The hawk and the hounds require a few words of remark. It is well known to persons conversant in antiquity, that the great men of those times had only two ways of being accoutered when they set out upon a journey; either in the habiliments of war, or for the chase. Harold, as going on an errand of peace, we find here represented in the latter. The bird upon the fist was a mark of high nobility. We see it frequently upon seals and miniatures, of that age, of ladies as well as men; and so sacred was this bird esteemed, that we find it prohibited in the ancient laws for any one to give his hawk or his sword as part of his ransom. Severe fines were laid on those who should steal another’s hawk. Harold, it will be observed, is the only one of all his suite who has the bird upon his fist.[29] Several hawks are introduced in the course of the Tapestry, but in no one case is the bird provided with a hood. The hood was introduced from the East about the year 1200, and as after its introduction it was considered an essential part of the equipment of the bird, its absence in the Tapestry is conclusive evidence of its comparatively early date.[30] The three larger dogs have collars, provided with rings through which, most probably, the leash passed; the other two are of a smaller breed. The horses are hog-maned. Harold’s horse, in the more forward instance, has some ornament entwined with its mane. Bosham is a hamlet in Sussex, near to Chichester, which still retains its ancient name. It was a sea-port of some consequence in Saxon times, and we frequently read of its being the point of departure for persons going to the Continent. Bosham was the property of Harold, having been obtained by his father, Earl Godwin, from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Among the endowed churches of England, that of Bosham was probably one of the richest. In the reign of King Edward it had land belonging to it to the extent of a hundred and twelve hides. The generality of church endowments were infinitely smaller. Hence we find the church represented in the Tapestry as a structure of considerable consequence.[31] A tree closes the scene. It is of a species which does not flourish in our modern woods, but which nevertheless grows very abundantly in the MSS. of the tenth and eleventh centuries. Several of similar character may be seen in the Illustrations to Cædmon’s _Metrical Paraphrase_, executed in the tenth century.[32] These trees, like the lions and leopards of the heralds of a subsequent date, were mere conventional forms, and not intended to be correct representations of the objects indicated.