The coat of mail comprehended body, legs, and arms all in one piece; the legs and arms were however short and loose. It is difficult to understand the mode of putting it on. It seems to have been drawn over the head. We are expressly told that when William was preparing for the battle he had his hauberk brought; but in _putting his head in_, to get it on, he inadvertently turned it the wrong way, with the back part in front;” and that seeing his error, “he crossed himself, _stooped his head_, and put it on aright.” In the Tapestry (_Plate XVI._) we see some persons stripping the slain; they uniformly draw the hauberk over the head. The legs of the dress must in this case have been made to open. When on, it was tightened by straps at the breast. This armour seems to have been occasionally provided with a hood of the same material, which covered the head. There are some examples of it in the Tapestry. The legs in the Tapestry are for the most part left unprotected; occasionally they are wrapped round with bandages of leather; in the case of a few of the leading personages they are covered with mascled or ring armour. The weight of the hauberk, or haubergeon, must have been considerable. In taking the dresses down to the ships we observe two men are employed to carry one; they bear it on a pole upon their shoulders. One of William’s nobles, whilst waiting at Hastings for the onset of Harold, complained of the weight of his armour. The Duke quietly desired him to put it off, and then putting it on himself over his own hauberk, mounted his horse without assistance, and rode off, to the great chagrin of the noble and the astonishment of all.[78] The shields of the ancient knights formed an important part of their equipment. The shield of the early Saxons was circular, having a boss in the centre. The boss was concave on the inside of the shield, and of a size sufficient to contain the hand of the warrior, which grasped the shield by a handle put across the cavity. In the Tapestry we have some examples of the circular shield, but by far the larger part of the shields on the Saxon as well as the Norman side are of a different character. It would appear that the intercourse subsisting between Normandy and England during the reign of the Confessor had led to the abandonment of the old Saxon shield. The shield of the Tapestry is of large size, and of the shape of a kite. It is in every instance flat. Here again we have another opportunity of judging of the minute accuracy of the Tapestry. Towards the end of the eleventh century the shield of a French knight is described[79] as having its surface not flat but convex, so as to embrace the person of the wearer. Other changes were speedily introduced; towards the close of the twelfth century it became shorter, and the bow at the top was flattened into a straight line. Thus it formed the “heater shield” of the middle ages.