de Pisan, "Fais du roy Charles," chap. 36.
[417] 17 Sep. 1240.
[418] Balistarios.
[419] _Petrariam turquesiam._ Its particular character has not been
ascertained. But it was a machine for throwing large stones with
considerable force.
[420] This name was given to a wall fortified with battlements and
machicoulis, the fashion having been originally introduced by the
Saracens.
[421] A Bretèche was a covered passage constructed of wood on the top
of a wall or of a tower, carried upon the series of corbels called
machicoulis. It was usually removed in time of peace, being easily
put up again in time of war: for this reason, examples are not often
now to be found. There are probably none remaining in England, and
they are rare in France, but occasionally occur in a dilapidated
state, and the marks where they have been placed are to be seen on
almost every old fortification. They formed a very important part
of the defensive system in the middle ages. It was in these wooden
galleries that the archers were chiefly placed, and from them stones
were hurled on the heads of the assailants through the openings
of the machicoulis, the men being entirely protected by the outer
boarding and roof of the bretèche or gallery. (For many engravings
of them, see Viollet-Le-Duc, Architecture Militaire du Moyen-Age,
8vo. Paris, 1854.) There were loopholes in the outer boarding; and
in the wall behind openings for the supply of projectiles from
the inner passage behind the parapet wall, in front of which the
_bretèches_ were built. These projectiles were conveyed to the top of
the walls or towers by means of the sort of wells which we find in
the thickness of the walls of old castles. The _Bretèches_ were also
called _Hourds_. They were sometimes erected on the top of wooden
palisades only, as was the case in this instance.
[422] Wendover (in Paris, p. 270); Dunstab., p. 142; New Rymer, vol.
i. p. 175. Annal. Wigorn., p. 486.
[423] Paris, p. 510, sub. an. 1241.
[424] See Henault, vol. iii. p. 971. ed. 1774.
[425] Page 715.
[426] Trivet, Hemingford, Westminster, Walsingham, ad an. 1274.
[427] Rymer, vol. i. p. 162.
[428] Ibid., p. 213.
[429] Ibid., p. 323.
[430] Ibid., p. 450.
[431] Page 916. See also pp. 964, 976, 977 and 979.
[432] Matthew of Westminster, p. 300.
[433] Westminster, p. 252.
[434] See _Archæologia_, vol. xvii. p. 298.
[435] Statutes of the Realm, vol. i. p. 230.
[436] A doubtful word. It has been held to mean the kind of cloth
called "muster-develers:" a body-armour seems implied.
[437] Cuissards.
[438] "Bacynette." _Lib. Horn._
[439] Lincoln.
[440] The squire's armour.
[441] Succour.
[442] "Mareschaus." _Lib. Horn._
[443] The Earls of Cornwall, Gloucester, Warren and Lincoln.
[444] Page 729.
[445] Probably for _Hampshire_; a wide deviation: but when we
remember that the word has passed through the Spanish and French, we
shall be less inclined to wonder at its present state.
[446] Chap. xvi.
[447] Assis. Hieros., cap. 101.
INDEX.
Abbo, monk of St. Germain-des-Pres, his account of the siege of Paris
in 886, p. 88.
Advocati of the Church, Part ii. 165.
Adze-axe, Part i. 45, 48.
Aestii, 68.
Agathias, 4, 5, 16.
Ailettes, 245, 368;
various forms of, 250;
their purpose, 251;
enriched, 252;
of leather, 369.
Ailettes figured, 247, 250, 254.
Aketon, 129.
Aldhelm, bishop of Sherborne, his enigma, "De Lorica," 62.
Andegavi, 9.
Anelace, 315.
Anglo-Saxons, 9, 15, 17, 21, 65.
Angon, 6, 25.
Arabic Treatise on the Art of War in the thirteenth century, 329.
Arbalest (see Cross-bow).
Arbalestina, 204.
Archers, Part ii. 100, 104, 105, 115, 157, 186, Pt. iii. 198, 224;
mounted, Pt. ii. 102, Pt. iii. 195;
of Anjou, 200;
placed at the wings, Pt. iii. 224;
intermixed with cavalry, 225.
Arcubalestarii, 201.
Armati, 197.
Armour (see Body-armour).
Arms, View of, Part iii. 211.
Army forms barrier of carts and wagons, 225.
Arrière-ban, Pt. ii. 98, 99, Pt. iii. 212.
Arrows, Pt. i. 54, Pt. ii. 156, Pt. iii. 325;
poisoned, Pt. i. 54;
found in graves, Pt. i. 55;
tri-barbed, Pt. ii. 157;
within and without the Forest, 211, 212;
with phials of quick-lime attached, 325.
Arrows figured, 56, 195, 199, 201.
Artillerie, 203.
Astrologers, Part ii. 118, Pt. iii. 227.
Axe, Part i. 5, 12, 45, Pt. ii. 104, 153, Pt. iii. 213, 319;
of copper and iron, Pt. i. 45;
inscribed, Pt. i. 47;
handle of, Pt. i. 49;
handle of iron, Pt. i. 50;
Danish, Pt. i. 12, Pt. iii. 219, 320, 321;
carved on knightly tomb, 318;
double-axe (see Bipennis).
Axes figured, 46, 205, 206.
Bainbergæ, 244.
Balista, Part i. 88, Pt. ii. 158, (see Cross-bow).
Ban, Pt. i. 99.
Banded-mail, 260;
effigies exhibiting it, 260 _note_, 267;
for horse-trappers, 267;
for elephant-trappers, 267.
Banner, Pt. i. 95, Pt. ii. 165, Pt. iii. 334;
imperial, of the Eagle, 332;
of French king to be borne by the Chief Chamberlain, 334;
of St. Paul of London, 335;
of St. John of Beverley, 338.
Bannerer of London in the thirteenth century, 334.
Barbican, 355;
examples of, remaining in England, 360.
Basques, 99, 219.
Bassinet, 292, 367.
Bâton, 131, 322.
Battering-Ram, Pt. i. 88, Pt. ii. 178.
Battle of the Casilin, 16;
of Hastings, 16, 19, 21, 55, 114;
of Stanford Bridge, 20;
of Cuton Moor, or of the Standard, 108;
of Bovines, 198, 343;
of Falkirk, 217;
of Lewes, 331;
of Nuova Croce, 342.
Bayeux Tapestry, 93, 120.
Beads, found in graves of Anglo-Saxon period, 39.
Beáh, 10.
Beard, its fashion, Pt. i. 21, Pt. ii. 149, Pt. iii. 300.
Beffroi, 173, 354.
Behourd, Pt. ii. 182, Pt. iii. 211.
Bells used in tournament equipment, 369.
Berefreid, 174.
Bezanted armour, 255.
Biblia, 352.
Bidaux, Pt. iii. 196, 206.
Biffa, 349.
Bill, Pt. i. 57, 58, Pt. iii. 324.
Bipennis, Pt. i. 5, 45, 48, Pt. ii. 154, Pt. iii. 320.
Bisacuta, 155.
Biturici, 9.
Blazonæ, 369.
Body-armour, Part i. 60, Pt. ii. 119, Pt. iii. 227;
at first used by chiefs only, 61;
of chain-mail, 61, 227, 233;
of jazerant, Pt. i. 64, Pt. ii. 111;
of hide, Pt. i. 64;
quilted, Pt. i. 64, Pt. ii. 134, Pt. iii. 229, 239;
of scale-work, Pt. i. 65, Pt. ii. 132, 133, Pt. iii. 255;
of leather, 132, 240;
of horn, 133;
studded, 134, 243, 255, 256;
of banded-mail, 260;
with breast and back-plates, 271.
Body-guard, Pt. i. 10, Pt. ii. 100.
Boots, 136.
Bosses (see Shields).
Bosses figured, 73, 75.
Bovines, battle of, 198, 343.
Bow (long-bow), Part i. 54, Pt. ii. 105, 156, 160, Pt. iii. 199, 211,
325;
found in graves, 57;
its superiority to the Cross-bow, 160.
Bows figured, 195, 199, 201, 205, 206.
Brabanters, 99.
Brachières, 240, 369.
Brasses, monumental, Pt. iii. 193, 195 _note_.
Breast-plate, early example of, 271.
Bretèche, 357 and _note_.
Bridles, Pt. i. 79, Pt. ii. 171, Pt. iii. 341.
Brigands, 196, 206.
Bronze Period, 1.
Bucula, 292.
Burgundians, 9.
Byrnie, Pt. i. 12, 61, Pt. ii. 109.
Caerphilly Castle, xxv., 377.
Caliburn, 152.
Caltrops, 172.
Canute, 10.
Capitularies of Charlemagne, 8, 9, 14, 15, 54, 61.
------------ of Charles le Chauve, 8, 166.
Captains of Bowmen, 214.
Carcassone, Siege of, 355;
its present state, 360.
Carda, a kind of cloth used in the fabrication of armour, 240, 368.
Cargan, 241.
Carrocio, Part i. 86, Pt. ii. 107, 165, Pt. iii. 331.
Casilinus, battle of the, 16, 17.
Casque normand, 130.
Castle, Norman, xii., 189.
------- Edwardian, xxv., 377.
Cat or Cattus, an engine for siege purposes, Part ii. 178, Pt. iii.
353, 361.
Catapulta, 89.
Ceorl, 10, 38.
Cervellière, 292;
its invention, 293.
Chain-mail, Part i. 61, Pt. ii. 130, Pt. iii. 227;
early fragment in British Museum, 63;
various modes of representing, 123, 270;
shewn of different colours, 270.
Chanfrein, 348.
Chantones, 292.
Charge "en haie," 115, 223.
Charlemagne, his armour, 8;
his sword and belt, 38;
(see Capitularies).
Chastones, 347.
Chat-Chastel, 355.
Chausses, iron, 134;
studded, Pt. ii. 134, Pt. iii. 243, 255;
of chain-mail, 241;
of chain-mail, laced behind, 241;
of banded-mail, 242;
with poleyns, 242.
Chausson, 242;
with knee-pieces, 243.
Childebert I., 30, 47.
--------- II., 18.
Chinese armour, 120.
------- incendiary weapons, 331.
Chivalry, 94, 97.
Church, armed contingent of, 9.
Circle, the ornament of the coif and hood of mail, Pt. iii. 235, 237.
Clavones, 347.
Clergy militant, Pt. i. 14, Pt. ii. 108, 113, 153, Pt. iii. 220.
Clientes, 196, 208.
Clovis, 9, 17.
Club, 324.
Code, military, Pt. ii. 103.
Cœnomanici, 9.
Coif of mail, continuous, Pt. ii. 130;
flat-topped, Pt. iii. 235;
rounded, 235;
how fastened, 235;
worn with or without other head-defence, 236;
under-coif, 238;
with, front of plate, 291.
Coin, with figure of a Frankish warrior, 31.
Collarium, Pt. iii. 234.
Communal militia, Pt. i. 99, Pt. ii. 166, Pt. iii. 195.
Connoissances, Pt. ii. 167, Pt. iii. 196.
Constables, Pt. iii. 211;
of bowmen, Pt. iii. 214;
of cavalry, Pt. iii. 215.
Contus, 155.
Copita, 348.
Coterelli, 99.
Coudières, 234.
Coustillers, 196, 204.
Crest, fan, for helm, 142;
for knight, 347, 368;
for horse, 347, 368.
Croc, 324.
Cross-bow, Pt. ii. 158, Pt. iii. 325;
various kinds of, 326, 353.
Cross-bows figured, 201, 205.
Cross-bowmen, mounted, Pt. iii. 195, 202;
in thirteenth century, 201;
wearing armour, 204;
placed on the wings, 225.
Cuirie, Pt. iii. 240, 368.
Cultellus, Pt. ii. 154, Pt. iii. 210, 314.
Cultellarius, 155.
Culvertage, Pt. iii. 213 and _note_.
Cuneus, Pt. i. 16, Pt. iii. 223.
Cuton Moor, battle of, 108.
Dagger, Pt. i. 7, 43, 51, Pt. ii. 110, 154, Pt. iii. 318;
of bronze and iron, Pt. i. 53;
inlaid, 53;
carved on knightly tomb, Pt. iii. 318;
at Durham, of the thirteenth century, 318.
Daggers figured, 52, 244, 283.
Dagger-sheath, Pt. i. 43, 53.
Danes, Pt. i. 12.
Danish axe, Pt. i. 12, Pt. iii. 219, 320.
Destrier, Pt. iii. 197, 340.
Divers employed against shipping, Pt. ii. 177.
Duel, Legal, 375.
Eagle, Imperial, 164, 332.
Effigies, knightly, Pt. iii. 193;
works illustrative of, 194 _note_.
Engines, military, Pt. i. 87, Pt. ii. 173, Pt. iii. 224, 348;
Arabic in thirteenth century, 329.
Eorl, 9, 38.
Espée à l'estoc, 314.
Esquire, Pt. ii. 95, Pt. iii. 195.
Espringale, Pt. iii. 224, 353.
Exempts, 9.
Exercises of military aspirants, Pt. i. 83, Pt. ii. 181, 185, 188.
Falarica, 89.
Falchion, Pt. iii. 312.
--------- figured, 313.
Falkirk, battle of, 217.
Falx, faus, or falso, Pt. iii. 211, 323.
Faussar, 324.
Female warriors, Pt. i. 15.
------ spies, 209.
Fetel, 10.
Feudal levy, Pt. i. 95, Pt. ii. 103, Pt. iii. 195.
Fitzstephen, his description of London games in the twelfth
century, 185.
Flag, lance, Pt. ii. 150, 167, 168, Pt. iii. 305, 338.
Flags, Pt. i. 84, Pt. ii. 163, Pt. iii. 331.
Flail, military, 327.
Foot, knights contend as, Pt. ii. 116.
Foot-troops, Pt. iii. 196, 197, 216;
ridden down by the knights of their own party, 203.
Fork, military, Pt. i. 57.
Formation of troops, Pt. i. 16, Pt. ii. 101, 108, 114, Pt. iii. 217,
223.
Forts of wood, 180.
Francisca, 45.
Franks, 4, 9, 16, 53.
Fraternitas armorum, 50 _note_.
Frieslanders, Pt. iii. 219.
Gambeson, Pt. ii. 111, 127, Pt. iii. 229, 239.
Gauls, 9.
Gauntlets of scale-work, 234.
Gaveloches, 219.
Geldon, 151.
Gerefa, 15.
Germans, Pt. i. 9, 16, 17, 31.
Gesa, 106.
Gibet, 153.
Godbertum, 292.
Godendac, 323.
Godwin, Earl, his present to Hardecanute, 12.
Gonfanon, Pt. ii. 103, 166.
Graisle, 168.
Greaves, Pt. iii. 244.
Greek fire, Pt. i. 89, Pt. ii. 161, Pt. iii. 327;
Arabic treatise on, 329;
discharged in barrels, 351.
Guisarme, Pt. i. 50, Pt. ii. 106, 155, Pt. iii. 211, 322.
Gula, Laws of, 12.
Gunpowder, 89.
Gwentland, archers of, 105.
Hair, how worn, Pt. ii. 148, Pt. iii. 301.
Halbard, Pt. i. 11, Pt. iii. 323.
Harold II., 18, 64.
Harold Harfagar, 20.
Hastiludes, 181.
Hastings, battle of, 16, 19, 21, 55, 114.
Hauberk, Pt. ii. 129, Pt. iii. 233;
with continuous coif, Pt. ii. 130, Pt. iii. 233;
short-sleeved, 131, 239;
long-sleeved, 131;
with fingered gloves, Pt. iii. 234;
with separate gauntlets, 234;
with coudières, 234.
Haubergeon, Pt. ii. 131, Pt. iii. 239.
Helm, flat-topped, 279, 346;
flat-topped, with moveable ventail, 281;
worn over the mail-coif, 281;
round-topped, 281;
of "sugar-loaf" form, 282;
of leather, 282, 368, 369;
secured by a chain, 285;
with fan-crest, 285;
with peacock plume, 286;
with horns, 289;
crowned, 289;
of Poitiers, 293.
Helmets, Pt. i. 66, Pt. ii. 138, Pt. iii. 274;
combed, Pt. i. 67, Pt. ii. 140;
conical, Pt. i. 67, Pt. ii. 140, Pt. iii. 290;
Phrygian, Pt. i. 67, Pt. ii. 140;
round-topped, Pt. i. 67, Pt. ii. 140, Pt. iii. 290;
crested, Pt. i. 68, Pt. ii. 141, 142, Pt. iii. 285;
charmed, 68;
frame, Pt. i. 69, Pt. iii. 291;
of bronze, 71;
of bronze gilt, 71;
of wood, 71;
crowned, 72, 289;
nasal, Pt. i. 72, Pt. ii. 130, 138, Pt. iii. 291;
wide-rimmed, Pt. ii. 112, 141, Pt. iii. 290;
with cheek-pieces and neck-pieces, 139;
flat-topped, Pt. ii. 141, Pt. iii. 289;
with heraldic device, 142;
open-faced, 291.
Hood of chain-mail, Pt. iii. 236;
flat-topped, 236;
round-topped, 236;
slipped off the head and resting on the shoulders, 237;
hood of cloth-like material, 237.
Horns, Pt. ii. 169, Pt. iii. 338.
Horse, buried in the grave of warrior, 80, 83 _note_;
spare in the field of battle, 116;
Spanish, Pt. ii. 173, Pt. iii. 339;
of William the Conqueror, 173;
with fan-crest, 286;
breeds of, 339;
horses of contending knights fight also, 340;
armed horses come into use in England, 344.
Horse furniture, Pt. i. 79, Pt. ii. 169, Pt. iii. 340;
rich, 80, 340;
of chain-mail, Pt ii. 169, Pt. iii. 197, 335, 341, 343;
of cloth, 335;
of silk, 336;
quilted, 341, 343;
armoried, 341, 345, 347.
Horse troops, Pt. i. 17, Pt. ii. 103, Pt. iii. 195.
Hourds, 358 _note_.
Hungarians, 13.
Húscarlas, 10, 38.
Icelanders, 11.
Irish troops, Part ii. 103.
Iron Period, 2.
Italy, troops in, Pt. i. 12, Pt. iii. 195, 218.
Javelin, Part i. 29, Pt. ii. 156, Pt. iii. 325.
Jazerant armour, Pt. i. 64, Pt. ii. 111.
Joust, 182.
Jousts of Peace, 368.
Knee-pieces, 243.
Knife (see Dagger).
Knight bachelor, 95.
------ banneret, 95.
Knights, of low degree, 96;
tied to saddle, 172;
effeminate, 188;
perform every kind of military duty, 222;
equipment of in 1298, 292.
Lance (see Spear).
Legal Duel, 375.
Leg-bands, Part i. 65, Pt. ii. 134.
---------- defences, 134.
Levy, feudal, Pt. i. 95, Pt. ii. 103, Pt. iii. 195.
Levy, general, Pt. i. 97.
London pastimes in the twelfth century, 185.
Mace, Pt. i. 57, Pt. ii. 153, Pt. iii. 321.
Machicoulis, 357 _note_.
Maître des Arbalestriers de France, 204.
Mallet, 207.
Mangona, Pt. i. 88, Pt. ii. 179, Pt. iii. 348.
Mangonella, 179;
sea-mangonel, 325, 352;
Arabian, 330.
Mantle, 133, 137.
Manufacture of arms and armour, Pt. ii. 162, Pt. iii. 293, 316, 320.
Massue, 324.
Mate-Griffon, 176.
Men-at-arms, Pt. ii. 103, Pt. iii. 197.
Mercenary troops, Pt. i. 99, Pt. ii. 115.
Mines, Pt. ii. 180;
defiances in, 181;
knightly vigils in, 181.
Misericorde, 319.
Monk of St. Gall, his description of the armour of Charlemagne, 8.
Monument of victory in the Campagna di Roma, 361.
Morning-star, 57, 58.
Musculus, 88.
Musical instruments, Pt. ii. 168, Pt. iii. 338.
Mustilers, 367.
Necromancers, 118.
Normans, Pt. i. 17, Pt. ii. _passim_.
Odo, bishop of Bayeux, his armour and arms, 113, 131.
Omens consulted for military purposes, 17.
Oriflamme, Pt. ii 165, Pt. iii. 333.
Otho the Great, ceremonies at his coronation, 31.
Panzar, Part i. 12, Pt. ii. 109.
Pay of knights in the time of King John, 213;
of knights and others in the reign of Edward I., 214.
Pennon, Pt. i. 95, Pt. ii. 103, 167, Pt. iii. 338.
------- of French King to be borne by the Chief Varlet Tranchant, 334.
Petrary, Turkish, 356.
Pictavi, 9.
Pigacia, 137.
Pike, Pt. i. 57, Pt. ii. 162.
Pilete, 207, 342.
Plastron-de-fer, 119.
Plate-armour introduced, 227.
Pluteus, 88.
Poisoned weapons, Pt. i. 40, 54, 59.
Poitrail, Pt. ii. 171, Pt. iii. 341.
Pole-axe, Pt. i. 45, 48, Pt. iii. 322.
Poleyns, 242, 243.
Porchester Castle, xii., 189.
Posse Comitatûs, 10, 97 (and see Statutes of Arms).
Pourpoint, 210, 239.
Pourpointers of Paris in the thirteenth century, 239.
Prayer-book of Charles the Bald, 57.
Procopius, 4.
Prussians, 112.
Quarrels or bolts of cross-bows, Pt. ii. 159, Pt. iii. 204, 326.
-------- "empennés d'airain," 327.
Quintain, water, Pt. ii. 186;
various kinds of, 187;
on Offham Green, Kent, 187;
at London in 1252, 374.
Quiretta, 368.
Quiver, Pt. i. 55, Pt. ii. 102, 158, Pt. iii. 325.
Races, migrations of, 1.
Relics, Saintly, in request for warlike purposes, 17.
Ribauds, Pt. iii. 196, 206, 228;
Roi des Ribauds, 208.
Richard Cœur-de-Lion an archer, 157.
Roi des Hérauts, 367.
Roman influences, 7, 88, 89.
Round-table Game, 306, 370;
at Wallenden, 371;
at Kenilworth, 372;
Round Table of King Arthur at Winchester, 372.
Rutarii, 99.
Sabre, curved, Pt. iii. 314.
Saddle, Part i. 79, 81, Pt. ii. 169, Pt. iii. 340.
Saddle-cloth, 170;
armoried, 336, 340.
Saintly aid in battle, 117.
Saracens, 13.
Saracenic wall, 357.
Satellites, 196, 209.
Saxon Chronicle, 11, 14, 76.
Scale armour, Pt. i. 65, Pt. ii. 132, 133, Pt. iii. 234, 255.
Scandinavians, Pt. i. 12, Pt. ii. 109.
Scottish troops, Pt. ii. 106, Pt. iii. 217.
Scramasaxi, 60.
Scutage, 99.
Sea-fights, 362;
sea-mangonels, 325, 352.
Seals, their use in the study of ancient costume, 93;
various modes of expressing armour upon them, 122.
Seal of William the Conqueror, 92, 142;
of William Rufus, 102, 123;
of Henry I., 119;
of Alexander I., king of Scotland, 106;
of King Stephen, 122, 126, 145;
of Henry II., 151, 170;
of Conan, duke of Britanny, 140;
of Richard Cœur-de-Lion, 123, 140, 141, 142, 146;
of King John, 228, 289, 290;
of Saer de Quinci, 345;
of Alexander II. of Scotland, 147, 340;
of King Henry III., 298, 308;
of Roger de Quinci, 345;
of Hugo de Vere, 345;
of King Edward I., 339, 345;
of Robert Fitz Walter, 336, 340.
Seals figured:--of William I., 92;
of William II., 102;
of Henry I., 119;
of Alexander I. of Scotland, 107;
of Stephen, 122, 144;
of Henry II., 151, 170;
of Conan, duke of Britanny, 140;
of Richard I., _frontispiece_;
of John, 228;
of Henry III., 299, 307;
of Roger de Quinci, 346;
of Edward I., 339.
Seax, 34, 35.
Sergens-d'armes, Pt. ii. 100, Pt. iii. 196, 198.
------- de pied, 196, 197.
Shields, Pt. i. 72, Pt. ii. 143, Pt. iii. 293;
bosses of, Pt. i. 72, 78, Pt. ii. 143, 144, Pt. iii. 295;
handle, 72;
reinforced with iron strips, 74;
of Anglo-Saxon period, usually of lime-wood, 74;
partly of leather, 76;
rim of metal, 76, 111;
round, Pt. i. 72, Pt. ii. 111, 143, 145, Pt. iii. 294, 318;
oval, 76;
painted and gilt, 76, 146;
carried at back, 77, 146;
large, 77;
bronze coatings of, 78;
Danish, 78;
guige, Pt. i. 79, Pt. ii. 146, Pt. iii. 295;
position in the graves, 79;
kite-shaped, Pt. ii. 143, Pt. iii. 294;
triangular, Pt. ii. 143, Pt. iii. 294;
enarmes, 145, 295;
heraldic, Pt. ii. 146, Pt. iii. 296;
rich, 78, 147;
used for bier of slain knight, 147;
heart-shaped, Pt. iii. 294;
pear-shaped, 294;
quadrangular, 295;
rounded below, 295;
materials of, in thirteenth century, 295;
with "pattern" ornaments, 297;
slung at hip, 297;
hung on room walls, 297;
hung up in churches as memorials of distinguished knights, 297;
carved on knightly tomb, 318.
Shields figured: _frontispiece_, Part i. 60, 64, 65, 67, 77, Pt. ii.
92, 102, 119, 122, 127, 129, 135, 136, 140, 144, 151, 170,
Pt. iii. 228, 230, 232, 237, 243, 244, 250, 275, 283, 285, 287,
296, 299, 303, 313, 339, 346.
Ships, Pt. i. 11, 90, Pt. ii. 110, 147, 173, 178, Pt. iii. 362.
Sica, 35.
Sidonius Apollinaris, 4, 34.
Siege of Paris in 886, 88;
of Jerusalem in 1099, 173;
of Crema in 1160, 176, 181;
of Ancona in 1174, 177;
of Messina in 1190, 178;
of Acre, in 1191, 180;
of Bedford castle in 1224, 360;
of Carcassone in 1240, 355;
of the Castle of Capaccio in 1246, 350.
Sigeward, duke of Northumberland, his death, 66.
Skating tilt, 187.
Sling, Pt. i. 57, 58, Pt. ii. 156, Pt. iii. 204, 327;
sling-stones, 59;
staff-sling, 206, 327.
Slings figured, Pt. i. 59, Pt. ii. 135, Pt. iii. 205, 206.
Soket, 306.
Song, war, 20.
Soudoyers, 208.
Sow, an engine for sieges, 174.
Spears, Pt. i. 21, Pt. ii. 150, Pt. iii. 301.
------- figured, Pt. i. 22, 23, 64, 65, 66, 67, 77, 90, Pt. ii. 92,
102, 107, 119, 122, 127, 129, 133, 135, 136, 137, Pt. iii. 237,
243, 244, 250, 254, 303.
Spear, shaft of, 27, 150;
shoe of, 29;
represented on knightly tomb, 305, 318;
for hastiludes, 306.
Spies, 209.
Spingarda, 353.
Spingardella, 353.
Spurs, Pt. i. 81, Pt. ii. 171, Pt. iii. 298;
on left heel only, 82;
rowelled, 298;
enriched, 300;
suspended in churches as trophies, 300.
Standards, Pt. i. 84, Pt. ii. 163, Pt. iii. 331;
Danish, 84;
Anglo-Saxon, 85;
Dragon, 85, 164, 331,
or Carrocium, Pt. i. 86, Pt. ii. 107, 165, Pt. iii. 331;
of William the Conqueror, 163;
of the emperor Otho, 164;
of Philip Augustus, 302, 334;
French Royal Standard, 334.
Standard, battle of the, 107.
Stanford Bridge, battle of, 20.
Statute-of-Arms of William of Scotland, 50;
of Henry II. in 1181, 97;
of Frejus in 1233, 230, 241;
of Henry III. in 1252, 210;
of Winchester in 1285, 199, 210;
of Edward I. in 1298, 344.
Steallera, 11.
Steel, hardening of in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, 163.
Stone-hammer, 57, 58.
Stone Period, 1.
Stones used as weapons, 162.
Stratagems, 116, 225.
Studded armour, 134, 243, 255;
of several kinds, 256.
Sudis, 155.
Surcoat, military, Pt. ii. 111, 126, Pt. iii. 271;
its use, 271;
short and long worn throughout the thirteenth century, 272;
armoried, 272;
its purpose, 273;
powdered with escutcheons, 273;
sleeved, 274;
of Sindon silk, 369;
of Carda, 369.
Swords, Pt. i. 31, Pt. ii. 151, Pt. iii. 307;
rich, 37, 309;
of Charlemagne, 38;
inscribed, 39;
inlaid, 40;
named, 40, 152;
poisoned, 40;
bent, found in graves, 42;
of William the Conqueror, 152;
manner of furbishing, 153;
Hungarian, 163;
worn at the right side, 311;
of King Henry III., 311;
German and French in the thirteenth century, 311;
curved sabre, 314;
stabbing, 314;
of Cologne, 316;
sword and buckler fight, 316;
sword carved on knightly tomb, 317, 318;
made of whalebone, 368, 370.
Swords figured: _frontispiece_, Pt. i. 32, 33, 60, 67, Pt. ii. 130,
132, 135, 136, 140, 144, 151, 170, Pt. iii. 192, 199, 228, 230,
237, 238, 243, 247, 254, 257, 261, 268, 275, 283, 285, 287, 296,
299, 303, 313, 339, 346.
Sword-belts, 44, 152, 309.
----- cross-piece, 34, 151, 308.
----- handle, 35, 308.
----- sheath, 42, 309;
worn beneath hauberk, 130.
Tacitus, 7, 11, 16, 88.
Tactics, Pt. i. 16, Pt. ii. 108, 114, Pt. iii. 222.
Taper-axe, 45, 47.
Tartars, 172.
Tela nodosa, 106.
Tents, 362.
Tenures by various military services: at Riddesdale, Northumberland,
152;
at Faintree, Salop, 200;
at Chetton, Salop, 201;
by Castle-guard, at Portsmouth, 239;
at Sockburn, Durham, 313;
at Plumpton, Warwickshire, 321;
at Baynard's Castle, London, 334.
Terebra, 89.
Testaræ, 348.
Testudo, 88.
Time of military service, 9, 96.
Tournament, Pt. ii. 182, Pt. iii. 362;
near St. Edmundsbury, 183;
restricted to five localities in England, 184;
in France under Philippe Auguste, 184;
armour not different from that worn in battle, 185;
writers on the subject, 185 _note_;
forbidden, 211, 364;
tumultuous at Rochester in 1251, 363;
of Châlons in 1274, 363;
Statute, _circa_ 1295, 366;
of Windsor Park, 366, 368.
Tourney, 182.
Tours, for bending cross-bows, 353.
Towers, Moveable, employed in sieges, Pt. i. 89, Pt. ii. 173, 174,
Pt. iii. 354, 361.
Trébuchet, four kinds of in the thirteenth century, 349;
named, 351;
reproduced at Vincennes in 1850, 351;
projectiles of, 351.
Trialemellum, 324.
Tribulus, 200 (and see Caltrop).
Tripantum, 349.
Trumpet, 169, 338.
Trumulières, 292.
Tunic, 111, 126, 229.
Uniform costume not in vogue, 228;
but adopted on particular occasions, 229.
Urns, funereal, containing weapons, 30, 42.
Varlets, 196.
Vegecius, 30.
Vinea, Pt. ii. 173, 174, 178, Pt. iii. 354.
Vireton, 160.
Vomerulus, 306.
Wace, the particular value of his chronicle to the student of ancient
usages, 94.
Wager of battle, 375.
Wams, Wambasium (see Gambeson).
War-cries, Pt. i. 20, Pt. ii. 117.
Watch: armed Town-watch, temp. Hen. III., 215;
Watch of Paris under St. Louis, 216.
Weapons, Pt. i. 21, Pt. ii. 150, Pt. iii. 301;
of peasants, 161, 315.
Weapon-smiths, 31, 41, 42.
Weland, 41.
Welsh troops, Pt. ii. 104, Pt. iii. 218.
William the Conqueror, his armour, 92, 131;
his horse, 173.
Wire-drawing, when invented, 227.
[Illustration]
Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout.
Inconsistent hyphenation is as in the original.
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