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
In Anglo-Saxon illuminations, a very large majority of the fighting men
appear to have no defensive armour at all but the helmet and shield; as
in this example from a MS. of _Prudentius_, of the eleventh century, in
the Tenison Library. The leg-bands seen on these figures, and on many
others of the same period, were in common use among the soldiery. It is
a fashion of which we find an early example in the _calceus patricius_
of the Romans, and a remnant in the chequered hose of the Scottish
Highlanders. Those of the Anglo-Saxons were generally wound round the
leg, and then turned down and fastened below the knee. Sometimes they
were tied in front; as may be seen in the Ethelwold Benedictional; and
compare Stothard's Bayeux Tapestry, Plate IV. Henry of Huntingdon, who
wrote in the beginning of the twelfth century, gives us incidentally
the full arming of a warrior of the eleventh[107]. When Sigeward,
duke of Northumberland, found death approaching him, not on the field
of battle, but in the peaceful chamber, he exclaimed: "Quantus pudor
me tot in bellis mori non potuisse, ut vaccarum morti cum dedecore
reservarer. Induite me saltem lorica mea impenetrabili, præcingite
gladio, sublimate galea: scutum in læva, securim auratam mihi ponite
in dextra, ut militum fortissimus modo militis moriar. Dixerat: et ut
dixerat, armatus honorifice exhalavit."
[Illustration: No. 16.]
In an age when missiles were much in use; javelins, arrows, and the
stones of the mangona and of the slinger; the soldier would naturally
employ his first care to the arming of his head. Consequently we find
in the monuments of this period that, even when the body appears to
have no defensive covering, the head is carefully protected by the
helmet.
[Illustration: No. 17.]
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