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[Photograph by Hauser S- Menei.
Armour of Philip II. Madrid.
ARMOUR & WEAPONS
BY
CHARLES FFOULKES
WITH A PREFACE
BY
VISCOUNT DILLON, V.P.S.A.
CURATOR OF THE TOWER ARMOURIES
OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1909
HENRY FROWDE, M.A.
PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
LONDON, EDINBURGH, NEW YORK
TORONTO AND MELBOURNE
PREFACE
Writers on Arms and Armour have approached the subject
from many points of view, but, as all students know, their works
are generally so large in size, or, what is more essential, in price,
that for many who do not have access to large libraries it is
impossible to learn much that is required. Then again, the papers
of the Proceedings of the various Antiquarian and Archaeological
Societies are in all cases very scattered and, in some cases,
unattainable, owing to their being out of print. Many writers on
the subject have confined themselves to documentary evidence,
while others have only written about such examples as have been
spared by time and rust. These latter, it may be noted, are, in
almost all cases, such as the brasses and effigies in our churches,
quite exceptional, representing as they do the defences and
weapons of the richer classes. What the ordinary man wore,
how he wore it, and how it was made are all questions worthy of
attention. The works of our greatest romancers have so little
regarded the development of armour, and even to-day such
anachronisms are seen in pictures and books, that though many
comfortable and picturesque notions may be disturbed by the
actual truth, yet the actual truth will be found to be no less
interesting than fiction. A handy work, not excessive in size
6 PREFACE
or price, and giving really correct information, seems therefore
to be needed and should be popular. Such a work is this which
Mr. ffoulkes has undertaken, and if we recognize what an immense
amount of information has to be condensed within the limits of
a handbook, I think we shall fully appreciate his endeavours to
give an appetite for larger feasts.
DILLON.
Tower of London Armouries.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Author's Note 9
List of Authorities . . . . . lo
Introduction .... . . . . ii
CHAPTER I
The Age of Mail (1066-1277) ... .... 15
CHAPTER II
The Transition Period (1277-1410) 30
CHAPTER III
The Wearing of Armour and its Constructional Details . 47
CHAPTER IV
Plate Armour (1410-ABOUT 1600) 68
CHAPTER V
Horse Armour 87
CHAPTER VI
The Decadence of Armour 92
CHAPTER VII
Weapons . . . 100
INDEX ... .110
AUTHOR'S NOTE
At the request of many of those who attended my course of
lectures, dehvered before the University of Oxford during the
Lent Term, 1909, I have collected and illustrated some of the
more important notes dealing with the Development of European
Defensive Armour and Weapons. These pages are not a mere
reprint of those lectures, nor do they aspire to the dignity of
a History of Armour. They are simply intended as a handbook
for use in studying history and a short guide to the somewhat
intricate technicalities of the Craft of the Armourer.
No work, even of the smallest dimensions, can be produced
at the present day without laying its author under a deep sense
of indebtedness to Baron de Cosson for his numerous notes on
helms and helmets, and to Viscount Dillon for his minute and
invaluable researches in every branch of this subject. To this
must be added a personal indebtedness to the latter for much
assistance, and for the use of many of the illustrations given in
this work and also in my course of lectures.
CHARLES FFOULKES.
Oxford, 1909.
The following works should be consulted by those who wish
to study the subject of Armour and Weapons more minutely : —
A Critical Inquiry into Ancient Armour, Sir Samuel Meyrick ;
A Treatise on Ancient Armour, F. Grose ; Ancient Armour,
J. Hewitt ; Arms and Armour, Lacombe (trans, by Boutell) ;
Arms and Armour, Demmin (trans, by Black) ; Armour in England,
Starkie Gardner ; Waffenkunde, Wendelin Boeheim ; Guida del
Amatore di Armi Antiche, J. Gelli ; Dictionnaire du Mobilier
Franfais (vols, ii and vi), VioUet-le-Duc ; Encyclopedia of Costume,
Planche ; A Manual of Monumental Brasses, Haines ; Engraved
Illustrations of Antient Armour, Meyrick and Skelton ; Monu-
mental Effigies, Stothard ; The Art of War, C. W. C. Oman;
Archaeologia, The Archaeological Journal, The Proceedings of the
Society of Antiquaries; the Catalogues of the Armouries of Vienna,
Madrid, Paris, Brussels, Turin, Dresden ; the Wallace Collection,
London and Windsor Castle.
The author is indebted to the publishers of Wendelin Boeheim's
Waffenkunde for the use of the illustrations 33 and 35, and to
Messrs. Parker, publishers of Haines's Monumental Brasses, for
the figures on Plate III.
INTRODUCTION
As a subject for careful study and exhaustive investigation
perhaps no detail of human existence can be examined with quite
the same completeness as can the defensive armour and weapons
of past ages. Most departments of Literature, Science, and Art
are still living reahties ; each is still developing and is subject to
evolution as occasion demands ; and for this reason our knowledge
of these subjects cannot be final, and our researches can only be
brought, so to speak, up to date. The Defensive Armour of
Europe, however, has its definite limitations so surely set that
we can surround our investigations with permanent boundaries,
which, as far as human mind can judge, will never be enlarged.
We can look at our subject as a whole and can see its whole length
and breadth spread out before us. In other aspects of life we can
only limit our studies from day to day as invention or discovery
push farther their conquering march ; but, in dealing with the
armour of our ancestors, we know that although we may still
indulge in theories as to ancient forms and usages, we have very
definitely before us in the primitive beginnings, the gradual
development, the perfection, and the decadence or passing away,
an absolutely unique progression and evolution which we can
find in no other condition of life.
The survival of the fittest held good of defensive armour until
that very fitness was found to be a source rather of weakness
than of strength, owing to changed conditions of warfare ; and
then the mighty defences of steel, impervious to sword, lance,
and arrow, passed away, to remain only as adjuncts of Parade and
Pageant, or as examples in museums of a lost art in warfare and
military history. As an aid to the study of History our interest
12 INTRODUCTION
in armour may be considered perhaps rather sentimental and
romantic than practical or useful. But, if we consider the history
of the Art of War, we shall find that our subject will materially
assist us, when we remember that the growth of nations and their
fortunes, at any rate till recent times, have depended to a large
extent on the sword and the strength of the arm that wielded it.
There is another aspect of historical study which is of some
importance, especially to those who stand on the outskirts of
the subject. This aspect one may call the ' realistic view '. The
late Professors York Powell and J. R. Green both insisted on
the importance of this side of the subject ; and we cannot but
feel that to be able to visualize the characters of history and to
endow them with personal attributes and personal equipment
must give additional interest to the printed page and other docu-
mentary evidences. When the study of defensive armour has
been carefully followed we shall find that the Black Prince appears
to us not merely as a name and a landmark on the long road of
time ; we shall be able to picture him to ourselves as a living
individual dressed in a distinctive fashion and limited in his
actions, to some extent, by that very dress and equipment. The
cut of a surcoat, the hilt of a sword, the lines of a breastplate, will
tell us, with some degree of accuracy, when a man lived and to
what nation he belonged ; and, at the same time, in the later
years, we shall find that the suit of plate not only proclaims the
individuality of the wearer, but also bears the signature and
individuality of the maker ; a combination of interests which
few works of handicraft can offer us.
From the eleventh to the end of the fourteenth century we
have but a few scattered examples of actual defensive armour and
arms ; and the authenticity of many of these is open to doubt.
The reason for this scarcity is twofold. Firstly, because the
material, in spite of its strength, is liable to destruction by rust
and corrosion, especially when the armour is of the interlinked
chain type which exposes a maximum surface to the atmosphere.
A second reason, of equal if not greater importance, is the fact
INTRODUCTION 13
that, owing to the expense of manufacture and material, the
various portions of the knightly equipment were remade and
altered to suit new fashions and requirements. Perhaps still
another reason may be found in the carelessness and lack of
antiquarian interest in our ancestors, who, as soon as a particular
style had ceased to be in vogue, destroyed or sold as useless lumber
objects which to-day would be of incalculable interest and value.
For these reasons, therefore, we are dependent, for the earlier
periods of our subject, upon those illuminated manuscripts and
sculptured monuments which preserve examples of the accoutre-
ments of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Of these, as far as
rehabihty of date is concerned, the incised monumental brasses
and sculptured effigies in our churches are the best guides, because
they were produced shortly after the death of the persons they
represent, and are therefore more likely to be correct in the details
of dress and equipment ; and, in addition, they are often portraits
of the deceased.
Illuminated manuscripts present more difficulty. The minia-
ture painter of the period was often fantastic in his ideas, and was
certainly not an antiquary. Even the giants of the Renaissance,
Raphael, Mantegna, Titian, and the rest, saw nothing incongruous
in arming St. George in a suit of Milanese plate, or a Roman
soldier of the first years of the Christian epoch in a fluted breast-
plate of Nuremberg make. ReHgious and historical legends were
in those days present and living realities and, to the unlearned,
details of antiquarian interest would have been useless for instruc-
tive purposes, whereas the garbing of mythical or historical
characters in the dress of the period made their lives and actions
seem a part of the everyday life of those who studied them.
This being the case, we must use our judgement in researches
among illustrated manuscripts, and must be prepared for ana-
chronisms. For example, we find that in the illustrated Froissart
in the British Museum, known as the ' Philip de Commines ' copy,^
the barrier or ' tilt ' which separated the knights when jousting
1 Harl. MS. 4379, Brit. Mus.
14 INTRODUCTION
is represented in the Tournament of St. Inglevert. Now this
tournament took place in the year 1389 ; but Monstrelet tells
us ^ that the tilt was first used at Arras in 1429, that is, some
forty years after. This illustrated edition of Froissart was pro-
duced at the end of the fifteenth century, when the tilt was in
common use ; so we must, in this and in other like cases, use the
illustrations not as examples of the periods which they record,
but as delineations of the manners, customs, and dress of the
period at which they were produced.
The different methods of arming were much the same all over
Europe ; but in England fashions were adopted only after they
had been in vogue for some years in France, Italy, and Germany.
We may pride ourselves, however, on the fact that our ancestors
were not so prone to exaggeration in style or to the over-ornate
so-called decoration which was in such favour on the Continent
during the latter part of the sixteenth and the first half of the
seventeenth centuries.
For a fuller study of this subject Sir Samuel Meyrick's great
work on Ancient Armour is useful, if the student bears in mind
that the author was but a pioneer, and that many of his statements
have since been corrected in the light of recent investigations,
and also that the Meyrick collection which he so frequently uses
to illustrate his remarks is now dispersed through all the museums
of Europe. Of all the authorities the most trustworthy and most
minute and careful in both text and illustrations is Hewitt, whose
three volumes on Ancient Armour have been the groundwork of
all subsequent works in English. Some of the more recent writers
are prone to use Hewitt's infinite care and research without acknow-
ledging the fact ; but they have very seldom improved upon his
methods or added to his investigations. For the later periods,
which Hewitt has not covered so fully as he has the earlier portion
of his subject, the Catalogues Raisonne's of the various museums
of England and Europe will assist the student more than any
history that could possibly be compiled.
^ vi. 333, trans. Johnes, 1810.
CHAPTER I
THE AGE OF MAIL (1066-1277)
With the Norman Conquest we may be said, in England, to
enter upon the iron period of defensive armour. The old, semi-
barbaric methods were still in use, but were gradually superseded
by the craft of the smith and the metal-worker. This use of iron
for defensive purposes had been in vogue for some time on the
Continent, for we find the Monk of St. Gall writing bitterly on the
subject in his Life of Charlemagne. He says : ' Then could be
seen the Iron Charles, helmed with an iron helm, his iron breast
and his broad shoulders defended by an iron breastplate, an iron
spear raised in his left hand, his right always rested on his uncon-
quered iron falchion. The thighs, which with most men are
uncovered that they may the more easily ride on horseback, were
in his case clad with plates of iron : I need make no special
mention of his greaves, for the greaves of all the army were of
iron. His shield was of iron, his charger iron-coloured and iron-
hearted. The fields and open places were filled with iron, a people
stronger than iron paid universal homage to the strength of iron.
The horror of the dungeon seemed less than the bright gleam
of the iron. " Oh the iron, woe for the iron," was the cry of
the citizens. The strong waUs shook at the sight of iron, the
resolution of old and young fell before the iron.'
The difficulty of obtaining and working metal, however, was such
that it was only used by the wealthy, and that sparingly. The more
common fashion of arming was a quilted fabric of either linen or
cloth, a very serviceable protection, which was worn up to the end
of the fifteenth century. Another favourite material for defensive
purposes was leather. We read of the shield of Ajax being com-
posed of seven tough ox-hides, and the word ' cuirass ' itself
i6 THE AGE OF MAIL chap, i
suggests a leather garment. Now, given either the leather or
the quilted fabric, it is but natural, with the discovery and use
of iron, that it should have been added in one form or another
to reinforce the less rigid material. And it is this reinforcing
by plates of metal, side by side with the use of the interlaced
chain armour, which step by step brings us to the magnificent
creations of the armourer's craft which distinguish the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries.
Sir Samuel Meyrick ^ leads us into endless intricacies with his
theories of the various kinds of defensive armour in use at the
time of the Conquest ; but these theories must of necessity be
based only upon personal opinion, and can in no way be borne
out by concrete examples. If we take the pictured representations
of armour as our guide we find certain arrangements of lines which
lead us to suppose that they indicate some peculiar arrangement
of metal upon a fabric. The first and oldest of these varieties is
generally called ' Scale ' or Imbricate armour. We find this
represented on the Trajan Column, to give only one of the many
examples of its use in very early times. That it was a very pliant
and serviceable defence we may judge from the fact that, with
some alteration in its application, it formed the distinguishing
feature of the Brigandine of the fifteenth century. The scales were
sewn upon a leather or quilted garment, the upper row overlapping
the lower in such a manner that the attachment is covered and
protected from injury (Plate I, i). The scales were either formed
with the lower edge rounded, like the scales of a fish, or were
feather-shaped or square.
Another method of reinforcing the leather defence has been
named the ' Trellice ' coat. It is always difficult to discover
exactly what the primitive draughtsman intended to represent
in the way of fabrics, and it is quite open to question whether
these diagonal lines may not merely suggest a quilting of linen or
cloth. If it is intended to represent leather the trellice lines would
probably be formed of thongs applied on to the groundwork with
^ Archaeologia, xix. 128-30.
Plate I
I. /Aodel op Scale armour 2. From Bib. Nat. Pans MS 40b Mil th cent. 6. Hodel of trcl~
lice /+.From Qay&ux Tapestry S. Hodel op KinOed armour 6. From Harl. MS. Brib
Mus. 605 Xlth cent. 7. Model of Mail 6. From Oie, Album op Wilars de Honecorb .
XIII tfi. cent. 9. Model op- Banded Mail 10. Model of Banded Mail after Meyr^icK ^~^,-^
II. Model rf Banded Marl apter Wallen 12. Konnance of Alexander Bib. Nat Paris circ
'"■'^ lo. Figure on buttress of 5. Mary's Church, Oxford. '
IZL-O
FFOULKES
B
CHAP. I THE AGE OF MAIL 19
metal studs riveted in the intervening spaces (Plate I). This
arrangement of lines is very common on the Bayeux Tapestry.
Another variety to be found in early illuminated manuscripts
goes by the name of ' Ringed ' armour. It is quite probable that
the circular discs may have been solid, but on the other hand,
from the practical point of view, a ring gives equal protection
against a cutting blow, and is of course much lighter. The illustra-
tion of this form of defensive armour is of rather earher date than
that at which we commence our investigations, but it appears with
some frequency in manuscripts of the twelfth century. Mr. J. G.
Waller, in his article on the Hauberk of mail in Archaeologia,
vol. lix, is of opinion that aU these arrangements of line represent
interhnked chain armour. If this is the case chain-mail must
have been much more common than we imagine. From the very
nature of its construction and the labour expended on its intricate
manufacture it would surely, at least in the earlier periods, have
been only the defence of the wealthy, ^^'hen we examine the
protective armour of primitive races we find quilted and studded
garments used, even at the present day, so it seems far more
probable that our illustrations represent some similar forms of
defensive garments than that they are all incompetent renderings
of the fabric of chain-mail only.
That the making of chain-mail must have been laborious in
the extreme we may judge from the fact that the wire which
formed the links had to be hammered out from the solid bar or
ingot. As far as can be gathered, the art of wire-drawing was not
practised till the fourteenth century, at which time Rudolph of
Nuremberg is credited with its discovery. The roughly-hammered
strips were probably twisted spirally round an iron or wood core
and then cut off into rings of equal size (Fig. i). The ends of the
rings were flattened and pierced, and, when interlaced, the pierced
ends were riveted together or sometimes, as is the case with
Oriental mail, welded with heat. Links that are ' jumped ', that
is with the ends of the ring merely butted together and not joined,
generally show either that the mail is an imitation, or that it was
B 2
20 THE AGE OF MAIL chap, i
used for some ceremonial purpose ; for this insecure method of
fixing would be useless in the stress and strain of battle or active
service. The most usual method of interlinking the rings is for
each ring to join four others, as will be seen in the drawing on
Plate I, No. 7. No. 8 on the same plate shows the mail as
more generally depicted in illuminations. When we consider the
inexperience of the scribes and illustrators of the Middle Ages we
must admit that this representation of a very intricate fabric
is not only very ingenious but follows quite the best modern
impressionist doctrines.
Portions of chain-mail survive in most armouries and museums,
but their provenance is generally unknown, and
much that is of Oriental origin is passed off as
European. Chain-mail itself comes in the first
instance from the East, but when it was intro-
duced into Europe is difficult, if not impossible,
to state. It is certainly represented as worn
Fig. I. Probable by the Scythians and Parthians on the Trajan
method of making Column, and is probably of greater antiquity still.
From the beginning of the thirteenth century,
for about sixty or seventy years, we find a curious arrangement
of lines intended to represent a form of defensive armour, both
in illuminated manuscripts and also on carved monuments
(Plate I, 12, 13).
Mr. Waller, in the article on the Hauberk referred to above,
gives it as his opinion that this ' Banded Mail ', as it is called, was
but a variety of the ordinary interlinked mail ; but if we examine
the illuminations of the period we shall find that it is shown side
by side with the representation of what all authorities admit to
be chain-mail. No. 12 on Plate I shows the arm and leg defences
to be formed of this banded mail, while the head is protected with
the ordinary chain-mail. We have then to try and discover how
these horizontal bands dividing each row of links in the mail can
be shown in a practical form. Meyrick vaguely suggests a row
of rings sewn edgeways on the body garment and threaded with
CHAP. I THE AGE OF MAIL 21
a leather thong (Plate I, 10), with the under fabric caught up
between the rows of rings and formed into a piping through
which a cord was threaded. This theory has been quoted
by VioUet-le-Duc in his DicUonnaire du Mobilier Franfais, by
Dr. Wendelin Boeheim in his Waffenkunde, and by more recent
writers ; but none of these authorities seems to have taken the
trouble to test its practicability. The human body being rounded,
the tendency of these edge-sewn rings would be to ' gape ' and
thus give an opening for the weapon. In addition to this, the
number of rings so used would make the weight of the defence,
hanging as it did from the shoulders alone, almost insupportable.
A third and perhaps the most conclusive of all the arguments against
Meyrick's theory is that we frequently find the inside of a banded
mail coif shown with the same markings as the outside, which
aspect would be impossible if the rings were arranged as he suggests.
From models specially made for this work we find that if leather
was used at all it must be after the manner of No. 9 on Plate I.
Here the rings are covered with the leather on both sides, so that
there is no possibility of their gaping, and, in addition, the leather
being pressed against the rings, on the outside by wear and usage
and on the inside from the pressure of the body, would show ring-
markings on front and back which might be represented in the
manner shown in the illustration. The drawback to this theory
is not only the weight of such a defence, but also the heat from
lack of ventilation. By far the most practical theory put forward
is that of Mr. Waller,^ who gives an illustration of a piece of Oriental
mail with leather thongs threaded through each alternate row of
rings. This gives a certain solidity to the net-like fabric and yet
does not add appreciably to its weight. No. 11 on Plate I shows
this arrangement drawn from a model, and when we compare it
with the figures below, taking into consideration the difficulty
of representing such a fabric, we are forced to admit that this last
theory is the most practical. This is especially so in No. 12 ; for
the mail covering for the head is probably made in one piece
^ Archaeologia, lix.
22 THE AGE OF MAIL chap, i
with that of the arms and legs, but the leather thongs have been
omitted on the head and hands to give greater ease of movement.
Before leaving the subject of fabrics it may be well to warn
those who consult Meyrick that this author is rather prone to
enunciate theories of the different forms of mail which, like that
of the banded mail, do not work well in practice. He mentions,
among many other varieties, what he calls ' Mascled ' mail. He
asserts that this was formed of lozenge-shaped plates cut out in
the centre and applied to linen or leather. He says that it was
so called from its likeness to the meshes of a net (Lat. macula).
Now when we consider that the word ' mail ' itself comes to us
from the Latin ' macula ', through the French ' maille ' and the
ItaUan ' magUa ', we find that Meyrick' s ' Mascled mail ' is but
a tautological expression which can best be applied to the net-like
fabric of the interlinked chain defence, and so his ' Mascled mail '
would more correctly be styled a ' Mascled coat ', and this coat
would probably be formed of the chain variety as resembling the
meshes of a net more closely than any other fabric.
Double mail is sometimes to be met with on carved monuments,
and this would be constructed in the same manner as the single
mail ; but two links would be used together in every case where
one is used in the single mail.
Having briefly described the varieties of fabric and material
which were in use at the time of the Conquest for defensive armour,
we may pass to the forms in which those materials were made up.
The first garment put on by the man-at-arms was the Tunic, which
was a short linen shirt reaching- usually to just above the knee ;
it is often shown in miniatures of the period beneath the edge of
the coat of mail.
At one period the tunic appears to have been worn incon-
veniently long, if we are to judge from the seals of Richard I, in
which it is shown reaching to the feet. This long under-garment was
quite given up by the beginning of the thirteenth century, and those
representations of Joan of Arc which show a long under-tunic falling
from beneath the breastplate are based upon no reliable authority.
CHAP. I THE AGE OF MAIL 23
Next to the tunic was worn the Gambeson, called also the
Wambais and Aketon, a quilted garment, either used as the sole
defence by the foot-soldier, or, by the knight, worn under the
hauberk to prevent the chain-mail from bruising the body
under the impact of a blow. The gambeson is shown on Fig. g,
appearing beneath the edge of the hauberk just above the
knee.
The HaAibeijk,_a:hich was worn over the gambeson. w as the
chief body defence. It is true that we read of a ' plastron de fer ',
which seems to have been a solid metal plate worn over the breast
and sometimes^ at the back ; but it was invariably put on either
under the hauberk itself or over the hauberk, but always beneath the
Jupon or surcoat, which at this period was the outermost garment
worn. In either case it was not exposed to view, so it is impossible
to tell with any degree of accuracy what was its shape or how it was
fixed to the wearer. Hewitt ^ gives two illustrations of carved
wooden figures in Bamberg Cathedral, which show a plastron de
fer worn over the jupon, which seems to be studded with metal.
The figures were executed about the year 1370. The form of the
hauberk, as shown on the Bayeux Tapestry, was of the shirt order
(Plate I, 4, 6). It was usually slit to the waist, front and back,
for convenience on horseback, and the skirts reached to the knee,
thus protecting the upper leg. It is perhaps needless to point out
that the extreme weight of mail with its thick padded under-
garment made the use of a horse a necessity, for the weight was
all borne upon the shoulders, and was not, as is the case with
suits of plate, distributed over the limbs and body of the wearer.
The sleeves of the hauberk were sometimes short ; sometimes
they were long and ended in fingerless mittens of mail. The three
varieties of sleeve are shown on Plate I, while the mittens turned
back to leave the hand bare appear on the Setvans brass (Plate
HI, 2).
Wace, the chronicler, seems to suggest different forms of defen-
sive habiliments, for we find mention of a short form of the
^ Ancient Armour, ii. 138.
24 THE AGE OF MAIL chap, i
hauberk, called the Haubergeon. In his Roman de Rou he writes
of Duke William at the Battle of Senlac :—
Sun boen haubert fist demander/
while of Bishop Odo he says : —
Un haubergeon aveit vestu
De sor une chemise blanche.
The fact that he mentions the tunic (' chemise blanche ') seems to
imply that it was seen beneath the hem of the haubergeon, which
would not be the case with the long-skirted hauberk. Occasionally
in illuminated manuscripts the hauberk is shown slit at the sides ;
but for what purpose it is difficult to imagine, for it would impede
the wearer when walking and would make riding an impossibility.
The defences of the leg, made of mail like the hauberk, seem
to have been used, at first, only by the nobles, if the Bayeux
Tapestry is taken as a guide. The common soldiers wore linen or
leather swathings, sometimes studded with metal, but in appear-
ance closely resembling the modern puttee. The upper portion
of the leg was protected at a later period with Chaussons, while the
defences from knee to foot were called Chausses. Wace mentions
' chances de fer ', but we must remember, as was noticed in the
introduction, that Wace wrote some seventy years after the
Conquest, and probably described the accoutrements worn at his
own time. The Bayeux Tapestry is nearer the period, as far as we
can date it with any correctness, but here we are hampered to
some extent by the crude methods of the embroider ess. The
chaussons are not often shown in illuminations, for the long-
skirted hauberk covers the leg to the knee ; but the chausses
appear in all pictorial and sculptured records of the period, made
either of mail or of pourpointerie, that is fabric studded with metal.
Towards the end of the thirteenth century the chaussons and
chausses were made in one stocking-like form covering the foot ; this
is shown on Plate I, 8, 12. In the first of these illustrations only
the front of the leg is covered, and the chausses are laced at the back.
1 Roman de Rou, 1. 13254 et seq.
CHAP. I THE AGE OF MAIL 25
As the manufacture of mail progressed the whole of the wearer's
person came to be protected by it. In addition to the coverings of
the body we find continuations that protected arms and legs, and
in course of time the neck and head were protected with a Coif or
hood of mail, which is shown in use in Plate I, No. 12, and thrown
back on the shoulders on No. 8. Although of no protective use,
the Surcoat is so essentially part of the war equipment of the
knight that it needs more than a passing notice. It first appears
on Royal seals at the beginning of the thirteenth century, in the
reign of King John. Some modern writers have suggested that it
was first used in the Crusades to keep the sun off the mail ; however
this may be, we have written proof that it was of use in protecting
the intricate fabric of chain armour from the wet, which by
rusting the metal played havoc with its serviceability. It will be
seen in different lengths in the figures on Plate I. In The Avow-
ynge of King Arthur, stanza 39, we find —
With scharpe weppun and schene
Gay gowns of grene.
To hold thayre armur clene
And were^ hitte fro the wete.
Like the hauberk, the surcoat was slit to the waist in front and
behind for convenience on horseback, and was usually girt at the
waist with a cord or belt. It was frequently decorated with the
armorial bearings of the wearer. When the barrel helm was worn,
conceahng the whole face, some such cognizance was necessary
that the knight might be recognized. The Setvans brass (Plate III)
shows the armorial device powdered over the surcoat.
The headpiece characteristic of the Norman Conquest is the
conical nasal Helm. We should draw a distinction between the
Helmet and the Helm. The former is, of course, a diminutive
of the latter. At the time of the Norman Conquest the head
covering would rank rather as a helmet, as it did not entirely
cover the face. The Norman helmet was conical, usually formed
of four triangular pieces of metal plate riveted in a ring and
1 Protect.
26 THE AGE OF MAIL chap, i
meeting at the apex. Sometimes a Nasal or nose-guard was
added (Plate I, 4, 6). That this nasal must have been broad
enough to conceal the face to a great extent we may judge
from the story how the Norman soldiers believed their leader
to be killed, and how William, raising his helm, rode along the
Fig. 2. From the effigy of Hugo Fig. 3. From a figure in the Cathedral
Fitz Eudo, Kirkstead, Lines., thir- at Constance, thirteenth century,
teenth century.
lines crying ' I am here, and by God's help I shall conquer '.
The Bayeux Tapestry illustrates this incident. On some of the
Conqueror's seals we find the helmet tied on with laces. Ear-
flaps were sometimes added, as may be seen on the chessmen
found in the Isle of Lewis, now in the British Museum.
Fig. 4. From the Great Seal of Fig. 5. Brit. Mus. Roy. MS. 20. D. i,
Alexander II of Scotland, thirteenth thirteenth century,
century.
During the twelfth century the helmet gradually became the
helm. The ear-flaps were fixed, becoming an integral part of the
defence, and closed round to join the nasal, this arrangement
forming at length the ventail or visor. This gives us what is known
as the ' Barrel helm ' (Fig. 2), in which the whole head is enclosed
and the only opening in the front is the ' ocularium ' or vision
slit. Next we have the same kind of helm with the addition of
holes for breathing in the lower portion (Fig. 3). In some varieties
CHAP. I THE AGE OF MAIL 27
the back of the helm is shorter than the front, as on Fig. 4, and in
this kind also we sometimes find breathing holes added. The Great
Seals of the kings are a most useful guide in discovering the
accoutrements of each period, and especially so for the helms and
helmets, which are easier to distinguish than the more minute
details of dress and equipment. It will be understood that in
time the fiat-topped helm was given up in favour of the ' Sugar-
loaf ' helm (Fig. 5), as it is generally called, when we consider the
importance of a ' glancing surface ' in armour. Although thick-
ness of material was of some importance in defensive armour, this
providing of surfaces from which a weapon would slip was considered
to be of supreme importance by the armour-smiths of later periods.
In the conical helm, as indeed in nearly all great helms, the vision
and breathing apertures were pierced in the plates of the helm
itself and were not part of a movable visor, as was the case in
the helmet. The weight of these helms must have been great ; for
they do not seem to have been bolted on to the shoulders, as were
the fifteenth and sixteenth century tilting helms, but to have
rested upon the crown of the head. The drawing on Plate I, No. 8,
shows a padded cap which was worn under the mail to protect
the head from pressure. On No. 12 of the same plate we see the
helm being put on over the mail coif ; the padded cap is worn
under the mail. For tournaments the helm was sometimes made
of toughened leather, which was called ' cuirbouilli ' from the fact
that it was prepared by being boiled in oil and then moulded to
shape. This material was very strong and serviceable and was
used, as we shall see later on, for reinforcing the chain armour and
also for horse armour. It was generally decorated with gilding
and painting. For the tournament held at Windsor in 1278 we
find mention of ' xxxviii galee de cor '} As we have shown, these
great helms were not attached to the body armour and were thus
hable to be struck off in battle. In order to recover them a chain
was sometimes stapled to the helm and fastened to the waist or
some portion of the body armour (Fig. 6) .
'^ Archaeologia, xvii.
28
THE AGE OF MAIL
CHAP. I
The usual form of helmet in the twelfth century is the cup-
shaped headpiece of which the Cervelliere is a typical example
(Fig. 7). It was either worn as the sole defence or was used in
conjunction with the helm as an under-cap. The wide-rimmed hat
of iron is found all through the period of defensive armour with
which we deal. It appears in the thirteenth century (Fig. 8) and
is also to be found in the fifteenth. There is an example of one
of these war-hats [Eisenhut) in the museum at Nuremberg.
Fig. 6. Detail from
the brass of Sir Roger de
Trumpington, Trumping-
ton, Camb., 1290.
Fig. 7. From the
monument to Johan
le Botiler, St. Bride's,
Glamorganshire, 130G.
Fig. 8. Add. MS. 11.
639, f. 520, thirteenth
century.
The Shield at the time of the Conquest was kite-shaped. It
was long enough to cover the body and legs of the warrior when
mounted, but it must have been a most inconvenient adjunct to
his accoutrements. As we have seen in the Monk of St. Gall's
records, the shield was sometimes made of iron ; but the more
usual material was wood covered with leather or the tough cuir-
bouilli. Its broad flat surface was from the earliest times used
by the painter to display his art, which at first was not systema-
tized, but consisted of geometrical patterns and strange birds and
beasts that had no special meaning. As time went on each knight
retained the device which was borne upon his shield and came to be
recognized by it, and from this sprung the comphcated science of
CHAP. I THE AGE OF MAIL 29
Heraldry, which has survived, with all its intricate detail, to the
present day. The surface of the shield was often bowed so that it
embraced the body of the wearer. That some must have been flat
we may suppose from the fact that the soldiers in the Bayeux
Tapestry are represented as using them for trays to carry cups
and plates at the ' Prandium '. In St. Lucy's Chapel, at Christ
Church Cathedral in Oxford, in the window depicting the
martyrdom of St. Thomas of Canterbury, are to be seen two
Fig. 9. From the Romance of Alexander, Fig. 10. a, a. Enarmes.
f. 150, Bod. Lib., fourteenth century. b. Guige.
varieties of decorated shields. Two of the knights bear shields
painted with geometrical designs, while Fitz Urse carries a shield
on which are three bears' heads erased, a punning cognizance
from the name of the wearer. The date of the window is about
the end of the thirteenth century. The shield was attached to
the wearer by a thong passing round the neck, called the Guige.
When not in use it was slung by this thong on the back. When
in use the arm and hand passed through the short loops called
Enarmes (Fig. 10). The Royal blazon first appears on the shield
in the reign of Richard I. Occasionally we find circular shields
depicted in illuminations ; but they were generally used by the foot-
soldiers. As the development of defensive armour proceeds we
shall find that the shield becomes smaller, and in time is discarded,
the body defences being made sufficient protection in themselves.
CHAPTER II
THE TRANSITION PERIOD (1277-1410)
It will be readily understood that the change from mail
to plate armour was not brought about at once. Difficulty of
manufacture, expense, and conservatism in idea, all retarded the
innovation. Some progressive knight might adopt a new fashion
which did not come into general use till many years after, in
the same manner that, from force of circumstances, or from
a clinging to old methods, we find an out-of-date detail of armour
like the coif of mail, shown on the brass of Sir W. Molineux, appear-
ing in 1548, or the sleeved hauberk in the Dresden Museum which
was worn without plate defences for the arms by Herzog August
at the Battle of Miihlberg in 1546. Acting on the method adopted
in the preceding chapter, we may first consider the materials used
during the beginning of the Transition Period, and afterwards
we shall show how those materials were made up.
During the fourteenth century iron, leather, whalebone, and
quilted fabrics were all employed for defensive purposes. The
illustration from the Romance of Alexander (Fig. 9) shows the
gambeson still worn under the mail, and the legs are covered in
one instance with a metal-studded or pourpointed defence ;
a second figure wears what appears to be scale armour, while the
third has no detail shown upon the legs, which may be an oversight
on the part of the artist, or may suggest that plain hose were worn.
Iron was used for the mail and scale armour and was also employed
in making a pliable defence called Splinted armour, which at a later
period became the Brigandine (Plate II).
There are several of these brigandines to be found in the
Armouries of England and Europe, but the majority of them date
about the middle of the fifteenth century. As will be seen in the
Plate II
(Outside.) (Inside.)
Brigandine in the Musee d'Artillerie, Paris.
CHAP. II THE TRANSITION PERIOD 33
illustration, the brigandine was made of small plates of iron or
steel overlapping upwards and riveted on to a canvas-lined
garment of silk or velvet. The plates were worn on the inside
in most cases, and the rivet heads which showed on the silk
or velvet face were often gilded, thus producing a very brilliant
effect.
We find many references to these splinted defences in the In-
ventories of the period, which form a valuable source of information
on the subject of details of armour. The Inventory of Humphrey
de Bohun,^ Earl of Hereford, taken in 1322, gives : — ' Une peire
de plates coverts de vert velvet.' Again, in one of the Inven-
tories of the Exchequer, 1331,^ is noted: — 'Une peire de plates
covert de rouge samyt.' The Inventory of Piers Gaveston, dated
1313, a document fuU of interesting details, has * : — ' Une peire
de plates enclouez et garniz d' argent.' The ' pair of plates ' men-
tioned in these records refers to the front and back defences. In
the accounts of payments by Sir John Howard we find in the year
1465, IIS. 8d. paid for 20,000 ' Bregander nayles'.* Brass was
employed for decorative purposes on the edges of the hauberk,
or was fashioned into gauntlets, as may be seen in the gauntlets
of the Black Prince, preserved at Canterbury. Chaucer writes in
the ' Rime of Sir Thopas ' : —
His swerdes shethe of yvory.
His helm of laton bright.
Laton, or latten, was a mixed metal, much resembling brass,
used at this period for decorative purposes.
Whalebone was employed for gauntlets and also for swords
used in the tournament. Froissart uses the words ' gands de
baleine ' in describing the equipment of the troops of PhiHp von
Arteveld at the Battle of Rosbecque.
Quilted garments were still worn, either as the sole defence
or as a gambeson under the mail. As late as the year 1460 we find
1 Arch. Journ., ii. 349. ^ Vol. iii. p. 165.
^ New Foedera, ii. 203. * Arch. Journ., Ix. 95-136.
FFOULKES
34 THE TRANSITION PERIOD chap, ii
regulations of Louis XI of France ordering these coats of defence
to be made of from 30 to 36 folds of linen. ^
Leather, either in its natural state or boiled and beaten tiU it
could be moulded and then allowed to dry hard, was frequently
used at this period for all kinds of defensive armour.
In Chaucer's ' Rime of Sir Thopas ', from which we have quoted
before, occur the words, ' His jambeux were of quirboilly.' The
jambeauxwere coverings for the legs. This quirboilly, cuirbuUy, or
cuirbouilli, when finished was an exceedingly hard substance, and
was, on account of its lightness as compared to metal, much used
for tournament armour and for the Bar ding or defence for the horse.
In the Roll of Purchases for the Windsor Park Tournament, held
in 1278, mention is made of cuirasses supplied by Milo the Currier,
who also furnished helms of the same material.^ In the Inventory
of Sir Simon Burley, beheaded in 1338, we find under ' Armure de
guerre ' : — ' Un palet (a headpiece) de quierboylle.' There is
a light leather helmet of the ' morion ' type, dated sixteenth
century, in the Zeughaus at Berlin.
Banded mail still appears in drawings or on monuments up to
the end of the fourteenth century.
We may now turn to the making up of these varied materials,
and will endeavour, step by step, to trace the gradual evolution
of the full suit of plate from the first additions of plate defence
to mail till we find that the mail practically disappears, or is only
worn in small portions where plate cannot be used.
Setting aside the plastron de fer, which, as has been noticed, is
seldom shown in representations of armour, we find the first
additional defence was the Poleyne or knee-cop. We must suppose
that there was good reason for thus reinforcing the mail defence
on this part of the body. Probably this was due to the fact that
the shield became shorter at this period, and also because the
position of the wearer when mounted exposed the knee, a very
delicate piece of anatomy, to the attacks of the foot -soldier (Fig.
II). Poleynes are mentioned in a wardrobe account of Edward I in
1 Arch. Journ., Ix. 95-136. 2 Archaeologia, xvii.
CHAP. II
THE TRANSITION PERIOD
35
1300. They were frequently made of cuirbouilli, and this material
is probably intended in the illustration (Plate III, i), as elaborately
decorated metal is rarely met with at this period. At the end of
the thirteenth century appear those curious appendages known as
Ailettes. On Plate III, 2, the figure is shown wearing the poleynes
and also the ailettes. For practical purposes they are represented
on recumbent figures as worn at the back, but in pictorial illustra-
tions they are invariably shown on the outside of the shoulder.
Fig. II. From Roy. MS. 16. G. vi,
f. 387, fourteenth century.
Fig. 12. Bib. X at., Paris, LawceZo^
du Lac, fourteenth century.
Some writers consider that they were solely used for ornament,
presumably because they are generally shown decorated with
heraldic blazons. Against this, however, we may place the fact
that they are depicted in representations of battles, and in Queen
Mary's psalter (2. B. vii in the British Museum) the combatants
wear plain ailettes. The German name for the ailettes {Tartschen)
suggests also that they were intended for shoulder-guards. Four-
teenth-century Inventories abound with references to ailettes. In
the Roll of Purchases for Windsor Park Tournament are mentioned
thirty-eight pair of ailettes to be fastened with silk laces supplied
by one Richard Paternoster. In the Piers Gaveston Inventory
c 2
36 THE TRANSITION PERIOD chap, ii
before quoted are : 'Les alettes garnis et frettez de perles.' These,
of course, would be only for ceremonial use. The illustration
(Fig. II) shows different forms of ailette, and occasionally we find
the lozenge-shaped, and once (Brit. Mus. Roy. MS. 2. A. xxii, fol.
219) they assume a cruciform shape. Thejattachment of the
ailettes with the laces referred to in the Windsor Park Inventory
is shown on Fig. 12. In the Chroniques de Charlemaine, preserved
in the Bibliotheque Royale at Brussels, the ailettes appear to be
laced to the side of the helmet. This occurs in so many of the
miniatures that it must be taken as a correct presentment of this
detail in arming. It may be, however, that, as this manuscript
was produced in the year 1460, it recorded a later method of using
the ailette which, per se, disappears about the middle of the four-
teenth century, as far as monumental records exist.
The next addition of plate to the equipment of mail seems to
have been on the legs. The only monumental brass that gives this
fashion of arming is the Northwode brass at Minster, Sheppey. As
the legs are of later date than the rest of the brass, although most
probably correct in design, it may be better to trust to a monument
which is intact, as is the statue of Gulielmus.Berardi, 1289, which
is carved in the Cloister of the Annunziata Convent, Florence
(Fig. 13). Here we find the front of the leg entirely protected by
plates which may be intended for metal, but which, from their
ornate decoration, seem rather to suggest cuirbouilli. These
jambeaux, or, as they are sometimes called, Bainbergs or Beinbergs,
of leather have been before referred to as mentioned by Chaucer.
Returning to monumental brasses again, we find on the
Gorleston brass (Plate III, 3) that the plate additions are still
more increased. Besides the poleynes and the ailettes there are
traces of plate jambs on the legs, and the arms are protected by
plates and circular discs on shoulder and elbow.
After 1325 ailettes are rarely met with. On No. 4 of Plate III
these details seem to be advanced in some points, and are shown
with the methods of attaching them to the wearer. The Rerebrace
is strapped over the mail, and the disc at the bend of the Coude
Plate III
1. iiirjoha d' AuberaoriO, 1277 Stoke D'Abzrnoa. Stirrey 2. Sir Robt. de Sztvans, 1506, Ctiartham,-
Kent d.A razmben of tbe deBacoQ family, clSlO.Oorlcaton. Suffolk ^. Sirjoto D'Acibe.rnotia,ii27
Stoke D'AberDOQ.Sarrey 5 William deAldebur'§t2,c.ia6Q,Aldboroo$la,york5 6.A KQi^ht.c.ii.OO.
Lau^bton, LiQcolnshins.
38
THE TRANSITION PERIOD
CHAP. II
or elbow-piece is held in place by Aiguillettes or laces — called at
a later period Arming-points. The poleynes overlap the jambs, and
so cover the junction of the two pieces, and the latter are held to
the leg with straps. The Solerets are among the earliest examples
of a defence of laminated plates, that is, of strips of metal
riveted upon leather in order to give more ease of movement than
would be possible with a solid plate. The Vambrace is worn under
the sleeve of the hauberk, and not, as in the preceding example,
Fig. 13. Gulielmus Berardi,
Florence, 1289.
Fig. 14. Bib. Nat., Paris, Tristan
and Iseult, fourteenth century.
over the mail. This figure is especially interesting because it shows
the different garments worn with the armour of this period. Above
the knees appears the tunic ; over this comes the hauberk of mail,
in this instance banded mail ; over the hauberk are shown the
Upper Pourpoint, a quilted garment, and, above this, the surcoat,
or, as this variety is called, the Cyclas. The difference between
the surcoat proper and the cyclas is that the former is of even
length all round, while the latter is shorter in front than behind
(see also Fig. 14). The coif of mail has now given place to the
Camail, which does not cover the head, but is attached to the
helmet, and is not joined to the hauberk, but hangs over the cyclas.
CHAP. II THE TRANSITION PERIOD 39
In the next example (Plate III, 5) we find the mail still worn on
the legs and arms, but on the latter the vambrace and the coude
plate seem to be hinged in the manner adopted during the period
of full armour. The upper part of the leg is protected by studded
pourpointerie, which was frequently employed as being of more
convenience on horseback. These thigh defences were called the
Cuisses. The Bascinet is shown and also the short surcoat or Jupon.
The brass of an unknown knight (Plate III, 6) is typical of
what has come to be known as the ' Camail ' period. The arm-
and leg-pieces completely enclose the limb and are fastened
with hinges and straps as in the later periods. The gauntlets
show the Gadlings, or knuckle-knobs, which are a marked feature
of this period, and the whole suit is richly decorated with engraved
borders. Some writers divide the Transition Period of armour
into ' Surcoat ', ' Cyclas', ' Jupon', and 'Tabard'. This, however,
seems unnecessary if we are considering only the development of
defensive armour, and not the whole question of costume. The
camail is so marked a detail of the knightly equipment that it may
reasonably be used to describe the fashion in armour from about
1360 to 1405. In this example the figure is clad in complete plate,
though the hauberk is worn beneath, as may be seen at the lower
edge of the jupon and also in the ' vif de I'harnois ', or portion of
the body at the armpit, which was unprotected by plate. In some
instances this vital spot was protected by a circular, oval, crescent-
shaped, or square plate attached by laces, which modern writers
call the Rondel, but which Viscount Dillon, in a most interesting
article, proves to have been the Moton or Besague ^ (Fig. 15).
The effigy of the Black Prince at Canterbury is a good example
of the armour of this period, but it is interesting to note that, while
the monumental brasses frequently give such details as straps,
buckles, &c., this effigy shows no constructional detail whatever.
We find that in Spain there were minute regulations drawn up as
to the manner in which a deceased warrior might be represented
on his tomb. The details of sheathed or unsheathed sword, helm,
^ Arch. Journ., Ixiv. 15-23.
40
THE TRANSITION PERIOD
CHAP. II
spurs, &c., all had some significant reference to his life and achieve-
ments.^ It is almost superfluous to point out that those details
which referred to the knight's captivity, or the fact that he had
been vanquished, were more honoured in the breach than in the
observance.
The armour of this period was often richly decorated with
engraving, as may be seen on the brass to an unknown knight
Fig. i6. Knightly figure in Ash
Church, Kent, fourteenth century.
Fig. 15. Brass of Sir T. de S.
Quentin, Harpham, Yorks, 1420.
Fig. 17. Bib. Nat., Paris,
Tite-Live, 1350.
at Laughton, Lines., and also on the monument to Sir Hugh
Calverley at Bunbury, Cheshire. Of the jupon. King Rene, in his
Livre des Tournois, about the year 1450, writes that it ought to
be without fold on the body, like that of a herald, so that the
cognizance, or heraldic blazon, could be better recognized. The
jupon of the Black Prince, preserved at Canterbury and admirably
figured in Monumenta Vetusta, vol. vii, is embroidered with the
Royal Arms, and is quilted with cotton padding. So general is the
use of the jupon at this period that it is a matter of some conjecture
^ Carderera, Iconografia.
CHAP. II
THE TRANSITION PERIOD
41
as to what form the body armour took that was worn under it.
The effigy of a knight in Ash Church, Kent (Fig. 16), elucidates
this mystery and shows, through openings of the jupon, horizontal
plates or splints riveted together. In Fig. 17 we see these plates
worn without the jupon. The term Jazeran is often applied to
such armour.
The camail, or hood of mail, which we have before referred to,
was separate from the hauberk, and during the fourteenth century
was worn over the jupon. It was attached to the bascinet by
VerveUes or staples which fitted into openings in the helmet.
A lace was passed through these staples, as is shown on Fig. 18.
d^
Fig. 18. a. The Camail attached to the helm.
6. The Camail showing the staples.
Fig. 19. Bib. Nat., Paris,
TUe-Lwe, 1350.
From a French manuscript of the early fifteenth century (Fig. 19)
we see how the camail was kept from ' riding ' over the shoulders.
In the little wooden statuette of St. George of Dijon, which is
a most useful record of the armour of this period, we find that, in
addition, the camail is fastened to the breast with aiguiUettes.
The Great Heaume, or helm, of the fourteenth century differs
but little from those of the late thirteenth century which were
noticed in a preceding chapter. The shape was either of the
sugar-loaf order or a cylinder surmounted by a truncated cone
(Fig. 20). Notable examples of actual specimens in England at
the present day are the helms of Sir Richard Pembridge at Hereford
Cathedral and the helm of the Black Prince, surmounted by a crest
of wood and cuirbouilli, preserved at Canterbury. In an Inventory
42
THE TRANSITION PERIOD
CHAP. II
of Louis Hutin, made in 1316, we find : ' ii heaummes d'acier, item
V autres dans li uns est dorez.' This seems to suggest that the
gilded helm was of some other material than steel, possibly leather.
It is rare to come across constructional detail in illuminations, but
the illustration (Fig. 21) from a French manuscript of about the
year 1350 shows a method of attaching the helm to the wearer's
body. In the preceding chapter we noticed the chain used for
this purpose on the Trumpington brass.
Fig. 20. Fourteenth-century helm,
Zeughaus, Beriin.
Fig. 21. Bib. Nat., Paris,
Tite-Live, 1350.
The most popular of the light helmets at this period was
the Bascinet. It appears on nearly every monumental brass that
depicts a military figure, and is an essential part of that style of
equipment known as the ' camail '. The later form of bascinet
has a movable visor which is known among armour collectors as
the ' pig-faced ' bascinet (Plate V) . Sometimes the hinge is at
the top, and sometimes, as in No. 2 of this plate, the visor is pivoted
at the sides. Froissart calls the visor ' carnet ' and ' visiere '. In
the Bohun Inventory, before referred to, are given : ' ii bacynettes,
lun covert de quir lautre bourni.' This shows that while some
helmets were of polished metal, others were covered with leather,
and indeed silk and velvet as fancy dictated. Frequent references
to these ' covers ' for helmets occur in Inventories and Wills. The
helmet and other portions of the suit of plate armour were some-
Plate IV
[Photograph by Hauser S- Menet
Jousting armour of Charles V. Madrid.
CHAP. II THE TRANSITION PERIOD 45
times tinned to prevent rust, as is shown in one of the Dover Castle
Inventories of 1361 : — ' xiii basynetz tinez.' Sometimes, in the
case of Royalty or princes of rank, the bascinet was encircled with
a fillet or crown of gold and gems. Among the payments of Etienne
de Fontaine, in 1352, are mentioned no crowns for ' quarente
grosses perles pour garnir le courroye du basinet de Monsieur le
Dauphin'. The Orle, or wreath worn turban-wise round the
bascinet, is sometimes shown, as on Fig. 22, of a decorative nature.
It is supposed by some writers to have been devised to take the
pressure of the great helm from the head, for
the helm was often worn, as in the preceding
century, over a lighter headpiece. From the
usual position of the orle, however, and from
the fact that it is invariably shown highly
decorated and jewelled, this explanation can
hardly hold good, for a padding worn as shown
in the illustration would not be of much
service in keeping off the pressure of the helm,
and of course the jewelled decoration would be fig. 22. The Orle,
destroyed at once. Another theory is that the from the monument of
orle was made by wrapping the Lambrequin Sir H. Stafford, Broms-
■, ■ 1 ■, r 1 . . r , grove, Kent, 1450.
or Mantling — which hung from the back of the
helmet and which is still used in heraldic drawings — much in the
same manner as the modern puggaree is worn in India. In this
illustration appears also the gorget of plate that was worn over
the throat and chin with the bascinet.
The shields of the fourteenth century present an infinite variety
in shape and decoration. The heraldic blazoning has by this time
been systematized into somewhat of a science, which in Germany
especially was carried to extravagant extremes. The long kite-
shaped shield is to be found in records of the period, but the more
common forms were the short pointed shield as shown on Plate III,
and that which was rounded at the lower edge. Frequently the
shield is represented as 'bouche', or notched, at the top right-hand
corner, to enable the wearer to point his lance through this opening
46 THE TRANSITION PERIOD chap, ii
without exposing his arm or body to attack. In the Inventory of
Louis Hutin are mentioned ' iii ecus pains des armes le Roy, et un
acier ', which shows that the shield was sometimes made of steel,
though usually it was fashioned of wood and faced with leather, or
of cuirbouilli. In a transcript of Vegecius (Brit. Mus. Roy. MS. i8.
A. xii) the young knight is advised to have ' a shelde of twigges
sumewhat rounde '. The shield of the Black Prince at Canterbury
is pointed at the lower edge, and is made of wood faced with
leather, on which are set out the Royal arms in gesso-duro or plaster
relief.
CHAPTER III
THE WEARING OF ARMOUR AND ITS CONSTRUCTIONAL
DETAILS
Before proceeding to examine the suit of Full Plate, with all
its interesting details and differences as exemplified in the various
armouries of England and Europe, it will be well to make clear
the main principles which governed the manufacture of such
armour. We should remember that the whole history of our
subject is one long struggle of defensive equipment against offen-
sive weapons. This is brought out clearly at the present day in
the Navy, where the contest between gun and armour-plating is the
dominant factor in naval construction. As the weapons of the
Middle Ages became more serviceable, the armour was increased in
weight. The Longbow and the Crossbow marked distinct periods
in the development of defensive armour ; for so important a factor
did these weapons become, especially the latter, that they were used
for testing the temper of the metal, large or small weapons being
used as occasion demanded. Those writers who are prone to
generalize upon such subjects tell us that the invention of gun-
powder sounded the knell of defensive armour, but this is by no
means accurate, for guns were used in sieges as early as 1382, and,
as we shall find farther on in this chapter, the armour of the
late sixteenth century was proved by pistol shot. The result of
the improvement of firearms was that for many years armour
became heavier and thicker till the musket was perfected, and
then it was found that even highly-tempered steel would not resist
the impact of a bullet.
It is a safe assertion to make that a full suit of plate armour
at its finest period — the fifteenth century — is the most perfect
work of craftsmanship that exists.
A Crest
B >5Kall
e Visor
D Bcavor
Qorgcb
5houlde.r-§uard
Pauldron
B>ere brace
Coude. or eiboW-coP
K Vambraca
Qauntleb
5reasb
Lance -re.st
Palette, or Roade I
Taces
Q Ta^icts
R Breech
Cui.&6e
Qenouillere or Knze-cop
V lamb
W oolaret
Fig. 23.
CHAP. Ill
THE .WEARING OF ARMOUR
49
This assertion is not made without fully considering the real
value of such work, which must fulfil all those essentials with-
out which no true work of craftsmanship can have any merit.
The first of these is that the work should fulfil its object in the
best possible manner ; secondly, that it should be convenient and
simple in use ; thirdly, that it should proclaim its material ; and
fourthly, and this is by no means the least important, that any
decoration should be subservient to its purpose. To take our
axioms in the order given, it may appear to the casual student
that if armour were sufficiently thick it would naturally] fulfil its
Fig. 24. Maximilian breastplate and taces. Fig. 25. Coude or Elbow-cop.
primary reason for existence. But we find, on careful examination
of plate armour, that there are other considerations .which are
of equal, if not greater importance. Of these the most noticeable
is the ' glancing surface '. It is somewhat difficult to exemplify
this by a hne-drawing, though it is easy to do so with an actual
example. Referring to the Maximilian breastplate (Fig. 24), we
find that a lance, the thrusting weapon much favoured in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, would, on striking the breast
be deflected along the grooved channel nearest to the point of
impact till it reached the raised edge either at the top or at the
sides, when it would be conducted safely off the body of the wearer.
The same surface is to be noticed on all helms and helmets after
the twelfth century, the rounded surfaces giving no sure hold
FFOULKES
D
50 THE WEARING OF ARMOUR chap, m
for cutting or thrusting weapons. The Coude (Fig. 25) shows this
same glancing surface used to protect the elbow, and, again, the fan-
shaped plate on the outside of the knee effects the same result
(see Frontispiece).^ The great jousting helms are so constructed
that the lance-point should glance off them when the wearer is in
the proper jousting position, that is, bent forward at such an angle
that the eyes come on a level with the ocularium or vision slit
(Plate V, 5). These helms are also made of plates varying in
thickness as the part may be more exposed to attack. The Great
Helm in the possession of Captain Lindsay of Sutton Courtenay,
near Abingdon, has a skull-plate nearly a quarter of an inch thick,
for, in the bending position adopted by the wearer, this portion of
the helm would be most exposed to the lance. The back-plate is
less than half that thickness. This helm is one of the heaviest in
existence, for it weighs 25 lb. 14 oz. Again, we may notice the
overlapping Lames or strips of steel that are so frequently used
for Pauldron, Rerebrace, Vambrace, Soleret, and Gauntlet ; all
present the same surface to the opposing weapon, and, except in
the case of the Taces, where the overlapping from necessity of form
must be in an inverse direction, the chance of a weapon penetrating
the joints is reduced to a minimum (Fig. 23). A portion of the
pauldron which is designed for this glancing defence, and for this
only, is the upstanding Neck- or Shoulder-guard which is so generally
described as the Passe-guard. It is curious, with the very definite
information to hand (supplied by Viscount Dillon in the Archaeo-
logical Journal, vol. xlvi, p. 129), that even the most recent writers
fall into the same mistake about the name of this defence. Space
will not admit of quoting more fully Viscount Dillon's interesting
paper ; but two facts cited by him prove conclusively that the
^ The terms ' coude ' and ' genouilliere ', ' palette,' and such-like words of
French origin, are open to some objection in an English work when ' elbow-cop ',
'knee-cop', or 'poleyne' and 'rondel' can be substituted. They are only
employed here because of their general use in armouries at the present day, and
because the English words are of rarer occurrence and are less likely to be met
with by those beginning the study of armour. ' Cuisse ' and ' cuissard', however,
are always used for the thigh-pieces, and no anglicized term is found in
contemporary writings unless it be ' Quysshews.'
Plate V
I. Ba&cin^t f nom the tomb of tine, BlackPrinc2,,Canb2-rbury,AIVth. cent. . — , .
2.Visored Bascirxzb from the statuette of S.George, DijonjXIVbh. cent. ^ — ,
3.5alade, F\.oyal Armourj^, Turin, AVth. cent A,.5alade with visor and beavor/-
riusee de la porta de Halj Brussels, AVth. cent S. The Brooas Helm , f\otunda
Woolwich XVtK- AVI th. cent 6. Armeb, Fkoyal Armoury, Turin y.Burgoneb,-^
Brib.Mus. AVIth.cenb 8. BurQonet and Buffe, F<wqyal Armoury, Turin AVI Eh ant
9. Morion, Brus&el&j AVI th. cent. lO. Cabas&eb,Turin,AVlLh,cenb II. Lobsber-
bailed Pob helnne-b, Turin , XVII bh. cent.
52 THE WEARING OF ARMOUR chap, iii
passe-guard is quite another portion of the armour. In the Tower
Inventory of 1697 appears the entry, ' One Armour cap-a-pe
Engraven with a Ragged Staffe, made for ye Earle of Leisester,
a Mainfere, Passguard and Maineguard and Gantlett.' Now it is
hardly reasonable to suppose that this ridge on the pauldron
should be specially mentioned as the Passe-guard without any notice
of the pauldron itself. In the Additional Notes to the above
article Viscount Dillon gives, from a List of Payments made in
connexion with jousts held on October 20, 1519, ' 9 yards of Cheshire
cotton at 7(^. for lining the king's pasguard.' That the neck-
guard to which we refer should need lining on the inside, where
it did not even touch the helmet, we may dismiss at once ; and
that the lining should be on the outside is of course absurd. As
far as can be gathered from recent research the passe-guard is
a reinforcing piece for the right elbow, used for jousting. It was
lined to protect the ordinary arm defence underneath from being
scratched, and also to lessen the shock to the wearer if it were
struck. It is to be hoped, from this reiteration of Viscount
Dillon's researches, that at any rate one of the many errors of
nomenclature in armour may be corrected.
With regard to the thickness of plate armour, we should remem-
ber that it was forged from the solid ingot, and was not rolled in
sheets as is the material of to-day from which so many forgeries
are manufactured. The armourer was therefore able to graduate
the thickness of his material, increasing it where it was most
needed, and lessening it in those parts which vvcre less exposed.
With regard to the proving of armour an article in Archaeologia,
vol. li, also by Viscount Dillon, is of great interest as showing the
indifferent skill of the English ironsmiths of the sixteenth century.
In 1590 a discussion arose as to the quality of the English iron
found in Shropshire as compared to the ' Hungere ' iron which
came from Innsbruck. After some delay Sir Henry Lee, Master
of the Tower Armouries, arranged a test, and two breastplates
were prepared, of equal make and weight. Two pistol charges
of equal power were fired at the test breastplates, with the result
Plate VI
[Photograph hy~Viscount Dillon.
Engraved suit of armour given to Henry VIII by the Emperor Maximilian.
Tower.
CHAP. Ill THE WEARING OF ARMOUR 55
that the foreign armour was only slightly dented, while the English
plate was pierced completely, and the beam on which it rested
was torn by the bullet. A bascinet in the Tower, which belonged
to Henry VIII, bears two indented marks, signifying that it was
proof against the large crossbow. In the Musee d'Artillerie in
Paris, a suit made for Louis XIV bears proof marks which are
treated as the centres for floriated designs (Plate VIII). No excuse
need be offered for thus borrowing from papers by Viscount Dillon
and other writers in Archaeologia and the Archaeological Journal,
for these publications are not always at hand to those interested
in the subject of armour and equipments. They are, however,
indispensable for careful study ; for they contain reports of the
most recent discoveries and investigations of the subject, and are
written, for the most part, by men whose expert knowledge is at
once extensive and precise.
Another detail of importance in connexion with the protective
power of armour occurs in the great jousting helms, which invari-
ably present a smooth surface on the left side, even when there
may be some opening, for ventilation or other purposes, on the
right. The reason for this was that the j ouster always passed
left arm to left arm with the lance pointed across the horse's neck.
It was therefore important that there should be no projection or
opening on the left side of the helm in which the lance-point could
possibly be caught.
We next turn our attention 'to Convenience in Use. Under
this head the armourer had to consider that the human body
makes certain movements of the limbs for walking and riding, or
fighting with arm and hand. He had so to construct the different
portions of the suit that they should allow of all these movements
without hindrance ; and at the same time he had to endeavour to
protect the body and limbs while the movements were taking
place. The arrangements for pivoting elbow- and knee-joints need
scarcely be detailed ; for it will be seen by a glance at any suit
of plate armour how the cuisse and jamb are pivoted on to the
genouilliere, and move with the leg to a straight or bent position
56 THE WEARING OF ARMOUR chap, hi
without allowing these plates to escape from under the genouil-
liere. The coude is sometimes pivoted in the same manner, but
more often it is rigid and of such circumference that the arm can
bend within it and yet be very adequately protected. In the
overlapping lames or strips of metal which give ease of move-
ment to the upper arm, the hands, the waist, and the foot, we
find that much careful work and calculation was needed to ensure
comfort to the wearer. On the foot, the toepiece and four or more
arches of metal overlap upwards on to a broader arch, while above
this three or more arches overlap downwards, thus allowing the
toe-joint and ankle to be bent at the same time (Fig. 26). In
a suit in the Tower, made for Prince Henry, son of James I, all
the arches of the soleret overlap downwards. This points to
a certain decadence in the craftsmanship of the armourer of the
period, though the excuse might be offered for him that the suit
was intended only for use on horseback. There are generally one,
two, or more of these movable lames joining the genouilliere to
the jamb, and above this the cuisse to the genouilliere to give
greater flexibility to the knee fastenings. The separate arm- and
leg-pieces are, when made in two halves to encircle the limb,
hinged on the outside and closed with strap and buckle, or with
locking hook or bolt on the inside. This, of course, is to ensure
greater protection to these fastenings, especially on horseback.
Higher up again we get the tuilles or faces, which, from the fact
that to adapt themselves to the human form they must narrow
at the waist and spread out below, overlap upwards. From
the faces are hung the tassets, with strap and buckle, which
give increased protection to the upper leg, and yet are not in
any way rigid. When the tassets are made of more than one
plate they are attached to each other by a most ingenious
arrangement of straps and sliding rivets. On the inner edge of
each plate the rivets are attached to a strap on the under
side ; but the outer edge, requiring more compression of the
lames together, is furnished with rivets fixed firmly in the upper-
most plate and working loose in a slot in the back plate, thus
Plate VII
I Fasse-6aard 2 Grand- 0uard i). TiltiaO cuisse I.. Half sait for trie Sfcect:izza§,;Naren2ber6
1A,50-I600 a. Polder fuittoa b.Laace rest cClciez^e
58
THE WEARING OF ARMOUR
CHAP. Ill
allowing an expansion or contraction of half an inch or more to each
lame. It is somewhat difficult to explain this ingenious arrangement
in words, but Fig. 27 will show how the straps and rivets are set.
When the tassets were discarded about the end of the sixteenth
century the cuisses were laminated in this way from waist to knee.
The gauntlet is generally found with a stiff cuff, and from
wrist to knuckles the plates in narrow arches overlap towards the
arm, where they join a wider plate which underlaps the cuff.
The knuckle-plate is usually ridged with a rope-shaped crest or
with bosses imitating the knuckles. The fingers are protected by
inr\
§ 1
Y**, 1/ -1,1 ,1 1
f
Fig. 26. Soleret.
Side. Back. Front.
Fig. 27. Method of using sliding rivets.
small plates, from four on the fourth finger to six on the second
finger (in some examples there are more or less), which overlap
from knuckle to finger-tip. The thumb is covered in like manner,
but has a lozenge-shaped plate to connect it to the cuff. This
metal hand-covering was sewn on to a leather glove or attached
to it with leather loops (Fig. 28). The vambrace is generally rigid,
either a solid tube or hinged on the outside and fastened on the
inside by straps or hooks. It is held to the lower edge of the coude
by a rivet. The lower portion of the rerebrace is also tubular, while
the upper portion, where it joins the pauldron, is often laminated,
with the plates overlapping, downwards as a rule, though there
are instances of these plates overlapping upwards. They are
joined in the same way as the laminated tassets by a riveted strap
on the inner side, and by sliding rivets at the back, thus giving
the arm freedom of movement forwards in the direction most
needed, but less freedom towards the back.
CHAP. Ill
THE WEARING OF ARMOUR
59
These sliding rivets working in slots have come to be called
' Almain ' rivets from the fact that the Almain rivet, a light half
suit of armour, was put together to a great extent by this method.
These suits will be referred to later in the chapter.
The Pauldron is hung on the shoulder by a strap from the
gorget or the breastplate, or it is pierced with a hole which fits
over a pin fixed in one of these portions of the armour. In most
suits of plate of the fifteenth and early sixteenth century that
portion of the pauldron which covers the breastplate is larger on
^ S^ff
Fig. 29. Turning ' lock-pins '.
Fig. 28. Gauntlet.
Fig. 30. Gorget.
the left side than on the right. The reason for this is that the
position of the lance when held ' in rest ', that is couched for the
charge, necessitates a certain curtailment of the front plate of
the pauldron, and, at the same time, the left arm being held rigid
at the bridle, and being exposed to the attacking weapon, requires
more protection than does the right, which, when using the lance,
was guarded by the Vamplate or metal disc fixed to the lance
above the Grip.
Breast- and back-pieces are held together on the shoulders and
sides by straps, but the lames of the faces, and in some cases the
breast and back themselves, are fastened with turning pins which
play an important part in holding the suit together (Fig. 29).
6o THE WEARING OF ARMOUR chap, hi
The Gorget (Fig. 30) is made in two halves, each composed of
a single plate or, sometimes, of two or three horizontal lames.
The two portions are united by a loose-working rivet on the left
side and are joined by a turning pin on the right. The gorget was
worn either over or under the breast- and backplates.
Perhaps the most ingeniously contrived suit in existence,
which completely protects the wearer and at the same time
follows the anatomical construction of the human body, is that
made for Henry VIII for fighting on foot in the lists. It is num-
bered xxviii in the Armoury of the Tower. There are no parts
of the body or limbs left uncovered by plate, and every separate
portion fits closely to its neighbour with sliding rivets and turning
pins to give the necessary play for the limbs. It is composed of
235 pieces and weighs 93 lb.
The wearing of the bascinet, salade, burgonet, and like helmets
needs no detailed description. In the preceding chapter we noticed
the method of attaching the camail to the bascinet. When the
great helm was made a fixture in the fifteenth century, as distinct
from the loose or chained helms of preceding periods, it was either
bolted to the breast and back, as on Plate VII, or it was fastened
by an adjustable plate which shut over a locking pin, as shown
on Plate V, 5, and a somewhat similar arrangement at the back,
or a strap and buckle, held it firmly in place, while if extra rigidity
was needed it was supplied by straps from the shoulders to the
lugs shown in the drawing of the Brocas Helm on Plate V. The
Armet, or close helmet, fits the shape of the head to such an extent
that it must be opened to be put on. This is arranged by hingeing
^the side plates to the centre, and, when fixed, fastening them with
a screw at the back to which a circular disc is added as a protection
to this fastening (Fig. 31). The armet shown on Plate V opens in
the front and when closed is fastened with a spring hook. The
different parts of the armet are the Ventail, A, and Vue, B, which
together make the Visor ; the Skull, c ; and the Beavor, D
(Plate V, 6).
Having now arrived at some understanding of the construction
CHAP. Ill THE WEARING OF ARMOUR 6i
of the suit of armour we will pass on to the wearing of the suit.
A man could not wear his ordinary clothes under his armour ; the
friction of the metal was too great. In spite of the excellence of
workmanship of the armourer any thin substance was bound to be
torn, so a strong fabric was chosen which is called in contemporary
records Fustian. Whether it at all resembled the modern fabric
of that name it is difficult to determine, but certainly the wearing
powers of this material or of corduroy would be admirably adapted
for the purpose. Chaucer writes in the Prologue to the Canterbury
Tales, line 75 :
Of fustyan he wered a gepoun
AUe bysmoterud with his haburgeoun.
This would refer to the rust-stains that penetrated through the
interstices of the mail. In Hall's
Chronicles (p. 524) is mentioned
a levy of troops ordered for the
wars in France in 1543, for which
it was enjoined : ' Item every man
to hav an armyng doublet of
ffustyean or canvas ', and also ' a
capp to put his scull or sallet in '. ^lo. 31. Armet
These last were coverings for the
helmets which we have noted on page 42. The helmets had linings,
either riveted to the metal or worn separately as a cap. The tilting
helm was provided with a thick padded cap with straps to keep it in
its place. Some of these caps exist in the Museum at Vienna.
King Rene, in his Livre des Tournois, advises a pourpoint or
padded undergarment to be put on under the body armour,
' stuffed to the thickness of three fingers on the shoulders for
there the blows fall heaviest.' It seems that in Brabant and the
Low Countries the blows fell heavier, or that the combatants were
less hardy, for he advises for them a thickness of four fingers, filled
with cotton. Viscount Dillon mentions in his Armour Notes ^ the
fact that a ' stuffer of Bacynetts ' accompanied Henry V to
^ Arch. Journ., Ix.
62 THE WEARING OF ARMOUR chap, hi
Agincourt. He also quotes a letter from James Croft to Cecil on
July I, 1559, which states that a man cannot keep his corselet and
pay for the wear and tear of his clothes due to the rubbing of the
body armour, under 8^. per day.
Sir John Smith, in his Animadversions (1591), writes: 'No man
should wear any cut doublets, as well in respect that the wearing
of armour doth quickly fret them out, and also by reason that the
corners and edges of the lames and joints of the armour do take
such hold upon such cuttes as they do hinder the quick and sudden
arming of men.'
An interesting description of the arming of a man, entitled,
'Howe a manne schall he armed at hys ese when he schall flghte
on foote,' is preserved in the Life of Sir John Astley (a manuscript
in the possession of Lord Hastings) } The knight is first dressed in
a doublet of fustian, lined with satin, which is cut with holes for
ventilation. This satin was to keep the roughness of the fustian
from the wearer's body ; for he wore no shirt under it. The doublet
was provided with gussets of mail, or Vuyders, attached under the
armpit and at the bend of the elbow by Arming Points or laces.
These mail gussets were to protect the parts not covered by the
plate armour. The ' Portrait of an Italian Nobleman ' by Moroni,
in the National Gallery, shows the figure dressed in this arming
doublet. A pair of thick worsted hose were worn, and shoes of
stout leather. It must be noticed here that the soleret, or sabaton
as it is sometimes called, covered only the top of the foot, and had
understraps which kept it to the sole of the shoe. First the saba-
tons were put on, then the jambs, genouilliere and cuisses, then the
skirt or breech of mail round the waist. This is sometimes known
as the Brayette. Then the breast- and backplates were buckled
on with the accompanying faces, tassets, and Garde-rein or plates
to protect the loins. After this the arm defences, and, if worn
over the breastpiece, the gorget ; and, finally, the helmet
completed the equipment. The sword was buckled on the left side
and the dagger on the right.
^ Archaeologia, vol. Ivii; Arch. Journ., vol. iv.
CHAP. Ill THE WEARING OF ARMOUR 63
The armour for jousts and tourneys was much heavier than the
Hosting or War harness. From the fact, which has been previously
noticed, that the combatants passed each other on the left, this
side of the armour was reinforced to such a degree that in time
it presented a totally different appearance from the right side (see
Plate VII). The weight of jousting armour was so great that it
was impossible for the wearer to mount without assistance. De
Pluvinel, in his Maneige Royal (1629), gives an imaginary con-
versation between himself and the King (Louis XIV) as
foUows : —
The King. ' It seems to me that such a man would have
difficulty in getting on his horse, and being on to help
himself.'
De Pluvinel. ' It would be very difficult, but with this arming
the matter has been provided for. In this manner at triumphs
and tourneys there ought to be at the two ends of the lists a
smaU scaffold, the height of a stirrup, on which two or three
persons can stand, that is to say, the knight, an armourer
to arm him, and one other to help him. The knight being
armed and the horse brought close to the stand, he easily
mounts him.'
Reference has been made to the fact that modern writers call
the sliding rivet the ' Almain ' rivet. Whenever mentioned in
Inventories and such-like documents, the Almain rivet stands for
a suit of light armour. Garrard, in his Art of Warre (1591), dis-
tinctly says, ' The fore part of a corselet and a head peece and
tasses is the almayne rivet.' Among the purchases made on the
Continent by Henry VIII in 1512 may be noted 2,000 Almain
rivets, each consisting of a salet, a gorget, a breastplate, a back-
plate, and a pair of splints (short faces). In the Inventory
of the goods of Dame Agnes Huntingdon, executed at Tyburn
for murdering her husband in 1523, we find ' sex score pare of
harness of Alman rivets'. The 'pare', of course, refers to the
breast- and backplates. The word Alman, Almaine, or Almain,
shows that the invention of this light armour and the
64 THE WEARING OF ARMOUR chap, in
sliding rivets which were used in its construction came from
Germany.
That the wearing of armour caused grave inconvenience to some,
while to others it seems to have been no hindrance at all, we may
gather from the following historical incidents. In 1526 King
Louis of Hungary, fleeing from the Battle of Mohacz, was drowned
while crossing the Danube because of the weight of his armour.
On the other hand we find that Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford,
when forced to fly at the Battle of Radcot Bridge, escaped easily
by swimming the river to safety in full armour. We should remem-
ber that the weight of plate armour was less felt than that of mail,
because the former was distributed over the whole body and limbs,
while the latter hung from the shoulders and waist alone. King
Henry V, in courting Queen Katharine, says : — ' If I could win
a lady at leapfrog, or by vaulting into my saddle with my armour
on my back,' which seems to imply that this feat was at any rate
a possibility. Oliver de la Marche describes Galliot de Balthasin
in 1446 as leaping clear out of his saddle ' Arme de toute '. We
may safely consign Sir Walter Scott's description of the feasting
knights to the realms of poetic licence, for he writes : —
They carved at the meal with gloves of steel
And drank the red wine through their helmets barred.
Now if there were two portions of the knight's equipment
which would be put off at the first opportunity, and which could
be assumed the most rapidly, they were the helmet and gauntlets.
To drink through a visored helmet is a practical impossibility.
I'he word Beavor, which is generally derived from the Italian
hevere, to drink, has been considered by Baron de Cosson, with far
more probability, to be derived from the Old French baviere
(originally = a child's bib, from have, saliva).
The cleaning of armour is frequently alluded to in Inventories.
In the Dover Castle Inventory of 1344 is mentioned ' i barrelle pro
armaturis roUandis '. Chain-mail was rolled in barrels with sand
and vinegar to clean it, just as, inversely, barrels are cleaned in
CHAP. Ill THE WEARING OF ARMOUR 65
the country at the present day by rolhng chains in them. The
mending and cleaning of armour was of the first importance, and
the traveUing knight took with him an armourer who was provided
with such things as ' oil for dressing my lord's harness, a thousand
armyng nayles (rivets) a payre of pynsores, pomyshe (pumice
stone), fylles, a hammer and all other stuffe and tools belonginge
to an armorer ' }
We can gather but little of the methods of the armourers in
their work. It was so important a craft that its operations were
most jealously guarded, and the term ' Mystery ', which was
applied to the Trade Gilds of the Middle Ages, can be most fittingly
given to that of the armour-smith. In the Weisskunig of Hans
Burgkmair, the noted German engraver, appears an interesting
woodcut of the young Maximilian in the workshop of Conrad
Seusenhofer, the famous armourer. In the text the master-smith
is described as being anxious to make use of the ' forbidden art ',
but the young king replies, ' Arm me according to my own taste, for
it is I, not you, who have to take part in the tournament.' What
this forbidden art may have been we have no suggestion given us.
It seems, from this account, to be more than likely that Seusenhofer
possessed some mechanical means for stamping out armour plate ;
for it goes on to say, ' So this young King invented a new art for
warriors' armour, so that in the workshop 30 front pieces and
30 hinder pieces were made at once. How wonderful and skilful
was this King ! '
A most interesting album of designs by one ' Jacobe ', who has
been identified by the late Herr Wendelin Boeheim as Jacobe Topf,
is now, after many vicissitudes, in the Art Library of the Victoria
and Albert Museum, South Kensington. From the somewhat
naive treatment of the designs they can hardly be considered to
be working drawings, but were more probably sketches submitted
to the different patrons of the armourer and kept for reference.
The Album has been reproduced in facsimile, with a preface giving
its history and verifying the suits drawn on its pages, by Viscount
1 Arch. Journ., vol. Ix.
FFOULKES E
66
THE WEARING OF ARMOUR
CHAP. Ill
Dillon, Curator of the Tower Armouries. Space ^\ill not admit of
more notice of this unique volume. Its author seems to have
worked almost entireh^ for the nobles of the court of Queen Eliza-
beth ; only two of the designs were made for foreigners. Of the
famous armourers of Italy, the ]\Iissaglias, Xegrolis, and Campi;
and of the great Colman family, Seusenhofer and \Yoli, the master-
craftsmen of Germany, we can do no more than mention the names.
Experts in armour, like Baron de
Cosson and Herr Boeheim, have in the
various archaeological journals of
England and Germany brought to light
many interesting facts about these
armourers, but the confines of this
handbook do not admit of detailed
quotation, nor, indeed, is it neces-
sary to study these details till the
primary interest in defensive armour
has been aroused. When this has been
achieved the student will certainly
leave no records unexamined in follow-
ing to its farthest extremes this most
fascinating studj'.-^
It is almost superfluous to discuss
the third of our axioms, namely, that
which concerns the confession of material. All armour of the
best periods does this to the full. It is only under the blighting
influence of the Renaissance that we find metal so worked
that it resembles woven fabrics, or, worse still, the human
form and features. The limited space at our disposal precludes us
from investigating the various Coats of Fence, or body protections
of quilted fabrics with metal, horn, and other materials added.
Mention has been made in the chapter on the Transition of the
Brigandine, which formed a very serviceable defence \\ithout being
1 Boeheim, Meister der Waffenschmiedkunst; De Cosson, Arch. Journ.,
vol. xlviii.
Fig. 32. Archer wearing jack.
From the Beauchamp Pageants,
fifteenth century.
CHAP. Ill THE WEARING OF ARMOUR 67
so unwieldy as the suit of plate. There are several of these
brigandines in English and European armouries. These defences
weigh as much as 18 lb., and are made of many small pieces of
metal. An example in the Tower contains 1,164.^ Fig. 32, from
the Beauchamp Pageants (Cotton MS., Julius E. iv), shows an
archer of the year 1485 wearing the jack over a shirt of mail.
The Jack was used by the rank and file, and was stuffed and
wadded or composed of plates of metal or horn laced together with
string between layers of leather or linen.
1 Arch. Journ., Ix.
E 2
CHAPTER IV
PLATE ARMOUR (1410-about 1600)
It is so very rare to be able to fix the date of a suit of armour
at a particular year that we are forced, in dividing our periods of
defensive armour with any degree of minuteness, to have recourse
to the records existing in monumental effigies. The earliest brasses
which show the whole suit of plate without camail or jupon are
those of one of the d'Eresby family at Spilsby, Lincolnshire, and
of Sir John Wylcotes at Great Tew, Oxon., both dated 1410. In
these brasses we find that the camail has become the Standard of
Mail, or collarette, worn under the gorget of plate. The hauberk
is seen beneath the faces and, in the former brass, in the ' ddfaut
de la cuirasse ' , or unprotected part at the junction of arm and
body. In the Great Tew brass this part is protected by oval
plates which, as we have noticed in a preceding chapter, are
called motons or besagues. Hewitt does not seem to have come
across these terms in the course of his very minute investiga-
tions, but calls them Croissants or Gouchets. He quotes a
passage from Mathieu de Coucy's History of Charles VII (p. 560)
which runs : — ' au-dessous du bras at au vif de son harnois, par
faute et manque d'y avoir un croissant ou gouchet.' Haines,
in his Monumental Brasses, mentions the moton, but assigns
this name to a piece of plate rarely met with, shaped to fit
under the right armpit only. With the disappearance of the
jupon we see the body defence exposed to view. The breast-
plate is globular in form, and below the waist we see the faces
or laminated strips of plate overlapping each other, which at
this early period were attached to a leather lining. As we
have seen in the chapter on the Construction of Armour, at
CHAP. IV PLATE ARMOUR 69
a ' later period these taces were held together by sliding rivets,
which allowed a certain amount of vertical play. Plate armour,
during the earlier years of the fifteenth century, was naturally
in a somewhat experimental state, and we find frequent examples
of the old forms and fashions in contemporary representations.
About the year 1440 appears a distinct style, called ' Gothic ',
which, of all types of defensive armour, is perhaps the most
graceful. This term, ' Gothic,' is as inappropriate, in the rela-
tion which it bore, to armour as to architecture ; but its use is so
general that we must perforce adopt it for want of a better.
The salient points of Gothic armour are the sweeping lines
embossed on its surfaces (Plate VIII). The cuirass is generally
made in two pieces, an upper and a lower, which allows more
freedom for the body. From the taces are hung Tassets, ending
in a point towards the lower edge. The later form of Gothic
breastplate is longer, and the taces fewer in number. Armour
was so frequently remade to suit later fashions, or, from lack of
antiquarian interest, so often destroyed, that there is little of
this Gothic armour existing in England, except those suits which
have been acquired from the Continent by private collectors or
public museums. Almost all of them are incomplete, or, if com-
plete, have been restored — particularly the leg armour — at a recent
date. Perhaps the finest example of this style is to be found on
the ' Beauchamp ' effigy in St. Mary's Church, Warwick. Space
will not allow of a full account of the documents connected with
the making of this magnificent figure, which was executed by
Will. Austin, a bronze-founder, and Bartholomew Lambespring,
a goldsmith, in 1454, fifteen years after the death of the Earl. All
these interesting details are given very fully in Blore's Monumental
Remains. To students of the constructional side of armour this
monument is particularly valuable because all the fastenings,
rivets, and straps are conscientiously portrayed, not only on the
front, but also at the back. Charles Stothard, the antiquary, when
making drawings of the figure for his work on Monumental Effigies,
turned it over and discovered this example of the care and technical
70 PLATE ARMOUR chap, iv
ability of the makers. The breastplate is short, and consequently
the taces are more numerous than when the breastplate is longer.
They consist of five lames. From the taces hang four tassets,
two bluntly pointed in front, and two much shorter, and more
sharply pointed, over the hip-bones. The taces are hinged at the
side for convenience in putting on and off. The coudes are large
and of the butterfly- wing type, and the soUerets * are of normal
length. In many of the Gothic suits these soUerets, following the
custom in civil dress, were extravagantly long and pointed. This
form is called ' a la poulaine ', while the shorter kind are known
as ' demi-poulaine '.
Some writers are apt to confuse this term ' poulaine ' with
' poleyne ', the knee-cop used in the earlier days of the Transition
Period ; it is needless to point out that they are quite distinct.
Baron de Cosson has put forward a most interesting theory in
connexion with this effigy. He finds a close resemblance between
the armour here portrayed and that shown in the picture of
St. George, by Mantegna, in the Accademia at Venice. The Earl
of Warwick, who is represented on this monument, is known to
have been at Milan in his youth, and to have taken part in tourna-
ments at Verona ; so it is more than probable that he ordered his
armour from the Milanese armourers, of whom the famous Mis-
saglia family were the chief craftsmen, and who made some fine
suits of this Gothic style.
The next distinctive style to be noticed is called the ' Maxi-
milian '. It can hardly be said that this new design was evolved
from the Gothic, though of necessity there must be a certain
similarity between them, at least in constructional detail. It
is more likely, when we consider the individuality of the young
Maximilian, especially as recorded in Hans Burgkmair's Weiss-
kunig, and his interest in every art, craft, and trade, that it
was a fashion made, so to speak, to order. The Maximilian
Period of armour may be said to last from about 1500 to 1540.
It is distinguished by the radiating fluted channels that spread
from a central point in the breastpiece, closely resembling the
Plate VIII
Armour of
(i) Archduke Sigismond of Tyrol, 1470,
{2) Louis XR' of France, 1680.
CHAP. IV
PLATE ARMOUR
73
flutings of the scallop-shell (Fig. 24). The main lines of the
suit are heavier and more clumsy than those of the Gothic
variety. The breastplate is shorter, globose in form, and made
in one piece as distinct from the Gothic breastplate, which was
generally composed of an upper and lower portion. The pauldrons
are larger and the upstanding neck-guards more pronounced. The
Fig. 33. Gothic suit. Turin
Armoury.
Fig. 34. Maximilian suit.
Armoury, 1523.
Vienna
coude and genouilliere are both smaller than in the Gothic suit,
and fit more closely to the limbs. In imitation of the civilian dress
the soUeret becomes shorter and broader in the toe. This variety
is known as the ' bee de cane ' or ' bear-paw ' soleret. Some
writers use the term Sabaton for the foot-defence of this period.
This term is found (sabataynes) in the Hastings manuscript referred
to in the preceding chapter. The pauldrons of the Maximilian
74 PLATE ARMOUR chap, iv
suit are generally of unequal size ; that for the right arm being
smaller, to admit of the couching of the lance under the armpit
(Fig. 34). The tassets are made in two or more pieces, connected
with the strap and sliding rivet described in the preceding chapter.
The fluting on the Maximilian armour is not without practical pur-
pose, for, besides presenting the ' glancing ' surface, which has been
before referred to, it gives increased strength and rigidity without
much extra weight. A modern example of this is to be found in the
corrugated iron used for roofing, which will stand far greater
pressure than will the same thickness of metal used fiat.
It is at this period of the history of defensive armour that we
first find traces of that decadence which later on permeated every
art and craft with its pernicious poison. It is to be found in the
imitating of fabrics and also of the human face in metal. There
exist suits of plate in many museums, both in England and on the
Continent, in which the puffings and slashings of the civilian attire
are closely copied in embossed metal, entirely destroying the
important glancing surfaces on which we have laid such stress. It
is alleged that this fashion in civilian dress was intended to suggest,
by the cutting of the material to show an undergarment beneath,
that the wearer was a fighting man who had seen rough service.
If this be the case it is the more reprehensible that metal should
be treated in a similar manner ; for hard usage would dent, but
it would not tear. A portion of one of these debased suits is drawn
on Fig. 42.
It must not be supposed that all armour at this period was
fluted. There was still a good deal which had a plain surface,
and this plain armour continued to be used after the Maximilian
armour had been given up. It may have been that the evil
genius of the Renaissance pointed to the plain surfaces as ex-
cellent fields for the skill of the decorator, a field which the
strongly-marked flutings of the Maximihan armour could not
offer. At first this decoration was confined to engraved borders,
or, if the design covered the whole suit, it was so lightly engraved
that the smooth surface was in no way impaired, though perhaps
CHAP. IV PLATE ARMOUR 75
some of the dignified simplicity of the plain metal was lost.
An instance of this proper application of ornament to armour is
to be found in the ' Seusenhofer ' suit in the Tower (Plate VI),
made to the order of the Emperor Maximilian for Henry VIII.
It is one of the finest suits of this period in existence. The orna-
ment is lightly engraved all over it, and includes representations
of the legends of St. George and St. Barbara. Instead of faces
and tassets the lower part of the body and the thighs are protected
by steel Bases made in folds to imitate the skirts worn in civilian
dress. It will be remembered that in the preceding chapter a con-
versation between Seusenhofer and the young Maximilian was
quoted, and when we study this suit carefully we feel that the
young king did wisely in the choice of his master-armourer.
The craftsman's Poin^on or mark is to be found at the back of the
helmet.
If space but permitted we might devote many pages to the work
of the great armour-smiths as exemplified in the armouries of
Madrid and Vienna. It is difficult, at this period of history, to
generalize at aU satisfactorily. Each suit is, iji many ways, distinct
from its neighbour, just as the character and personality of the
wearers differed. The young Maximilian's words to Seusenhofer,
'Arm me according to my own taste,' is true of every suit that we
examine, for it is evident that each man had his own favourite
fashion or, from physical necessity, was provided with some special
variation from the usual form. An instance of this may be noted
in the Barendyne helm at Haseley Church, near Thame, in which
an extra plate has been added at the lower edge of the helm to
suit the length of neck of the last wearer.
As the experience of the armourer increased, and as the science
of war developed, the armed man trusted more to the fixed defences
of his person than to the more primitive protection of the rnovable
shield. In the tilt-yard and also in war the mounted man en-
deavoured to present his left side to his adversary. On considera-
tion the reason for this will be plain, for the right arm was required
to be free and, as far as possible, unhampered by heavy armour, but
76 PLATE ARMOUR chap, iv
the left arm, held at rest at the bridle, could be covered with as
heavy defences as the wearer might choose. This form of unequal
arming is well shown on the Frontispiece. The left shoulder wears
a large pauldron with a high neck-guard, and the elbow wears the
passe-guard which we have noticed in detail in the preceding
chapter. The leg armour in this suit should be noticed, for it is
extremely fine and graceful in line, and yet proclaims its material.
The suit of Henry VIII (Plate VI) is a good specimen of armour
of the MaximiHan period, but without the flutings which generally
distinguish this style of plate. The neck-guards are high and the
large coudes show the glancing surface plainly. This detail also
is shown on the fan plates at the genouillieres, which in the Tower
Inventories are called by the more English term ' knee-cops '. The
bridle-hand of the rider wears the Manifer (main-de-fer). Those
writers who still follow blindly the incorrect nomenclature of
Meyrick give the name Mainfaire or Manefer to the Crinet or neck
defence of the horse. How this absurd play upon words can ever
have been taken seriously passes understanding.
The manifer is solely the rigid iron gauntlet for the bridle-hand,
where no sudden or complicated movement of the wrist or fingers
was needed ; another instance of the difference in arming the two
sides of the body. This difference of arming is more noticeable
in the jousting armour, for in military sports, especially during
the sixteenth century, the object of the contestants was to score
points rather than to injure each other. We find, therefore, such
pieces as the Grand-guard, and with it the Volant piece, the Passe-
guard, the Poldermitton — so called from its likeness to the ' epaule
de mouton ', and worn over the bend of the right arm — and the
various reinforcing breastplates which were screwed on to the left
side of the tilting suit to offer a more rigid defence and also to
present additional glancing surface to the lance-point. In some
varieties of joust a small wooden shield was fastened to the left
breast, and when this was the case the heavy pauldron was dis-
pensed with. The large Vamplate (Plate XI) sufficiently protected
the right arm from injury. The Nuremberg suit (Plate VII) shows
CHAP. IV PLATE ARMOUR 77
this form of arming for the joust. The great helm is firmly screwed
to the back and breast, the two holes on the left side of the breast-
plate are for the attachment of the shield, the rigid bridle-cuff
covers the left hand, and the curved elbow-guard — this is not the
passe-guard — protects the bend of the left arm as the poldermitton
protects the right. The large circular disc defends the vif de I'har-
nois, and is boucht' or notched at its lower end to allow the lance
to be couched, resting on the curved lance-rest in front and lodged
under the Queue at the back. The legs, in this variety of joust,
were not armed ; for the object of the j ousters was to unhorse
each other, and it was necessary to have perfect freedom in gripping
the horse's sides. Sometimes a great plate of metal, curved to
cover the leg, was worn to protect the wearer from the shock of
impact. This was called the t)ilge, or Tilting Cuisse, which is shown
on Plate VIII behind the figure of Count Sigismond, and also on
Plate VII. The large-bowed saddle also was used for this end.
There is one of these saddles in the Tower which measures nearly
5 feet in height. Behind the saddle-bow are two rings which
encircled the rider's legs. It is needless to point out that in this
form of joust the object was to break lances and not to unhorse ;
for, if the latter were intended, the rider stood a good chance of
breaking his legs owing to his rigid position in the saddle.
The Tonlet suit (Fig. 35) was used solely for fighting on foot.
The bell-shaped skirt of plate was so constructed with the sliding
rivets or straps which have been before referred to, that it could
be pulled up and down. Sometimes the lower lame could be taken
off altogether. When fighting with axes or swords in the lists this
plate skirt presented a glancing surface to the weapon and pro-
tected the legs. The tonlet is variously called by writers upon
armour. Bases, Lamboys, or Jamboys ; of the two latter terms
jamboys is the more correct. The Bases were originally the cloth
skirts in vogue in civilian dress at the time of Henry VIII, and
when defensive armour followed civilian fashion the name came
to be applied to the steel imitation.
Towards the end of the sixteenth century we find the weight
78
PLATE ARMOUR
CHAP. IV
of the war harness gradually decrease. The richly-ornamented
suits which mark this period were in no way suited for any practical
purpose and were used only for parades. Extended campaigns
and long marches necessitated lighter equipment, and we find in
contemporary records instances, not only of the men-at-arms dis-
carding their armour owing to its inconvenience, but also of
Fig. 35. Tonlet suit.
Madrid.
Fig. 36. War suit, 1547.
Vienna Armoury.
commanders ordering them to lighten their equipment for greater
rapidity of movement. Sir Richard Hawkins, in his Observations
on his voyage into the South Sea (1593), writes: 'I had great
preparation of armours as weU of proofe as of Hght corsletts, yet
not a man would use them, but esteemed a pott of wine a better
defence than an armour of proofe.' Again, Sir John Smythe, in
his Instructions, Observations and Orders Militarie (1595), writes :
. . . ' I saw but very few of that army (at the camp at Tilbury)
Plate IX
Design for a suit of armour for Sir Henry Lee, from the Almain Armourer's Album.
CHAP. IV PLATE ARMOUR 8i
that had any convenience of apparrell to arme withal.' Edward
Davies, in i6ig, mentions the fact that men armed ' with a heavie
shirt of mail and a burganet, by that time they have marched in
the heat of summer or deepe of winter ten or twelve English miles,
they are apt more to rest than readie to fight '. As early as the
year 1364 we find that at the Battle of Auray Sir Hugh Calverley
ordered his men to take off their cuisses that they might move
more rapidly. In the armour of the late sixteenth century one
of the chief points of difference from the former fashions is to be
found in the cuisses. Whereas these defences were formerly made
of one, or possibly two plates, we now find them laminated from
waist to knee and joined by the strap and sliding rivet arrangement
which we have noted in the arm defences and tassets. The tassets
are now no longer used (Fig. 36). Very soon the jambs were given
up in favour of buff boots, and when once this was established
the next step was the half suit which will be noticed in a succeeding
chapter.
After the fourteenth century the great helm was but seldom
used for war, but for jousting it was still retained, and, as this
form of military sport was practised more scientifically, so the
weight and shape of the helm were made to suit the necessary con-
ditions. The Brocas helm (Plate V) is the finest example of
English helm of this period ; it weighs 22 lb. The other known
examples of home manufacture are the Westminster helm, which
was discovered in the Triforium of Westminster Abbey in 1869, and
weighs 17 lb. 12 oz. ; the Dawtray helm at Petworth (21 lb. 8 oz.) ;
the Barendyne helm at Haseley, near Thame (13I lb.) ; the Fogge
helm at Ashford, Sussex (241b.); the Wallace helm, in the collec-
tion at Hertford House (17 lb.) ; and the great headpiece in the
possession of Captain Lindsay of Sutton Courtenay, Abingdon,
which turns the scale at 25 lb. 14 oz. It will be seen from the weight
of these helms that they could only be used for the jousting course
and were put off on the first opportunity. The details of their
construction have been noticed in Chapter III.
On referring to Plate V it will be seen that the bascinet was the
FFOULKES -p
82 PLATE ARMOUR chap, iv
precursor of the Salade, which may be considered the typical
headpiece of the fifteenth century. The rear peak of the bascinet
is prolonged over the neck, and in a later form of German origin
the peak is hinged to allow the wearer to throw back his head with
ease. The ocularium, or vision slit, is sometimes cut in the front
of the salade, but more often it is found in a pivoted visor which
could be thrown back. The Beavor is generally a separate piece
strapped round the neck or, in tilting, bolted to the breastplate.
Some writers caU this the Mentoniere, but this name should rather
be apphed to the tilting breastplate which also protected the
lower portion of the face. Shakespeare uses the term beavor very
loosely, and frequently means by it the whole helmet.
The German 'Schallern', or salade, so called from its shell-like
form, seems to have been evolved from the chapel-de-fer or war-
hat by contracting the brim at the sides and prolonging it at the
back. In fact, in Chastelain's account of the fight between Jacques
de Lalain and Gerard de Roussillon the salade worn by Messire
Jacques is described as ' un chapeau de fer d'ancienne fa9on ' }
The salade was often richly decorated. Baron de Cosson, in the
preface to the Catalogue of Helmets exhibited at the Archaeological
Institute in June, 1880^, instances a salade made for the Duke of
Burgundy in 1443, which was valued at 10,000 crowns of gold.
More modest decoration was obtained by covering the salade with
velvet and fixing ornaments over this of gilded iron or brass.
There are several of these covered salades in the various collections
in England and on the Continent. Sometimes the salade was
painted, as we see in an example in the Tower.
The Armet, or close helmet, followed the salade, and is men-
tioned by Oliver de la Marche as early as 1443.^ The name is
supposed to be a corruption of ' heaumet ', the diminutive of
' heaume', the great helm of the fourteenth century.* Whereas the
salade is in form a hat-like defence, the armet fits the head closely
'- G. Chastelain, p. 679. - Arch. Jonrn., xxxvii.
^ Oliver de la Marche, p. 288.
* N.E. Diet, gives Armette, a diminutive of Arme. Armez is also found.
CHAP. IV PLATE ARMOUR 83
and can only be put on by opening the helmet, as is shown on
Plate Y and Fig. 31. The various parts of the armet have been
already described in Chapter III. The armet does not appear in
monumental effigies in England before the reign of Henry VIIL
The English were ne\'er in a hurry to take up new fashions in
armour ; being to a large extent dependent on the work of foreign
craftsmen, they seem to have waited to prove the utility of an
innovation before adopting it. Against this, however, we must
place the fact that in the picture at Hampton Court of the meeting
of Henry VIH and [Maximilian, the English are all shown wearing
armets, while the Germans still wear the salade. The armet on
the Seusenhofer suit in the Tower, which has been noticed in this
chapter, is a verv perfect example of this stvle of headpiece.
The Burgonet is an open helmet, and, as the name implies, of
Burgundian origin. To those students who consult [Nleyrick it is
advisable to give a word of warning as to this author's theory of
the burgonet. He assumes that it is a variety of the armet, but
with a grooved collar which fitted over the gorget. His authority
for this assertion is a single reference in the Origines des Chevaliers
Armorit's et Heraiix, by Fauchet.'- Space will not allow of the in-
vestigation of this authority, but Baron de Cosson in the Catalogue
above quoted effectively disposes of [Meyrick's theory.^ The salient
points of the burgonet, as may be seen on Plate V, are the Umbril
or brim projecting over the eyes, and the upstanding comb or (in
some cases) three combs that appear on the skull-piece. In the
best examples these combs are forged with the skull out of one
piece of metal, a totir de force in craftsmanship that could hardly
be surpassed. The ear-flaps are hinged at the sides, and at the
base of the skuU is fixed the Panache, or plume-holder. The face-
guard, when used ^\ith the burgonet, is called the Buffe,^ and, like
the beavor worn with the salade, is held in place by a strap round
the neck. This form of helmet was chiefly used by light cavalry.
1 Paris, 1606, fol. 42. See Cat. of Helmets, Arch. Jouni., xxxvii.
- Arch. Journ., xxxvii.
^ The term Bufe is sometimes wrongly used for the upright shoulder-guards
on the pauldron.
F 2
84
PLATE ARMOUR
CHAP. IV
The Morion and the Cabasset are both helmets worn by foot-
soldiers, and appear about the middle of the sixteenth century.
The cabasset is generally to be distinguished by the curious little
point projecting from the apex. Often the comb and upturned
brim of the morion are extravagant in form and tend to make the
helmet exceedingly heavy and inconvenient.
The shields of the fifteenth and sixteenth century were more
for display than for use, except in the tilt-
yard. As we have seen, the development
of plate armour, especially on the left side,
made the shield not only unnecessary, but
also inconvenient. In the joust, however,
where it was important that the lance
should find no hold on a vital part of the
body, such as the juncture of the arm, the
shield was used to glance the weapon off,
or, where unhorsing was the object, it was
ribbed with diagonally crossing ridges to
give the lance-point a surer hold. The
Pavis or Pavoise (Fig. 37) was more
generally used by archers and crossbowmen as a cover. A good
specimen of the pavis exists in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford,
and there are two large examples of heavier make with peepholes
for the archer, and wooden props as shown in our illustration, at
Brussels and Berlin.
Fig. 37. Pavis. Cotton MS
Julius E. iv, 1485.
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CHAPTER \^
HORSE ARMOUR
The fully-equipped knight, whether in the cumbrous garments
of mail or in the more adaptable suit of plate, was so entirely
dependent on his horse, both in active warfare and in the tilt-yard,
that some notice of the defences of the Destrier or war-horse is
necessary in this short examination of the history of defensive
armour. On the Bayeux Tapestry there is no suggestion of armour
of any kind upon the horses, but \Ya.ce writes in the Roman de
Rou (Une 12,627) —
Vint Williame li filz Osber
Son cheval tot covert de fer.
We should remember, however, that ^^'ace wrote in the second
half of the twelfth century and, like the other chroniclers of the
Middle Ages, both in picture and text, portrayed his characters
in the dress of his own time. The Trapper of mail shown on
Fig. 38 is taken from Stothard's drawing of one of the paintings in
the Painted Chamber at \A^estminster, now destroyed.^ These decora-
tions are supposed to have been executed about the year 1237.
Here the horse is shown covered with a most inconvenient housing
of mail, which can hardly have been in very general use, in this
particular form at any rate ; for it would be almost impossible for
a horse to walk, let alone to trot or gallop, with such a defence.
The textile trapper was, of course, lighter, and was used merely
for ornament and display, though it may have been designed, as
the surcoat was, to protect the mail defence beneath from wet.
Jean Chartier, in his Histoire de Charles VI (p. 257), states that
sometimes these rich trappings or housings were, after the death
of their owner, bequeathed to churches, where they were used for
1 Monumenta Vetusta, vol. vi.
HORSE ARMOUR
CHAP. V
altar hangings, or inversely, when trappings were needed, the
churches were despoiled of their embroideries to provide them.
The mailed horse appears as early as the Roman period, and is
shown on the Column of Trajan, but in Europe he does not seem
to have been commonly in use much before the thirteenth century.
As the man was sometimes defended entirely by garments of
quilted fabrics, so the horse also wore pourpointed housings. We
can only surmise, from the folds and lines shown on seals or draw-
ings, which variety is intended ; but the stiff lines of the housing
Fig. 38. Trapper of Mail, from
the Painted Ctiamber, Westminster,
thirteenth century.
Fig. 39. Ivory chessman, from
Hewitt's Ancient Armour, fourteenth
century.
on the seal of Roger de Quinci, Earl of Winchester (1219-64), and
its raised lozenges, seem to suggest a thicker substance than does
the more flowing drapery on Fig. 11. Matthew Paris, in describing
the Battle of Nuova Croce in 1237, writes that ' A credible ItaUan
asserted that Milan with its dependencies raised an army of six
thousand men-at-arms with iron-clad horses '. An ordinance of
Philip the Fair, in 1303, provides that every holder of an estate
of 500 Hvres rental should furnish a man at-arms well mounted on
a horse ' convert de couvertures de fer ou de couverture pour-
pointe'. The caparisoned horse first appears on royal seals in the
CHAP. V
HORSE ARMOUR
89
reign of Edward I. In the Roll of Purchases of Windsor Park
Tournament (1278), the horses are provided with parchment crests,
and the Clavones or rivets used for fixing these crests are
mentioned in the ^^"ardrobe Accounts of Edward I in 1300 :
' cum clavis argenti pro eodem capello.' The earliest note we
have of a rigid defence for the horse is in the Windsor Roll,
which contains the following item : — ' D Milon le Cuireur xxxviij
A-
FiG. 40. Horse armour, a, Chamfron ; B, Crinet ; c, Peytral ; d, Flanchards ;
E, Argon ; f, Cantel ; G, Crupper ; h, Tail-guard ; j, Metal rein-guard ;
K, Glancing-knob.
copita cor de similitud' capit equoz.' This headpiece was of
leather, either used in its natural state or as cuirbouilli, and
seems to be the material suggested in the ivory chessman (Fig. 39)
illustrated in Hewitt (vol. ii, p. 314). In the Will of the Earl of
Surrey (1347) is mentioned a breastpiece of leather for a horse.
In the fifteenth century we find the horse protected with plate
like his rider, and usually the lines of the Barding or horse
armour follow those of the man. Fig. 40 shows the armed
horse with the various portions of his defence named.
The Chamfron is sometimes provided with hinged cheek-plates
90 HORSE ARMOUR chap, v
and usually has a holder for a plume. On the forehead are often
shown the arms of the owner or a tapered spike. Angellucci, in
his preface to the Catalogue of the Turin Armoury, differentiates
between the chamfron (tesera) and the Frontale or plate protecting
the front of the head alone. There are fine suits of Gothic horse
armour both in the Musee d'Artillerie in Paris and also in the
Wallace Collection at Hertford House. The latter is one of the
best-arranged mounted suits in existence. The different pieces
of the horse armour bear the delicate sweeping lines embossed on
the surface in the same way that the armour of the man is treated.
The restored linings of leather and skin show how the horse was
protected from the chafing of the metal. The Peytral or Poitrel
is hung from the neck and withers, and is frequently provided with
large bosses, called Bossoirs, Pezoneras, or Glancing-knobs , to direct
the lance-thrust away from the horse. It is often hinged in three
pieces. The Flanchards hang from the saddle on either side, and
are sometimes, as on Plate IV and the Frontispiece, curved upwards
in the centre to admit of the use of the spur. The back of the
horse is protected by the Croupiere or Crupper, which is made up
of several pieces riveted or hinged together. The root of the tail
is covered by a tubular plate called the Gardequeue, which is often
moulded into the form of a dragon or dolphin. All these plates
were lined with leather or wadded with cotton to prevent chafing.
Often, however, cuirbouilH was used instead of metal and was richly
decorated with painting and gilding. A picture of the Battle of
Pavia in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, shows many of these
painted bards, and the same material is doubtless intended in the
relief of the Battle of Brescia on the Visconti monument at Pavia.
These leather bards have entirely disappeared and are not to be
found in any collections except for a portion of a crupper of this
material in the Tower. The saddle, with its high Arciones or
peaks, back and front, was in itself an efficacious protection for
the waist and loins. The term Cantle is sometimes used for either
plate, but it is generally accepted as the name for the rear peak.
Both this part and the front plate are often covered with metal.
CHAP. V HORSE ARMOUR 91
The great jousting saddles have been noticed in the preceding
chapter. The reins are protected from being cut by hinged plates,
as shown on Plate X.^
These pieces constitute the armour of the horse as usually
found in museums and in painting and sculpture. There is, how-
ever, in the Zeughaus in Vienna a curious portrait of Harnisch-
meister Albrecht, dated 1480. The horse on which he rides is armed
completely with plate except for an aperture in the flanchards
for using the spur. The legs are covered with hinged and bolted
defences very similar to those of the armour for men. It might be
supposed that this was but a fantastic idea of the painter, if
Viscount Dillon had not discovered a Cuissard, or thigh-piece, which
much resembles those shown on the picture, in the Musee de la
Porte de Hal, Brussels. In the days of the Decadence, when the
craft of the armourer was to a great extent overwhelmed by the
riotous fancy of the decorator, the horse shared with his rider in
this display. The armour shown on Plate X, known as the
Burgundian armour from the badges of the Emperor Maximilian
which adorn it, does not offend in this respect, because the
embossing serves to give rigidity to the metal without interfering
with its defensive qualities. The same may be said of the barding
shown on the Frontispiece, but on Plate IV the loss of dignity in
line, and the embossed hemisphere — which, for its purpose, should
be smooth — show the beginning of the decay in constructional
skill. The highly ornamented pageant armour made for the
Elector Christian II, now in the Dresden Museum, though extra-
ordinarily perfect in workmanship, should be classed rather as the
work of goldsmith or sculptor than as that of the armourer.
^ This is not the ' garde-rein ' See p. 62.
CHAPTER VI
THE DECADENCE OF ARMOUR
In the practice of any of the crafts, or apphed arts as they are
now called, the surest and most manifest signs of decadence are
to be found in two aspects of that craft. The first of these is that
which refers to the material used. With regard to armour this
consideration is faithfully adhered to in most
examples of the armourer's work up to the
end of the fifteenth century ; but by the
beginning of the sixteenth century we find
the craftsman becoming wearied of his
technical perfection and the simplicity and
constructional dignity which invariably ac-
companies such perfection. His efforts are
now directed to fashioning his metal into
such forms as in no way suggest his material,
but only show a certain meretricious skill
in workmanship. Fig. 41 shows a very
favourite form of this artistic incoherence. The defensive properties
of the helmet are in no way increased, but rather are annulled by
presenting hollows and projections where before a smooth surface
existed. It is superfluous to point out the grotesque and bizarre
effect of this human face in metal.'- Another instance of this
wilful disregard of material is to be noticed in those suits which
imitate the puffed and slashed dress in fashion for civilian wear
during the sixteenth century. Many of these suits exist in English
and European armouries, which proves that they were popular,
^ That this fashion in hehnets was a general one we may judge from the fact
that most armouries possess examples of these human-faced helmets.
Fig. 41. Grotesque
helmet, sixteenth century.
Nuremberg.
CHAP. VI
THE DECADENXE
93
but to the true craftsman there is something degrading in the efforts
of the expert ironworker, expending his energies, not to produce
a finely constructed piece of work, but rather to imitate the seams
and pipings of the work of a tailor or dressmaker ; and, however
much we may admire his technical skill, we must, perforce, place
his artistic aspirations side by side with the ' grainer and marbler '
who was so conspicuous a factor in domestic decoration in the
middle of the nineteenth century.
Fig. 42 shows this decadence carried
to its furthest pitch. By the middle
of the sixteenth century the Renais-
sance, which had been, in the first
instance, the birth of all that is best
in European art and craftsmanship,
became a baneful influence. The
expert painter, having mastered the
intricacies of his art, turned them
into extravagant channels and ex-
aggerated action ; foreshortened
figures and optical illusions took the
place of the dignified compositions of
the earher period. Nor could the
crafts escape this deadly poison. To
the credit of the craftsmen we may
hope that the luxurious indulgence
and ostentatious display of the princely patron was the cause of
decadence in the crafts, rather than the inclination of the workers
themselves. Still the fact remains that, as soon as the plain and
constructionally sound work began to be overspread with orna-
ment, architecture, metal-work, wood-carving, and all the allied arts
began to be debased from their former high position. With the
decoration of armour its practical utility began to decline. It
must be admitted, however, that one reason for the decoration
^ This suit is shown with the brayette attached ; which for obvious reasons
is exhibited in most armouries separate from the suit.
Fig. 42. Puffed suit, sixteenth
century. Vienna.^
94 THE DECADENCE chap, vi
was that armour was, by degrees, less and less used for war and only
retained for pageant, joust, and parade in which personal display
and magnificence were demanded.
The engraved and inlaid suits of the late sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries, although they offend the craftsman's eye as does
the decorated bicycle of the Oriental potentate to-day, do not
transgress that important law, on which so much stress has been
laid, of offering a glancing surface to the opposing weapon. It is
when we come to the embossed
suits with their hollows and pro-
jections that we find the true
character of armour lost and the
metal used only as a material for
exhibiting the dexterity of the
workman without any considera-
tion for its use or construction.
This interference with the glanc-
ing surface is noticeable in the
Fig. 43. Casque after Negroli, six- suit illustrated in Fig. 42, but
teenth century. Paris. ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ -^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^ -^
that the designer had reason for his embossing of the metal — if
the imitation of the puffed suit was to be carefully portrayed.
The same, however, cannot be urged for those suits which are
simply covered with ornament with no purpose, little meaning,
and less composition or design. If we set aside our opinions as
to the suitability of the ornament, we are compelled to admire the
wonderful technical skill which produced such pieces as the suit
made for King Sebastian of Portugal by Anton Pfeffenhauser of
Augsburg, and now in the Madrid Armoury. Here every deity
of Olympus, the allegorical figures of Justice, Strength, and the
Cardinal Virtues, crowd together with Navigation, Peace, and
Victory ; Roman warriors fighting with elephants are found among
Amorini, Satyrs, and Tritons ; while every inch of the metal not
devoted to this encyclopaedia of history and legend is crowded
with fohage and scroll-work of that debased and unnatural form
CHAP. VI
THE DECADENCE
95
which has become the branding mark of this period of the
Renaissance.
It \W11 be sufficient to give one example of this prostitution
of art and craftsmanship. This helmet after Xegroh (Fig. 43),
and a similar example, signed by Negroli, at Madrid, show how
the canons of the armourer's craft were ignored at this period. It
Fig. 44. Pageant shield, sixteenth century. Vienna.
is true that the casque still provides a metal covering for the
head, and that the comb gives an additional protection to the
skull, but when we examine the embossed figures at the side — and
marvellously good the embossing is — we find lodgements for the
sword or spear which would most certainly help to detach the
helmet from its wearer. As to the comb, it may fairly be cited as
an example of all that is artistically worst in the late Renaissance.
Its technical merits only emphasize this. The warrior. is laid on
his back to suit the required shape of the helmet, and to give point
96 THE DECADENCE chap, vi
to his position his hair is held by two figures whose attributes
seem to suggest that intercrossing of birds, beasts, and fishes which
delighted the decadent mind of the~period. The figures are human
to the waist and end in a dolphin's tail. Angels' wings spring
from their shoulders and leopards' claws from the junction of tail
and waist. Not content with this outrage to the dignity of art,
the craftsman ends his warrior in an architectural base which has
not even the slight merit of probability which the tail of the merman
might offer. In short it is an example of technical skill at its
highest, and artistic perception at its lowest point. The shield
from the Vienna collection (Fig. 44) is another example, like King
Sebastian's suit, of meaningless decoration. The strapwork does
not in any way follow the lines of the shield, and the female figures
seem to be introduced only to show that the craftsman could
portray the human form in steel as easily as he could the more
conventional ornament.
As the armourer, weary of constructional skill, turned to
ornament as a means of showing to what further extent his powers
could expand, so, with this change in his point of view, his con-
structional skill itself declined. The headpiece, which in the
golden age of the armourer was forged in as few pieces as possible,
is in the late seventeenth century made of many pieces, as the
art of skilful forging declines. The ingenious articulations of the
soleret are changed, and the foot is cased in plates which, over-
lapping only in one direction, preclude the easy movement of the
wearer. The fine lines of leg and arm defences, which in the
fifteenth and sixteenth century follow the shape of the limbs, give
place to straight tubular plates which can only be likened to the
modern stove-pipe. The grace and symmetry of the Gothic suit
shown on Plate VIII, especially the leg armour, exemplify this
merit of the best period of armour, while the suit made for
Louis XIV, and the gilt suit of Charles I in the Tower, offend in
the opposite direction. Another sure indication of the decadence
of the craftsman is to be found in the imitation of constructional
detail with no practical purpose. Examples of this may be seen
CHAP. VI THE DECADENCE 97
in late seventeenth-century armour, where a single plate is
embossed to represent several overlapping plates or lames, and also
in the plentiful use of ' clous perdus ' or false rivets which are
scattered broadcast on some suits in places where no rivets are
needed.
To turn from the degradation of the simplicity and constructional
perfection of armour to the reasons which led to its gradual disuse,
we find that, after the Gothic period, armour became heavier,
partly because of the shock tactics in vogue on active service and
partly because, in the case of jousting armour, strength and great
weight were needed to protect the wearer from vital injury, and
partly because the improvement of firearms necessitated extra
defence. The temper of the metal used was such that it would
resist a pistol shot, as we have noticed in Chapter III ; and on
examining the surface of the metal we find, as in the Pembridge
helm, that it is of so fine a texture that a modern knife will not
leave a scratch when testing it. Therefore we must regard the
weight of armour as one of the chief reasons for its disuse. Again,
mihtary tactics necessitated forced marches and longer expeditions
than before ; or at any rate it was discovered that when
engaging in long expeditions the troops were chafed and hindered
by their armour. It is somewhat curious to note that as the leg
was the first part of the body to be armed with plate, so the leg
armour was the first to be discarded. The jambs were the first
pieces to go, and were replaced, in the case of the mounted man,
by thick buff leather boots. The tassets were prolonged to the
knee or — to describe this portion of the armour in a different way —
the cuisses themselves were formed of riveted lames and the
tassets discarded.
The helmet at the latter end of the seventeenth century is
generally open and of the burgonet type. The breastplate
is usually short and projects downwards at the lower portion
after the fashion of the ' peascod ' doublet of civilian wear. As
early as 1586^ at the siege of Zutphen, we find officers discarding
their armour and keeping only the cuirass. From the Hatfield MSS.
FFOULKES G
98
THE DECADENCE
CHAP. VI
we learn that a penny a day was allowed to each soldier in 1590,
over and above his pay, for the wearing and carriage of his armour,
because it had become the custom for the troops to give their
accoutrements to the baggage-carriers when on the march :
' a matter both unseemly for soldiers and also very hurtful unto the
armour by bruising and breaking thereof, whereby it becometh
unserviceable.' In Cruso's Militarie Instructions for the Cavallrie
(1632), we find that the arquebusiers had wholly left off their
armour in favour of buff coats. Turner's Pallas Armata (1670)
mentions the armour of officers as ' a headpiece,
a corslet and a gorget, the captain having a
plume of feathers in his helmet, the lieutenant
not '. Further on we read, ' now the feathers
you may peradventure find, but the headpiece
for the most part is laid aside.' Fig. 45 shows
that half armour was still worn during the
Commonwealth, but by the Restoration very
little was retained except for ceremonial use.
As far as can be gleaned from contemporary
letters and histories, Charles I never wore either
the somewhat cumbrous gilt suit which is shown
at the Tower or the more graceful half suit of
blued steel in which Vandyke represented him in
his equestrian portrait. All the metal defence we
can be sure he actually wore is a steel broad-brimmed hat covered
with velvet. The headpiece used by the cavalry during the Civil
War is of the same type as No. 11 on Plate IV, a variety of the
burgonet with a movable nasal. The breastplate continued to be
worn during the wars of Marlborough, but that, too, was discarded
when the efficacy of the musket proved its uselessness. The last
survival of plate armour is to be found in the gorget. This became
smaller as the uniform was changed, and in the end was simply
a small crescent of brass hung at the neck. It was worn by infantry
officers up to the year 1830, at which date it was given up in
England.
Fig. 45. Cromwellian
pikeman. Tower.
CHAP. VI THE DECADENCE 99
The last official use of full plate armour was at the Coronation
of George TV, when the King's Champion, Dymoke, entered West-
minster Hall and threw down the gauntlet to challenge those who
disputed the King's right to the crown. The suit worn on this
occasion belonged originally to Sir Christopher Hatton, Captain of
the Guard to Queen EUzabeth, and was made by Jacobe,^. whose
designs for armour have been referred to in Chapter HI. The suit
is now in the Guard Room at Windsor. The Guardia Nobile of
the Pope still wear the picturesque half armour of the sixteenth
century. The cuirass and helmet of the Household Cavalry of the
present day are not survivals, for they were introduced at the
time of the Coronation of George IV.
The study of defensive armour and weapons must of necessity
need much careful comparison of examples and investigation of
documentary evidence, but, even when undertaken only super-
ficially, it will add greatly to the interest of modern history and of
the arts of war. Costume can only be studied from pictorial and
sculptured records, but in the case of armour we have, after
a certain period, actual examples not only of historical but also of
personal interest. With modern methods of arrangement and
with the expert care of those most learned in this subject these
examples will be an ever-present record which may be examined
with more interest than might be bestowed upon many branches
of the applied arts ; because, in addition to the interest centred
in the personality of the wearers, we have the sure signs of the
master-craftsman which are always evident in good craftsmanship,
and, not infrequently, the sign-manual of the worker himself.
^ Considered to be the same as Topf.
G 2
CHAPTER VII
WEAPONS
The Sword. At the time of the Conquest the sword was
straight, broad in blade, two-edged and pointed. The Quillons
were straight and the grip ended in a Pommel which, as far as we
Fig. 46. Sword-hilts.
can judge from illustrated records, was square, round, lozenge-
shaped or tref oiled (Fig. 46). There is not much change in the
general lines of the sword during the twelfth century except in the
form of the pommel.
In the thirteenth century the point, instead of starting abruptly
CHAP. VII
WEAPONS
lOI
at the extreme end of the blade, is of a more gradual form, showing
that the use of the sword for thrusting was more general than in
the previous centuries. The Grip seems to be very short for the
proper balance of the weapon, if we may judge from those shown
on Plate III, i, 2, 3.
The quillons curve upwards towards the point and the pommel
is frequently decorated with the badge or arms of the owner. The
symbol of the Cross is frequently found on the sword-pommel. At
this period the handle and scabbard are frequently enriched with
Fig. 47. A, Pommel ; b, Grip ; c, Knuckle-
bow ; D, D, Quillons ; e, Counter-guard ; F, Pas
d'ane ; g, Riccisso ; h, Blade.
Fig. 48. Schiavona.
ornamental metal-work set with gems, as we find on the monument
of King John in Worcester Cathedral. The cruciform shape of
the sword-hilt continues through the fourteenth century without
much radical change in its construction, but in the fifte'^nth
century we find the 'Pas d'ane', which is formed of two rings
curving above the quillons on each side of the Ricasso, or squared
part of the blade above the hilt (Fig. 47). It is usual to describe
the sword as it is held for use in the hand ; that is, with the point as
the highest part and the pommel as the lowest. After the fifteenth
century sword-play began to be studied as a science, and we find
that, besides being used for offensive purposes, the sword-hilt was
102
WEAPONS
CHAP. VII
SO designed as to be a defence in itself. From this we get all the
guards and counterguards, which are so varied and intricate that
it would require more space than is at our disposal to treat of
them with any degree of completeness.
The type of sword that was thus developed by practice in its
use was purely for thrusting purposes. The sword for cutting
alone is generally simpler in form. The
Cutilax, Falchion, Dussack, and Cutlas
are all weapons of this order and
generally have a simple hilt. The
modern Claymore is really an adapta-
tion of the Italian Schiavona (Fig. 48),
and is in no way derived from the
Claymore proper, the Two-hand sword
of the Middle Ages. This great weapon,
often as much as 6 feet in length from
point to pommel, was used by foot-
soldiers, and special military arrange-
ments were made for the space given to
its users, who required a good sweeping
distance between each man (Fig. 49).
The Hand-and-half sword is a variety
of cross-hilted sword, in which the grip
is sujB&ciently long for two or three
fingers of the left hand to be used to assist the right hand in
delivering a swinging cut.
The early Dagger is of much the same form as the sword ; it
was worn on the right side with the sword on the left. One
variety of the dagger was called the Misericorde. It was finely
pointed and, as its name grimly impHes, was intended to penetrate
the joints of the armour to give the coup de grace to the fallen
knight. The Main-gauche is also of the dagger order, but has
a broad knuckle-guard and long straight quillons. It was used
in conjunction with the rapier in duels with the point upwards,
more as a means of warding off the sword-thrust than for
Fig. 49. Two-hand sword.
CHAP. VII WEAPONS 103
actual stabbing. The Anelace and Cinquedea are broad-bladed
short weapons used for stabbing only. The Baselard was the
short sword carried by civilians in the fifteenth century.
Of staff weapons the principal is, of course, the Lance. At the
time of the Conquest and up to the fourteenth century the shaft
of the lance was of even thickness with lozenge- or leaf-shaped
point. During the fourteenth century we find the shaft swelling
just above the grip and then tapering below it. Plate XI, 14,
shows the lance provided with a vamplate or shield, which pro-
tected the hand and made the right gauntlet unnecessary. Tilting
lances are sometimes as much as 15 feet in length, and one specimen
in the Tower weighs 20 lb. An engraving by Lucas Cranach (1472-
1553). which depicts a tourney or melee of knights, shows the
combatants preceded by squires on horseback who support these
weighty lances till the moment of impact, when, it is presumed,
they moved aside out of danger. The lance-point was sharp for
active service, but for tournaments it was supposed to be blunted.
This practice, however, was so often neglected that ordinances
were framed enjoining the use of the Coronal or trefoiled button,
which is shown on Plate XI, 15.
The other long-shafted staff weapons may be divided into those
for stabbing and those for cutting. The Gisarme is a long-
handled weapon which some writers consider to have been much
the same as the Pole-axe. From Wace we learn that it was sharp,
long, and broad.'- It was in all probability a primitive form
of the Bill. This was also a broad-bladed weapon and was used
only by foot-soldiers. It seems to have been evolved from the
agricultural scythe. The Godendag was the name given by the
Flemings to the Halbard. It had an axe-blade with .curved
or straight spikes at the back and a long point to terminate the
shaft. In this detail it differed from the pole-axe. The halbard
proper was used as early as the thirteenth century and appears
in the designs from the Painted Chamber at Westminster figured
^ ' . . granz gisarmes esmolues' {Roman de Ron, 1. 12907).
' . . . gisarmes lunges e lees' (ib., 1. 13431).
104 WEAPONS CHAP. VII
by Stothard.^ From the seventeenth century onwards it was used
only for ceremonial purposes and was richly decorated. It was
carried on parade by infantry drum-majors in England as late as
1875. It was much favoured by the Swiss, who armed the front
rank of the footmen with this weapon. Those used for parade
purposes are elaborately engraved on the blades, while the shafts
are often covered with velvet and studded with gilded nails. These
ornate weapons are used still by the Gentlemen-at-Arms on State
occasions. The Voulge is a primitive weapon evolved from an
agricultural implement of the same class as the liedging bill in use
at the present day. The Lochaber axe is of much the same form ;
its distinguishing feature being the hook at the top of the shaft,
which was used in scaling walls. The Glaive is also a broad-bladed
weapon, but where the bill and gisarme are more or less straight
towards the edge, the glaive curves backwards. It is often to be
found richly engraved for show purposes. In French writings the
word glaive is sometimes loosely used for lance or sword.
The stabbing or thrusting long-shafted weapons include the
Lance, Spear, and Javelin. After these the most important is the
Pike. This is very similar to the spear, but was used exclusively
by foot-soldiers. In the seventeenth century it was carried by
infantry interspersed among the arquebusiers. There are several
works on pike-drill and treatises on its management. Lord Orrery,
in his Ari of W^ar, comments on the differences in length and recom-
mends that all should be i6|^ feet long. The shaft was made of
seasoned ash and the head was fastened with two cheeks of iron,
often 4 feet long, which ran down the shaft to prevent the head
being cut off by cavalry. At the butt-end was a spike for sticking
into the ground when resisting cavalry. In a treatise entitled The A rt
of Training (1662) directions are given that the 'grip' of the shaft
should be covered with velvet to afford a sure hold for the hand.
This grip was caUed the Armin. There are also suggestions that
a tassel should be fixed midway to prevent the rain running down
the shaft and so causing the hand to shp. When we consider that
1 Monumenta Vetusta, vol. vi.
Plate XI
LVotd^z Z.Malbard -3. Glaive ii..Raaszz^n or Spzbum. 5.PaPtizaa 6. 5pOQ.toon_
7. Oisarm.e 8. Pike 9. Aace 10. Lochiaber axz II. Pola axe 12. Holy Water spnoklzp
15. Bill l^. Lance aad Varnplate 15. Lance poiobs for wan aad jou5b,/Aadpid
tS.Secttoascf Laace shafts, Tower.
io6
WEAPONS
CHAP. VII
the pikeman had to keep the cavahy at bay while the arquebusier
was reloading — a lengthy process — we can understand the impor-
tance of these regulations. The pike was carried by the colour-
sergeants in the British Army at the beginning of the nineteenth
century, and was last used in the French Army in 1789. The
Spontoon is a species of half-pike, which was carried by the colour-
sergeants in the British Army up to the end of the eighteenth
century, if not longer. The Spetum and the Ranseur are often
confused. The names are usually given to those weapons which
have sharp lateral projections fixed at a more or
less acute angle to the point. They could not be
used for cutting, but used for thrusting they
inflicted terrible wounds. The Partizan is some-
what of the same order, but is known best in
museums in its decorated form as used in
ceremonial parades. These show- weapons were
used by the Judge's guard in Oxford up to
1875, and are still carried by the Yeomen of
the Guard on State occasions.
The Bayonet, although introduced in France
in 1647, is so essentially a part of the firearm
that we need do no more than mention it
among the thrusting weapons. The scope of this work will not
allow of any notice of firearms ; that subject, owing to modern
developments, is too wide to be treated in a few sentences.
Of short-handled weapons the Club or Mace is to be found
on the Bayeux Tapestry, and is generally quatrefoil or heart-
shaped at the head. The mace was the weapon of militant
ecclesiastics, who thus escaped the denunciation against ' those
who fight with the sword'. It is generally supposed that the
Gibet was of the same order. Wace, in the Roman de Rou (line
13459). writes :—
Et il le gibet seisi
Ki a sun destre bras pendi.
The mace was usually carried slung by a loop to the saddle-bow
Fig. 50. Morning
Star.
CHAP. VII WEAPONS 107
or on the right wrist, so that, when sword or lance were lost, it
could be used at once. A less ornamental weapon is the Holy-
water Sprinkler. This is formed of a ball of iron studded with sharp
projecting spikes, and fixed upon a long or short handle. The
Morning Star is akin to the Military Flail, a weapon derived from
the agricultural implement of that name. It is much the same as
the Holy- water Sprinkler, except that the spiked ball is not socketed
on the handle but hangs from a chain (Fig. 50) . The names of these
two weapons are often transposed, but we propose to adhere to
the nomenclature used in the Tower Armouries as being more likely
to be correct. The War-hammer and Battle-axe need but little
description. They were generally used by horsemen, and their
general form only varies in detail from implements in use at the
present day. The Pole-axe was a weapon in great request for
jousting on foot, in the 'champ clos'. The blade is much like the
halbard, but at the back is a hammer-shaped projection with
a roughened surface.
The Longbow may be said to have gained the battles of Senlac,
Crecy, and Agincourt, and so ranks as one of the most important
of English weapons. It was from $^ to 6 feet in length and was
made of yew, or, when this wood was scarce, of witch hazel. It is
a popular tradition in the country that the yew-trees which were
so important for the manufacture of this weapon were grown in
churchyards because they were poisonous to cattle, and the church-
yards were the only fenced-in spaces. There is, however, no
documentary evidence to support this. The string was of hemp
or silk. The archer carried twenty-four ' clothyard ' shafts in his
belt and wore a wrist-guard called a Bracer to protect his wrist
from the recoil of the string. These bracers were of ivory or
leather and were often decorated. The arrows were tipped with
the goose-quill, but Roger Ascham, in his Toxophilus, writes that
peacock arrows were used ' for gayness '. So notable were the
English bow-makers for their productions that in 1363 we find the
Pope sending to this country for bows.
The Crossbow or Arbalest is first heard of in the twelfth century,
io8
WEAPONS
CHAP. VII
and at this date was considered so ' unfair ' a weapon that the
Popes forbade its use. Innocent II in 1139 fulminated against this
barbarous weapon, but allowed of its use by Christians against
Infidels. By the end of the thirteenth century, however, it was in
general use. At first the crossbow was strung by hand; but when
it was made more powerful, mechanical means had to be resorted
to to bend the bow, which was often of steel. There are two
varieties of war crossbows : that strung with the ' goat's-foot ' lever,
Fig. 51. Crossbow and goat's-foot lever.
Fig. 52. Crossbow and windlass.
which is shown on Fig. 51, and a heavier kind called the arbalest
'a tour' , which was strung with a cog-wheel and ratchet arrange-
ment called the Moulinet or windlass (Fig. 52). The arbalest
' a eric ' is a larger form of this variety. The archer using these
heavy weapons was entrenched behind a Pavis or shield fixed
in the ground as shown on Fig. 37. The Quarel or bolt used
for the crossbow is shorter and thicker than that used for the
longbow.
Of the other projectile-hurling weapons, such as the Fustibal or
Sling, the different forms of Catapult used in siege operations, and
the innumerable varieties of firearm, we have no space to write.
The former, being mostly fashioned of wood and cordage, are seldom
CHAP VII WEAPONS 109
to be met with in museums, and we can only judge of their design
and use from illuminated miniatures and paintings. The firearm,
being, as it is, subject to further development, cannot be taken
into full consideration in this work except so far as it affected the
defensive armour and in time ousted the staff-weapon.
With this bare enumeration of the principal weapons in use
from the twelfth to the eighteenth century we draw our all too
meagre notes to a conclusion. The subject is so vast, because each
example is distinct in itself and because no general rule holds
absolutely good for all, that many volumes might be produced
with advantage on each epoch of the defences and weapons of
Europe. No better advice to the would-be student can be given
than that of Baron de Cosson in the Introduction to the Catalogue
of Helmets and Mail {Arch. Journ., vol. xxxvii). He writes :
' For the study of ancient armour to be successfully pursued it is
of primary importance that a careful examination be made of
every existing specimen within our reach. . . . Every rivet-hole and
rivet in a piece must be studied and its use and object thought out.
The reasons for the varied forms, thicknesses, and structure of the
different parts must have special a-ttention. . . . This alone will
enable us to derive full profit from our researches into ancient
authors and our examination of ancient monuments. This pre-
liminary study will alone enable us to form a sound opinion on
two important points. First, the authority to be accorded to any
given representation of armour in ancient art . . . whether it
was copied from real armour or whether it was the outcome
of the artist's imagination ; and also whether a piece of existing
armour is genuine or false, and whether or no it is in its primitive
condition.'
To this may be added that in studying armour at its best epoch,
that is during the fifteenth century, we find the dignity of true
craftsmanship proclaimed, and utility and grace attained without
the addition of that so-called decoration which with the advent
of the Renaissance was the bane of all the crafts.
INDEX
A
Aiguillettes, 38, 41.
Ailettes, 35, 36.
Aketon, 23.
Albrecht, Harnischmeister,
horse-armour of, 91.
Almain rivets, 59 ; suits of,
63-
Anelace, 103.
Angellucci, on horse armour,
90.
Arbalest, a eric, 108 ; a tour,
ib.
Arciones, 90.
Armet, earliest use in Eng-
land, 83 ; parts of, 60, 82.
Armin, 104.
Arming-doublet, 61.
Arming-points, 38.
Armour : allowance for wear
and tear, 98 ; convenience
in use of, 55 ; details of
construction of, 56 ; en-
graved, 40 ; essential points
in its manufacture, 48 ;
fastenings of, 56 ; for tour-
naments reinforced on left
side, 55 ; heavier on left
side, 76 ; inconvenience of,
63, 81 ; last official use of,
98 ; making of, 65 ; method
of putting on, 62 ; puffed,
92 ; reason for increased
weight, 97 ; testing of, 52 ;
wearing of, -61.
Armourers, names of, 66 ;
workshop, 65.
Ascham, Roger, Toxophilus,
joy.
Ashmolean Museum, pavis
at, 84.
Astley, Life of Sir J., 62.
August, Herzog, armour of,
30.
Auray, Battle of, 81.
Austin, Will., 69.
B
Bainbergs or beinbergs, 36.
Balthasin, Galliot de, 64.
Bamberg, wooden figures at,
23-
Banded mail, 20.
Barding, 89.
Barrel helm, 25, 26.
Bascinet, 39; of Henry VIII,
proof marks on, 55 ; ' pig-
faced,' 42 ; precursor of
salade, 82.
Baselard, 103.
Bases, yy ; of steel, 75.
Battle-axe, 107.
Bayeux Tapestry, 19, 23, 24,
26, 87, 106.
Bayonet, 106.
Beauchamp effigy, 69 ;
pageants, 66.
Beavor, 82 ; derivation of, 64.
Berardi, Gulielmus, monu-
ment of at Florence, 36.
Berlin Zeughaus, 34.
Besague, 39, 68.
Bill, 103.
Black Prince, effigy of, 39 ;
gauntlets of, 33 ; helm of,
41 ; jupon of, 40 ; shield
of, 46.
Blore, Monumental Remains,
69.
Boeheim, Wendelin, Wa-ffen-
kunde, 21, 65.
Bossoirs, go.
Bracer, 107.
Brayette, 62, 93 (note).
Breast- and back-pieces,
fastenings of, 59 ; dis-
carded, 98.
Breech of mail, 62.
Bregander nayles, 33.
Brescia, Battle of, on Visconti
monument at Pavia, 90.
Brigandine, 16, 30, 66.
Brussels, horse cuissard at,
91-
Buffe, 83.
Burgkmair, Hans, Weisskunig,
65, 70.
Burgonet, 83, 97.
Burgundian horse armour in
Tower, 91.
Burgundy, enriched salade of
Duke of, 82.
Cabasset, 83.
Calverley, Sir H.,at Battle of
Auray, 81 ; monument of,
40.
Camail, 38, 41.
Cantle, 90.
Cap worn under helm, 27.
Garnet, 42.
Cervelliere, 28.
Chain-mail harmed by rain,
25-
Chamfron, 89.
Chapel-de-fer, 82.
Charlemagne, armour of, 15.
Charles I, armour of, 96,
Chartier, Jean, describes
horse trappings, 87.
Chaucer, 33, 34, 36, 61.
Chausses, 24.
Chaussons, 24.
Christ Church, Oxford, win-
dow at, 29.
Christian II, enriched armour
of Elector, at Dresden, 91.
Chroniques de Charlemaine, 36.
Cinquedea, 103.
Clavones, 89.
Claymore, 102.
' Cloth-yard ' arrow, 107.
' Clous perdus,' 97.
Coat of defence, 34.
Coif of mail, 27.
Coronal, 103.
Coronation of George IV, 98,
99-
Corrugated iron similar to
Maximilian armour, 74.
Cosson, Baron de, 64, 66, 70,
82 ; advice to students of
armour, 109; disputes Mey-
rick's theory of burgonet,
83-
Coucy, Mathieu de, 68.
Coude, 36, 50.
Covers to helmets, 42.
Cranach, Lucas, tilting lances
drawn by, 103.
Croissants, 68.
Crossbow, used for proving
armour, 47 ; varieties of,
108.
Crossbows forbidden by the
Popes, 107.
Crupper or croupiere, 90.
Crusades, 25.
Cruso on the discarding of
armour, 98.
Cuirass of leather, 15.
Cuirbouilli, 34 ; crest of, 41 ;
helms of, 27 ; horse armour
of, 89 ; leg armour of, 36 ;
poleynes of, 35 ; shields of,
46.
Cuissard, 50 ; for horse, 91.
Cuisses, 39, 50 ; laminated,
58, 81 J taken off in battle,
81 ; for tilting, yy.
Cutilax, 102.
Cutlas, 102.
Cyclas, 38.
D
Dagger, 102.
Davies, Edward, 81.
' Defaut de la cuirasse,' 68.
INDEX
III
Destrier, 87.
Dilge, T7.
Dillon, Viscount, 39, 50, 52,
55, 61, 66, 91.
Dussack, :o2.
Dymoke, 99.
E
Edward I, wardrobe account
of, 34, 89.
Eisenhut, 28.
Elbow-cop, 50.
Enarmes, 29.
Eresby, d', brass of, 68.
F
Falchion, 102.
Fauchet, reference to bur-
gonet, 83.
Fitz Urse, shield of, 29.
Flanchards, 90.
Fontaine, Etienne de, helmet
of, 45.
Froissart, 13, 33, 42.
Frontale, as distinct from
chamfron, 90.
Fustian worn under armour,
61.
Fustibal, 108.
G
Gadlings, 39.
Gambeson, 23, 30, 33.
Gardequeue, 90.
Garde-rein, 62.
Garrard, Art of Warre, 63.
Gauntlet, 50 ; of Black Prince,
33 ; construction of, 58.
Genouilliere, 50.
Gibet, 106.
Gisarme, 103.
Glaive, 104.
Glancing-knobs, 90.
Glancing surface, 48 ; on
helm, 27.
Godendag, 103.
Gorget, 60 ; survival of, 98.
Gorleston brass, 36.
Gothic armour, 69 ; horse
armour in Wallace Collec-
tion, 90 ; symmetry of, 96.
Gouchets, 68.
Grand-guard, 76.
Grip of lance, 59 ; sword, loi.
Guardia Nobile of the Pope,
99-
Guige, 29.
Guns first used, 47.
H
Haines, Rev. H., Monumental
Brasses, 68.
Halbard, 103.
Hall, Chronicles, 61.
Hand-and-half sword, 102.
Hatfield MS. as to wear and
tear of armour, 98.
Hatton, suit of Sir C, 99.
Haubergeon, 24.
Hauberk, 19 ; sleeves of, 23 ;
worn under plate, 38.
Hawkins, Sir R., Observations,
78.
Helm, great, or Heaume, 25,
41 ; Barendyne, at Haseley,
75, 81 ; Brocas, at Wool-
wich, 60, 81 ; caps worn
under, 27, 61 ; chained to
body, 27 ; construction of
jousting, 50-5 ; Dawtray,at
Petworth, 81 ; decorated,
27 ; Fogge, at Ashford, 8i ;
method of fixing, 60 ;
Pembridge, 41 ; ' sugar-
loaf,' 27 ; at Sutton Courte-
nay, 50, 81 ; Wallace Collec-
tion, 81 ; Westminster, 81.
Helmet, covers for, 42 ; gro-
tesque, 92 ; jewelled, 45 ;
Norman, 25 ; tied with
laces, 26 ; tinned to pre-
vent rust, 45.
Henry V, 64.
Henry VIII and Maximilian,
helmets worn at the meet-
ing of, 83 ; suit for fighting
on foot, 60 ; suit made by
Seusenhofer, 76.
Heraldic devices on shields,
29.
Hewitt, John, 14, 23, 68 ;
ivory chessman illustrated
by, 89.
Holy- water sprinkler, 106.
Horse armour, complete suit
of, 91.
Horse trappings and church
embroideries, 87 ; first
shown on English seals, 88.
Hosting harness, 63.
Household cavalry, 99.
'Hungere ' iron, 52.
I
Imbricate armouries, 16.
Inventory of Humphrey de
Bohun, 33, 42 ; Sir Simon
Burley, 34 ; Dover Castle,
64 ; Louis Hutin, 42, 46 ;
Piers Gaveston, 33, 35 ;
Tower Armouries, 52.
J
Jack, 6j.
Jacobe, 65, 99.
Jambeaux, 34.
Jamboys, jy.
Jambs, 36 ; discarded, 81.
Jazeran armour, 41.
Joan of Arc, 22.
John, King, 25.
Jupon, 23 ; of Black Prince,
40.
K
Knee-cop, 50.
Lalain, Jacques de, 82.
Lambespring, Bartholomew,
69.
Lamboys. See Jamboj'S.
Lambrequin, 45.
Lames, 50.
Lance, 103.
Laton, or latten, used for
armour, 33.
Leather, used for armour, 34 ;
horse armour, 90 ; morion
at Berlin, 34.
Lee, Sir Henry, tests armour,
52-
Leg armour, of horse at Brus ■
sels, 91 ; of plate, intro-
duced and discarded, 97.
Lewis, Isle of, ivory chess-
men found at, 26.
Lochaber axe, 104.
Longbow, 107.
Louis, King of Hungary,
death by drowning of, 64.
Louis XIV, armour of, 96 ;
proof marks on armour of,
55-
M
Mace, 106.
Madrid, 94.
Mail, banded, 20 ; chain, 19 ;
cleaning of, 64 ; ' mascled,'
22 ; method of making, 20.
Main-guard, 52.
Mainfaire, wrong use of, 76.
Manifer or mainfere, 52, 76.
Main- uche, 102.
Mantegna, St. George by,
70.
Mantling, 45.
Marche, Oliver de la, 64.
Maximilian I, 65 ; armour,
70 ; horse armour of, in
the Tower, 91.
Mentoniere, 82.
Meyrick, Sir Samuel, 14, 16 ;
theory of banded mail, 20,
21 ; theory of mascled
mail, 22, 76 ; theory of
burgonet, 83.
Misericorde, 102.
Missaglias, 66.
Mohacz, Battle of, 64.
Molineux, Sir W., brass of, 30.
Moustrelet, 14.
Morion, 83 ; of leather at
Berhn, 34.
Morning Star, 107.
Moroni, portrait by, 62. i
Moton, 39, 68.
Moulinet, 108.
Miihlberg, armour worn at
the Battle of, 30.
N
Nasal, 26.
Negroli, helmet by, 95.
112
INDEX
Northwode brass, 36.
Nuova Croce, Battle of, 88.
Nuremberg, tilting suit at, tj.
O
Ocularium, 26, 82.
Odo, Bishop, 24.
Orle, 45.
Orrery, Lord, Art of Wane,
104.
P
Painted Chamber, designs in
the, 87, 103.
Palette, 50.
Pallas Armata. See Turner.
Panache, 83.
Paris, Matthew, 88.
Partizan, 106.
Pas d'ane, loi.
Passe-guard, 50, 52, 76.
Pauldron, 50, 59, 73.
Pa via, picture of Battle of, at
Oxford, 90.
Pavis or pavoise, 84, 108.
Peascod doublet, 97.
Pezoneras, 90.
Pfeffenhauser, suit by, 94.
Philip the Fair, ordinance of,
88.
Pike, 104 ; last use of, 106.
Plastron-de-fer, 23, 34.
Plates, pair of, 33.
Pluvinel, de, Maneige Royal,
63-
Poitrel or peytral, 90.
Poldermitton, 76.
Pole-axe, 103 ; used in
' champs clos ', 107.
Poleynes, 34, 35, 36, 50.
Pommel of sword, 100.
Pourpointerie, 30 ; for tour-
neys, 61.
Puffed armour, 74.
Q
Quarel, 108.
Queue, yj.
Quillons, 100, loi.
R
Radcot Bridge, Battle of, 64.
Ranseur, 106.
Rein-guards of metal, 91.
Renaissance, decadence of
the armour of the, 95.
Rene, King, 40, 61.
Rerebrace, 36, 50 ; construc-
tion of, 58.
Ricasso, 10 1.
Kichard I, 22 ; shield of, 29.
Ringed armour, 19.
Rivets, sliding, 56.
Roman de Rou. See Wace.
Rondel, 39, 50.
Rosbecque, Battle of, 33.
Roussillon, Gerard de, 82.
Sabatons or sabataynes, 62,
73-
Saddle for jousting, in the
Tower, 77.
St. Gall, Monk of, 15, 28.
St. 'George, statuette of, at
Dijon, 41.
Salade, evolved from bas-
cinet, 82 ; decorated and
painted, 82.
Scale armour, 16, 30.
Schiavona, 102.
Scott, poetic licence of Sir
Walter, 64.
Sebastian, parade suit of
King, 94.
Senlac, Battle of, 107.
_Setvans brass, 25.
Seusenhofer, 65 ; suit by, in
the Tower, 75, 83.
Shield, temp. Norman Con-
quest, 28 ; fourteenth cen-
tury, 45 ; faced with gesso,
46 ; of twigs, 46.
Sigismund, armour of Count,
77-
Smythe, Sir John, Animad-
versions, 62, 78.
Solerets, 38, 50 ; construc-
tion of , 56 ; ' a la poulaine,'
70; 'bear-paw,' 73; 'bee
de cane,' 73 ; ' demi-pou-
laine,' 70.
Spain, regulations as to
monuments in, 40.
Spetum, 106.
Splinted armour, 33 ; on Ash
monument, 41.
Spontoon, 106.
Standard of mail, 68.
Stothard, Charles, 69, 103.
Surcoat, 23, 25.
Surrey, Earl of, horse armour
in Will of, 89.
Swords, 100 ; and dagger
play, loi, 102.
Taces, 50 ; construction of, 56.
Tassets, 69 ; and cuisses com-
bined, 97 ; discarded, 81.
Tonlet, Tj.
Topf, 65, 99.
Tournament, of St. Inglevert,
14 ; armour, yy ; helms,
27 ; and swords, 33 ; at
Windsor Park, 27, 34, 35,
89 ; crests used at, 89.
Trapper, of mail, 87 ; textile,
87.
Trellice coat, 16.
Trumpington brass, 28, 42.
Tuilles, 56.
Tunic, 22, 38.
Turner, Pallas Armata, 98.
Turning pins, 59.
Two-hand sword, 102.
U
Umbril, 83.
Upper pourpoint, 38.
Vambrace, 38, 50 ; construc-
tion of, 58.
Vamplate, 59, y6.
Vegecius, 46.
Ventail, 26.
Vere, escape of Robert de, 64.
Vervelles, 41.
Vienna, painting of horse
armour at, 91 ; pageant
shield at, 96.
Vif de I'harnois, 39.
Viollet-le-Duc, Diciionnaire
du Mobilier Franfais, 21.
Visiere, 42.
Visor, 26.
Volant piece, 76.
Voulge, 104.
Vuyders, 62.
W
Wace, Roman de Rou, 23, 24,
87, 103, 106.
Waller, J. G., 19, 21.
Wambais, 23.
War-hammer, 107.
War-hat, 28.
Warwick, Earl of, 70.
Whalebone, used for gaunt-
lets and swords, 33.
William the Conqueror, 24, 26.
Windsor Park. See Tourna-
ment.
Wylcotes, Sir John, brass of,
68.
Z
Zutphen, armour discarded
at siege of, 97.
Oxford : Printed at the Clarendon Press by Horace Hart, M.A.
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