Scotland -- History -- Stuarts, to the Union, 1371-1707
Following closely upon this, there were issued supplementary
instructions of a somewhat more comprehensive nature than hitherto.
Gentlemen having £10 worth of land, or more, were to provide themselves
with a bascinet with whole legharness, that is to say, complete
coverings which came up to the hips, and with spear, sword, and dagger.
Gentlemen owning less land, or no land at all, were to be accoutred "at
their goodly power", subject to the oversight and discretion of the
sheriff. Honest yeomen, "having sufficient power", and willing to serve
as men-at-arms, were to be "harnessed sufficiently" to the satisfaction
of the same official; whilst all other yeomen in the realm, within the
statutory limits of age, that is, between sixteen and sixty, were to be
"sufficiently bowit and schaffit", or, in other words, adequately
equipped with a good bow and a suitable supply of arrows, and were also
to have a sword, buckler, and knife. All burgesses and indwellers in the
burghs of the realm were to be similarly armed. Failure to attend the
four wapenshaws involved fines ranging from 40s. to £10, according to
the number of absences, in the case of a gentleman; and from 10s. to
40s. in that of a bowman.[281]
Four years later, in 1429, "by the advice of the whole Parliament",
further modifications were made, both in the outfit and in the valuation
according to which it was regulated. Every man who disposed of a yearly
rent of £20, or who possessed £100 in movable goods, was required to be
well horsed and "haill enarmyt", which meant completely armed from head
to foot, as a gentleman ought to be. The man of lower standing, with no
more than £10 of rent, or £50 of movable goods, was to provide himself
with a gorget--a piece of armour which protected the throat and upper
part of the chest; with rearbraces and vambraces, as the coverings for
the upper arm and the forearm were respectively called; with gloves of
plate, breastplate, leg-splints, and knee-pieces, "at the least, or
better, if he liked". The yeomen were divided into three classes, of
which the highest, consisting of those whose property amounted to £20 in
goods, was to be equipped with a good "doublet of fence", an iron hat,
bow and sheaf of arrows, sword, buckler, and knife. Yeomen possessing no
more than £10 in goods formed the second class. They were required to
have a bow and arrows, sword, buckler, and knife; but though no
defensive armour was mentioned in their case, it may be assumed that
they were not expected to be less protected than the yeoman of the third
class, who was no archer and could not deal with a bow, but for whom a
good "suir" hat and a "doublet of fence" were prescribed, in addition to
a sword, a buckler, and a good axe, or else a staff with a sharp iron
point. Every citizen having £50 in goods was placed on the same level as
a gentleman, and was required to be armed in the same manner as one. The
burgess of lower degree, whose property was not valued at more than £20,
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