Plate LIV.

The Hauberk of chain-mail, in the beginning of the thirteenth century, was made with continuous coif and gloves, the coif somewhat flattened at the top of the head, and the gloves not divided into fingers; it descended nearly to the knees, and at the face-opening left little more than the eyes and nose of the knight in view. A striking example of the last-named arrangement is afforded by the figure here engraved, the sculptured effigy of William Longespée, at Salisbury, c. 1227. See also the seal of King John, p. [228], and the woodcut, No. [53], from Harl. MS. 5102. The sleeve of the hauberk is sometimes secured at the wrist by a lace or strap; as in the figure of Longespée, in the brass of Sir Roger de Trumpington, c. 1289, (woodcut [73],) and the effigy at Norton, Durham, of the end of the century (woodcut [70]). In order to liberate the hand occasionally from its fingerless glove, an aperture was left in the centre of the palm. This is clearly shewn in our woodcuts, No. [80] and [62]; the first from the Lives of the Offas, Cotton MS., Nero, D. i.; and the other from Roy. MS. 2, A. xxii. The glove turned off and hanging from the wrist may be seen in Plate 17 of Hefner's Trachten, and in the sculptured effigy of a knight in Bingham church, Nottinghamshire. In the second half of the century the gloves of the hauberk were divided for the fingers; from which we may suppose that the armour-smith had by this time improved his art by making his mail-web more flexible and more delicate. Early examples occur in the sculptured effigies of knights at Rampton, Cambridgeshire, and Danbury, Essex; the former figured in Stothard's Monuments, Plate 20; the latter in Strutt's Dress and Habits, Plates 45 and 46. Instances both of the undivided and the fingered glove will be found among our engravings. Occasionally the sleeves of the hauberk terminate at the wrist, as those of the archers in cuts [47] and [48]; in these instances obviously for the greater freedom in handling the bow. Where the lancer's hauberk is thus fashioned, the hand has the supplementary defence of a gauntlet. Gauntlets of scalework occur in a knightly brass, c. 1280, engraved by Waller, Part x., and Boutell[330], p. 113. To the elbows of the hauberk were sometimes affixed, but rarely in this century, plates of metal called coudières. An effigy in Salisbury Cathedral, circa 1260, (Stothard, Pl. xxx.,) offers a good example. There is another, a knight of the Clinton family, in the church of Coleshill, Warwickshire. The hauberk was subject to a further variety: it was made with or without a Collar. Matthew Paris tells us that in a hastilude "at the abbey of Wallenden" in 1252, the lance of Roger de Lemburn entered beneath the helm of his antagonist and pierced his throat, for he was uncovered in that part of his body, and without a collar (carens collario). Ducange cites an analogous passage: "Venitque ictus inter cassidem et collarium, dejecitque caput ejus multum a corpore[331]." The hauberk without collar may be seen in the figures of Largesse and Debonnaireté in the pictures of the Painted Chamber (Vet. Mon., vol. vi.)

The Continuous Coif was in the early part of the century nearly flat at the top; in the second half the round-topped coif was more usual. The flattened form is well shewn in the statue of Longespée (woodcut, No. [54]), and in those of De l'Isle and De Braci, (Stothard, Plates xix. and xx.) The rounded crown occurs frequently in our woodcuts. The coif was drawn over the head by means of an opening in the side, and was then fastened by a lace, a buckle, or a tie. The manner in which the lace, passing through alternate groups of the links farming the coif, is made to secure the loose to the fixed part of the cap, is excellently shewn in the figures of Longespée and the so-called Duke of Normandy in Gloucester Cathedral, (Stothard, Plate xxii.) A good example of the fastening by strap and buckle is furnished by the fragment of an effigy found at Exeter, engraved in the Archæological Journal, vol. ix. p. 188. The coif adjusted by a tie is seen in our woodcut, No. [62]. The side-piece hanging free is shewn in a knightly statue of this century in the Abbey Church of Pershore, Worcestershire, engraved in the Journal of the Archæological Association, vol. iv. p. 319. The coif is sometimes encircled by a fillet. See our woodcuts, No. [46], [59], and [63]. The circles are of gold-colour in figures of the Painted Chamber (Pl. xxx.): in the effigy of William de Valence the band is richly jewelled, (Stothard, Pl. xliv.)

Many examples shew that the warrior often went to battle without any kind of helmet over the coif of chain-mail; though it is probable that some additional defence, whether of plate or of quilted-work, was in this case worn beneath it. The regular and compact form of the crown in many ancient examples favours this belief; and a modern instance from the East helps to confirm it. A suit of Birman armour in the Tower of London has a skull-cap of plate which is quite hidden from view by the outer armour of the head. In the effigy at Bingham, Notts., already mentioned, the upper part of the coif is so large that it almost gives the notion of a turban being worn beneath. The coif used in battle without any further defence over it, may be seen in our engravings, No. [80] and [82].

On other occasions, the mail-coif had the additional armament of a helmet of some kind. This may be better considered in our general notice of helmets.

No. 55.