British and Foreign Arms & Armour

by Charles Henry Ashdown

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.