Loading your reading…

Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe: From the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the End of the Thirteenth Century — John Shaqi

Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe: From the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the End of the Thirteenth CenturyHewitt, John

History

Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe: From the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the End of the Thirteenth Century

Name: Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe: From the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the End of the Thirteenth Century
Author: Hewitt, John

Hewitt, John

Armor; Weapons

78. Iron spur found in the churchyard of Chesterford,
      Cambridgeshire, and now preserved in the Museum of the Hon. R.
      C. Neville, at Audley End. The plain goad, straight neck, and
      curved shanks are all characteristic of the knightly spur of
      the thirteenth century.                                        298

  79. Great Seal of King Henry III.; drawn from impressions attached
      to Harleian Charter, 43, C. 38; Wolley Charter, 5, xxi.;
      and Topham Charter, No. 8. The king wears the hauberk of
      chain-mail, with a helm somewhat rounded at top, and having
      a moveable ventail with clefts for sight and breathing. The
      mailing has been obliterated from the chausses, if any ever
      were there. The surcoat is still of great length. The bowed
      shield exhibits the usual three Lions. But a novelty appears
      in the spurs of this figure, which are rowelled. No earlier
      instance of the rowel spur has been observed, and indeed it
      seldom appears again during the whole century. Usually on
      the alert to adopt any novelty of military equipment, the
      knights appear to have rejected with particular obstinacy
      the innovation of the wheeled spur, though to us it appears
      so strongly recommended by the greater humanity of its
      contrivance. Compare woodcut, No. 81: the second Great Seal of
      Hen. III.                                                      299

  80. From Cotton MS., Nero, D. i.; the "Lives of the two Offas,"
      by Matthew Paris. This group, which occurs on folio 7 of the
      manuscript, represents the Mercian king, Offa I., combating
      in behalf of the king of Northumberland, and defeating the
      Scottish army. The drawings of this curious volume, all of
      which have been copied by Strutt in his _Horda_, appear to be
      of the close of the thirteenth century. The body-armour is
      for the most part banded-mail. King Offa has the distinction
      of greaves and knee-pieces: the mailing of a portion of
      his coif differs from the rest of the suits, probably from
      carelessness of the artist only. The horse of the king is also
      discriminated from the other steeds by having a housing. The
      head-defence, composed of a mask of steel placed over the coif
      of banded-mail, is very remarkable. In the adjoining figure we
      again see an example of the aperture left at the palm, for the
      convenience of liberating the hand occasionally from its case
      of mail. Compare woodcut, No. 62.                              303

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe: From the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the End of the Thirteenth Century

No reviews yet