Kennet, in his R. Ant. p. 190, gives a similar account of the hastati; and adds, that the spears were afterwards laid aside as incommodious.
Armes d’HASTE, Fr. long-hafted weapons.
Haste, Fr. The piece of wood or long pole to which the standard is fixed, was formerly so called in France.
HASSEIN and HOUSSEIN, two brothers, and Mahomedan saints, whose feast is celebrated with great pomp and much enthusiasm in Asia. This festival is kept on the 14th of November, in commemoration of the murder of those two brothers. The Mahomedans of Hindostan observe it with a kind of religious madness, some acting and others bewailing the catastrophe of their saints with so much energy, that several die of the excesses they commit. They are likewise persuaded that whoever falls in battle against unbelievers, during any of the days of this ceremony, shall be instantly translated into the higher paradise, without stopping at any of the intermediate purgatories. On these occasions, to the enthusiasm of superstition is added the more certain efficacy of inebriation; for the troops eat plentifully of bang, a vegetable substance something like hemp which yields an intoxicating juice.
HAT. Hats are no longer used by the non commissioned officers or privates; in the European armies all the infantry wear caps of leather, &c.
HATCHET, used in the army, a small light sort of an axe, with a bazil edge on the left side, and a short handle, used by the men for cutting wood to make fascines, gabions, pickets, &c.
To take up the Hatchet, among the Indians to declare war, to commence hostilities, &c.
HAUBERGEON, Fr. See [Habergeon].
HAUBERGIER, Fr. an individual who held a tenure by knight’s service, and was subject to the feudal system, which formerly existed in France, and by which he was obliged to accompany the lord of the manor in that capacity whenever the latter went to war. He was called fief de haubert, and had the privilege of carrying a halbert. All vassals in ancient times served their lords-paramount as squires, haubergiers, lance-men, bow-men, &c.
HAUBERJON, Fr. See [Habergeon].