The "Royal Standard" of the French monarchs is described as of blue, adorned with fleurs-de-lis of gold. That of Philip Augustus at Bovines is thus noticed by Guiart:—
An ordinance of Philip IV. in 1306, quoted by Père Daniel (Mil. Fran. j. 520), under the heading, "L'ordonnance du Roy quant il va en Armez," directs: That the chief Ecuyer Tranchant shall have charge of the Royal Standard: that the chief Chamberlain shall carry the Banner of the king: and that the chief Varlet Tranchant shall follow close behind the king, bearing his Pennon; and his duty is to accompany the king wherever he may go, in order that all may know where the monarch is stationed.
The knightly Banner of this time may be seen in Roy. MS. 20, D. i.; in the Lives of the Offas (Cott. MS., Nero, D. i.); and in many of the plates of the Painted Chamber. In all these examples it is quadrangular, but not square: its height is double its breadth. The effigy at Minster, Isle of Sheppey, (Stothard, Pl. xli.) gives us in sculpture a large specimen of the banner, and shews very distinctly how it was fastened to the staff by tasselled cords.
The office of Bannerer of the City of London was filled in the thirteenth century by the family of Fitz Walter, who held the castlery of Baynard's Castle in fee for the performance of this duty. The services and privileges attached to the office are laid down in a curious document printed in Blount's "Antient Tenures," from a MS. preserved by Dugdale. They are recorded under two heads: the rights in time of war, and the rights in time of peace. We give the first in full: a mere note will suffice for the other, which are privileges rather of a civil than a military character:—
"These are the rights which Robert Fitz Wauter, Castellan of London, Lord of Wodeham, has in the city of London: That is to say, the said Robert and his heirs ought to be, and are, Chief Bannerers of London, by fee, for the said Castlery, that his ancestors and he have of Castle Baynard in the said City. In time of War the said Robert and his heirs are to serve the city in manner following. The said Robert is to come on his barded horse (sus son Destrier covert), he the twentieth man-at-arms, all with horses housed with cloth or iron (coverts de teyle ou de fer), as far as the great gate of the minster of St. Paul, with the Banner of his arms displayed before him. And when he is come to the great gate of the aforesaid minster, mounted and equipped as aforesaid, then ought the Mayor of London, with his Sheriffs and Aldermen (ove touz ses Viscountz et ses Audermans), armed in their arms, to come out of the minster of St. Paul as far as the said gate, with his Banner in his hand; all being on foot. And the Banner shall be red, having an image of St. Paul in gold, the feet, hands and head of silver, with a silver Sword in the hand of the said image. And as soon as the said Robert shall see the Mayor and his Sheriffs and his Aldermen come on foot out of the said minster, bearing this Banner, then the said Robert, or his Heirs, who owe this service to the said City, shall dismount from his horse, and shall salute the Mayor as his companion and peer, and shall say to him: 'Sir Mayor, I am come hither to fulfil the service which I owe to the city.' Then the Mayor, Sheriffs, and Aldermen shall say: 'We deliver to you, as the Bannerer by fee of this City, this Banner, to bear and govern to the honour and profit of our City, to the best of your power.' Then the said Robert or his Heirs shall receive the Banner. Then the Mayor of the said City and his Sheriffs shall follow him to the gate, and shall deliver to the said Robert a horse of the value of twenty pounds[396]. And the horse shall have a saddle of the arms of the said Robert[397], and shall have a housing of Cendal silk of the same arms; and they shall take twenty pounds sterling, and shall deliver them to the Chamberlain of the said Robert, for his expenses this day. And the said Robert shall mount the horse which the said Mayor has given to him, holding the Banner in his hand. And as soon as he is mounted, he shall require the Mayor to cause to be elected a Marshal out of the troops of the City. And as soon as the Marshal is elected, the said Robert shall direct the Mayor and Citizens to have the Tocsin of the said city rung (que facent soner le Sein communal de la dicte Citee); and all the commonalty shall go with the Banner of St. Paul, which the said Robert shall carry, as far as Aldgate. Beyond that, the Banner shall be borne by one approved of the said Robert and the Mayor. If so be (si issint soit) they have to go forth out of the city, then ought the said Robert to elect two of the most discreet persons from each ward of the city, to provide for the safe keeping of the city during their absence. And this council shall be held at the Priory of the Trinity by Aldgate. And for every town or castle that the host of London shall besiege, the said Robert shall receive from the commonalty of London a hundred shillings for his pains, and no more, though the siege should last for a year. These are the rights that the said Robert shall have in London in time of War."
The rights of the Chief Bannerer in time of peace were the possession of one of those jurisdictions called a Soke, the power of imprisoning and punishing certain offenders within his district, the privilege of taking part in every "Great Council" held by the Mayor, and some others of a similar kind. And if the culprit within his jurisdiction has deserved death for treason, "then shall he be tied to the post which is in the Thames at the Wood Wharf, where boats are fastened, there to remain for two floods and two ebbs of the tide. And if he be condemned pur commun larcin, then is he to be taken to the Elms[398], and there undergo his punishment like other common thieves."
Not less in honour than was the gold-and-silver Banner of Saint Paul in the south, was the Banner of Saint John of Beverley in the north of England. It accompanied the heroic Edward the First in his wars in Scotland; and, besides the military bannerer, appears to have had a clerical custodian: as we learn from this curious document preserved in the Tower:—
"Rex dilecto et fideli suo, Johanni de Warenna, Comiti Surr', custodi suo regni et terræ Scotiæ, salutem.
"Cum nos, ob reverentiam Sancti Johannis de Beverlaco, gloriosi confessoris Christi, concesserimus dilecto clerico nostro Gileberto de Grymesby, qui Vexillum ejusdem Sancti ad nos usque partes Scotiæ, detulit, et ibidem de præcepto nostro cum Vexillo illo, durante guerra nostra Scotiæ, moram fecit, quandam ecclesiam, viginti marcarum vel librarum valorem annuum attingentem, ad nostram donationem spectantem, et in regno Scotiæ proximo vacaturam.
"Vobis mandamus quod præfato Gileberto, de hujusmodi ecclesia, in prædicto regno Scotiæ, provideri faciatis, quamprimum ad id optulerit se facultas.
"Teste Rege, apud Kyrkham xiij. die Octobris." (1296[399].)
The triangular Pennon occurs in many of the groups of the Painted Chamber. It is not always heraldically charged; but this may have arisen from the partial decay of the colours.
The Lance-flag, of one, of two, or of three points, may be seen in our woodcuts, Nos. 55, 62 and 80.
The Horns and Trumpets used in battle are not frequently represented in the pictures of the time; but good examples occur in Roy. MS. 20, D. i., and on Plate xxxvi. of the Painted Chamber. The trumpets are of two kinds, straight and slightly curved; and are figured as of four or five feet long. The straight trumpet appears on folio 222vo. of Roy. MS. 20, D. i.; and is borne as a heraldic charge on the shield of Sir Roger de Trumpington (woodcut, No. 73). The long, curved trumpet occurs on folio 21vo. of Roy. MS. 20, D. i. Both kinds are pictured in Plate xxxvi. of the Painted Chamber. The smaller semicircular Horn is drawn on folio 70 of 20, D. i.
From the collection of medieval "Proverbes" already cited, we learn that Spain was still the favourite mart for the knightly charger. Denmark and Brittany had also a celebrity for their breeds of horses of a different character. The fiat of popular approval is given to the
Such was the noble nature of the high-bred dextrarius that, when two knights had been dismounted and were continuing the fight on foot, their horses, left to themselves, instantly commenced a conflict of their own of the most gallant and desperate character. A representation of a double battle of this kind is given on folio 42 of Roy. MS. 12, F. xiii., a treatise "De natura Pecudum, Volucrum," &c. The form of the Saddle of this time, with its high pommel and cantle, may be seen in the Royal seals engraved on Plates 52, 79, 81 and 85; and again in the figure numbered 58. It was sometimes heraldically decorated. In the purchases for the Windsor Tournament[400], in 1278, we have:—
"D Felis͂ Le Seler. viij. sell' de arm̄ Angɫ. p'c͂. lxiiij. ɫi. P'i͂s.
"D Eodem. iiij. selle brond' de filo auri et argent͂ tract͂ videlicet una de arm̄ Rob'ti Tibetot una de arm̄ Joh͂is de Neele. j. de arm̄ Imb'ti Guidonis et una de arm̄ Comitis Cornub' p'c͂ xx/iiij. viij. ɫi.
"D Eodem. j. sella brond' eodem modo de arm̄ Joh͂is de Grely. c͂ scalop͂ argent' p'c͂. xxxviij. ɫi." &c.
On the seal of Alexander II. of Scotland, 1214—49, the king's saddle is ensigned with a lion rampant (Cotton Charter, xix. 2). And the seal of Robert Fitz-Walter, 1299, presents an analogous example (Plate xvii. of vol. v. of the Archæologia). The Stirrup of the period is shewn by numerous examples to have been triangular. See woodcuts, No. 47, 48 and 56. The Peytrel or breastplate was sometimes of plain fashion, as in the first seal of Henry III. (woodcut, No. 79): sometimes it had the pendent ornaments of the preceding period, as in the example on Plate xxxvii. of the Painted Chamber, where the pattern is a string of golden trefoils. From the Windsor Roll quoted above we find that the poitrail was of leather, and that this leather was occasionally gilt:—
"De Stephano de Perone xi. par͂. strep͂ et xi. pectoral' deaurat͂ p'c͂. xxij. ƚi.
"De eodem. iiij fren̄ cū pector͂ et strepis de corea. p'c͂. vi. ƚi.
"De eodem. ij. fren̄ ij. pector͂ et ij. strep͂ deaur͂. p'c͂. iiij. ƚi."
The Bridle presents two kinds of bits: one has the cheeks joined by a bar from their lower end, as in woodcut, No. 80; the other has no such cross-bar (see fol. 27 of Harl. MS. 3,244). The last quotation from the Windsor Roll shews us that the bridles were sometimes gilt. The group from the Painted Chamber on our woodcut, No. 82, offers a curious arrangement of the brow-band. The rounds in the original are gold-colour.
The Caparison of the knightly steed appears to have been of five kinds. 1. The horse has a "couverture" of chain-mail only. 2. The couverture is of quilted work. 3. The housing is of a light, fluttery material, probably covering an armour of chain-mail. 4. A light housing, heraldically decorated, which seems to have no armour beneath. 5. The horse has no furniture beyond the ordinary war-saddle, peytrel and bridle.
Of the mailed dextrier we have already had some notice in the preceding century (see page 169). The example here given is from the Painted Chamber.
The trapper of chain-mail occurs on two of the plates of that work: those numbered 31 and 37. A fragment of a similar defence is seen on the Shurland monument at Minster (Stothard, Pl. xli.). But representations of this kind of armament are of the greatest rarity. It is, however, often mentioned by the writers of the time; though, perhaps, not without some exaggeration of the numbers of mail-clad steeds gathered in the host. At the battle of Nuova Croce in 1237, between the imperialists and the Milanese, Matthew Paris tells us that: "A credible Italian asserted that Milan with its dependencies raised an army of six thousand men-at-arms with iron-clad horses[401]." The Chronicon Colmariense, under the year 1298, describing the force of "Australes, qui armis ferreis utebantur," brought against the duke of Austria, says: "Habebant et multos qui habebant dextrarios, id est, equos magnos. Hi equi cooperti fuerunt coopertoriis ferreis, id est, veste ex circulis ferreis contexta." An ordinance of Philip the Fair in 1303 provides that every holder of an estate of 500 livres rental, shall furnish for defence of the realm "un gentilhomme bien armé et monté à cheval de cinquante livres tournois et couvert de couvertures de fer ou de couverture pourpointé[402]." The particular use of the barding of steel or pourpointerie was to defend the horses against the missiles of the enemy. Sutcliffe's "Practice of Arms," written in the sixteenth century, when the musquet was rapidly supplanting the long-bow, has: "Use of late times hath brought in divers sorts of Horsemen, which, according to their armes and furniture, have divers names. Some Horse are barded; others without bardes. The French Men-of-armes, in times past, used barded Horses, for feare of our Arrowes. Nowe, since Archerie is not so much reckoned of, and Bardes are but a weak defence against Shotte, Lanciers, leaving their bardes, are armed much like to the Albanian Stradiots."
The pourpointed housing is named in the ordinance of Philip IV. quoted above, and it may probably be implied in most cases where we read of a "cheval couvert." Rigord, under 1214, (battle of Bovines,) describes the approach of the Imperialists on their barded horses: "Dixit quod viderat equos militum coopertos, ... quod erat evidentissimum pugnæ signum." In a roll of expenses, of 1294, given by Du Cange[403], "Pour les gages de Monsieur Bertran Massole, retenu aux gages accoustumez pour lui et deux Ecuyers," we read: "Et estoit luy et autre à chevaux couverts, et un autre sans cheval couvert:" and again: "Pour onze Ecuyers à chevaux couverts, à chacun vii. sols vi. deniers par jour, et pour deux qui n'ont point chevaux couverts, chacun v. sols."
In England, the armed horse came into use between the years 1285 and 1298; for, while the Statute of Winchester in 1285 makes no mention of any defence for the steed, the Statute of 27 Edw. I. in every case requires such an armament:—
"Le Rey ad ordene qe sire Thomas de Furnivall voit en les contees de Notingham et de Derb', de eslire, trier, ordener et asseer gentz d'armes en meismes les contez, aussi bien a chival come a pie, de toutz ceus qui sont de age d'entre vint anns e seissaunte: ensi qe chescun qe eyt xxx. liverees de terre, seit mis a un chival covert: e de seissaunte liverees, a deux chivaux covertz: e se vers mount de chescune xxx. liveree de terre, a un chival covert. E s'il eit plus avant qe xxx. liveree de terre e ne mie seisaunte, qe en ceo qe il avera entre les xxx. livereez, seit joint e mis a un autre qe serra de meisme la condicion.
"E de ceus qui averont meins de trente liveree de terre en aval jusqes a seisaunte soudes, e de ceus qe out seisaunte soudees, e de seisaunte soudees en amount, soient enjoingnz e mis as autres qe serront de meisme l'estat, de si qe il seient a xxx. liverees, e adunkes soient assis a un chival covert: ensi qe chescune trente liveree de terre, aussi de greindres come de meindres, face un chival covert.
"E face le dit sire Thomas mettre en roulle les nouns de touz ceaus qi serront assis as chivaux covertz, e le noumbre des chivaux par eus severeaument de chescun wapentakel, e aussi les nouns de gent a pe par eus.
"E ausitost come il avera ce fet, distinctement e apertement de ce certifie le Rey.
"Don' a Noef Chastel sur Tyne, le xxv. jour de Novembre[404]."
The housing of a lighter material seems to be presented to us in the engravings, Nos. 47, 72 and 80. The folds of the drapery in these examples have in no degree the character of a stiff quilted garment. The last of the three miniatures (from the Lives of the Offas) is further curious from its exhibiting in the same group the horse with and without its housing. The caparisoned steed in front is that of King Offa the First, who leads his troops to the defeat of the Scots. A very early example of the trapper is found in the seal of Saer de Quinci, earl of Winchester, 1210—19: engraved in Laing's Scottish Seals, Plate xi. In this monument, too, the housing is armoried; which seems to shew that the heraldic and the plain housing were introduced simultaneously. Neither of them was at this early time a necessary concomitant of knightly dignity; for we find no English royal seal exhibiting the caparisoned steed till the time of Edward I. (See woodcut, No. 85.) Another early instance of the armorial trapper is afforded by the seal of Hugo de Vere, earl of Oxford, 1221-63[405]; and in this, as in other examples, it will be remarked that, while the couverture of the horse is decorated with heraldic devices, the surcoat of the knight is altogether plain. The seal here given, of Roger de Quinci, earl of Winchester from 1219 to 1264, has the same arrangement.
Other examples of the armoried housing will be found in the Lives of the Offas, the Painted Chamber, in the seal of Patrick, earl of March, 1292 (Laing, p. 54), in the monument of Edmund Crouchback, 1296, (Stothard, Pl. xliii.) and in our engravings, Nos. 47 and 85.
Towards the end of the thirteenth century came in the fashion of ornamenting the head of the horse with a Fan Crest, similar to that fixed on the helm of the knight. This fan crest for the horse is a decoration of very high antiquity: it appears among the Assyrian sculptures, and again among the Lycian marbles in the British Museum. See the engravings at page 159 and page 285 of Mr. Vaux's able work on our national collection. The seal of Patrick Dunbar, earl of March, 1292, affords a good example of knight and steed decorated with the fan crest: it is figured in Laing's Ancient Scottish Seals, page 54. In the provision for the Windsor Tournament in 1278, crests are furnished for every knight and every horse[406]:—
They were in this case made of parchment, and fastened by means of nails or rivets and "chastones":—
The clavones are again mentioned in the Wardrobe Accounts of King Edward I. in 1300[407]: "factura diversorum armorum, vexillorum, et penocellorum, pro Domino Edwardo filio Regis et Johanne de Lancastria, jamberis, poleyns, platis, uno capello ferri, una Cresta cum clavis argenti pro eodem capello," &c. The chasto (Fr. châton) was a kind of socket or cavity, but the particular arrangement of it in fixing the crest has not been ascertained.
About the same time we first hear of a defence for the horse of the nature of the later chanfrein. The same Windsor Roll of 1278 gives us the earliest notice of these "copita" of leather, made after the fashion (de similitudine) of horses' heads:—
"D Milon̄ le Cuireur͂. xxxviij. copita cor͂ de similitud' capīt equoȝ p'̄c pēc ij. s."
They appear again in 1301, under the name of testaræ (or testeræ) in the Indenture of Delivery of the Castle of Montgomery to William de Leyburn (Cott. MS. Vitell. C. x. fol. 154): "Item liberavit eidem iij. par͂ coopertorum ferri et ij. Testaras et v. loricas cum capite et v. sine capite," &c.
The thirteenth century appears to have retained all the Engines for the approach and attack of towns that were in use during the preceding age. In this century we first obtain pictorial evidence of the form and principle of the mangona or trebuchet of the middle-ages, and from this valuable testimony we learn that the motive power of torsion employed during the classic period is no longer in favour; but instead, we have a machine from which, by means of a counterpoised beam, a large stone is cast forth from a sling fixed at one end of the beam. We have already (page 330) referred to the drawings of these instruments in an Arabic manuscript of this century, used by Captain Favé and M. Reinaud in their work, Du feu grégeois, &c. Other early representations occur in Roy. MS. 16, G. vi., copied in Shaw's "Dresses and Decorations;" in the ivory carving figured in the fourth volume of the Journal of the Archæological Association, and in the Études sur l'Artillerie of the Emperor of the French, Vol. ii. Plate iii. In the work of Gilles Colonne[408], written for his pupil, Philip the Fair of France, we have a distinct account of four varieties of the trébuchet: "Of pierriers," he says, "there are four kinds, and in all these machines there is a beam which is raised and lowered by means of a counterpoise, a sling being attached to the end of the beam to discharge the stone. Sometimes the counterpoise is not sufficient, and then they attach ropes to it, in order to move the beam. The counterpoise may either be fixed or moveable, or both at once. In the fixed counterpoise, a box is fastened to the end of the beam, and filled with stones or sand, or any heavy body. These machines, anciently called trabutium, cast their missiles with most exactness, because the weight acts in a uniform manner. Their aim is so sure that one may, so to say, hit a needle. If the gyn carries too far, it must be drawn back or loaded with a heavier stone: if the contrary, then it must be advanced or a smaller stone supplied. For without attention to the weight of the stone, one cannot hope to reach the given mark.
"Others of these machines have a moveable counterpoise attached to the beam, turning upon an axis. This variety was by the Romans named biffa. The third kind, which is called tripantum, has two weights: one fixed to the beam and the other moveable around it: by this means, it throws with more exactness than the biffa, and to a greater distance than the trebuchet. The fourth sort, in lieu of weights fixed to the beam, has a number of ropes; and is discharged by means of men pulling simultaneously at the cords. This last kind does not cast such large stones as the others, but it has the advantage that it may be more rapidly loaded and discharged than they. In using the perriers by night, it is necessary to attach a lighted body to the projectile: by this means, one may discover the force of the machine, and regulate the weight of the stone accordingly[409]."
The trebuchet arranged with cords is represented in the treatise Du feu grégeois noticed above, and in the Études sur l'Artillerie, vol. ii. Pl. iii. Those familiar with the sights of the Thames will not fail to be struck with the curious resemblance between this ancient engine of warfare and the apparatus by which a gang of colliers raise the cargo from the hold of their ships.
Matthew Paris mentions the plying by day and by night of the terrible trebuchet. Under 1246, he gives us the letter of Master Walter de Ocra, a clerk of the Emperor, to the king of England, recounting the events of the Italian campaign: "About eight days before the end of last July, my Lord laid siege to the Castle of Capaccio, in which were (certain knights) traitors to him, and who had attempted his life, with a hundred and fifty others, including knights, cross-bowmen, and other friends of theirs; all of whom my said Lord, by uninterrupted discharges of missiles, day and night, from seven well-ordered Trebuchets, and by vigorous and unceasing assaults, also made night and day, reduced to such a helpless state that they could not assist one another[410]." The castle was finally taken and destroyed, the garrison punished by loss of eye-sight and other mutilations; and the six leaders who had attempted the life of the Emperor, having partaken the punishment of their comrades, were by the imperial order "sent to all the kings and princes throughout the various countries of the world, with the impression of the papal bull, which was found there, stamped on their foreheads, to give public notice of their treachery."
The trebuchets were sometimes distinguished by particular names, a fancy already begun in the "Mate-Griffon" of Cœur-de-Lion's war-tower, and afterwards largely indulged in the great bombards of the fifteenth and succeeding centuries. In 1303, when the Bernese besieged Wimmis, they had two trebuchets, one of which was named La fille de bois, the other L'Âne[411].
In 1850, under the direction of the present Emperor of the French, a trebuchet of large dimensions was constructed after the ancient monuments, and set up at the École d'Artillerie at Vincennes. A minute account of its formation and the experiments made with it, has been given in the Report to the Minister of War by Capt. Favé: this report is printed in the Études sur l'Artillerie, vol. ii. page 38.
The projectiles thrown from the ancient trebuchets were rounded stones, barrels of Greek fire or other incendiary compositions, and occasionally the putrid bodies of animals, when the siege was obstinately prolonged, or the combatants were greatly exasperated. The rounded stones are particularly mentioned by Guiart:—
The English seem to have been somewhat behindhand in the construction of their perriers, for Matthew Paris tells us that in 1253 the Gascons hurled stones and darts of such wonderful size on the army of the king, that many of them were carried into England, to be exhibited as curiosities[412].
The mangonel was used also in sea-fights. In the Additamenta to the Historia Major of Matthew Paris, we have an account of the taking of Damietta, in which occurs this passage: "Et lapides de mangonellis navalibus, qui sic parabantur ut quinque vel sex lapides simul longo jacerent[413]." It does not seem, however, (as it has been suggested,) that we have here the description of an engine which threw five or six stones at once: we must rather understand that five or six mangonels were so managed as to shoot in volleys.
Another variety of the trebuchet was the Biblia or Bible; but its distinctive character has not been ascertained. It is mentioned in 1238: "adducens secum Bibliam, Petrariam et caetera bellica instrumenta[414]." And in the Roman de Claris:
And again, in the same romance:—
Other names occur at this time, indicating machines for casting stones: some of these are probably mere synonyms of the words already noticed; and of the particular mechanism implied by others, it is vain, in the absence of cotemporary drawings, to hope for an exact idea.
Besides the engines of the mangona kind, formed by a sling and weight, there was another class constructed on the principle of the cross-bow. The Spingarda and Spingardella (Espringale) appear to have been arbalests mounted on frames with wheels, somewhat after the manner of the field-pieces of our own day. The French used them against the Flemings at the battle of Mons-en-Puelle in 1304:—
They shot forth, not only stones, but darts or quarrels:—
They were also called Arbalestes à tour, and under this name are included by Christine de Pisan (in the fourteenth century) in the armament for a strong siege: "Deux cens arbalestres, trente autres arbalestes à tour, et cent autres à croc, ... douze tours tous neufs, à tendre arbalestres," &c. From the last item we see very clearly that the distinctive name of this arbalest was derived from the instrument used to bend its powerful bow. The figure of an espringale mounted on its carriage is given in the Études sur l'Artillerie, vol. i. Plate i.
The old contrivances to cover the sappers as they approached the walls of a besieged place, still continued in use: the Cat, the Cat-castle (chat-chastel) the Vinea, and other varieties of the mantlet occurring frequently in the chronicles and poems of the time. The king, in the Roman de Claris,
In 1256, the Papal troops, led by the Archbishop of Ravenna, attack Padua, defended by the partisans of the tyrant Eccelino; the archbishop, surrounded by a medley of knights and monks, soldiers and priests, assaulted the city at the gate of the Ponte Altinato: they had made their approaches under cover of a "kind of moveable gallery which they called Vinea." The defendants from their walls poured burning pitch and boiling oil upon the wooden vinea, so that it took fire; but the city gate being also of wood, the besiegers pushed the machine close to the gate, burnt it down and entered the place[415].
The Moveable Towers also were still in vogue. Under the name of berfrois, they are mentioned in the passage on a preceding page from the Roman de Claris. Under the year 1204 they are named by Guiart:—
In Roy. MS. 20, D. i., of about the close of this century, the wooden Tower occurs in several of the miniatures. It is constructed in the manner of a scaffolding, having at the top an open platform filled with archers: its height, that of the city walls, close to which it is placed. Examples will be found on folios 305, 306 and 317. The besieged, when they were able to discover the point to which the assaulting tower was to be moved, loosened the soil in that spot by digging; so that, when the ponderous machine arrived, it was overturned by its fore-wheels sinking into the soft earth[416]. The Chat-Chastel combined the beffroi and the cattus.
But the best account that can be offered of the Siege operations of this time, is furnished by a cotemporary writer, the Seneschal of Carcassone; himself the commander of the defending forces. This very curious document is preserved in the Archives of France, and has been published in the Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes, vol. vii. p. 363. Carcassone was besieged in the autumn of 1240 by the son of the Vicomte de Béziers; and the defender of the city, Guillaume des Ormes, sends to Queen Blanche, regent of the kingdom during the absence of Saint Louis, an exact account of the proceedings. Carcassone was surrounded with a double wall, furnished as usual with towers, and having several barbicans in advance of its various gates. The object of the Barbican was to afford the besieged the means of a flanking attack: it was formed something like a street, with a wall on each side, terminating in a kind of open tower: and it thus became necessary that the enemy should act in the first instance against this outwork; for, by assaulting the curtain, they would be exposed to a flank attack from the barbican, and might also be assailed in the rear by sorties from the head of the work.
"To his most excellent and highly illustrious mistress, Blanche, by the grace of God, Queen of the French, William des Ormes, Seneschal of Carcassone, her humble and devoted servant, greeting and faithful service.
"Madame, this is to let you know that the city of Carcassone was besieged by him who calls himself the Viscount, and by his accomplices, on the Monday following the Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Mary[417]. And immediately we who were within the city took from them the suburb Graveillant, which is before the Toulouse gate; and thence we obtained much timber, which was of great use to us. The said suburb extended from the Barbican of the city as far as the corner of the said city. And the same day, our enemies, through the multitude of their forces, took from us a mill. Afterwards, Olivier de Termes, Bernard Hugon de Serre-Longue, Géraud d'Aniort, and those who were with them, lodged themselves between the corner of the city and the water; and there, on the same day, by means of the ditches in that spot, and by breaking up the roads which lay between them and us, they so fortified themselves that we could by no means get at them.
"On another side, between the bridge and the Castle Barbican, Pierre de Fenouillet and Renaud de Puy, Guillaume Fort, Pierre de la Tour, and many others of Carcassone, established themselves. And at both these places they had so many Cross-bowmen[418], that no man could stir out of the city without being wounded. Afterwards they set up a mangonel before our barbican, when we lost no time in opposing to it from within an excellent Turkish petrary[419], which played upon the mangonel and those about it; so that when they essayed to cast upon us, and saw the beam of our petrary in motion, they fled, utterly abandoning their mangonel. And in that place they made ditches and palisades. Yet, as often as we discharged our petrary, we drove them from it, still being unable to approach the spot on account of the ditches, the pits, and the bolts from their bows(?)—propter fossata, quarellos et puteos qui ibi erant.
"Moreover, Madame, they began to mine at the barbican of the Narbonne gate; and we, having by listening ascertained where they were at work, proceeded to countermine; and we built within the barbican a strong stone wall, so as still to retain half the barbican in surety: they then set fire to the props of their mine, and a breach was made in the outer part of our barbican.
"They also began to mine against another tower (tornellam) of the outer ballium, but by countermining we succeeded in dispossessing them of the work. Afterwards they began (to mine) beneath another wall, and destroyed two of our battlements (cranellos de liceis): but we speedily set up a good strong palisade between us.
"They mined also at the corner of the city, towards the bishop's house, and beginning their mine from a very great distance, they came beneath a certain Saracenic wall (murum sarraceneum[420]) to the wall of the ballium, which, when we perceived, we forthwith made a good strong palisade between us and them, and countermined. Then they set fire to the props of their mine, and brought down about ten fathoms of our battlements. But we speedily made a good strong palisade, on the top of which we constructed a good bretèche[421], with good loopholes for arrows; so that none of them dared to come near us in this place.
"They began also to mine at the barbican of the Porte de Rhodez, working underneath in order to reach our wall; and in that place they formed a wonderfully large passage. But when we perceived this, we immediately made, on each side of their work, a great and strong palisade; and we also countermined, and having broken into their mine, speedily dispossessed them of it.
"Be it further known to you, Madame, that, from the beginning of the siege, they have never ceased making assaults. But we had such good store of cross-bows, and of brave fellows determined to resist to the utmost, that they never assaulted us but with very great loss to themselves.
"At length, on a certain Sunday, they got together all their men-at-arms, cross-bowmen, and others, and in a body made an assault on the barbican below the castle: but we went down into the barbican, and discharged so many stones and quarrels against them that we forced them to retire; many being killed or wounded. On the following Sunday, after the Feast of St. Michael, they made a very fierce assault. But we, thanks to the brave defence of our men, repulsed them, killing and wounding many: on our side, not one was either slain or mortally wounded.
"The day after, towards the evening, hearing, Madame, that your troops were approaching to relieve us, the enemy set fire to the suburb of Carcassone. They have entirely destroyed the buildings of the Friars Minor, and those of the monastery of the Blessed Mary, in the suburb, using the timber from them to construct their palisades. But at night all the besiegers furtively withdrew; and, with them, those of the suburb.
"In sooth, Madame, we were well prepared to hold out much longer; for, during the whole siege, not one of your people, however poor his estate, ever suffered for want of food; and we had corn and meat enough for a much more obstinate resistance, if need had been. Be it known to you, Madame, that these evil-doers, on the second day of their coming, slew thirty-three priests and other holy men whom they met on entering the suburb. Know also, Madame, that the Seigneur P. de Voisin, your Constable of Carcassone, R. de Capendu, and Gerard d'Ermenville, have greatly distinguished themselves in this affair. But the Constable, by his vigilance, his bravery and his daring, is entitled to the chief praise of all. On other matters concerning the district, we can better render a faithful account, Madame, when we shall be in your presence. In a word, they began mines against us in seven different places: but we in most cases countermined them, and offered a stout opposition. They commenced their mines at their own quarters, so that we knew nothing of their approach till they were near our walls.
"Given at Carcassone, 13 Oct. 1240.
"Know, Madame, that the enemy burned the castles and towns which they passed in their flight."
The town of Carcassone in its present state is probably the most perfect fortification of the middle ages in existence. The whole of the walls, towers, barbicans, ditches, and even the drawbridges, are still in being, and wonderfully little injured, considering that they date from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Enough remains to restore the whole perfectly, without doubt or hesitation. An admirable series of plans and drawings of these interesting fortifications has been made by M. Viollet-Le-Duc for the French Government, shewing every part in its actual state, and an equally complete series of designs for their restoration, representing them exactly as they appeared at the siege so well described by the Seneschal. The accounts relating to the building of these walls and the preparations for their defence, are preserved in the French archives. The very valuable and interesting series of drawings named above was exhibited by the French government in the Architectural Gallery of the Exposition des Beaux Arts in 1855, and a great part of them are beautifully engraved on a reduced scale in the "Essai sur l'Architecture Militaire du Moyen-Age," already noticed. In these plans the situation of the castle on one side of the town, and of the different barbicans as described by the Seneschal, are very clearly marked. There are a few barbicans remaining perfect in England, as at Warwick and Alnwick.
The siege of Bedford Castle in 1224 affords another good example of the mode of attacking a stronghold at this period. The garrison in this instance were rebels to the king; their leader, one Fawkes, a foreigner, a partisan of the Bishop of Winchester; though not himself present at the time of the siege. The castle was invested by the king himself. Two lofty towers of wood, of the kind already described, were raised by the walls and filled with archers. Seven mangonæ cast forth ponderous stones from morning till night. Sappers approached the walls under cover of the Cat. First, the barbican, then the outer ballium, was taken. A breach in the second wall soon after gave the besiegers admission to the inner bailey. The donjon still held out, and the royalists proceeded to attack it by means of their sappers. A sufficient portion of the foundations having been removed, the stanchions were set on fire, one of the angles sank deep into the ground, and a wide rent laid open the interior of the keep. The garrison now planted the royal standard on the tower, and sent the women to implore mercy. But a severe example was required, in order to strike terror among the disaffected in other quarters of the realm. The knights and others, therefore, to the number of eighty, were hanged; the archers were sent into Palestine, to redeem their fault by fighting against the enemies of the faith; while their leader, Fawkes, who now surrendered himself at Coventry, was banished from the island[422].
Matthew Paris records the existence of a singular and somewhat poetical Monument of Victory, left to celebrate the capture of a castle in the Campagna of Rome. The emperor "had taken a castle near Montfort, belonging to the nephews and other relatives of the pope, which he, the pope, had newly built with the money of the Crusaders. The emperor destroyed the fortress, hanged all whom he found therein, and in token of the destruction of it, left a sort of tower half-destroyed, that the memory of the offence, as well as of his vengeance, might never die[423]."
Sea-fights were still achieved by the same knights, men-at-arms, archers and "satellites," as contended in land warfare. A good pictorial example of a naval battle of this time occurs on folio 357 of Roy. MS. 20, D. i. See also fol. 23vo of the same MS., for the picture of an armed fleet. Further examples of a similar kind will be found in this very curious volume, as well as of Tents and many other objects of military use.
Tournaments continued to enjoy a large amount of favour among the nobles and knights, and their retainers: but princes began to see that these great armed meetings of their powerful vassals, in the facilities they afforded for combinations against the royal power, and in the imposing exhibition of the baronial force and dignity necessarily involved in these pageants, were full of danger to the kingly order; and, in consequence, forbade their celebration except under express permission of the sovereign[424]. The plea was, the dangers incurred by the competitors at these mock battles, and the disorders to which they sometimes led. And indeed it was not difficult to justify the prohibition on these grounds. Among many instances that might be quoted of the tumultuous termination of a tournament, we may notice that of Rochester in 1251. "In this same year," says Paris[425], "on the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin, a fierce Tournament was held at Rochester between the English and foreigners, in which the foreigners were so shamefully beaten that they disgracefully fled to the city for refuge; but, being met by knights coming in an opposite direction, they were again attacked, despoiled, and soundly beaten with sticks and staves: and thus they returned with much interest the blows and injuries they had received at the tournament of Brackley. The anger and hatred between the English and foreigners increased in consequence, and became daily more fearful." Another striking example of this century is the hastilude between King Edward I. and the Count of Châlons in 1274, which was of so serious a nature as to receive the name of "La petite Bataille de Châlons." The king, returning from the Holy Land, to take possession of his crown, was invited by the Count to participate in a tourney which he was preparing. The king's company is said to have been a thousand only, while those engaged on the Count's side are estimated at double the number. But this is the estimate of English chroniclers. The tourneyers met near Châlons, some on horseback, others on foot, armed with swords. The Count, who was a very powerful man, singled out the king for an antagonist; cast aside his sword, threw his arms round the neck of the monarch, and used all his force to drag him from his horse. But the king, taking advantage of the tight hold by which the Count had fixed himself to his person, and relying on his own strength, suddenly clapped spurs to his horse, carried away the Count out of his saddle, and then by a violent shake tumbled him to the ground. Being remounted, the Count renewed the attack, but with no greater success than before. His knights, meanwhile, exasperated at the discomfiture of their leader, began to assail the English with all the rancour of real warfare. The English returned wound for wound: the "Joust of Peace" became a "Joûte à outrance:" Edward's archers plied their terrible arrows, routed the troops opposed to them, rushed upon the knights, slew their steeds or cut their saddle-girths, so as to bring to the ground many a sturdy baron and rich prisoner[426].
Of the mandates issued for the suppression of tournaments, many examples have come down to us. The Fœdera contains a considerable number. Some were sent forth by the temporal prince, others were launched by the spiritual arm; for it was no difficult matter in these days to obtain the pope's aid in any scheme of this nature, where a benevolent intention could be assigned, and a liberal douceur had been supplied. In 1220, Pandulf the legate forbids a tournament in England, under pain of the forfeiture of goods and of excommunication[427]. In 1234, the king of England charges his subjects that they offend not by tourneying or behourding (buhurdare vel torneare[428]). In 1255 the royal inhibition is again sent forth, and the reason given for its publication is the peril of Prince Edward in Gascony: "eo quod Edwardus, filius Regis in gravi periculo existit in Wasconia[429]." 1265 is the date of another[430]. In 1299, the king again issues his mandate: this time with penalties of peculiar severity. The knight is forbidden "sub forisfacturâ vite et membrorum, et omnium que tenet in dicto regno, torneare, bordeare, seu justas facere, aventuras querere, aut aliàs ad arma ire, quoquo modo, sine nostrâ licenciâ speciali." Should any dare to disobey, then they are forthwith to be arrested and placed in safe custody, "corpora ipsorum, unà cum equis et hernesio suis[431]."
Whilst, however, the monarch of timid character and jealous of his baronage, looked with disrelish on the Tournament, the prince of an enterprising disposition and skilled in military exercises, naturally regarded with more complacency a pastime in which his own achievements were placed in the most brilliant light, and the respect and attachment of his nobles secured, by the exhibition of those qualities on which they themselves founded their chief claim to power and distinction. Thus, in the thirteenth century, when the king (Henry III.) had created eighty new knights, the gallant Prince Edward accompanied them to a tournament which had been proclaimed on the continent, "that each might try his strength, as was the custom with newly-made knights[432]." In 1253, the Earl of Gloucester with a companion also went abroad, to take part in a marriage festivity and in a tournament which followed it: an adventure in which they were so roughly handled by the antagonist knights as to require daily fomentations and bathing to restore them to health[433].
Regarding the equipment of the knights and their assistants at the Tournament, there are two documents of this century which are of the highest interest and afford the most curious information. These are the "Statutum Armorum ad Torniamenta," compiled previous to 1295; and the roll detailing the "Empciones facte contra Torniamentum de Parco de Windsore," in the 6th year of Edward I.; from the latter of which we have already extracted some passages illustrative of various portions of the knightly armament.
By the tournament statute we learn that there existed at this time a sort of Court of Honour, to judge all disputes and delinquencies that might arise during the celebration of the games; and the members of it were the king's eldest son, Prince Edward; Edmund, earl of Lancaster; William de Valence, earl of Pembroke; Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester; and the earl of Lincoln. As De Valence, the last of his name, died in 1296, and the earl of Gloucester in 1295, the date of this document cannot of course be later than the year last quoted[434]. It is not unworthy of note that the effigies of two of these Judges of the Tournament, fully equipped in the trappings of armed knighthood, have been preserved to our days: the monuments of Edmund Crouchback and of William de Valence in Westminster Abbey are among the most curious memorials that can be consulted by the student of ancient military costume. There are several copies of the statute extant. The following, from a manuscript in the Bodleian Library, has been selected by the Record Commission as the most trustworthy[435]:—
"A la requeste de Contes e de Barons e de la Chivalrie de Englet're, ordine est e p̰ nostro Seignr le Rey comaunde: qe nul ne seit si hardi desoremes, Conte ne Baron ne autre Chivaler, qe al Torney voysent de aver plus qe treys Esquiers armez, pur li servir al Turney: e qe chescun Esquier porte chapel des armes son Seignur qe il servira a la jornee pur enseygne.
"E qe nul Ch͂r ne Esquier qe sert al Turney ne porte espeie a point, ne cotel a point, ne bastoun, ne mace, fors espee large pur turneer. E qe tuz les baneors, qe baners portent, seent armez de mustilers[436], e de quisers[437], e de espaulers, e de bacyn[438] sanz plus.
"E sil avent qe nul Conte ou Baron ou autre Chivaler voyse encontre le estatut p̰ le assent e le comaundem̄t nostre Seignr Sire Edward, fiz le Rey, e Sire Eumond frere le Rey, e Sire Willeme de Valence, e Sire Gilb͂t de Clare, e le Cunte de Nichole[439], qe celi Chivaler, qe issint s'ra trove en forfetaunt en nul poynt encontre le estatut, seyt encurru cele peyne: qe il perde chival e armes, e demeorge en prison a la volunte de avaūtdiz Sire Edward, Sire Eumond, e le autres. E qe le Esquier qe serra trove fesaunt encontre le estatut, qe issi est devise, en acun poynt, perde chival e herneys[440] e seyt iij. aunz en la prison. E qe nul sake[441] Chivaler a terre, fors ceus qe serrunt armez pur lur Seignr servir, qe le Chivaler pusse recovrir son chival, e cely seit en la forfeture des Esquiers avaunt diz.
"E qe nul fiz de graunt Seignur, ceo est asaver, de Conte ou de Baron, ne seit arme fors de mustilers, e de quisers, e de espaulers, e de bacynet, saunz plus, e qe nul aporte cutel a poynte, ne espeye, ne mace, fors espee large. E si nul seit trove qe, en ascun de ceos poynz, alast encontre le estatut, qe il perde son chival le quel il serra munte a la jornee, e seit en la prison un an.
"E qe ceus qe vendrunt pur veer le turnem̄t ne seent armez de nule manere de armure, ne qe il ne portent ne espee, ne cutel, ne bastun, ne mace, ne perre, sur la forfeture des Esquiers avauntdiz. E qe nul garson, ne hom̄e a pee ne porte espee, ne cutel, ne baston, ne perrer: e si il seent trovez enforfetaunt, qe il seyent emprisonez vij. aunz.
"E si acun graunt Seignr ou autre teygne mangerie, qe nul esquier ne ameyne eynz fors ceus qe trencherunt devaunt lur Seignurs.
"E qe nul Roy de Haraunz ne Menestrals[442] portent privez armez, ne autres forz lur espees saunz poynte. E qe le Reys des Harraunz eyent lur huces des armes saunz plus." &c.
This document affords us some curious glimpses at the customs of the time; not less by what it forbids than by what it ordains. A tournament in which the combatants are liable to be pelted by the stones and slings of the varlets and other lookers-on, does not give us a very exalted idea of these festivals; and, for a holiday game, the rules seem oddly severe which decree that the poor squire who infringes them shall lose horse and armour, and "demeorge iij. aunz en la prison."
The Roll of Purchases made for the Tournament of Windsor Park, "per manum Adinetti cissoris," is preserved in the Tower of London, and bears date 9th of July in the sixth year of Edward I. (1278). The jousts were of the kind called "Jousts of Peace," and the knights for whom armour is provided are thirty-eight in number. Of these, twelve are styled "digniores," and wore gilded helms, while the remainder had head-pieces that were silvered only. A "memorandum" informs us that each suit consisted of one coat-of-fence, one surcoat, one pair of ailettes, two crests (of which, one for the horse), one shield, one helm of leather, and one sword made of whalebone. "Md qđ in quo ̱p h͂ne͂s fu'unt j. Tunic' ar͂m: j. coo̱ptor͂: j. par͂ alett͂. Itm̄ ij. Crest͂ & j. Blazon̄ & una galea cor͂ & j. ensis de Balon̄." Each coat-of-fence was composed of a Cuirass and Arm-defences. The cuirasses (quirettæ) being supplied by "Milo the Currier," were probably of leather, as the helms were: "De Milon̄ le Cuireur͂. xxxviij. quiret͂: p'̄c pēc iij. s." For each of them were furnished two ells of the cloth called "Carda;" while eight pieces of "Diaper" contributed to the formation of the whole thirty-eight:—
