On the cover we have the figure of a Crusader in his mail armour, bearing on his breast the badge of a red cross charged upon a white field.
Looking at the massive, closely knit armour portrayed in our illustration, we can easily understand that the wearer encased within it must have suffered cruelly in the East, when the burning sun poured down upon his metal armour, and that, as a natural consequence, the surcoat of some woven fabric was introduced, to be worn over the coat of mail as a protection against the scorching rays of the sun.
CHAPTER XII
PENNONS, BANNERS, AND STANDARDS
Pennons, banners, and standards are so closely associated with heraldry that we must not leave them altogether unnoticed.
In the Middle Ages three distinct classes of heraldic flags appear to have been in use in England.
THE FLAGS OF GREAT BRITAIN.