Fig. 147.—Sir — de Fitzralph, c. 1320. Pebmarsh Church, Essex.
Fig. 148.—Figures from “Massacre of the Innocents” (Add. MS. 17,687), c. 1290.
The defensive equipment of the ordinary foot soldier of this period is well delineated in [Fig. 148], which is taken from Add. MS. 17,687 in the British Museum, a German illumination dating from c. 1290. The subject is the Massacre of the Innocents, a favourite theme for illustrations in those times: the central figure is holding in the air a child (not shown except the foot) preparatory to dashing it upon the ground, while the soldier to the right has the decapitated head of a child, also not reproduced, in his left hand. The coif-de-mailles are in all three examples peculiar in being continued as a pectoral; in two cases they are constructed of banded mail, and in the third of studded jazeraint. Two hauberks are shown, one of banded mail and the other of jazeraint. The central figure has genouillières of leather which, like those of his companions upon his left, are apparently continuous round the joint: the strips of pendent leather from them have been sewn over the shins and calves, while studded strips over chausses of the same material cover the lower limbs of his comrade. The third figure has simple chausses of banded mail with no reinforcement: long swords with characteristic pommels are worn, and the whole group is a most striking example of the lack of uniformity at the period. Also see Figs. [149] and [150].
Fig. 149.—Soldier (Sloan MS. 346), c. 1280.