The rider himself should be equipped in this wise: he should wear good soft breeches made of soft and thoroughly blackened linen cloth, which should reach up to the belt; outside these, good mail hose[266] which should come up high enough to be girded on with a double strap; over these he must have good trousers made of linen cloth of the sort that I have already described; finally, over these he should have good kneepieces made of thick iron and rivets hard as steel.[267] Above and next to the body he should wear a soft gambison, which need not come lower than to the middle of the thigh. Over this he must have a strong breastplate[268] made of good iron covering the body from the nipples to the trousers belt; outside this, a well-made hauberk and over the hauberk a firm gambison made in the manner which I have already described but without sleeves. He must have a dirk[269] and two swords, one girded on and another hanging from the pommel of the saddle. On his head he must have a dependable helmet made of good steel and provided with a visor.[270] He must also have a strong, thick shield fastened to a durable shoulder belt and, in addition, a good sharp spear with a firm shaft and pointed with fine steel. Now it seems needless to speak further about the equipment of men who fight on horseback; there are, however, other weapons which a mounted warrior may use, if he wishes; among these are the “horn bow”[271] and the weaker crossbow, which a man can easily draw even when on horseback, and certain other weapons, too, if he should want them. Footnote 266: The mail hose were made of chain mail. _Aarböger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 1867, 73-74. Footnote 267: The kneepieces, or _genouillères_ were pieces of armor worn to protect the knees. Footnote 268: Blom thinks that the breastplate was a new thing in the thirteenth century (_ibid._, 76), but Falk believes that it was used quite generally (_Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 182). Footnote 269: The dirk (_brynknifr_) was probably a poniard-like weapon used to pierce the chain mail at the joints. Falk, _Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 124. Footnote 270: The helmet with the visor appears in the illustrations of the closing years of the twelfth century; the earlier helmet was a steel cap with a nose guard. _Aarböger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 83-84. Footnote 271: Little seems to be known about the hornbow. Captain Blom finds it mentioned in the Latin sources as _balista cornea_ or _balista cum cornu_. _Aarböger for nordisk Oldkyndighed_, 1867, 100-101. Falk believes that it was a bow which was reinforced on the inner side with horn. _Altnordische Waffenkunde_, 91-92. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ XXXIX MILITARY ENGINES