DETAILS.
The whole suit ([Fig. 37]) is freely ornamented with arabesqued foliations on a ground of fine vertical lines, banded in the Italian style, interspersed with human heads, some of them grotesque, and enclosed in medallions; and a series of armed figures, which would richly repay a close examination. The helmet is a remarkable piece of workmanship, and forged in a single piece; it weighs seven pounds. It is an Italian casque of a most graceful and classic form. The repoussé ornamentation on it is banded like the rest of the armour. The comb is very high, and fluted all over the crest. There are remains of a leather lining inside, fastened all round with gilded rivets. The plume socket has two holes for adjustment, and there is another hole in the comb for firmly securing the plume of feathers. The oreillettes are provided with six holes on one side, and three on the other, for hearing; and have each a round projecting eye, with fluted edges, presumably an attachment for keeping the flaps up when not required, or for fastening them across the throat. Both peaks are of overlapping plates, with fluted borders. A very similar helmet, formerly in the possession of Baron de Cosson, was ascribed by him to 1530–40. He writes concerning it: “Many rich suits had one of these light open helmets as well as a close helmet,” a fact proved by existing examples at Madrid and elsewhere. We have already quoted an example in the description of the suit of the Prince-Bishop of Salzburg, which has a close helmet and a cabasset. The cuirass has a tapul, with a projection near the bottom; this particular form was termed the “peascod” in England. Both these pieces are bordered round the chest and arms with a thick ridged piping. This piping was a contrivance to stop a stroke from penetrating beneath the gorget. The tassets consist of six lames, and are attached to the tace, which is in one piece, by straps and buckles; all the rivets have gilded heads. The lower body is protected by chain-mail. The left pauldron is the larger; both have free laminations at the shoulder and upper arm. The coudières are cup-formed over the elbows, and go round the arm. The gauntlets have highly-rounded articulations for the fingers, with a separate thumb plate. Both leg armour and sollerets are freely decorated in “banded” ornamentations, with enclosed medallions, besides gilded rivets. A sharp ridge runs down the front of the cuisse, genouillière, and jamb. The genouillières are fastened round the back of the knee by straps, and on to the jambs by a reversible turning pin on the latter, passing through a hole in the former; and a turn of the screw secures the attachment. Jambs, which are hinged, and sollerets are riveted together, with lames above the ankle. The sollerets are “bear-paw.” All these pieces are held together by gilded rivets. The suit was probably made in the third quarter of the sixteenth century, or possibly as late as the fourth quarter, though the shape of the sollerets would point to a somewhat earlier period. [Fig. 38] exhibits some details of the suit. The stand on which the armour is hung is very old, and has probably stood in the armoury of the castle of Beauraing for centuries; and the face is very possibly a portrait of the Duke d’Osuna.
Fig. 37.—Suit of the Duc D’Osuna.
Fig. 38.—Some details of the Osuna Suit.
The beautifully embossed harness at Vienna, made for the Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol, about 1560, is the work of the Milanese master, Battista Serabaglio. The casque is of classic form.
An embossed suit ([Fig. 39]), made by Anton Peffenhauser of Augsburg, about 1570, for Don Sebastian of Portugal, is in the Armeria Real at Madrid (Catálogo, page 94, No. A290); it is a notable example of the time.
The collection in the hall set apart for enriched armour at Dresden is especially valuable in exhibiting a remarkable series of fourteen historic suits, blazing with ornamentation, and covering a period of from something like the second quarter of the sixteenth to the end of the first quarter in the seventeenth century. All these suits are royal specimens of their school. The earliest is the harness of Kurfürst Moritz of Saxony, 1521–53. The rider sits on horseback in his field-harness, which is freely decorated with gold arabesques on blue bands. The Kurfürst bore this armour on his entry into the conquered city of Magdeburg in 1551. The bards are enriched in the same manner as the armour borne by the Kurfürst. Another suit is that of Duke (afterwards Kurfürst) August, 1526–86. It is fluted and richly ornamented, bearing the Saxon arms inlaid. This harness was the gift of the Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol, and is probably the work of Jörg Seusenhofer of Innsbruck. The figure holds a field-marshal’s baton in the right hand. The legend, “Semper suave,” is inlaid on the bards. Another suit of this Duke’s is a specimen of blackened harness with white bands; a description much worn in campaigning in the second half of the sixteenth century and later, because it was easily kept clean in all weathers. It is a fine piece of work, and is inscribed with the date 1546. The Duke bore this suit at the battle of Mühlberg in the year following. A harness of Duke Johann Wilhelm of Weimar, bearing the mark of Kunz Lochner of Nuremberg, date about 1560. A suit for man and horse of Kurfürst Christian I., 1560–91. Tournament reinforcing pieces stand by it—a tilting helm, grand-guard, garde-de-bras, etc. The harness for man and horse of Kurfürst Christian II. (1583–1611), a masterpiece of the armour-smith’s art, is by Heinrich Knopf of Nuremberg, and cost £1,750. The ornamentation consists of arabesques on a gold ground with enclosed medallions. A rapier by Andreis Munsten of Solingen is with the suit. There is a second suit that belonged to this prince—the ground is a dull green, with chasings. This harness, according to an inventory of 1606, was bought at Augsburg in 1602—it bears no mark. The latest harness of the series is that of Kurfürst Johann Georg I., and the date is 1622; it is the work of Hieronymus Ringler of Augsburg, and though very richly decorated exhibits unmistakable signs of the decline of art.
Fig. 39.—Suit by Anton Peffenhauser, at Madrid.
This remarkable series is as valuable from an educational as from an æsthetic point of view; still, though the differences in points of detail, over the various periods, stand before you, it must not be forgotten that fashions were far from being contemporaneous over northern and central Europe, and that new departures of fashion in armour, as in dress, took long to travel and get generally assimilated—far longer in the sixteenth century than to-day,—hence one or two salient features cannot always date a suit, even within a couple of decades. There is a fine series of plain gilded suits at Dresden, which were worn with boots.
To give a completer series of examples of late sixteenth and early seventeenth century forms and fashions would make this work far too voluminous. Examples of pikemen’s later suits, etc., would make the chain more complete, but the varieties are so very numerous that it would be impossible reasonably to cover them without largely extending the size and scope of the work. Practically the illustrations close with the end of the sixteenth century; after which the general use of armour, from causes already referred to, rapidly declined. The interest in the later forms is comparatively far less to the student or collector, whether looked at from an artistic or historic point of view, than the grand period which has been imperfectly covered here.
SECTION II.
THE WEAPONS AND ENGINES OF WAR.
PART XV.
INTRODUCTORY AND GENERAL.
Dion Cassius refers to the armament of the Caledonians as being a buckler, dagger, and lance; while Tacitus says that the Britons used large blunt swords and small bucklers.
Excepting for a few specimens found in peat mosses and burial mounds, we are indebted to monkish chronicles for all our knowledge regarding the weapons of the “dark ages” of our era, together with a few glimpses and suggestions obtained from the “Sagas” handed down, partly vivâ voce, from generation to generation. There are many errors in the best classifications of arms, and many weapons in museums and private collections scheduled as belonging to the “iron age” are really of mediæval origin; still, this state of things has vastly improved of late years, and some of the newer museum catalogues leave but little to be desired, having been compiled by men who have made a close study of the subject, and who have had the advantages of ample opportunities for comparison in their surroundings.
Procopius, the secretary of Belisarius, gives some account of the arms of the Franks of the sixth century, whose weapons were the sword, the axe or francisca, and the spear. The ordinary battering-ram and the testudo, which was a movable shed containing a ram, were in use in this century, as well as a machine for boring walls.
The sources of information available from the seventh to the end of the tenth century are very scanty as far as Britain and the Germanic peoples are concerned; but more has been preserved relating to the Franks, a race also of Germanic origin, whose country, more than any other during the “dark ages,” seems to have been imbued with the continuity of Roman methods and traditions. This was indeed a barbarous nation, with the corrupt remnants of the Roman Empire grafted on to it; and the Frankish kingdom only became consolidated some time after the introduction of Christianity, which provided a much needed common platform in the teachings and example of the monastic orders. The monks wrote and preserved the manuscripts, without which the “dark ages” of our era would have left but little trace behind them.
Double axes and the lance or javelin appear in the seventh century, and indeed up to the age of chivalry the weapons of the ruling class of the more civilised nations of Europe continued to be the axe, the lance, and above all, the sword; while those of the yeomanry or peasantry were the bow, the sling, and the fustibal or staff sling. The axes differed in shape and length, some blades curving like a halbard, of which it is evidently the prototype, while others were long and narrow. The form of the lance or javelin varied greatly, and some were barbed. Two kinds of swords prevailed—the true sword and a shorter weapon. The true sword was worn by leaders only; it was flat, double-edged and sharp, two and a half to three feet in length, with an obtusely pointed blade. The shorter sword was in general use, also the battle-axe and a dagger.
The Anglo-Saxon thane carried a sword, then solely a horseman’s weapon; while the footman was armed with a spear, an axe, a shield, and a dagger. The Anglo-Saxon spear was long in the blade, and the pole-axe narrow bladed and single edged.
Among the valuable Anglo-Saxon records we have, the Ælfric MS., which is profusely illuminated, and contains a good deal of information about swords, mentions the tri-lobed hilt; but the richest mine of contemporary history, for delineation of the weapons of the eleventh century, is undoubtedly the Bayeux tapestry. The arms given in that invaluable record are the lance, the sword, the mace, the axe, and the bow. This bow is shorter than the weapon known as the English longbow, which was not used in battle much before the reign of Edward I. Some of the Anglo-Saxons appear with javelins.
The weapons used by the Normans at Hastings still retained traces of their Scandinavian origin. Their army was rich in cavalry and archers, while their Anglo-Saxon adversaries were but ill-provided in these respects.
The sword was used in conjunction with the dagger as early as the reign of Edward I. As the great advantages of the use of infantry became more apparent, the yeomanry began to play a much more important part in the warlike combinations of the age; while even the peasantry had now become indispensable in all campaigning on a large scale. It was mostly, however, the freedman who went to the wars, while the serf remained at home to till the soil. This it was which brought the bow and other footman’s weapons so much to the fore. Bills and scythe-knives[34] appear to have been in use early in the eleventh century, indeed probably long before, as this was the class of weapons most easily extemporised from the implements of husbandry. The goedendag, the weapon of the guilds and boors of Flanders, and later of the lower orders in France, is by some considered to have been a ploughshare mounted on a pole or staff; but this is a question which will be dealt with in the more detailed descriptions of the various weapons covered by these notes. The flail also, with its military adaptations, contributed its quota at a very early period towards the armament of the masses; and the English longbow was the arbiter of victory in many a stricken field, and was the main factor in breaking down the inordinate power and oppression of the English, or perhaps more properly speaking, of the Norman barons. English archers carried stakes pointed at both ends as part of their equipment. When driven into the ground with their points towards the enemy they formed an efficient stockade against a charge of horsemen, as the horses impaled themselves upon them. The mace and its kindred weapons, with their common prehistoric ancestor the club, and the long line of the more rudimentary axes, from the remotest times, all played their part in the wars of the earlier “middle ages.”
The weapons of the fourteenth century differed but little in form from those of the thirteenth, and it was not before the fifteenth century that organised infantry became an indispensable contingent of the “establishment” of every army in the field; by which time halbards, pikes, partizans, and their kindred weapons were all in use. These weapons, with the glaive, voulge, holywater-sprinklers, and morning-star, continued more or less in vogue until the beginning of the eighteenth century. It is frequently affirmed that gunpowder was known to the Chinese before the Christian era began, and the embrasures in the Great Wall, erected 200 B.C., are often cited as proof that artillery of some sort or other was used in China at a very early date. However this may be, it is certain that there must be an extraordinary wealth of facts and suggestions lying buried deep under the soil of that “old world empire” and Japan. In this age, so hungry for new developments, it will probably not be many years before some enthusiastic antiquary begins to look more closely into the possibilities of this virgin soil by digging investigation.
The honour of the invention of gunpowder is claimed, however, by several of the European nations. It is often stated to have been a fortuitous discovery in 1320 by Bartholdus Schwartz, a monk of Friburg; but there is a recipe for its production as far back as the ninth century of our era, the component parts then being six parts of sulphur to two each of saltpetre and charcoal,[35] but this acted by fusing and not by detonation, and was probably a form of Greek fire. The properties of gunpowder were thus more or less known long before its application as a motive force for projectiles. This did not take place, however, before the fourteenth century. It is often stated that gunpowder was not made in England before the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Henry VIII. bought gunpowder largely in Spain, but as he also purchased saltpetre and sulphur it seems certain that gunpowder was made in England during his reign. There are records at this time of payments for gunpowder to people with English names; and Carlo Capello, the Venetian, writes in 1532 that Henry made powder in the Tower then. Its adoption for application to projectile warfare gradually revolutionised both the armament and tactics of the middle ages and of the “renaissance,” especially in the direction of gradually discrediting the use of the bow in all its forms. The introduction of the epoch-making bombard and hand-gun changed the face of history.
Weapons may be divided into two classes, those made for the rank and file being plain and coarse; while an immense amount of artistic skill, frequently of the very highest order, was lavished during the later middle ages and the “renaissance” on the decoration of swords, daggers, crossbows, and staff weapons generally, as well as on armour of proof, for leaders and the higher classes. The hilts of both swords and daggers were richly chased and decorated in high relief with mouldings and even statuettes, while the blades were often inlaid as well as engraved. Even artists like Holbein and Albert Dürer exercised their utmost skill in designing for such work. A beautiful example is given in [Fig. 40] of a sword that belonged to the Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol.
Fig. 40.—Enriched Sword, second half Sixteenth Century.
The pageant weapons of a prince’s guard, though formed like those used in actual warfare, were especially rich in this respect; and the stocks of crossbows, which afforded great scope for ornamentation, were not only beautifully inlaid with bleached stag’s horn, ivory, and mother-of-pearl, but often adorned with mythological, historic, or biblical legends, carried out with rare elegance and finish. The great German smiths—Hans, Jörg, and Conrad Seusenhofer, Brockberger, Lorenz Kolman, Conrad Lochner, Swartz, Jörg Endorfer, Klemens Horn, Peter Munich, Wilhelm Wirsberg, etc., etc.; and the Italians—Antonio and Tomaso da Missaglia, Philippo Ciro, Giacomo and Francesco Nigroli, Ghinelli, Spacino, Antonio and Lucio Piccinino, and many others, vied with each other in the production of consummate creations of workmanship and art, some of them in armour of proof, others in offensive weapons, and many in both; and if the palm of excellence may perchance be awarded to the latter nation for originality and delicacy in design and finish, surely the Germans were but little if anything behind their confrères beyond the Alps in all these respects. The swords of Bordeaux and Poitiers were now far behind those of Toledo in renown, and the great Spanish masters, such as Antonio Ruiz, 1520; Juan de Almau, 1550; Francisco Ruiz, 1617; Tomas de Ayala, 1605; Sebastian Hermandez, 1637; and hosts of others rendered their cities and country illustrious by the excellence and beauty of their workmanship. Still, strangely enough, quantities of Solingen blades were imported into Spain during these centuries; for it will be noticed that the majority of rapiers picked up by collectors in that country have these German blades. The marks used by these smiths and many others may be found in the Catálogo de la Armeria de Madrid, and in a work by the learned curator of the Imperial collection at Vienna, entitled, Meister der Waffenschmiedekunst von xiv. bis xvii. Jahrhundert, and in the excellent catalogue of the Königl. Historische Museum at Dresden, compiled by Herr Max von Ehrenthal, the accomplished curator.
Fig. 41.—Hand-guns, Renaissance Work.
During the “renaissance” the gunsmith and his coadjutors lavished all manner of ornamentation on pageant hand-guns and their accessories. Barrels were chastely engraved, and stocks inlaid with bleached stag horn, silver, gold, steel, brass, stained wood, and mother-of-pearl; but these highly decorated weapons were not so much for real campaigning as for the use of body-guards, palace troops, and purposes of display generally, and especially for the hunting-field. [Fig. 41] represents three of these enriched weapons, inlaid with bleached stag’s horn. They are late sixteenth or early seventeenth century work.
The weapon of the Harquebusier and Musketeer was much plainer; and the matchlock was preferred to the wheel-lock by reason of its greater rapidity of discharge. There were, however, corps, especially cavalry, armed with wheel-lock weapons. The use of the longbow, which had for so many centuries played a predominant part in the combinations of English campaigning, had gradually languished with the greater mobility and precision of firearms; and the bayonet was soon destined to add new lustre to the British name. An order in Council of 26th October, 1595, ordains that the bows of the trained bands were to be handed into store, and calivers and muskets issued in their stead. In the year 1638 the stock of bows and arrows was omitted altogether from inventories of arms, thus showing that the weapon had become obsolete.
PART XVI.
THE SWORD.
The sword has always been the most universal of weapons among almost all nations and ages. It is alike the symbol of honour and the vindicator of justice; though often, alas, the instrument of oppression. The history of the sword is almost that of humanity itself, and supernatural attributes have often been ascribed to it. There is something about an ancient sword that appeals to the dullest imagination—it is so suggestive of historic memories, both in heroism and treason. It is typical of the force behind the law; but the living sword of our forefathers is now but a memory. It would be fascinating to follow its forms, traditions, and ramifications from the “stone age,” and from Menes to Julius Cæsar and Charlemagne—in fact, something like such an enterprise was begun by Sir Richard F. Burton. His book is indeed “A Romance of the Sword,” but the priceless stores of information he has collaborated, and his fine florid imagination, help us but little in the present quest: sad it is that his researches stop at such an early stage.
The sword, and its diminutive of which it is doubtless an extension, forms a distinct class of arms, in contradistinction to the numerous family of hacking, clubbing, and staff weapons generally. It is difficult to draw any very arbitrary line between the sword and the dagger—the hilt is often the same in form, but some swords are short and some daggers long. Perhaps the best definition of difference is that the dagger is roughly under two feet in length, and was used rather as an auxiliary to the sword, for thrusting only; besides being more capable of concealment, and more efficient at close quarters than the larger weapon. Writers differ in their method of imagining the position of a sword for descriptive purposes—that is to say, whether it be held downwards or upwards. It will here be regarded as being held in the right hand, point uppermost.
Bronze swords were deficient in hardness, so that they could not be adequately tempered; they were narrow and leaf-shaped, and this was the characteristic form everywhere. That recorded on Assyrian monuments is straight, narrow, and like the Greek, more for thrusting than cutting. The Roman type was longer, though still not of much use for parrying; and the leaf form became less accentuated.
The true sword had its birth early in the “iron age,” which arbitrary period, though usually classified to close with the fifth century, might reasonably be prolonged to the dawning of the middle ages. It is during this interval that we have but little accurate information, still it may be taken generally that the weapon became both longer and broader after the fall of the Roman empire, when it was straight, double-edged, and of varying length.
The sword of Chilperic of Soissons (died 584) was found in his tomb at Tournay in 1653, and is now in the Louvre. The weapon has short straight quillons, and the pommel is also cruciform; it bears strong evidences of Oriental influence. Procopius describes the Frankish sword of his day as a short, straight, broad-bladed, and double-edged weapon, somewhat obtusely pointed, and usually about thirty to thirty-two inches long, just about the standard length of the modern small sword; while Agathias, his successor as a chronicler, records it as just the length of a man’s thigh. To judge from the few specimens on record, it has both a cross-guard and pommel, but was by no means uniform either in form or size. Its extremity was rather rounded. A sword found in a grave on Chessel Down, in the Isle of Wight, answers very closely to that of the Franks, as described by Procopius.
The Scandinavian sword of the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries was long, straight, and double-edged; while the Anglo-Saxon weapon of the eleventh century was about three feet long, cruciform, and rounded at the end. No one under the rank of thane was allowed to carry a sword, which accounts for so few specimens having been found.
The earlier Anglo-Saxon sword is, as far as can be ascertained, without cross-guard, but it has a small pommel. A MS. in the British Museum of the tenth century gives an illustration of a sword of this kind, which is only two feet long.
We read in “Sagas” that the swords of heroes were often endowed with names or titles, such as the “Hrunting” of Beowulf, the “Excalibur” of Arthur, the “Tizona” of the Cid.
The component parts of the sword are of course the blade and the hilt. The tang is a piece of wrought iron welded into the shoulder of the blade, and inserted in the grip or handle, at the bottom of which is the pommel. The pieces or guards which pass across between the hilt and the blade are the quillons. Proving the blade was accomplished in various ways: an early method was by a heavy blow on a block of iron, first the flat, then the edge, and lastly the back; then bending the blade flatwise. The operation concluded by driving the point through a thin iron plate, which was called the “Toledo” test. A machine for testing swords was invented in England towards the end of the last century by Matthew Bolton, in which the blade was forced into a curve, reducing from 36 inches to 29 inches.
The Frankish sword of the eighth and ninth centuries is cruciform, with a pommel, which is itself sometimes surmounted with a cross. This may be seen in the Codex Aureus of St. Gall. The weapon of this period is, however, far from being uniform in shape, length, or breadth. The knightly weapon of the Bayeux tapestry is cruciform with a long, straight, two-edged blade, coming somewhat abruptly to a point, and a ridge running up the centre. The hilts are heavy and strong, with pommels. A Norman sword on the tapestry shows the pommel to curve on the grip. There is an actual specimen of this period in the Museum of Artillery, Paris. The blade of the footman’s weapon is much narrower than that of the knight. The sword of William Rufus is shown on a miniature in the Canterbury bible. The point is obtuse, the blade widens towards the quillons, the ends of which curve upwards, while the grip is short, and the pommel round.
There is not much change in the twelfth century, when swords vary a good deal in form; as also does the shape of the pommel. A specimen of the reign of the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa is in the museum at Dresden.
The cultellus or coustel is a short sword or long dagger. The weapon is mentioned in a statute of William of Scotland, 1165–1214. From this time forward we have in military brasses and effigies figures of the knightly sword brought before us as it actually was.
The sword of the thirteenth century is more distinctly pointed, and has the cross-guard either straight or curving more or less towards the blade; the grip is rather short, and the weapon is usually about two feet six inches to over three feet long, and there is a large heavy pommel of various shapes. A good example may be seen on the Daubernoun brass. Some of the German swords of the century, actual specimens of which may be seen at Dresden, are, however, very much longer. The short handle could be rigidly gripped, so that the entire force came more from the arm and shoulder.
The sword blades of Damascus, India, and Persia were equal, if not superior, in temper, finish, and decoration to any made by the sword-smiths of Europe, but the Eastern smiths devoted much more care to the edge than to the point. In the main, they were curved blades. There is a good deal of romance in old Japan about the sword, and some very remarkable weapons have been turned out by their craftsmen. There were numerous distinct varieties of Asiatic swords and daggers; but to give even the merest outline of these would make the present notes far too long. Single-handed swords of Europe consisted of curved weapons like the scimitar or falchion, the dusack, cutlass and sabre, and those with a straight, double-edged blade.
The scimitar is of Persian origin, and was introduced into Europe during the first crusade; it did not, however, come very much into vogue before the middle of the fifteenth century. Like most swords of Asiatic origin, it is specially devised for cutting; and its curved blade, and the setting of the hilt, in relation to it, is well adapted for the delivery of a highly penetrating stroke. This weapon, the blade of which is short and single-edged, has probably its prototype in the “Acinace” of the Romans, a representation of which may be seen on that instructive monument of contemporary history, the column of Trajan. Possibly the Romans themselves derived it, like so much besides, from an Eastern source. The falchion, or fauchon, which is a smaller type of scimitar, appears in England early in the thirteenth century, and is mentioned in the fourteenth century romance of Richard Cœur de Lion, “broad fawchons and fawchons kene.” It is in two varieties—a broad blade widening towards the point, with a concave back and sharp edge; and the other with a straight back. The curious tenure falchion of the Conyers is an example of the latter kind. This weapon is figured in Archæologia Æliana, vol. xv.; and is also referred to in Blount’s Antient Tenures. Sir Edward W. Blackett, Bart., in a communication to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,[36] says that this weapon measures two feet eleven inches in length; on one side of the pommel are three lions, the arms of England, with remains of red enamel in the ground; and on the other an eagle with outspread wings, which Mr. Longstaffe considered to relate to Richard, King of the Romans, brother of Henry III. This statement would point to its being a weapon of the thirteenth century, which it undoubtedly is. The tenure is given in the inquest of Sir John Conyers in 1396. The Baron de Cosson mentions two examples somewhat similar, one in the Musée de Cluny, Paris; the other in the Brera at Milan. He compares the Conyers falchion with one given on the drawing from the Painted Chamber, Westminster, attributed by Mr. John Hewitt to the second half of the thirteenth century. The forms are certainly almost identical. The Conyers weapon has a nearly round pommel, with the quillons slightly curved towards the point at the extremities. The Paris falchion has a very large circular pommel, with the quillons on a sharp curve in the same direction. The guard of the Milan specimen is straight and the pommel a large oval, with small square side projections. The blades of all three falchions are similar in form, the Milan example being the largest. Drawings of the three falchions may be seen in the Proceedings (vol. v., p. 42) of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-on-Tyne. The True Tragedy of Richard of Yorke (1595) says: “With purple fawchon painted to the hilts.” Another local tenure sword, mentioned in Blount’s Antient Tenures, is that under which the Umfravilles held their lordship of Redesdale in Northumberland. An instance of the application of the “tenure” principle in a humbler form and modern date, occurs in an agreement with the sword-smiths of Shotley Bridge, County of Durham, concerning rent for houses occupied by them. The rent is supplemented by an annual sword of their own make.
The sabre, which is a near relative of the scimitar, is of two kinds, both straight and curved; the latter form was in vogue as early as the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and of course later.
An interesting example of the curved form, which is attributed to Charlemagne (771–814), is preserved in the Treasury at Vienna. The form betrays its direct Eastern origin, and the tradition is too vague to base any inferences on it. The sword is about thirty inches long, by over three-quarters of an inch broad, and would appear to date about the fourteenth century.
The sword of the fourteenth century continues cruciform, with the quillons either straight or curving towards the blade. The shape of the pommel varies greatly, being trefoiled, conical, circular, etc., and sometimes it is also charged with a cross. It was not uncommon for a ring to be fixed to the pommel for attachment to a chain connecting it with a mamillière. Examples of this kind may be seen on an effigy in the church at Ebersberg, temp. 1371; another at Borfe, in the Tyrol; and one is given by Hewitt in his Ancient Armour, vol. ii., Plate XV. The sword is fastened at the left side by a broad straight belt, called a “bawdric.”
Blades of this century, though far from uniform, become generally more ornate and longer than in the century preceding, sometimes attaining the length of four feet, and there are even longer examples.
Sword sheaths were usually of leather. The knight’s sword-belt was greatly embellished in this century by quatrefoils, jewels, and enriched pendants.
The grip of the sword proper rather lengthens in the fifteenth century, and the tendency of the pommel is to become lighter, and is oftenest round or pear-shaped; there is still the plain cross-guard. The straight double-edged blade is long, and sometimes grooved. The pas d’ane guard is found in this century, though rarely. This guard projects over the base of the blade, its object being to protect the back of the hand, which it did but inadequately. It has often been assumed to have made its appearance first in the sixteenth century, but this is not the case, as a picture of the early part of the fifteenth century in a church at Mondoneda shows swords with this guard.[37] It forms, however, as a rule, an excellent guide as to date, and its presence would, under ordinary circumstances, indicate a weapon of the sixteenth century. There are some fine swords of this century (the fifteenth) in the Munich Museum, in excellent preservation, some with the original sheaths.
The knuckle-bow, called the finger-guard by some writers, is comparatively rare towards the end of the fifteenth century, but becomes common in the following. Mr. John Hewitt, in one of his contributions towards the History of Mediæval Weapons, mentions an instance as early as the reign of Charles the Bold of Burgundy. It was long before this guard became united to the pommel. It clearly developed from the counter-curved quillons, one of which seems to have reached the pommel by stages. In Holbein’s “Costumes Suisses” is a figure of a Swiss halbardier of the first half of the sixteenth century with a sword, the knuckle-bow of which unites the quillons and pommel.
The executioner’s sword is broad in the blade. A German example in the author’s collection is 39 inches in length. The pommel is circular, very heavy and flat, and engraved with an eagle; the quillons solid and plain, curving slightly towards the blade, which has a groove running up the centre. The blade is two and a half inches broad, and is inscribed with a cross, cross-bones, and a crown. Quillons are, of course, unnecessary on these weapons, and are unusual except in the case of German examples.
The sword used in the foot tournament was heavier and shorter than that for war.
The two-handed sword was introduced late in the fourteenth or early in the fifteenth century, and became a favourite weapon in the sixteenth, after which it was greatly superseded by the rapier. This long and very heavy two-handed weapon is a footman’s sword, and was much used by the hardy mountaineers of Switzerland in battle, while the less robust Germans and Burgundians applied it more in the defence of fortified places. It was introduced into England early in the sixteenth century, when it was a favourite weapon of Henry VIII., and continued much prized there up to its close, when the rapier came into vogue. The handle is very long for both hands to grasp the hilt. The total length of the sword is up to five feet eight inches, and even more. This sword is the true espadon. Two-handed swords were usually worn without scabbard, but had a piece of leather permanently fixed on the blade above the quillons; they were rarely met with after the close of the sixteenth century. A variety with a wavy blade is called “flamberge.” An example from the Meyrick collection is in the author’s possession, and shown somewhat incongruously in [Fig. 23]. This being a footman’s weapon, ought not to be in the hands of a man-at-arms. Great strength of arms and supple wrists were necessary for cutting with these weapons; the point was rarely used. The true claymore is a two-handed sword. Some fine examples of two-handed swords and flamberges are given in [Fig. 42]. The thumb-ring appears in the fifteenth century, possibly a little earlier, and it was common in the sixteenth.
Fig. 42.—Two-handed Swords, Flamberges, and Daggers.
The anelace was a very common weapon of the fifteenth century. It is a short, broad sword or dagger, tapering to a point. The blade is usually about twenty inches long, by four broad, and double-edged. The weapon, called in Italy the cinquedea, is of Verona origin, and was styled oxenzunge by the Germans, and braquamart or épée de passot by the French. It is a very similar weapon to that carried by the ancient Greeks and Romans on the left side, called the parazonium, a late specimen of which was found at Sesto-Calende, and is now at Milan.
The dusack is a sword of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with a blade like that of the curved sabre, while the hilt consists either of a hole in the rounded base of the blade for the hand to grip, or is a rounded continuation of the blade at the shoulder, forming a circular hole. The length is about 39 inches. The swordsman wore an iron or leather gauntlet reaching to the elbow.
Swords tended to become more ornate as the fifteenth century advanced, and towards the end and early in the sixteenth both pommels and quillons varied greatly in form and in size, the former being round, square, cusped, truncated, crescent-shaped, etc., while the latter tended both downwards and upwards, sometimes counter-curved, and curled at the extremities, but this feature became more pronounced later. The play of sword and buckler is very ancient, and was displaced in England by the rapier and dagger in the second half of the sixteenth century. The sword was of medium size and double-edged, while the buckler was about fourteen inches in diameter.
The usual form of the sword up to the middle of the sixteenth century is still cruciform, with or without the pas d’ane guard, a broad two-edged blade about three feet and a half long, and a large and frequently circular pommel; the quillons straight or slightly bent towards the blade, which tends to become narrower and lighter. There are, however, many examples of a greater elaboration of guards at an earlier period, when the guard formed like the letter S was not uncommon. An example of a sword by Ambrosius Gemlich, about 1530, is given in [Fig. 44]. There is a calendar on the blade. The simple cross-guard disappears with the commencement of the second half of the century, and the pas d’ane guard becomes common. The sword-hand now becomes adequately guarded, and you get the counter-guard, which later becomes amplified into one or more branches for encircling the back of the hand, while the quillons more generally assume curved forms and eventually merge into the knuckle-bow or finger-guard; and it was during the second half of the sixteenth century that the rapier hilt became completely developed. It was no longer the rule to wear the steel gauntlet; such guards had therefore become more necessary, and they were gradually evolved by reason of new developments in fencing strokes. Swordsmanship had now reached the point when the weapon, besides being for attack, was used more in a defensive sense. The term “shield” is applied to the flat piece of steel sometimes found at the base of the hilt, while the “shell” refers to a semicircular hilt. The growth of what are but inadequately described as counter-guards consists in a more or less complex system of perpendicular and horizontally curved and interlacing bars and hoops gradually evolving the S guard, cross and side ring, cross and finger loop, cross finger loop and half ring at the side, double branches, etc., which crystallised, so to speak, in certain classes of swords into the basket-hilt and the shell or cup. The practice and progress of the art of fencing had induced upward cuts and other movements that necessitated additional protection for the hand and wrist.
Fig. 44.—Sword of the Emperor Charles V., about 1530.
The lansquenette appears in the sixteenth century. It is a weapon about two and a half feet long, by two inches broad. The blade is broad and double-edged, and the grip thick and surmounted by a pommel. There is usually a counter-guard of two rings.
GERMAN. SPANISH. ITALIAN.
Fig. 45.—Rapiers.
The mediæval estoc is a long, narrow stabbing sword of French origin. It was often used in tournaments, and is sometimes two-handed like the real claymore; it is a horseman’s weapon.
The English broadsword appears in the reign of Edward VI.; both it and the cutlass are somewhat heavy and unwieldy.
Fencing is a purely European invention, and the time had now arrived when it had become more of a fine art, though still in its early stage; and this cause, more than anything else, brought about the general use of the rapier and small sword. The rapier is a sword with a great variety of guards, or with the basket hilt, either solid or perforated, and straight or curved quillons; it was introduced into England by Philip II., but appeared in Spain in the complex form during the preceding reign. This weapon has sharp edges, is grooved, and sometimes strengthened by a sharp central ridge. It was used mostly for thrusting, but not to the complete exclusion of cutting. The two-edged rapier is a military sword, but not useful for the mêlée, being more suitable for single combat in any form. Duels were sometimes fought with the rapier alone, but oftener with the rapier and main-gauche, the latter held in the left hand. Why the main-gauche should be specially named as left-handed is impossible to understand. Another form was with the rapier and a cloak, the latter being held in the dagger-hand. Examples of German, Spanish, and Italian rapiers are given in [Fig. 45].
Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., in his admirable monograph, The Forms and History of the Sword, quotes George Silver (1599), the father of English broadsword play, who speaks of “that mischievous and imperfect weapon (the rapier) which serves to kill our friends in peace, but cannot much hurt our foes in war.”
The small sword came into general use towards the close of the seventeenth century, and it had almost entirely superseded the two-edged lengthier and heavier rapier when the eighteenth century was in its second quarter.
The duelling sword and rapier are often confounded with each other, but the former was used mostly for thrusting only, while the latter was more adapted for a cutting stroke, although still a weapon more for thrusting than cutting. The elaborate Spanish hilts were followed in the seventeenth century by the shell guard for duelling, and a hilt much lighter than before for military purposes.
The swords made at Toledo have a reputation which still endures; and the well-known name of Ferrara is derived from a Venetian family of the sixteenth century. The Ferrara blades are broad and of splendid temper, but the name was used by many smiths as a sort of “standard” mark. Andrea Ferrara or Ferara was established in business, in partnership with his brother Giovan Donato, at the town of Belluno, in the Venetian province of Friuli, in 1585. The Trattato Militare, published at Venice in 1583, mentions the brothers as the celebrated sword-makers of that day. Ferara blades, inscribed with the name, were, however, in existence much earlier than this; but whether all or part of these were made in Spain, where there are several towns of the name, is far from clear. The question, then, as to which city or country gave its name to the great master is not yet absolutely determined. Andrea was probably born between 1550 and 1560,[38] and his master, Giovanni Battista, some of whose blades were marked “Zandona,” was called the “Barcelonian,” which circumstance might suggest the possibility that the brothers were emigrants from Spain; but it is much more probable that they came of an Italian family which had been domiciled in Italy for generations, as there are blades of a considerably earlier date than the “Andrea” span, bearing the names of Cosmo and Piero Ferara, both of which Christian names are undoubtedly Italian. A tradition exists in Scotland that Andrea Ferara, or Ferrara, came there as a fugitive from justice, and made swords there in great numbers, but there is no evidence whatever of this being the case. There are swords bearing the brand “Andrewea Ferrara” with a St. Andrew’s Cross, which clearly discloses their Scottish origin, or at all events is suggestive of their having been made in or for Scotland. Indeed, almost all Scottish blades bearing the name of Ferara, with variations, are of seventeenth century make, some even later. We know that it was a common practice of many of the German smiths during the “renaissance” to inscribe their blades with the names of Italian makers; and while Ferara blades are to be met with all over Europe, strangely enough very few are to be found in Italy. The practice of using the marks of celebrated sword-smiths by others less renowned cannot be looked upon as a deliberate forgery, unless perhaps in the earlier instances, when marks were taken possession of by one town or country from another, proceeding, doubtless, from the importation of craftsmen; but even in such cases it was not uncommon for the maker to give his own name or mark in conjunction with such as those of Ferara, the running wolf, etc. Marks like the bishop’s head, moor’s head, Sahagun, Ayala, Piccinino,[39] were often used by others, though probably rarely in the sense of piracy. This is shown by the annexation of the Wolf of Passau by the Solingen makers, and that of Ferara by the Scotch. Mere legends, like the domicilisation of Andrea Ferara in Scotland, or that of Jakob Topf in London, require some more direct evidence for serious attention, which is certainly not forthcoming in these cases, though the probability is greater in the case of the latter than in the former. Excellent rapier blades were also made at Seville, Valladolid, and Solingen. The Solingen blades are stouter and more suitable for military purposes than those forged in Spain; they bore the stamp of the running wolf, but the mark came originally from Passau. A Passau sword of an early date, with the wolf-mark inscribed on the blade, is in the museum at Dresden. The general aspect would indicate a date in the second half of the fourteenth century. The wolf-mark of the Passau sword-smiths was borrowed from the city arms, which consist of “Or, a wolf-figure, statant gardant.” Later, and especially in the sixteenth century, this mark was adopted in other places, and especially by Solingen smiths. These blades were known as “foxes” in England, doubtless from the “wolf” inscription, which might well be taken as a representation of the fox. The term constantly crops up in Elizabethan literature. This mark, like that of “Ferrara,” was freely used by sword-makers up to the end of the last century; indeed, this was the case near Newcastle, where swords forged on the banks of the Derwent, in the county of Durham, bore the mark. The smiths came originally from Bavaria, and brought the brand with them. There are still descendants of these people living in the neighbourhood; and there is a specimen of their handiwork in the Black Gate Museum, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The spadroon is adapted for cutting and thrusting, but is lighter than the sabre.
Spanish swords enjoyed a very early celebrity, the Romans having adopted them after the Carthagenian War, for they were never able to forge weapons of equal temper. The best early Spanish swords were made at Bilbilis on the Jalon, and the poet Martial writes of the excellence of the waters of that river for tempering them; indeed, it was universally believed that the fine temper depended on the virtues of a particular river. Probably the steel produced from fine Spanish ores, so free from deleterious ingredients like sulphur and phosphorus, had most to do with the super-excellence of the blades. These weapons are mentioned temp. Julius Cæsar, when the poet Gracio Falisco adds his testimony to their admirability.
Fig. 46.—Schiavona, in the Author’s Collection.
The schiavona is a Venetian sword of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with a flattened elliptical form of basket-hilt forming a complete protection to the hand, which can still move freely. In this hilt the first finger was always passed over the quillon, and the superadded guard to protect it gives the hilt an elongated form. It derives its name from the “Schiavoni,” the Doge’s guards. The illustration of this weapon here given ([Fig. 46]) is of a sword in the author’s collection.
Scottish broadswords with practically this hilt, although there are intermediate stages, are often erroneously called “claymores,” while, as a matter of fact, the Scottish weapon so called was a long two-handed sword, with quillons usually tending diagonally upwards, that is towards the blade; and, indeed, it is considered questionable by some authorities whether any basket-hilted sword whatever was in general use in Scotland long before the eighteenth century began. Mr. Parker Brewis, in an able paper[40] on “Four Basket-hilted Swords in the collection at the Castle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne,” writes as follows, viz.:—“This type of sword is commonly known as ‘Claymore,’ which is the English phonetic of two Celtic words, meaning ‘Great Sword.’ It was originally applied to the great two-handed swords of Scotland, but when the true claymore was gradually superseded by the basket-hilted weapon, the old name, as conveying the idea of a Highland sword, was retained, owing to long habit, notwithstanding that it was inappropriate.” The “mortuary” hilt, so named from a number of swords with this basket-hilt having been made in memory of King Charles I., was the broadsword of the Commonwealth, and the Scottish form is obviously an amalgamation of the schiavona with the mortuary. The basket-hilted sword was certainly common in England in the second quarter of the seventeenth century, and there is no reason why it should not have crossed the border long before the eighteenth century, and that it had done so is certain from the fact that mortuary hilts were largely made in the island of Islay. The ordinary Scottish basket-hilted broadsword blades bearing the name Andrea Ferara, with numerous variations, were certainly not made by the great master of Belluno, but most of these were forged in the seventeenth century. Of course, it is often the case that blade and hilt are not contemporaneous, and old Ferara and even claymore blades were frequently adapted to the newer fashion, and these cases give rise to some difficulty.
The colichemarde is a late seventeenth century fencing sword, with a blade very broad at the “fort,” and exceedingly narrow at the “foible”—the change from one to the other is very sudden. This sword was only in use for a brief period. Some of the swords of the seventeenth century were very long. The cutlass or hanger of this period is usually without quillons, but has a counter-guard.
After the commencement of the seventeenth century, it becomes more difficult to fix approximate dates for swords with any precision, and many weapons are freely attributed to that century which really belong to the eighteenth. It is the blade that bears the stamp, and many blades were transferred to other hilts; besides, the armourer was often permitted to give considerable rein to his fancy, and not unfrequently reverted to older forms. As in armour, it is an uncommon advantage to meet with weapons with the date inscribed, although, of course, many armourers’ marks serve this purpose, when they can still be deciphered; still, their presence is rarely conclusive without general characteristics being also taken into account.
The complete transformation of the sword may be said to have been effected during the eighteenth century, since which time it cannot be said to have advanced either in balance or general efficiency. Very little is known as to the early history of sword-making in England, but Sheffield was a very early centre for the industry. It was not until towards the end of the last century that English-made swords established their reputation as the best in Europe, when in an order for the East India Company, 2,650 English swords were tested in the machine already referred to in these pages, and only four failed to bear the test; while out of 1,428 German swords as many as twenty-eight were rejected.
PART XVII.
THE DAGGER.
The dagger is a short sword in great variety of form; it is a weapon for thrusting only. We meet with it in the ages of “stone” and “bronze,” and it was in use among almost all the great nations of antiquity.
The scramasax, a short two-handed sword or dagger, is an ancient Germanic weapon of varying length. In form it resembles a single-edged cutlass. There are examples in some of the German museums; one was found in a barrow near Andernach.
Mr. John Hewitt, in his work on Ancient Armour and Weapons, refers to a dagger preserved in Durham Cathedral, which was supposed to have belonged to Bishop Anthony Bek in 1283, bearing the inscription “Anton Eps Dunholm.” This is doubtless the dagger now at Auckland, which was exhibited to the members of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Society at the Castle on the 28th December, 1892. The blade, which seems originally to have been longer, is now eighteen inches in length; while the haft measures five inches. The quillons do not project far beyond the blade, and curl slightly upwards at one extremity, and downwards on the other. The authenticity of this weapon is more than doubtful, and Baron de Cosson even suspects who the forger was, and when it first appeared at Auckland. The forgery is one of the clumsiest, for it is so obvious what the hilt originally was, viz., portions of a Scotch basket-hilt.
There are representations of figures armed with the dagger in the thirteenth century, when the quillons turn up towards the blade, as is the case with most of the swords of the period. It does not appear in effigies before late in the first quarter of the fourteenth century. An anelace dagger may be seen on the effigy of William Wenemaer, died 1325; and another on that of the second Baron Berkeley, figured in Gough, vol. i., p. 44.
Fig. 43.—Anelace at Berlin.
The anelace dagger, which is of Italian origin, is about sixteen inches long, and derives its name from the ring which was originally attached to it, and which was connected by a light chain with a mamillière. A somewhat similar weapon was used as a dart, and often attached to the end of a staff, and then called “langue-de-bœuf.” An actual specimen, with the ring, was found among the débris at Tannenberg. This dagger is double-edged, broad in the blade, which narrows towards the point. Chaucer mentions the weapon. The larger anelace is mentioned in the notes on swords, and an illustration is given in [Fig. 43]; the only distinction, if there be one, is that of length.
The form of the dagger is often that of the sword in miniature, and the guards, as is the case in the larger weapon, are naturally an excellent guide as to date. The guard of two knobs and the wheel-guard appear in the fourteenth century.
The poniard, with its numerous family, is shorter than the ordinary dagger.
The misericorde, an example of which is recorded as early as 1221, and which appears on the De Bohun effigy, was worn on the right side, and hooked to one of the taces. Like the stiletto, it is a short, narrow poniard; the former was used, as its name implies, by men-at-arms to give the coup de grace to fallen adversaries; and it was always present in jousts à outrance. The guard of the fifteenth century was usually two round knobs, but the weapon is often without any guard, and the narrow triangular blade was most effective in piercing through interstices in armour. The thumb-ring, which is above the quillons, is often met with in the fifteenth century.
The cultellus, or coutelas, as its name implies, served the purpose of both a knife and a dagger. It was the progenitor of the cutlass—coutel-hache, coutel-axe, curtle-axe, coutelace, and cutlass.
The baselard, or baudelaire, is an ornamental dagger of the fifteenth century, worn by civilians in front of their persons. An example occurs on the brass of a civilian at King’s Sombourne, in Hampshire (died 1380). Priests were expressly forbidden to wear the weapon.
The main gauche is an early sixteenth century weapon, and was used in conjunction with the rapier. This is the dagger that was supplied to the “schoppen” or “scabini” for the execution of the decrees of the Holy Vehme, or Vehmegericht, the secret tribunal of the middle ages prevailing in Swabia, Franconia, etc. The blade of this dagger was sometimes perforated with indentations for catching opponents’ swords. Another variety was provided with a spring, which when pressed set free two extra blades, one on each side of the main blade.
The Highland dirk is in great variety of form, and usually without any guard.
It was not uncommon for dagger and sheaths to be fitted with a small knife like some of the Indian swords. During Elizabeth’s reign it was common for a combatant to parry with a dagger in the left hand, when fencing with the rapier. Some representations of daggers are given in [Fig. 42].
PART XVIII.
THE LONGBOW.
The longbow is a weapon of great antiquity; an example may be seen on a bas-relief in the Louvre, dated about 700 B.C. It was used by the Egyptians, Chaldæans, and Greeks; and was probably introduced into Britain by the Romans. The bow of Pandarus is related to have been made of ibex-horn, and strung with sinews. The following lines from the Iliad are very graphic, and descriptive of this bow and its manipulation:—
“Straight he uncased his polished bow, his spoil
Won from a mountain ibex, which himself,
In ambush lurking, through the breast had shot
True to his aim, as from behind a crag
He came in sight, prone on the rock he fell;
With horns of sixteen palms his head was crowned;
These deftly wrought, a skilful workman’s hand
Had polished smooth, and tipped the ends with gold.
He bent, and resting on the ground his bow,
Strung it anew.
His quiver then withdrawing from its case,
With care a shaft he chose ne’er shot before,
Well-feathered messenger of pangs and death.
The stinging arrow fitted to the string,
At once the sinew and the notch he drew:
The sinew to his breast, and to the bow
The iron head: then, when the mighty bow
Was to a circle strained, sharp rang the horn
And loud the sinew twanged, as toward the crowd
With deadly speed the eager arrow sprang.”
—Iliad, iv. 119.
An antique Greek drawing of the time of Theseus has been already referred to, whereon is an Amazon with a drawn bow, the arrow-head being barbed. Agathias, writing in the seventh century, says that the Franks did not use this weapon in war, but it is mentioned in the capitularies of Charlemagne, and there is evidence that it was not uncommon among both Anglo-Saxons and Danes. It was pre-eminently an English weapon of war, though used also in the chase in that and other countries, and was remarkable for range and sureness of aim, as well as for penetrative force. The Germanic nations applied it mainly in the chase, the Saxons especially using a short bow. An illustration occurs in a MS. in the Cotton Library.[41] The English archer became justly famous under the Norman kings, and it was first under them that the bow assumed great importance as a weapon of war. Bowmen in England at this time wore a leathern jacket, which was afterwards adopted by the French and called a “jacque d’Anglois.” On the Bayeux tapestry only one single bowman appears among the Saxon array, while there are several shown among the Norman ranks; these bows are short and thick, and arrows with barbed tips. Harold’s eye was pierced by an arrow, and but for this the Normans would hardly have won the battle. Richard I. was himself an adept in the use of the longbow, and it was the leading weapon of our armies at Creçy and Agincourt; and indeed continued to be so well into the “renaissance.” It will be remembered that at Flodden the Scottish king was killed by an arrow, and this battle may be said to have been the latest won mainly by the longbow.
The proper length of the English longbow was about the archer’s height, say between five feet six inches to six feet, with a bend of nine inches; and those made from the bough of a yew were preferred; but as yew trees were scarce, bowyers were enjoined by Act of Parliament to make four bows of “witch-hazel,” ash or elm, to one of yew; and no persons under seventeen years of age, with certain exceptions, were permitted to shoot with a yew bow, under a penalty of six shillings and eightpence. This Act of Parliament was repealed in Elizabeth’s reign. The string was either of silk or hemp, twisted or plaited, but always round where the notch of the arrow was placed. The shaft was drawn by two or sometimes three fingers to the head, and always towards the ear, when shot at short marks; but towards the breast when used at long ranges. The archer kept both eyes open, and looked only at the object aimed at, holding his weapon perpendicularly. Part of the light cavalry in the thirteenth century consisted of mounted archers. During the reign of Henry VIII. hand-guns had greatly superseded the use of the longbow, but the king himself was a skilful archer. The archer carried his sheaf of arrows, consisting of twenty-four, in his belt; the length was a clothyard shaft, feathered or plain at the base, and tipped usually with a sharp, but sometimes barbed head. These heads were of iron, pointed with steel. The archer wore a leathern wrist-guard, called a bracer, to avoid hurt by the recoil of the string. The arrow with feathers from a goose’s wing was the “broad arrow,” first used as a regal badge by King Richard I. The plain pile, without feathers, was considered to penetrate better. Henry V. enacted that the Sheriffs of Counties were to take six wing feathers from every goose for feathering arrows. Arrows of ash were preferred. They were about thirty-two inches long, and usually tipped with a sharp unbarbed head.
Any ordinary English archer would rarely miss an object the size of a man at 250 yards; and he could discharge his weapon twelve times a minute. The extreme range of a bow was “from sixteen to twenty score yards;” in fact, a “bow-shot” seems to have been used to express a distance of 400 yards, and the minimum range for archery contests was usually 220 yards.
It was the first duty of the archers in battle to send clouds of arrows against charges of cavalry, so as to disorganise their formation by killing or wounding as many of the horses of the opposing host as possible, thus causing confusion in the enemy’s ranks by rendering many riders hors de combat, and though rarely able to pierce a harness of proof, the arrows often found an interstice in the armour. Since the thirteenth century the armies of England maintained large numbers of mounted archers in their ranks, the complement of bowmen to a corps of fifteen hundred fully equipped lancers being from three to five thousand, while each lancer’s equipment was five or six mounted soldiers, at least two of whom were archers.
German and Italian bows rarely exceeded five feet in length. The shape of their arrow tips varied exceedingly. An ordinance of Henry I. provides that when archers were practising and any one had the misfortune to be killed or wounded by accident, it was merely to be regarded as a misadventure.
The form of the longbow of the fourteenth century was thick in the middle, narrowing towards the ends, and it was sometimes coated with paint.
The price of longbows was fixed by statute in the reign of Edward IV. at a maximum price of three shillings and fourpence each; and in order to increase the number available, every merchant vessel carrying goods to London was compelled to bring a certain number of bows in proportion to the weight of the cargo. A statute of Philip and Mary ordains that all temporal persons having estates of a thousand a year and upwards are required to furnish to the State thirty longbows and thirty sheaves of arrows.
Archers carried one or two pointed stakes as part of their equipment, for planting before them in the ground to resist cavalry; also a lead-headed mallet, to drive them in, which was also used for despatching the enemy’s wounded.
Specimens of the English longbow are of the greatest rarity. The unfortunate loss of an English war vessel, the Mary Rose, which sank off Spithead during the reign of Henry VIII., in 1545, furnished us with some actual specimens of the period. The whereabouts of the wreck was known, and in 1843 divers recovered several bows, a couple of which are preserved in the Tower of London; they are six feet four and a half inches long, and are made of yew.
There was a Northumberland English longbow still to the fore early in the present century, and the late Mr. Matthew Culley of Akeld, in a letter to the Newcastle Society, dated Nov. 26, 1814, wrote concerning it: “This bow had long been used by the hereditary bowmen of Wark Castle. It is described as having been formed of various coloured wood inlaid together, and of great length and strength. From the joining of different sorts of wood very valuable properties are derived, which are well known to mechanics, and more especially to ship-builders. This weapon, so dreadful in the hands of its ancient possessors, being no longer in request, was consigned to the children as a plaything.” There is an English longbow at Dover Castle.
The longbow continued in use long after the introduction of firearms, but was practically superseded by the harquebus in the sixteenth century. Though used at the siege of Rochelle in 1627, its reputation had sunk so low in the reign of Charles I. that that king granted two commissions under the great seal for enforcing its use, and another to prohibit the enclosure of fields near London, which would have had the effect of interfering with the practice of archery. A curious fact in connection with the longbow is that Benjamin Franklin proposed in 1776 to equip the colonial forces with the weapon.
PART XIX.
THE CROSSBOW.
The Latin equivalent is arcus balistarius or balista manualis. The weapon does not appear on the Bayeux tapestry, but the Princess Anna Comnena, who calls it “tzangara,” mentions it as forming part of the armament of the Crusaders, late in the eleventh century; and that it was in use by English and French soldiers in the twelfth century is shown by a bull of Pope Innocent II. in 1139, which fulminates against its barbarity, and only sanctions its use in warfare with the infidel, meaning thereby all nations still unconverted to Christianity. Such prohibitions were, however, soon brushed aside, like others of a similar character both before and since. Guillaume Guiart, writing towards the end of the thirteenth century in the Branche des Royaux Leguages, mentions the weapon as being in use at the battle of “Haringues” in 1297. The first form was a simple hand crossbow, which consisted of a steel bow let into a stock which was strung for use by the action of the left foot and right hand, and discharged by a trigger, which probably gave rise to the lock of the hand-gun. During the second half of the thirteenth century various mechanical contrivances were adopted, which, while materially increasing the projective power, rendered the weapon much more unwieldy. The crossbow was in constant use during the fourteenth century, when the Genoese made it a speciality, and the services of these mercenaries were in great request in the wars of the period; it was, however, never a favourite weapon in England. At the battle of Creçy the English army used the longbow, while the French king had a body of six thousand Genoese crossbowmen in his pay, but these were unavailable by reason of the rain. The English archer could shoot twelve arrows while the crossbowman discharged his three quarrels, for it took so long to wind up the “moulinet”; the crossbow had, however, the advantage of a lower trajectory; moreover, the longbow was much lighter and more portable, besides being more easily preserved from the action of damp, than its crossbow confrère. It does not seem that the extreme range of the crossbow has been accurately determined, but it certainly did not exceed three hundred yards. Part of the light cavalry of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries consisted of mounted crossbowmen.
The introduction of the pavise, a large shield kept propped up before the archer, was a great protection against missiles; and a miniature from Froissart, in the Bibl. Nat. de Paris, shows crossbowmen shielded in this manner. According to a manuscript in the British Museum, the Genoese crossbowman wore a jacket with long sleeves, an iron helm, brassards, and greaves.
The steel used in the construction of crossbows was of the strongest and most elastic kind. An enactment in the reign of Henry VII. forbade the use of the crossbow under severe penalties, and in the sixteenth century crossbows were mostly used for the defence of fortresses, and on warships.
The windlass crossbow, called à tour by the French, was largely used at Agincourt, and the form of that time continued practically the same for centuries; indeed, up to early in the seventeenth, bows on this model were made at Malines, in Belgium, by a “confrérie de tir.” The author has one of these bows in his possession, and it is, he believes, the exact counterpart of the Agincourt bow.
Fig. 47.—Crossbows and Quarrels.
The projectiles are usually called quarrels, and are in great variety of form, but shorter and thicker than arrows for the longbow; several specimens were found at Tannenberg, dismantled in 1399, and the complement for a crossbowman was fifty. Quarrels for the arbelest were called “muschettæ,” hence the word musket; but there is some doubt whether it was not the missiles of the “scorpion” that were termed thus.
A picture in the National Gallery shows how the common stirrup crossbow was bent ad unum pedem: the bowman places his foot in the stirrup, a cord is then fixed to the butt of the stock, the other end being attached to the waistbelt; the cord runs on a pulley, and the bow is bent by raising the body. The crossbowman wore a “brigandine” or stuff tunic, lined with strips of steel, besides his “half plates.” Illustrations of most of the varieties of the crossbow are given in [Fig. 47].