A Handbook of Pictorial History :: NORMAN ARMS AND ARMOUR.

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 The plated or mailed tunic of William I. and his followers was superseded early in the twelfth century by a defensive hauberk, covered, as before, with various straps and plates of metal, or more generally formed of interwoven ring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).

PLATE 18.

(Figs. 1 and 2): The ordinary costumes of Norman soldiers. Each is clothed in a military hauberk, which fitted the body very closely, and was probably slit a little before and behind. In the case of these two the hauberk ends in close-fitting trousers to the knee. The heads are protected by conical helmets with nasal pieces, fitting over hoods of mail. In Fig. 1 the warrior is armed with a sword, an axe, and a spear. The shield is of the kite shape. The hauberk is covered with ringed mail, and the sleeves reach to the wrist. In Fig. 2 the sleeves reach to the elbow only, and are covered with rings, but the body is covered with what is known as “trellised” armour, formed of strips of leather fastened on a body of quilted cloth and crossing each other diagonally, with knobs of steel fastened in the angular spaces as an additional protection. He holds in his hand a gonfanon or lance with a small flag—carried only by the leaders of the army. (Fig. 3): A Norman sword. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.) (Fig. 4): Two Norman soldiers, each carrying a decorated shield and spear, one being armed with a sword. Each wears a flat-topped helmet, one only being fitted with a “nasal.” The shield of the right-hand one is curved to the form of the body. The hauberks of mail are shown, and also the tunics worn under them reaching nearly to the knee. (Figs. 5 and 6): Norman axes. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.) (Fig. 7): A Norman archer. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.) Dressed in a close-fitting vest with narrow sleeves, and full breeches, gathered apparently above and below the knee, and ornamented with large red spots. He carries a quiver of arrows slung over his back. Other archers are represented in the Tapestry fully dressed in ringed mail. (Fig. 8): The head of a mounted soldier. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.) A peculiar custom existed among the Normans at the Conquest of shaving the back of the head as well as the face. When spies sent by Harold reconnoitred the Norman camp, they saw the Normans with shaven heads, and they returned with the news that “the Duke had far more priests than knights or other troops.” (Fig. 9): Guy, Count of Ponthieu. (From the Bayeux Tapestry.) He is armed with an axe, and wears a hauberk of scale armour. These scales were either of iron, bronze, or cuir bouilli. (The latter was leather which had been softened by boiling in oil and stamped or moulded into a definite form while in that condition. When it was dry it became very hard and tough.) He also wears a mantle gathered on the right shoulder, but has no head covering.

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