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With the advent of the Normans in 1066 the subject of arms and armour in England becomes more definite and exact. This is chiefly owing to the Bayeux Tapestry, to the multiplication of MSS., carvings in ivory and metal, and the records preserved upon seals. The date of the famous tapestry has long been a matter of dispute, but it is universally agreed that if it was not woven by Matilda and her handmaidens it was certainly begun and completed within fifty years of the Conquest. Hence its reliability is undoubted upon contemporaneous arms and armour.

Fig. 83.—Norman pennons (Bayeux Tapestry).

The Lance.—The head of the lance was commonly of the leaf form, and sometimes approached that of the lozenge; it was very seldom barbed, although this variety, together with the others, appears upon the Bayeux Tapestry. The horizontal bar-guards, so characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon spear, are very rarely pictured; they were not, however, relinquished by the conquered nation, but are seen at times in MSS. written subsequently to the Conquest. Nearly all the Norman spears were embellished with pennons of from two to five points (Fig. 83). The length of the spear appears to have differed little from that of the Anglo-Saxon, and like that weapon they were of uniform thickness throughout (Figs. 88, 91, 92, 93, &c.).

Fig. 84.—Figure from “Massacre of the Innocents.” (Cott. MS., Nero, C. 4, c. 1125.)

The Sword.—Remembering that the Normans were essentially a Scandinavian nation, we might fairly expect to discover traces of their origin in the sword of the period, and this we find to be the case. It was still straight, long, and double-edged, slightly tapering towards the acute-angled point. The quillons were straight at the time of the Conquest, but became bent in a small degree towards the close of the period; the grip was without swell, and a spherical knob formed the pommel. The scabbard was suspended upon the left side by a small cord round the waist, but occasionally was supported by the hauberk by being passed through a hole in the garment, which thus concealed a portion of it. See Fig. 84, which dates from c. 1125, and exhibits this peculiarity.

The Bow.—At the battle of Hastings the Normans appear to have been extremely well provided with bowmen, in contradistinction to the Saxons. The Conqueror is said to have reproached the latter for this omission, but archers appear in the ranks of the Saxons on the Bayeux Tapestry, grouped in small numbers among the axemen, and arrow-heads of iron are occasionally found in Saxon graves. It would appear that all the Norman foot soldiers carried bows, and we know that the rain of arrows from the sky had a marked effect upon the fortunes of the day at Hastings. The bow was of very simple construction at that time, and the quivers were without covers, and at times slung upon the back, so that the arrows are seen over the right shoulder.

The Mace.—At Hastings the Saxons appear to have used the stone hammer and the Normans a mace having the head heart-shaped; they had recourse to this after the lance had been splintered. The axe is not seen in the hands of the Normans, though it subsequently came into high favour with them, but many of the Saxons wield the weapon which, from its handle being four or five feet in length, may justly be termed the pole-axe.

Fig. 85.—Details of armour (Bayeux Tapestry).

Fig. 86.—Figure showing coif worn under mail.

The body armour of this period is of great interest by reason of its complexity and variety. Upon the Bayeux Tapestry there are delineated seven different kinds, which are reproduced in Fig. 85. No. 1 is undoubtedly the ringed byrnie which we have noted during the Saxon period, and No. 2 is either intended to represent interlinked chain mail or, what is more probable, scale armour, as it is invariably represented with the points of the scales downwards. These scales were of various materials, such as iron, bronze, leather, cuir-bouilli, and horn. Cuir-bouilli was leather softened by boiling (generally in oil), and stamped or moulded into a definite form when in that condition; upon drying it became intensely hard and tough. It was a favourite agent for defence for centuries, and did not eventually disappear in England as such until the close of the fourteenth century. Nos. 3 and 4 may possibly be composed of iron rings or discs of metal lying upon leather or padded material, with strips of leather sewn on between the rings. Some authorities profess to discover jazeraint work in this representation, which was a method of defence much used in later centuries for archers’ jacques and various other garments, but we have no right to assume that the Normans at that period carried such a heavy weight of armour as this would necessitate, or were acquainted with such a technical and complicated manufacture as jazeraint work implies. The circles, moreover, are too large to represent studs. Nos. 5 and 6 are the ordinary markings used for the Gambeson (or Wambeys), the plain quilted defence which is perhaps the most ancient of all armours and was known to the early Egyptians. It was padded with a soft material such as wool, or tow, or cloth reduced to shreds, which was enclosed between two layers of material and then sewn together. Although offering but little opposition to a lance-thrust it was highly efficacious in warding off a sword-cut, or stopping arrows when not delivered at short range. Against the mace, or a stone from a sling, it was of little use in preventing bones from being broken. This defence, with various styles of quilting and varieties of stuffing materials, was in use for many centuries in England as an under garment, to prevent the chafing of chain mail and plate, besides affording additional protection, while among the rank and file of our English armies it was often the only defence worn. In MSS. it is shown in different tints, invariably self-colours, but occasionally in stripes, chequers, &c., and this serves to prove, if proof were needed, that the surface exposed to view was not metal but material. No. 7 is a crude representation of the ordinary conical helmet, furnished with a nasal, to which is attached a coif or camail of quilted material, defending the back and sides of the head and falling upon the shoulders. As a rule, this quilting was continued over the head, and protected the wearer from the chafing of the helmet, while at the same time it distributed its weight. At times, however, this method was not in use, but a separate covering of soft or padded material was adopted; in Fig. 86 it is represented cut into the shape of a coif and tied under the chin. No. 8 is an example of different markings upon the same dress which is very common in MSS.; it is invariably introduced in those places where additional defence was required or desirable, and probably consisted of metal reinforcing the under garment.

Fig. 87.—Methods of representing different kinds of defences, other than plate.

It may not be out of place to deal at this point with various armours, quite apart from plate, which will be referred to or illustrated in this work. Hewitt has dealt with this subject perhaps more fully and lucidly than any other author, and the woodcut on opposite page (Fig. 87) is taken from his work. No. 1 is perhaps the commonest of all, and will be referred to as “banded mail.” Its construction is fully dealt with in Chapter VII. Occasionally the lines between the alternate crescents are shown double, but probably that is only a modification of this style of defence. During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it was in constant use, and did not altogether die out for some considerable time afterwards. It is interesting to compare the variations in this style either of the actual defence or of the modes of delineation by the artists; the brasses of Bacon, Creke, d’Aubernoun, Northwode, Raven, Cheyne, &c., may be cited as examples worthy of interest in this respect, though many more may be found upon careful inspection. No. 2 is very common in illuminated MSS., and is occasionally found chiselled upon effigies; the Trumpington brass is an example of its incision in metal. No. 3 is generally found exemplified in brasses and effigies of the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, and is by far the finest method for representing interlinked chain armour. It has a richness and reality which is unsurpassed by any other method. On the brass of Sir Thomas Burton it is shown in perpendicular chains; horizontal on that of Sir William Bagot; large rings are engraved in the case of Sir John Hanley, and there are many examples of small rings. On the brass of Sir Robert Russell there is a remarkable width between the parallel rows of chains, from which it may be inferred that although the chain-mail proper linked laterally, and also above and below, occasionally parallel chains linked at the sides only were in vogue. It is probable that the mail shown on the d’Aubernoun brass is of the latter pattern. No. 4: early examples of this are to be found on the Septvans and Buslingthorpe brasses. No. 5 is taken from one of the Temple Church effigies; a modification of this method, in which the lines are straight, may be seen upon an incised figure of a knight at Avenbury, Herefordshire, c. 1260. No. 6 occurs upon foreign effigies. No. 7 is an example of the mail shown upon the monumental statue of Sir William Arden, in Aston Church, Warwickshire. No. 8 is from early woodcuts. Nos. 9 and 10 are probably intended to represent banded mail, and No. 11 appears upon an ivory chessman of the thirteenth century. No. 12: this has been mentioned as occurring in the Bayeux Tapestry, and there are many other instances of its use. No. 13 occurs upon the Great Seal of King Stephen and other examples of early seals. No. 14, a variety of No. 12. No. 15, from a steel statuette; the indentations appear to have been made with a punch. No. 16 is from an effigy in Bristol Cathedral. No. 17, from Roy. MS. 14, E. IV., a manuscript written and illuminated for King Edward IV. No. 18 is much used upon seals—one of King Stephen, for example. Nos. 19 and 20, from Add. MSS. 15295 and 15297. No. 21, from two MSS. of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (Egerton MS. 809; Add. MS. 15268). No. 22, from Harl. MS. 2803.

PLATE IX

The “Rhodes” Suit at the Rotunda, Woolwich

Fig. 88.—Armour, c. 1190.

Under the gambeson or the hauberk or both was worn a tunic reaching nearly to the knees, and as a rule a little longer than the defensive garments. It is well shown in the accompanying figure (Fig. 88, from Harleian Roll, Y 6, “The Life of St. Guthlac,” a work of the close of the twelfth century).

Fig. 89.—Norman hauberk, 1066.

The Hauberk.—The hauberk was to the Norman what the byrnie was to the Saxon, the chief method of bodily defence. The coif for the head was generally a part of it, with only a small opening for the face, but at times it is shown made in two pieces, the lower extending upwards to the neck and the coif falling over it. This was doubtless to afford better means of adjustment for the gorget, plastron-de-fer, or other reinforcement which was undoubtedly worn under it upon the breast. The lower part of the garment was generally made to open up the front in order to afford convenience in riding, but occasionally examples are met with where openings are made upon both sides. For foot soldiers no opening was, as a rule, necessary. In some cases the reinforcement for the breast appears upon the outside of the hauberk in the shape of a square or oblong pectoral; when worn thus it was possibly of metal plates or studs attached to leather (Fig. 89).

Fig. 90.—Tegulated armour, c. 1090.

Fig. 91.—Scale armour. (Harl. MS., 603.)

Towards the end of the eleventh century the different distinct styles of armour became more numerous, and do not present such uniformity as at the time of the Conquest. Hefner gives an illustration of tegulated armour (Fig. 90) from a painting on vellum dating from c. 1090, when this system appears to have been introduced. In the original the plates are silvered, and some bosses on pendant scales of a figure shown upon the right are gilded. The square or oblong scales are shown as overlapping like slates upon a roof, and being probably sewn upon leather would afford a good protection to the wearer. Two soldiers also in the same group have chausses of mail of the same description, and the coif is continuous with the body portions of the hauberk.

Fig. 92.—Armour, 1148. (Add MS., 14789.)

Fig. 93.—Goliath. (Harl. MS., 2803.)

Chausses of mail of various patterns apparently came into general use about the commencement of the twelfth century. They are mentioned above, and apparently in the figure referred to (No. 90) are continuous scale work round the limbs; in other examples they partake of the character of half-leggings protecting only the knees and shins of the wearer (Fig. 86). An excellent example of this (Fig. 92) is afforded by a small representation in an illuminated manuscript Bible of the date 1148, where, in a capital letter F, the figures of David and Goliath are introduced, the giant lying prone upon the central projection of the letter with a stone in his forehead and the neck of the hauberk partly cut through. This is beautifully illustrated in Shaw’s “Dresses and Decorations.” The hauberk is shown continuous with the coif; the legs are protected by chausses of some pliable material, thickly covered with protective studs. These evidently fasten down the back, and are drawn over the feet by bands or straps meeting underneath. Later still, in a MS. written about 1170 (Fig. 93), we have an example of Goliath wearing chausses consisting of a thin material which creases near the calf, and only a single row of the protective studs down the shin. The short boot is analogous with those worn in Fig. 88, though here defended, or ornamented, with a few studs.

Fig. 94.—Great Seal of Alexander I., King of Scotland.

The Norman Shield.—The shield generally adopted by the Norman cavalry was kite-shaped and probably of Sicilian origin; it was either flat, or round so as to encircle the body to some extent. The protection afforded by such a shield is obvious, inasmuch as it guarded the upper part of the body where it was the broadest, and by tapering downwards defended the left leg. It was invariably made of wood and covered on both sides with leather, in addition to which extra defences of metal were added. Shields of this description are referred to which intimate that the whole of the exterior was of polished metal, though they seem to be exceptional. On the great seal of Alexander I., King of Scotland (Fig. 94), the rivet heads are shown upon the reverse of the shield, which fastened the plates in position. It was held in the left hand by a bar or strap near the inside upper portion as shown in the figure. The length varied, but may be taken as approximately four feet in height with a maximum width of two feet. The shield for foot soldiers was somewhat small, as may be seen in Fig. 88. At the time of the Conquest flat shields were frequently used, but all were eventually bowed. The umbo occasionally appears in illuminated MSS., but its use was exceptional. In nearly every case a guige, which is very plainly shown in many of the engravings, is provided for suspending the shield round the neck. The round shield (Fig. 95) is of much rarer occurrence. It is shown in Harl. MS. 603 and other MSS. of the close of the eleventh century, and was very probably confined entirely to foot soldiers.