Mamillières were circular plates over the paps, with rings affixed. Chains passed through the rings, one being usually attached to the sword and scabbard. These pieces were introduced in the reign of Edward I., and prevailed during the fourteenth century, more especially in the first half. Instances are comparatively rare. There is a beautiful example on an effigy of Otto von Piengenau (1371) in the church at Ebersberg. The chains are attached over the right breast, one fastened to the sword and the other to the dagger. Another on the tomb of Alb. v. Hohenlohe, died 1318. An instance of a mamillière over the left pap, with a thin chain attached to the helmet, occurs on an effigy of Berengar v. Berlichingen, 1377. On an effigy of Conrad von Seinsheim (1369), on his tomb at Schweinfurt, chains connect dagger, sword, and helm. The wood carving in Bamberg Cathedral (1370) affords two remarkable cases, where they directly appear on the almost heart-shaped “plastron-de-fer.”[8] An English example may be seen on the figure of a knight in St. Peter’s Church, Sandwich. This interesting effigy is also remarkable for skirts of scale-work. The scales are ridged, and are probably of iron. They form the skirt of a garment which is worn between the hauberk of chain-mail and the surcoat. The effigy would appear to date from very early in the fourteenth century. Scale-work frequently occurs on monuments of this century, seldom covering the whole body, but more generally defending the hands and feet. Mamillières are present on an effigy in Tewkesbury Abbey Church, the date of which is doubtless about the middle of the century. A beautiful instance may be seen on an effigy at Alvechurch, Worcestershire (1346), showing clearly the one chain connected with the scabbard and another with the hilt. There is a brass in Minster Church, Isle of Sheppey, which represents an armed figure with only one “mamillière”; it is on the left pap, with the chain going up over the left shoulder—early fourteenth century. The derivation of the word is interesting, being from mamilla, the breast. Its origin was a leather band worn by the Roman ladies to support the breasts.
In effigies the knight’s head is usually pillowed on a helm, while a dog or lion crouches at his feet; this latter feature is supposed to be emblematic of fidelity.
There are frequent representations on monuments and in MSS. of a kind of armour that appeared towards the end of the thirteenth century, “banded mail” as it is called; but there has not been any general determination arrived at as to what it really was, and there are no actual specimens for reference. It presents somewhat the appearance of the “rustred” mail of the middle of the twelfth century—that is, of rings set on to the hauberk edgeways. On monuments and drawings these rings frequently appear to be set in continuous rows, whereon the rings turn in a right or left direction alternately; each line of rings being “banded,” or framed with what looks like a rim. Examples of this mail may be seen in Stothard’s series.[9]
We reach the highest point of mediæval culture during the fourteenth century, and broadly the “renaissance” towards its close. Like all periods of transition, it presents many points of interest, especially in armament. It was not before the middle of the century was reached that arms and armour approached to anything like uniformity. In the first moiety the greatest possible irregularity prevailed. Scale armour was still largely used throughout the century, and splint armour also, though to a less extent. An example of the latter may be seen on the effigy in Ash Church.
PART III.
THE TRANSITION PERIOD.
A combination of mail and plate armour, the latter strapped on, was in general use in England late in the reign of Edward the Second, when the helm, cuirass, or rather breastplate, and gauntlets were all of plate, and sometimes the cuisse and jamb; but the leg armour was often of cuir-bouilli. Chaucer says; “His jambeux were of cure-buly.” An inventory, dated 1313, of the armour which belonged to Piers Gaveston, includes breast and back plates, and two pairs of “jambers of iron”; but most of the monumental figures are still clad in chain-mail and genouillières. These “jambers” were only front plates for strapping on. An effigy of Sir William de Ryther, who died in 1308, shows genouillières of plate on a suit of chain-mail, with the hood covered by a bassinet. This was probably thirteenth century armour, although somewhat early for an example of the bassinet. The earliest brass we have, that of Sir John Daubernoun (1277), exhibits genouillières in a most artistic form. An effigy in Bedale Church, Yorkshire, that of Brian Lord Fitz Alan, wears genouillières over chain-mail, like the Daubernoun brass. He died 1302. Mixed armour continued longer in use in England and Belgium than in Germany, which latter country and Italy always led the way in defensive armour.
An effigy in Hereford Cathedral Church of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Constable of England (died 1321), engraved by Hollis, wears the camail, a tippet of mail laced to the bassinet, which falls like a curtain over the shoulders, hauberk of mail to the knees, rerebrace, vambrace and gauntlets of plate, the fingers covered with laminated plates, genouillières, jambs with hinges and very slightly pointed sollerets, all of steel, with rondelles to protect the inside of the elbow. Here we have a good example of the transition to full plate armour, as attaching plates are replaced by rounded ones, fitting round the limbs, but still strapped on. An inventory of the earl’s effects (1322) appears in the Archæological Journal, vol. ii., p. 349. The bassinet is mentioned as being covered with leather. Other good examples of the lacing of the camail occur on the D’Argentine brass, and on an effigy of a knight of the De Sulney family in Newton Solney Church, Derbyshire. A figure standing in the nave of Hereford Cathedral, that of Sir Richard Pembridge, K.G., who died a year before the Black Prince, wears mixed armour—camail and bassinet with the great helm.
Both the goad and rowel spurs were in use throughout the fourteenth century. The figure of the Black Prince (1376) in Canterbury Cathedral is clad almost entirely in plate, and shows the prince wearing a conical bassinet with camail attached. Breastplate, épaulières, rerebrace, vambrace, coudières, leg armour, and gauntlets, all of plate—his great crested helm has a mantling, or lambrequin, and cap of maintenance, and is surmounted by a gilded leopard; besides the ocularium, it has a number of perforations on the right side in front, in the form of a crown, for giving air. There are gads (knobs) on the knuckles for the mêlée, which take the form of small leopards, with the usual spikes on alternate first joints of the fingers. The surcoat is quilted to a thickness of three-quarters of an inch; and this precious relic is the only actual garment of the kind that has come down to us. The material is buckram faced with velvet—lions and fleurs-de-lis embroidered in gold thread. This surcoat is short, and laced at the back. The brass of Sir John D’Argentine, Horseheath, Cambridgeshire (1382), shows a bassinet with camail. The brassards are complete, with articulated shoulder-plates, and gauntlets with finger articulations. The chaussons are of studded mail, and jambs, genouillières, and sollerets of steel, while a short surcoat covers the trunk, and the spurs are of the rowel type. Shields disappear from brasses and effigies in this century, the last example on a brass occurs in 1360.[10]
A brass in Wotton-under-Edge Church, Gloucestershire, shows a figure in mixed armour of Thomas Lord Berkeley, who died in 1417. The sollerets are “à la poulaine,” though not in the extreme form, and the gauntlets have articulated fingers and a sharp gad over each knuckle. The figure wears a collar of mermaids, the family cognizance. We now get very near to full-plate armour on an effigy of Sir Robert Harcourt, K.G., in Stanton Harcourt Church, Oxfordshire. The figure wears a horizontally fluted bassinet; a standard of mail; coudières sharply pointed at the elbow; cuirass with lance-rest; laminated taces, and long triangular tuilles; sollerets slightly laminated and pointed. There is a great crested helm with the figure. Sir Robert died in 1471, and the armour was probably made in the first half of the fifteenth century. This is a late example of the use of the standard of mail, but it probably covered a defence of plate, as was often the case. The steel gorget came in with the House of Lancaster. Several of these effigies and brasses have been engraved by Hollis.