[NORMAN ARMS AND ARMOUR.]
The military costumes of the early Normans and the Saxons were very similar on account of the intercourse between the Courts of England and Normandy at the time immediately preceding the Conquest, and much of our knowledge of Norman military costume is obtained from the Bayeux Tapestry. The arms in use among the Normans were the sword (which only soldiers of superior rank were allowed to carry), the axe, the lance or spear, the mace, and the bow and arrows. The sword was, as might be expected, of the same type as the Danish or Norse sword—straight, long, and double-edged, with a slight taper to the acute point. The scabbard was worn on the left side, and was suspended by a cord or strap around the waist. The axe was of various forms, as may be seen from the plate. The lance or spear was generally similar to that used by the Saxons, but had a pennon with several points. Sometimes several lances were carried, and were probably thrown as javelins.
The mace is depicted several times in the Bayeux Tapestry.
The bow and arrows played an important part in the Battle of Hastings, and were of the form used by the Saxons.
The defensive armour consisted of the helmet, the hauberk, and the shield.
The helmet was generally conical in shape, with a nasal or nose-piece of iron to guard the forehead and nose against a horizontal stroke. The nasal was fixed or movable. Sometimes there was a peak behind the helmet to protect the neck. The nasal was generally discarded about 1140.
The hauberk, or military tunic, was a garment in one piece, fitting almost tightly to the person and reaching to the knees, with sleeves reaching to the elbow. Occasionally it appears to have ended in close-fitting trousers at the knee. The hauberk was of quilted and padded material or of leather, covered with metal rings or plates or studs of metal and leather, and formed a very effective body armour. The plated or mailed tunic of William I. and his followers was superseded early in the twelfth century by a defensive hauberk, covered, as before, with various straps and plates of metal, or more generally formed of interwoven ring or chain mail. The legs and feet were enveloped in simple bandages or fillets bound around them.
The shield completed the defensive equipment, and was generally long, rounded or oval at the top, with a pointed base, so that the shape resembled that of a kite. Many of them were decorated (according to the Bayeux Tapestry).
