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
Hewitt, John
Armor; Weapons
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. "M^d q̄d in
quo ̱p ͂hne͂s fu'unt j. Tunic' ar͂m: j. coo̱pto͂r: j. pa͂r alet͂t.
It̄m ij. Cres͂t & j. Blazōn & una galea co͂r & j. ensis de Balōn."
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 Milōn le Cuireu͂r.
xxxviij. quire͂t: 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:--
"Pro qualibet quiret͂t ij. ul̄n card.
Pro eisd' ͂hne͂s armand' viij. diaspe͂r."
The carda is charged at fourpence an ell; the diaper at eight
shillings the piece. "Ten buckrams" are supplied to form the
arm-defences: "Item ̱p xxviij. pa͂r brac͂h x. bukeran̄n." And the
whole of these are painted: "Item ̱p f̄cu͂r & pictu͂r xxxviij.
pa͂r Brach' de Bokeran p'̄c pa͂r iiij. d." These body-armours must
have differed very widely in their structure or embellishment; for
while the Harness-of-Arms of Walter de Sancto Martino only cost seven
shillings, that of the Earl of Lincoln amounted to thirty-three
shillings and fourpence. Little bells were added to the equipment
either of the knights or their horses; perhaps both: and they were
purchased of Richard Paternoster: "De Ricō pat'n͂r DCCC. Nolaȝ sive
Tintunabul' p'̄c cen͂t. iij. s." This decoration of bells obtained
great favour in the next two centuries.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account