Osprey - General Military - Knight - The Warrior and ... - Brego-weard

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The same links between knightly status and arms and armour were made in bureaucratic circles. Documents such as Henry lis 'Assize of Le Mans' and Assize of Arms', drawn up in 1180 and 1181 respectively, and similar legislation drawn up elsewhere in Europe, laid out the equipment expected of warriors turning out at the king's behest. The amount and quality of armour was based upon their annual income, in order to ensure that there were sufficient equipped men to serve the monarch 's needs. For example, in the 1181 Assize a freedman with property and rents valued at £16 (£166,000 / $265,000) was expected to have the archetypal knightly equipment ot helmet, hauberk, lance and shield, whilst one with rents and chattels valued at £10 (£100,000 / $160,000) was only expected to turn out with a cheaper habergeoun (a shirt of mail shorter in length and sleeves than a hauberk), an iron cap and lance. After recruitment switched from demanding service as a duty to indenting for it at a price (a process which was complete in England by the mid-Mth century), the documents still insist that the hired soldier appear properly mounted and equipped, 'covenablement mountez et apparaillez', and captains would insist that their retinue arrive at muster properly equipped to avoid reproach. There are occasrons where men were re-classified by royal officials at muster because their equipment did not meet the standard expected of a man-at-arms, with a reduction in wages and presumably a loss of face too. A further indication of the link between status and equipment comes from the disciplinary codes, or Ordinances, that were drawn up belore the onset of a campaign. Concerned with the maintenance of order and good discipline during the course of the campaign, they cover such matters as the order of march, the selection and layout of encampments and billeting of troops, theft within the army and looting, ransoms and the spoils of war. For the man-at-arms one of the most common punishments was the forfeiture of his horse and harness to the Crown. Such a punishment not only imposed a financial hardship, the equipment and mount representing a considerable investment, but it also took away the outward symbols of the man-at- arms' status, reducing him to the ranks of the footsoldier. Of course some of the developments in arms and armour were purely cosmetic. Certain shapes or forms, more or less practical, became popular and their use spread across Europe. The German Kiutenbrust of the first half of the 15th century, with its box-like breastplate and the forward-sloping nasal helm mentioned above, appear to have been wholly driven by fashion, whilst the fluting of the gothic harness was a combination of practical metallurgy, the effect serving to make the plates stronger without increasing weight, as well as making the armour pleasing to the eye and following architectural styles popular at the time. The decoration of armour with gilding and parnting was another means by which armour transcended the purely practical, although the habit of painting or even ARMS AND ARMOUR •*}*• 55
KNIGHT The fluting on this gothic armour not only strengthens the plate without increasing its thickness, but also serves a decorative function. (The Art Archive) 56 covering armour with fabric was sometimes used to disguise poor-quality workmanship. In 1347 the guild of helmet-makers (or heaumerS) was established in London as a result of accusations that craftsmen were using the fashion for fabric- covered helmets to pass off poorly made examples by hiding imperfections beneath the coverings. EFFECTIVENESS OF ARMOUR The primary requirement in the selection of arms and armour was that they were practical and effective. The practicality of armour is not in question. Despite the Victorian idea, reinforced by the powerful imagery of Laurence Olivier s movie Hemy Fin which the French knights are depicted being winched onto their horses, armour was not bulky to the point where the wearers could not move. Full armour was not without weight and some limitation in mobility and, as we have seen in the comments of both Gerald of Wales and William Marshal's biographer, the knight was aware of this and willing to sacrifice some protection in favour of greater mobility. However, contrary to appearances, the mail armour and pot helm worn by Marshal may have been more cumbersome than the plate armour worn by the 15th-century French knight Jean le Maingre, known as Boucicault. His party piece was to turn cartwheels, vault into the saddle and climb the underside of ladders, all in full harness. Based on surviving armour, a complete plate harness would weigh in the region of 45 to 65 pounds. Unlike the mail shirt, which hung from the shoulders (although some of the weight could be taken on the
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The Warrior and World of Chivalry R
Page 3 and 4:
iCS.
Page 5 and 6: First published in Great Britain in
Page 9 and 10: 8 THERE CAN BE NO WARRIOR QUITE SO
Page 11 and 12: KNIGHT The lists at the Eglinton To
Page 13 and 14: 12 KNIGHT THE AGE OF THE MEDIEVAL K
Page 15 and 16: 14 KNIGHT CHRONOLOGY What follows i
Page 17 and 18: 1202-04 The Fourth Crusade. Origina
Page 19 and 20: France. There are several key campa
Page 21 and 22: KNIGHT Opposite: The top left corne
Page 23 and 24: Given these apparent similarities i
Page 25 and 26: KNIGHT Opposite: Carolingian soldie
Page 27 and 28: 26 KNIGHT the incomes to afford to
Page 30 and 31: CHAPTER ONE ARMS AND ARMOUR
Page 32 and 33: iblical subjects in contemporary cl
Page 34 and 35: terms (after all the compiler of th
Page 36 and 37: padding being used to protect the t
Page 38 and 39: which had been developing along the
Page 40 and 41: Greek Corinthian helmet. Sallets co
Page 42 and 43: stopped the wearer's head from bein
Page 44 and 45: decorating. The shield was held by
Page 46 and 47: there may be others which cannot be
Page 48: made stronger without a huge increa
Page 51 and 52: normal sharp points. Some tournamen
Page 53 and 54: hen in March of 1095 Pope Urban II
Page 55: loricati and armati, mail-clad' or
Page 59 and 60: skirt, the underlying mail chausses
Page 61 and 62: 60 KNIGHT weapon impacts on real ar
Page 63 and 64: The knight would have different hor
Page 66: Windsor Park in 1278. In the 1322 i
Page 69 and 70: CONTRARY TO THE POPULAR IMAGE KNIGH
Page 71 and 72: KNIGHT The high pommel and cantle o
Page 73 and 74: eins. It is clear that it is intend
Page 75 and 76: KNIGHT Combat in a 13th-century Ger
Page 77 and 78: it seems clear that retinues would
Page 79 and 80: ... teams of equal numbers first ru
Page 81 and 82: earlier, Wace writes that the Norma
Page 83 and 84: KNIGHT Knights awaiting the start o
Page 86 and 87: A similar device, but for mounted c
Page 88 and 89: hedgerows, barns, hills and the tow
Page 90 and 91: English knights at a disadvantage a
Page 92: imit^S^VWSEqVES'BRrrANNLVSWXAElATK
Page 96 and 97: CHAPTER THREE CAMPAIGN AND BATTLE
Page 98 and 99: the raising of a royal field army t
Page 100 and 101: separate organizations drawn from s
Page 102 and 103: not that behind; presumably the sti
Page 104 and 105: With its snub nose and double chin,
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supported by Geoffrey de Brabant. T
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THE ARMY ON THE MARCH Many of the i
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with limited objectives, if any, be
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• * / h M / Images of the battle
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of wine, dozens of herds of live ca
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have seen, were self contained, wit
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made this a practical proposition.
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crusaders even threw the heads of c
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BATTLE In comparison to sieges and
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of Northallerton in 1138 the priest
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A 15th-century depiction of Agincou
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dttrnutir.'Xaefatrami r^Wuutrma era
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himself as a scholar. Similarly, th
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numerous nobles, gleaming with gold
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of his charge, the savagery and pow
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fought in 1461, showed a blade woun
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and facing a renewed attack in thei
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(as opposed to rebellion) was consi
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the survival of a number of great h
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THE MODERN USE OF THE WORD CHIVALRY
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shame, striving with the skill of y
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KNIGHT The Song of Roland is the ea
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KNIGHT Roger Mortimer, one of the f
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hen the theologians Augustine of Hi
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Hastings a set of penances was impo
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KNIGHT In a treaty on virtue and vi
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exposing his body to execute and ac
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160 KNIGHT A royal crusader, marked
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'WMItwm^.i CHIVALRY: THE KNIGHTLY C
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Indeed similar conversations were p
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marriage, such quarterings could be
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These were not individual symbols i
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Ulrich von Lichtenstein, depicted i
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were believed to be culturally infe
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eturned. In 1139, during the war be
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from sacking the town for much the
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THE KNIGHT WAS DEFINED BY HIS MARTI
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182 KNIGHT The seal of Henry II of
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squire was closer to the knight tha
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KNIGHT The royal court was a curiou
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ill-educated and uncultured individ
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0younger son of a minor nobleman wh
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KNIGHT Devotional works were not al
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KNIGHT Games like chess and backgam
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the tips of their toes where the bo
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he Black Prince's reputation as a c
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KNIGHT The secular orders each had
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BEYOND THE BATTLEFIELD: THE KNIGHT
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BEYOND THE BATTLEFIELD: THE KNIGHT
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would become over-tired. The quarry
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CHAPTER SIX THE DEATH OF KNIGHTHOOD
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men had been adopting them without
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KNIGHT By the time the Landsknecht
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e struggles between the Italian cit
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only for the tournament and pageant
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JtoimP^
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224 aketon arret de la cuiradde ave
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226 KNIGHT pell poleyn quintain rer
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228 KNIGHT The Rule of the Templars
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Liddiard, R. (ed.), Anglo-Norman Ca
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Cuhna, E. and Silva, Ana Maria, 'Wa
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Sherborne, J. W., 'Indentured retin
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KNIGHT champions 82 Chandos, Sir Jo
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KNIGHT Knights Templar, Order of 13
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KNIGHT sumptuary law (1363) 183-4,
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Osprey - General Military - Knight - The Warrior and ... - Brego-weard

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