1. Voulge 2. Halbard 3. Glaive 4. Ranseur or Spetum 5. Partizan 6. Spontoon 7. Gisarme 8. Pike 9. Mace 10. Lochaber axe 11. Pole axe 12. Holy Water sprinkler 13. Bill 14. Lance and Vamplate 15. Lance points for war and joust, Madrid 16. Sections of Lance shafts, Tower
Fig. 50.
Morning Star.
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 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 5½ 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 churchyards 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, 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, which is shown on Fig. 51, and a heavier kind called the arbalest ‘à tour’, which was strung with a cog-wheel and ratchet arrangement called the Moulinet or windlass (Fig. 52). The arbalest ‘à cric’ 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.
| Fig. 51. Crossbow and goat’s-foot lever. |
Fig. 52. Crossbow and windlass. |
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 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 attention.... This alone will enable us to derive full profit from our researches into ancient authors and our examination of ancient monuments. This preliminary 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, à cric, 108;
à tour, ib.
Arciones, 90.
Armet, earliest use in England, 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;
engraved, 40;
essential points in its manufacture, 48;
fastenings of, 56;
for tournaments 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, 107.
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, 77;
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, monument 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, Waffenkunde, 21, 65.
Bossoirs, 90.
Bracer, 107.
Brayette, 62, 93 (note).
Breast- and back-pieces, fastenings of, 59;
discarded, 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.
C
Cabasset, 83.
Calverley, Sir H., at Battle of Auray, 81;
monument of, 40.
Camail, 38, 41.
Cantle, 90.
Cap worn under helm, 27.
Carnet, 42.
Cervellière, 28.
Chain-mail harmed by rain, 25.
Chamfron, 89.
Chapel-de-fer, 82.
Charlemagne, armour of, 15.
Charles I, armour of, 96, 98.
Chartier, Jean, describes horse trappings, 87.
Chaucer, 33, 34, 36, 61.
Chausses, 24.
Chaussons, 24.
Christ Church, Oxford, window 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 Meyrick’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 croupière, 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;
taken off in battle, 81;
for tilting, 77.
Cutilax, 102.
Cutlas, 102.
Cyclas, 38.
D
Dagger, 102.
Davies, Edward, 81.
‘Defaut de la cuirasse,’ 68.
Destrier, 87.
Dilge, 77.
Dillon, Viscount, 39, 50, 52, 55, 61, 66, 91.
Dussack, 102.
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 burgonet, 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.
Genouillière, 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 Collection, 90;
symmetry of, 96.
Gouchets, 68.
Grand-guard, 76.
Grip of lance, 59;
sword, 101.
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 Woolwich, 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, 81;
method of fixing, 60;
Pembridge, 41;
‘sugar-loaf,’ 27;
at Sutton Courtenay, 50, 81;
Wallace Collection, 81;
Westminster, 81.
Helmet, covers for, 42;
grotesque, 92;
jewelled, 45;
Norman, 25;
tied with laces, 26;
tinned to prevent rust, 45.
Henry V, 64.
Henry VIII and Maximilian, helmets worn at the meeting 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, 67.
Jacobe, 65, 99.
Jambeaux, 34.
Jamboys, 77.
Jambs, 36;
discarded, 81.
Jazeran armour, 41.
Joan of Arc, 22.
John, King, 25.
Jupon, 23;
of Black Prince, 40.
K
Knee-cop, 50.
L
Lalain, Jacques de, 82.
Lambespring, Bartholomew, 69.
Lamboys. See Jamboys.
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 Brussels, 91;
of plate, introduced and discarded, 97.
Lewis, Isle of, ivory chessmen 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-gauche, 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.
Mentonière, 82.
Meyrick, Sir Samuel, 14, 16;
theory of banded mail, 20, 21;
theory of mascled mail, 22, 76;
theory of burgonet, 83.
Miséricorde, 102.
Missaglias, 66.
Mohacz, Battle of, 64.
Molineux, Sir W., brass of, 30.
Monstrelet, 14.
Morion, 83;
of leather at Berlin, 34.
Morning Star, 107.
Moroni, portrait by, 62.
Moton, 39, 68.
Moulinet, 108.
Mühlberg, armour worn at the Battle of, 30.
N
Nasal, 26.
Negroli, helmet by, 95.
Northwode brass, 36.
Nuova Croce, Battle of, 88.
Nuremberg, tilting suit at, 77.
O
Ocularium, 26, 82.
Odo, Bishop, 24.
Orle, 45.
Orrery, Lord, Art of Warre, 104.
P
Painted Chamber, designs in the, 87, 103.
Palette, 50.
Pallas Armata. See Turner.
Panache, 83.
Paris, Matthew, 88.
Partizan, 106.
Pas d’âne, 101.
Passe-guard, 50, 52, 76.
Pauldron, 50, 59, 73.
Pavia, 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 tourneys, 61.
Puffed armour, 74.
Q
Quarel, 108.
Queue, 77.
Quillons, 100, 101.
R
Radcot Bridge, Battle of, 64.
Ranseur, 106.
Rein-guards of metal, 91.
Renaissance, decadence of the armour of the, 95.
René, King, 40, 61.
Rerebrace, 36, 50;
construction of, 58.
Ricasso, 101.
Richard 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.
S
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 bascinet, 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 Conquest, 28;
fourteenth century, 45;
faced with gesso, 46;
of twigs, 46.
Sigismund, armour of Count, 77.
Smythe, Sir John, Animadversions, 62, 78.
Solerets, 38, 50;
construction of, 56;
‘à la poulaine,’ 70;
‘bear-paw,’ 73;
‘bec de cane,’ 73;
‘demi-poulaine,’ 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, 101, 102.
T
Taces, 50;
construction of, 56.
Tassets, 69;
and cuisses combined, 97;
discarded, 81.
Tonlet, 77.
Topf, 65, 99.
Tournament, of St. Inglevert, 14;
armour, 77;
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.
V
Vambrace, 38, 50;
construction of, 58.
Vamplate, 59, 76.
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 l’harnois, 39.
Viollet-le-Duc, Dictionnaire du Mobilier Français, 21.
Visière, 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 gauntlets and swords, 33.
William the Conqueror, 24, 26.
Windsor Park. See Tournament.
Wylcotes, Sir John, brass of, 68.
Z
Zutphen, armour discarded at siege of, 97.