The peus, or pieux, were pikes; the tineus were poles used to carry the grape-tubs at the vintage, which, when converted into instruments of war, we may suppose were armed with heads of iron. The idea of contention by throwing stones is by no means a mere poetical fancy of our author. Froissart even tells us of a victory achieved by this means. A band of French knights and nobles going to attack a section of the Free Companies, these latter posted themselves on a hill, and being well provided with stones, "cast them so forcibly upon those who approached, that they broke their bassinets, however strong they might be, and wounded and maimed the men-at-arms to such an extent, that none either could or dared to advance further, however good his shield might be, (tant bien targé qu'il fut). And this first division was so thoroughly crushed that never again could it do good service." Reinforcements arriving to the Companies, a more regular onset was made: "Que vous ferois-je long parlement? De celle besogne dont vous oyez parler, les François en eurent pour lors le pieur[228]."

In the manufacture of arms, the steel of Poitou had already become celebrated. John, monk of Marmoustier, who lived in the middle of the twelfth century, in describing the knighting of Geoffry, duke of Normandy, tells us that he had a lance of ash, armed with a head of Poitou steel. Malmesbury distinguishes also Lorraine. "At the siege of Antioch," he says, "Godfrey of Bouillon, with a Lorrainian sword, cut asunder a Turk who had demanded single combat, so that one half of the man lay panting on the ground, while the other half was carried off by the horse at full speed; so firmly did the unbeliever keep his seat. Another also, who attacked him, he clave asunder from the neck to the groin; nor did the dreadful stroke stop here, but cut entirely through the saddle and the backbone of the horse." Hungary had at a very early period enjoyed a celebrity for its weapon manufacture. Charlemagne, writing to Offa of Mercia, offering him presents for his churches, adds: "And for your own acceptance I send a belt, a Hungarian sword, and two silk mantles[229]." The method of hardening steel, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, by immersion, when red hot, in cold water, may be seen in Theophilus Presbyter, lib. iii. cap. 19.

The Flags and Standards in use during this period were the prince's standards, the banner, the pennon, and the small lance-flag or streamer. The consecrated standard of William I., bestowed by the Pope, appears to be represented on the ninth plate of the Bayeux tapestry, where it is figured of a square form and ensigned with a cross. It was carried near the person of William throughout the day by the knight Toustain: "Turstinus, filius Rollonis vexillum Normannorum portavit[230]."

It was also used to indicate any danger into which the leader might have fallen. Thus, when Philip Augustus was unhorsed at the battle of Bovines, Rigord tells us that his standard-bearer signified the king's peril by depressing the Royal Standard several times over the spot.

The Dragon-standard, of which we have seen some examples in our first division, is still found among the Germans and the English. We have already observed its exact form in the pictures of Harold in the Bayeux tapestry. It accompanied the hosts of Richard Cœur-de-Lion. Richard of Devizes, in recording the attack upon the "Griffones" at Messina, says: "The king of England proceeded in arms: the terrible standard of the Dragon is borne in front; while, behind the king, the sound of the trumpet excites the army[231]." Hoveden, under date 1191, tells us that Richard "delivered his Dragon (Draconem suum) to be borne by Peter de Pratellis." Guillaume le Breton, in the Philippidos, gives to the Emperor Otho a standard formed of a dragon and an eagle.

Guiart has a similar passage; adding that the Dragon of the emperor—

The Car-standard, or Carrocium, of the English king Stephen has already been noticed in the sketch of the battle of Cuton Moor, (p. 107.) The Carrocio of the Milanese was still regarded as their Palladium.

Banners were carried by knights banneret, by the Church Advocati, and by the Town troops, or Communitates Parochiarum. The knight's banner, as we have already seen, was square; and, as soon as heraldic devices became settled, was ensigned with the bearing of the leader to whom it belonged. Its especial use was to muster and to rally the troops of the banneret:—

Bishops and abbots appointed knights to defend their possessions, to lead their contingent, and to fight under their banner. These advocati in time made their office hereditary. The Counts of Vexin were the avoués of the Abbey of St. Denis, and the lands of Vexin coming into the possession of the kings of France, these monarchs acquired the office of bannerers of the abbey. Thus the plain red flag of St. Denis became, under the name of the Oriflamme, the most distinguished banner of the French monarchy.

It was Louis le Gros who united the county of Vexin to the crown of France[232].

A very curious variety of the knightly banner occurs on the twelfth plate of the Bayeux tapestry; the flag is semicircular, is ensigned with a bird within a bordure, and has a fringe at the edge. Mr. Worsaae has suggested that this bird, which appears on the Norman side, may be the Raven of the Old-Northmen, retained by their descendants in honour of the deeds of their forefathers.

The banners of the communal troops bore the effigies of Saints, each parish gathering round the flag on which its particular saint was portrayed. This usage was as old as the time of Louis VI. of France: "Tunc ergo communitas in Francia popularis instituta est a præsulibus, ut presbyteri commitarentur Regi ad obsidionem vel pugnam cum Vexillis et parochianis omnibus[233]."

The word Gonfanon, Guntfano, so frequently occurring in the writings of this period, seems to be indifferently applied to the leader's standard, the knightly banner, and the lance-flag. It has been derived from the German kunden, indicare, and Fahne, vexillum; or from Fahne and the Old-Scandinavian Gunna, prœlium. Mr. Kemble inclines to the latter derivation; see glossary to Beowulf, in v. Guth. A capitulary of Charles the Bald gives the name of Gonfanon to the banner of the Church vassals: "Let our envoys (missi nostri) see that the troops of every bishop, abbot, and abbess, march forth properly equipped, and with their Gonfalonier (cum Guntfannonario)." The standard sent by the pope to William the Conqueror is by Wace named a gonfanon:—

He gives it also to the barons and more powerful captains:—

In the following passages, it is the lance-flag:—

The Pennon, as we have before seen, (p. 95,) was the flag of those knights who had not attained to the dignity of banneret. It appears to have terminated in a point or points, but its exact form at this period has not been ascertained. It probably differed in nothing but its size from the lance-flags seen in the Bayeux tapestry and on the seals and other monuments of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Wace, however, in the following passage, seems to use the word in a more general sense; for it is the Vicomte du Cotentin, lieutenant of the duke of Normandy, of whom he is speaking:—

If these various flags were found sufficient to keep together the troops of an ordinary expedition; in large armaments such as those of the Crusades, the want of some more general distinction must soon have been felt. Hoveden therefore tells us, under the year 1188, that the leaders against the Saracens, "for the purpose of recognising their various nations, adopted distinguishing signs for themselves and their people. For the king of France and his people wore red crosses; the king of England and his people, white crosses; while Philip, earl of Flanders, and his followers, wore green crosses." The existence of a mode of recognition among troops at this period is confirmed by the passage of Wace in which he names the "cognoissances" of the Norman host and their allies:—

The particular nature of the sign of recognition intended by the chronicler, it is in vain now to inquire. The note of M. Pluquet on the passage gives "Signes de convention."

The Lance-flag is found throughout the period now under notice. Many examples occur in the Bayeux tapestry, and in the royal and baronial seals of the time. The usual device upon it is a cross, a square, a number of rounds, or stripes of different colours; or the streamer is of a single tint. It is dentated in two or more cuts, and sometimes fringed at the edge. See our engraved examples.

The Musical Instruments used in war were the horn, the trumpet, and a variety of the latter called the graisle. Wace mentions all these in his account of the battle of Hastings:—

The horn of battle of this period is very clearly figured on folio 25 of Harleian MS. 603, a work of the close of the eleventh century. It is of the common semicircular form. The trumpet (boisine: buccina) is found, though in a monument of somewhat later date, on the inscribed slab of "Godefrey le Troumpour," now preserved in the library of the London Guildhall[236]. Compare also our woodcut, No. 73. The graisle (from gracilis) was, as its name indicates, of a slender form; its exact fashion has not been ascertained.

The Horse-furniture presents some new features; especially in the arming of the steed in chain-mail, a practice which appears to have originated towards the close of the twelfth century. Wace indeed tells us that William Fitz-Osbert, at the field of Hastings, rode a steed thus accoutred:—

But we may well believe that it was rather the necessity of a rhyme to "Osber" than the usage of the period, that gives us this iron horse at so early a date. Wace, writing in the second half of the twelfth century, appears merely to have availed himself of the usual license of middle-age authorities: to depict a past generation in the lineaments of his own. The practice of arming the horse does not seem to have become general till towards the close of the thirteenth century. A pictorial example of the trapper of chain-mail will be found in our woodcut, No. 86. The Saddle had a high pommel and cantle, as may be seen in our engravings of the royal seals of this period. In many examples of the Bayeux tapestry they form volutes, (viewed laterally,) exactly like the sides of an Ionic capital. The saddle-cloth does not appear in this tapestry, but it is found on the second seal of Henry I., on the seal of King Stephen, and on that of Louis VII. of France. In these examples it is quite plain; but later it acquires an ornamental character, as in the seal of Conan, duke of Britanny, c. 1165, (woodcut 41). It is of a more enriched pattern in the Great Seal of Henry II., here given.

This poitrail has generally, in the period under examination, pendants attached to it, in the form of rounds,—perhaps grelots. See woodcuts 1, 25, 28 and 29.

Roman monuments offer similar examples, as in Trajan's Column, the Pillar of Antonine, and other remains, where the pendants are bells, crescents, trefoils, rounds, and guttæ. Such collars are found also in the paintings of the Ajunta Caves, where bells and rounds alternate. This monument is assigned to the first century of our era. In the curious Spanish manuscript, dated 1109, in the British Museum, Addit. MSS., 11,695, the circular pendants occur, attached not only to the poitrail, but to the saddle (fol. 223). The Bits used for the war-horse have long cheeks, which are often of an ogee form. The rein is generally quite plain, though sometimes ornamented with studs, as in examples in the manuscript last cited.

The Spur was still of a single goad, and fastened by a single strap. The form of the goad offers some variety: it is leaf-shaped, conical, lozenge-shaped, and sometimes consists of a ball from which springs a short spike. A variety is fashioned into a sort of button, having a slender spike in the centre. The first three kinds are seen in the Bayeux tapestry and many of the seals of the period. The ball-and-spike spur is well shewn in the effigies of Henry II. and Richard I. at Fontevraud, figured by Stothard in his "Monuments." The last variety may be seen in Addit. MS. 11,695, fol. 223. The shank of the spur is sometimes straight, as in Anglo-Saxon times: sometimes curved. The curved form appears in the sculptured effigies of King Henry II. and Richard I. The spur of Richard the First seems to have been attached to the strap by rivets.

The Caltrop, or tribulus, an instrument derived from classic times, was in use, but not of frequent employment. Anna Comnena tells us that the Emperor Alexis strewed them in the path of the French cavalry; and at a later period, we read of knights fixing their spurs point upwards in the way of their advancing enemy, after the manner of caltrops: but this cruel device appears to have been practised very rarely, and we may venture to believe that it was generally discountenanced as beneath the dignity and generosity of true chivalry. At a later period, caltrops were used to strew over the slope of a breach, to impede the advance of a storming party.

From a very curious passage in the Roman de Rou, we learn that the knight sometimes went to battle tied to his saddle:—

However strange such a device may appear, the mention of it by other ancient writers forbids us to regard it as a mere vagary of the poet. Matthew Paris, under the year 1243, recounting the irruption of the Tartars into Europe, says: "They have horses, not large, but very strong, and that require but little food, and they bind themselves firmly on their backs." And, in the fifteenth century, the writer of the life of Earl Richard of Warwick tells us that, at a justing-match, his hero was obliged to dismount from his horse, because some of his adversaries had accused him of being tied in his saddle.

For the Horse itself, Spain appears to have been in the highest favour for the purity of its breed. Walter Giffard had brought from Gallicia the steed on which Duke William rode at the field of Hastings:—

And in the well-known passage of the Monk of Marmoustier, where he describes the knighting of Geoffry, duke of Normandy, we are told that the young hero was "mounted upon a Spanish horse, which had been presented by the king."

How the horses of the knights were conveyed in ships and disembarked from the vessels, is curiously shewn in the ninth and tenth plates of the Bayeux tapestry.

Of the Engines employed in sieges, all those mentioned in our first division appear to have been still in use. The ancient Vinea (Cat or Sow) is frequently mentioned, and the moveable Tower, or Beffroi, becomes a prominent feature in all the great siege operations of this century. William of Malmesbury has left us an excellent description of these two contrivances in his account of the siege of Jerusalem[237]:—

"There was one engine which we call the Sow, the ancients, Vinea; because the machine, which is constructed of slight timbers, the roof covered with boards and wicker-work, and the sides defended with undressed hides, protects those who are within; who, after the manner of a sow, proceed to undermine the foundations of the walls. There was another, which, for want of timber, was but a moderate-sized tower, constructed after the manner of houses. They call it Berefreid[238]. This was intended to equal the walls in height. And now the fourteenth day of July arrived, when some began to undermine the wall with the Sows, others to move forward the Tower. To do this more conveniently, they took it toward the works in separate pieces[239], and putting it together again at such a distance as to be out of bowshot, advanced it on wheels nearly close to the wall. Meantime the slingers with stones, the archers with arrows, and the crossbow-men with bolts, each intent on his own department, began to press forward and dislodge their opponents from the ramparts. Soldiers, too, unmatched in courage, ascend the Tower, waging nearly equal war against the enemy with missile weapons and with stones. Nor indeed were our foes at all remiss, but trusting their whole security to their valour, they poured down boiling grease and oil upon the Tower, and slung stones on the soldiers, rejoicing in the completion of their desires by the destruction of multitudes. During the whole of that day the battle was such that neither party seemed to think they had been worsted. On the following, the business was decided: for the Franks, becoming more experienced from the event of the attack of the preceding day, threw faggots flaming with oil on a tower adjoining the wall, and on those who defended it; which, blazing by the action of the wind, first seized the timber, and then the stones, and drove off the garrison. Moreover, the beams which the Turks had left hanging down from the walls, in order that, being forcibly drawn back, they might, by their recoil, batter the Tower in pieces, in case it should advance too near, were by the Franks dragged to them, by cutting away the ropes; and being placed from the engine to the wall, and covered with hurdles, they formed a bridge of communication from the Tower to the ramparts. Thus what the infidels had contrived for their defence, became the means of their destruction; for then the enemy, dismayed by the smoking masses of flame, and by the courage of our soldiers, began to give way. These, advancing on the wall, and thence into the city, manifested the excess of their joy by the strenuousness of their exertions."

William of Tyre mentions also the use of the beffroi at the siege of Jerusalem; adding that the side towards the city was so constructed that a portion of it might be let down, after the manner of a drawbridge, thus enabling the assailants to enter upon the walls[240]. Philippe Auguste frequently employed this engine. At the siege of Château-Roux, in Berry,—

And again, at the siege of Radepont, in Normandy: "Erectis in circuitu Turribus ligneis ambulatoriis, aliisque tormentis quam plurimis viriliter impugnavit et cœpit[241]."

King Richard I. constructed also in Sicily a wooden tower, which he afterwards carried with him to the Holy Land. After forcing the city of Messina, "the king," says Richard of Devizes, "having but little confidence in the natives, built a new wooden tower of great strength and height by the walls of the city, which, to the reproach of the Griffones, (Greeks,) he called Mate-griffun," (sub an. 1190). In 1191, "the king of England, about to leave Sicily, caused the tower which he had built to be taken down, and stowed the whole of the materials in his ships, to take along with him." And "on the third day after his arrival at the siege of Acre," continues Richard of Devizes, "the king caused his wooden tower, which he had named 'Mate-griffun' when it was made in Sicily, to be built and set up; and before the dawn of the fourth day the machine stood erect by the walls of Acre, and from its height looked down upon the city beneath. And by sunrise were thereon archers casting missiles without ceasing against the Turks and Thracians."

The name Mate-griffon appears to be derived from the favourite game of the courtly in these days; "donner eschec et mat" being equivalent to the "check-mate" of our modern chess-players. Ordericus Vitalis has a passage curiously illustrative of this subject: "Castrum condere cœpit, quod Mataputenam, id est, devincens meretricem, pro despectu Haduissæ Comitissæ, nuncupavit[242]."

In 1160, the Emperor Frederick besieging Crema, in Italy, employed the beffroi, filling it with chosen troops. He placed crossbowmen on the upper story, in order that, shooting down upon the walls, they might clear the parapet of its defenders; while, from the lower stage, soldiers of tried boldness might fix their drawbridges on the wall, and advance to the capture of the city[243].

At this same city of Crema, in 1159, occurred an act of patriotism, admirable from the resolution which inspired it, though terrible in its consequences. The emperor advanced a Beffroi towards the beleaguered city, in front of which he placed the youthful hostages whom he had obtained from the unhappy Cremans, in hopes of thus forcing the inhabitants to a capitulation. But the citizens, regardless of all save their liberty, continued to ply their engines against the tower, though every stone that was cast forth fell in death among their children[244].

The siege of Ancona, in 1174, offers another instance of heroism in connection with the belfragium, more pleasing in its circumstances. The besieged had been successful in their endeavours to beat back the towers and scatter their occupants; but as these latter still kept up a steady discharge of missiles from a short distance, no one dared venture beyond the walls to set fire to the deserted structures. At last a widow named Stamura, seizing a torch, advanced into the plain, and regardless of the storm of bolts and arrows that fell around her, steadily achieved the task she had undertaken, and having set the towers in flames, returned in safety to the city[245].

The siege of Ancona is further remarkable for the employment by the citizens of divers; who succeeded in capturing several of the vessels engaged in blockading the port. Taking advantage of a strong wind blowing from the sea, the divers contrived to cut the cables of seven of the Venetian ships, which then drifted helplessly ashore[246].

The Vinea mentioned in a foregoing extract from Malmesbury, was called also the Cat. Thus Vegetius: "Vineas dixerunt veteres, quas nunc militari barbaricoque usu Cattos vocant[247]." Guillaume le Breton also mentions this machine and its use:—

While, from the Monk of Vau-de-Cernay we learn that the contrivance was of small dimensions: "Machinam quandam parvam, quæ lingua vulgari Catus dicitur, faciebat duci ad suffodiendum murum[248]." There were, however, varieties of the Cat, one of which was used to oppose the besiegers in the beffroi. Thus Radevicus: "Magnaque audacia, super muros et in suis machinis quos Cattas appellant, operiuntur, et cum (oppugnatores) admoverentur pontes, ipsi eos vel occuparent, vel dejicerent, murumque scalis ascendere nitentes vario modo deterrent[249]." And another kind was employed by the assailants in crossing the ditch[250].

The Battering-ram, according to Richard of Devizes, was employed by Cœur-de-Lion at the siege of Messina: "In the meantime, the king with his troops approached the gates of the city, which he instantly forced by the application of the Battering-ram, and entering within, took possession of every part, even to Tancred's palace and the lodgings of the French around their king's quarters, which he spared out of respect to the king."

Among the stone-throwing machines, the Mangona and the Mangonella are discriminated as casting, the former large, the latter smaller stones. The monk Abbo has already, in his account of the siege of Paris in 886, mentioned the

Guillaume le Breton, in the Philippidos, tells us:—

Among the effects recorded of these great projectiles, we may cite the account of Otto of Frisinga, who tells us that when the Emperor Frederic attacked Tortona in 1155, a stone was cast from one of the periers of such magnitude, that, falling before the door of the cathedral, where three of the principal citizens were in deliberation on the best means of defending the city, it killed them all[251].

The term mangonneaux is sometimes applied to the stones or other missiles discharged by the instrument. From the name mangona our word gun appears to be derived: a supposition that seems strengthened by the fact that the earliest "gonnes," like the mangonæ, were employed to cast stones.

The terrors of the balistæ were occasionally aggravated by their being made the instruments of a special vengeance. Thus Malmesbury informs us that, at the siege of Antioch in 1097, the Turks, irritated by losses sustained from the besieging Crusaders, "wreaked their indignation on the Syrian and Armenian inhabitants of the city; throwing, by means of their balistæ and petraries, the heads of those whom they had slain into the camp of the Franks, that by such means they might lacerate their feelings." A somewhat similar incident is reported by Froissart in his account of the siege of Thun l'Evêque in 1327[252]; so that these cruelties do not appear to be mere tales of credulous pilgrims, or inventions of monkish chroniclers.

Forts of wood were of occasional employment, the materials of which were transported from place to place, so that the structure might be speedily raised. Wace gives us a description of that brought over by William the Conqueror, and built up at Hastings:—

Mines were in use both by Richard I. and Philippe Auguste. At the siege of Acre in 1191, Richard attacked the city with archers and balistæ: "But more important than these," adds Devizes, "were the miners, making themselves a way beneath the ground, sapping the foundation of the walls, while soldiers bearing shields, having planted ladders, sought an entrance over the ramparts." The French king employed the mine at the siege of the Castle of Boves, as we learn from William the Breton. See also Rigord, page 185. The mines of these days were large caverns in which pillars of wood supported the incumbent mass. The posts being smeared with pitch and surrounded with combustibles, fire was then brought, and the stanchions being consumed, the walls fell in. With the mine came the counter-mine; an example of which occurs in the description by Guillaume le Breton of the siege of Château-Gaillard; where the English, countermining against the French, met them in their works and drove them back with slaughter:—

Later, challenges were made, to be fought out in the mines, the combatants contending over a barrier of wood fixed in the midst. And Upton tells us that the aspirant to knighthood in a besieging army, no church being at hand, performed in the mine his vigil of arms.

While the besieging force plied their attack by means of the engines and mines already noticed, they had begun, in imitation of the ancients, to construct lines of circumvallation; in order at once to cut off the citizens from all communication with the open country, and to defend themselves against the sorties of the town. An example of this may be seen in the siege of Crema by the Emperor Frederic in 1159[254].

Under the general name of Hastilude (spear-play) were in use several kinds of military exercises: the joust, the tourney and the behourd. "Torneamenta, justas, burdeicias, sive alia Hastiluda[255]." The joust and the tourney were, in their primary sense, mere modes of attack. The joust was the charge of a single horseman against a single antagonist. The tourney was the onset of a troop, who, having made their charge, turned back to acquire the necessary speed for a fresh attack. At the siege of Rouen—

Again, at the siege of Mount Saint-Michael,—

The Behourd (Bohordicum) was an exercise with lance and target, of which the distinctive character has not been ascertained. "Trepidare quoque, quod vulgariter biordare dicitur, cum scuto et lancea aliquis clericus publicè non attentet[256]."

Military games, whose object was to familiarize the soldier in time of peace with the usages of war, had been long known. They were practised in classic times: they were in vogue, as Tacitus tells us, among the ancient Germans: they were pursued in Germany, as we learn from Nithard[257], in the ninth century. But that splendid and costly image of battle called a Tournament is not found earlier than the epoch which we are now considering. Several nations lay claim to its invention, but none offer such good proofs as the French. The Chronicle of Tours expressly says, under the year 1066: "Gaufridus de Pruliaco (Preulli), qui torneamenta invenit, apud Andegavum occiditur." And the Chronicle of St. Martin of Tours has a similar passage: "Anno Henrici Imp. VII. et Philippi Regis VI. fuit proditio apud Andegavum, ubi Gaufridus de Pruliaco et alii barones occisi sunt. Hic Gaufridus torneamenta invenit." Matthew Paris, again, names the tournament "conflictus Gallicus." And Ralph of Coggeshall has: "Dum, more Francorum, cum hastis vel contis sese cursim equitantes vicissim impeterent."

Tournaments seem to have first obtained favour in England in the troublous times of Stephen[258]. They were, however, discountenanced by Henry II., and the young aspirants to military renown were forced to seek in other lands the opportunity of distinguishing themselves. "Tyronum exercitiis in Anglia prorsus inhibitis, qui forte armorum affectantes gloriam exerceri volebant, transfretantes, in terrarum exercebantur confiniis[259]." Under Richard I. they again began to flourish, and from that time to the end of the middle ages, though often discountenanced by kings and churchmen, they enjoyed the highest favour among all who practised or admired knightly deeds and military splendour. "After the return of King Richard to England," says Jocelin of Brakelond, under the year 1194, "licence was granted for holding tournaments; for which purpose many knights met between Thetford and St. Edmund's, but the Abbot forbade them. They, however, in spite of the Abbot, fulfilled their desire. On another occasion, there came fourscore young men with their followers, sons of noblemen, to have their revenge at the aforesaid place; which being done, they returned into the town to put up there. The Abbot hearing of this, ordered the gates to be locked, and all of them to be kept within. The next day was the vigil of Peter and Paul the Apostles. Therefore, having promised that they would not go forth, they all dined with the Abbot on that day. But, after dinner, the Abbot having retired to his chamber, they all arose and began to carol and sing, sending into the town for wine, drinking and then screeching, depriving the Abbot and convent of their sleep, and doing everything in scorn of the Abbot; spending the day, until the evening, in this manner, and refusing to desist, even when the Abbot commanded them. When the evening was come, they broke open the gates of the town and went forth bodily. The Abbot, indeed, solemnly excommunicated them all, yet not without having first consulted Hubert, at that time justiciary; and many of them came, promising amendment and seeking absolution."

The more regular tournaments, however, were controlled by royal ordinances. They were restricted in England to five localities: namely, between Sarum and Wilton, between Warwick and Kenilworth, between Stamford and Wallingford, between Brakeley and Mixeberg, and between Blie and Tykehill. And, as nothing in these days could be done without a fine to the king or a tax to the pope, every earl had to pay twenty marks for his privilege to appear as a combatant; every baron, ten; every knight having a landed estate, four; each knight without such estate, two; and all foreigners were excluded[260].

In France, under Philip Augustus, tournaments appear to have been held on a large scale, as Père Daniel has remarked, from the incident of Philip having suddenly procured at an assemblage of this kind, troops sufficient to repel an unexpected attack on Alençon[261].

It is not within the province (if it were in the limits) of this work, to give any detailed account of tournaments and their usages; for at this period and long after, the defensive armour used for the joust (as shewn by the pictorial monuments of the time) differed in no respect from that worn in battle[262].

In the curious sketch of London in the twelfth century by Fitzstephen, an eye-witness of the incidents he records, we have a spirited notice of the military exercises of the young citizens in these days. "Every Sunday in Lent, after dinner, a company of young men go into the fields, mounted on war-horses:—