The manifer is solely the rigid iron gauntlet for the bridle-hand, where
no sudden or complicated movement of the wrist or fingers was needed;
another instance of the difference in arming the two sides of the body.
This difference of arming is more noticeable in the jousting armour, for
in military sports, especially during the sixteenth century, the object of
the contestants was to score points rather than to injure each other. We
find, therefore, such pieces as the Grand-guard, and with it the Volant
piece, the Passe-guard, the Poldermitton--so called from its likeness to
the 'épaule de mouton', and worn over the bend of the right arm--and the
various reinforcing breastplates which were screwed on to the left side of
the tilting suit to offer a more rigid defence and also to present
additional glancing surface to the lance-point. In some varieties of joust
a small wooden shield was fastened to the left breast, and when this was
the case the heavy pauldron was dispensed with. The large Vamplate (Plate
XI) sufficiently protected the right arm from injury. The Nuremberg suit
(Plate VII) shows this form of arming for the joust. The great helm is
firmly screwed to the back and breast, the two holes on the left side of
the breastplate are for the attachment of the shield, the rigid
bridle-cuff, covers the left hand, and the curved elbow-guard--this is not
the passe-guard--protects the bend of the left arm as the poldermitton
protects the right. The large circular disc defends the _vif de
l'harnois_, and is _bouché_ or notched at its lower end to allow the lance
to be couched, resting on the curved lance-rest in front and lodged under
the Queue at the back. The legs, in this variety of joust, were not armed;
for the object of the jousters was to unhorse each other, and it was
necessary to have perfect freedom in gripping the horse's sides. Sometimes
a great plate of metal, curved to cover the leg, was worn to protect the
wearer from the shock of impact. This was called the Dilge, or Tilting
Cuisse, which is shown on Plate VIII behind the figure of Count Sigismond,
and also on Plate VII. The large-bowed saddle also was used for this end.
There is one of these saddles in the Tower which measures nearly 5 feet in
height. Behind the saddle-bow are two rings which encircled the rider's
legs. It is needless to point out that in this form of joust the object
was to break lances and not to unhorse; for, if the latter were intended,
the rider stood a good chance of breaking his legs owing to his rigid
position in the saddle.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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