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.
It may profitably be mentioned again here that dates on monuments are
those of demise. The armour, therefore, may be much earlier, sometimes
a generation or so before the date of death; and it was common, nay,
usual, for a knight to bequeath his suit or suits to his sons or other
persons. For instance, Guy de Beauchamp, who died in 1316, bequeathed
to his eldest son his best coat of mail, helmet, etc.; and to his son
John, his second suit. It is obvious, however, that many effigies
represent the fashion of armour prevailing at the date of demise,
or even later. Mixed armour in France went well into the fifteenth
century. Broadly speaking, mixed armour was used in England during the
last quarter of the thirteenth to the end of the fourteenth century,
but nearly full-plate armour began to be seen there in the reign of
Richard II. It had, however, been in vogue in Germany and Italy for
some decades before it was generally worn by the English, and it is
probable that the earlier complete suits in England were imported from
Germany or Italy, which countries set the fashion. Studded armour was
not uncommon during the second half of the fourteenth century, and even
earlier. The effigy of Gunther von Schwarzburg, King of the Romans
(1349), shows the body armour to have been of mail, with reinforcing
plates for the arms and legs, on which blank and studded lengths are
interspersed. He wears the bassinet with camail. The following examples
will show to some extent the progress of the evolution in Belgium. A
figure in the library at Ghent, of Willem Wenemaer, wears genouillières
and jambs of plate, otherwise clad in mail (1325). The sword is covered
with a Latin inscription. A brass at Porte de Hal, Brussels, shows
John and Gerard de Herre (1398) in mixed armour. On a brass in the
Cathedral at Bruges, dated 1452, Martin de Visch has a full armament of
plate, excepting the gorget, which is covered by a standard of mail.
This continuous strengthening of armour was clearly rendered necessary
by the ever-increasing power and temper of weapons of attack, which
was met by a corresponding effort at defence on the part of the
armour-smith. We have the same sort of thing to-day in the constant
competition between armour-plates and heavy guns. Then, again, weapons
were invented to attack some _vif de l’harnois_, or vulnerable place,
which was parried in its turn by an alteration or addition in the
harness to resist it. The mortality in these days in battle was chiefly
on the defeated side, and it took place mostly among the unhorsed
combatants.
The crusades exercised a cosmopolitan influence over both arms and
armour in Europe, not only in the introduction of new forms from the
East, but also in a general assimilation of fashion among the nations
of chivalry. The military administration of these two centuries of
disastrous warfare, in and towards Palestine, was simply deplorable;
and no reasonable provision was made against eventualities; hence
plague, leprosy, and famine played havoc among the Christian hosts. The
institution of quasi-religious orders of knighthood, however, did much
to redeem these ill-starred expeditions from absolute chaos.
The formation of these religious military orders was an outcome of the
proselytising zeal of the earlier “middle ages,” brought into play by
the first crusade. The movement was, to some extent, a fusion of the
Church with the military caste for warring against the infidel for the
recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. A living faith, boundless devotion, and
self-sacrifice characterised these orders in the early stages of their
existence, and the principles of charity and humility were strictly
enjoined and practised with all men except the infidel, against whom
they waged a pitiless war, not only in the East but in Europe also. The
Grand Master of the order of St. Lazarus was always chosen from among
lepers. The vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience soon, however,
became “more honoured in the breach than in the observance;” and as
these orders became rich, luxurious, and powerful, they began to
nourish ambitions and practices quite at variance with the principles
under which they were instituted. As their machinations began to be
directed against all authority, and even against thrones and religion
itself, they were deprived of many of their privileges, and some were
suppressed altogether.
The shoulder-pieces called “ailettes” first appeared in France. They
were in use in England late in the thirteenth century, but, as they
fell into disuse in the fourteenth, there are not likely to be any
actual examples preserved, and they rarely occur on monuments. These
pieces assume various shapes, but the usual one is a rectangular
figure, longer than it is broad, standing over the shoulders
horizontally, perpendicularly, or diagonally, rising either in front
or from behind; there are, however, instances of their being round,
pentagonal, and lozenge formed. The use of these curious appendages is
not very apparent, but the most natural explanation is that they were
applied as a defence against strokes glancing off the helmet. They
were usually ensigned with a device or crest; and, when worn in front,
were often large enough to protect the armpits, instead of palettes or
rondelles. They are mentioned in the roll of purchases for the Windsor
tournament in 1278. There is an interesting letter in the _Proceedings
of the Newcastle Society of Antiquaries_, vol. iv., p. 268, concerning
these somewhat puzzling pieces of armour. It is addressed to Dr.
Hodgkin, by Captain Orde Browne. The writer refers to the ailettes
which he noticed on the effigy of Peter le Marechal, in the cathedral
church of St. Nicholas, Newcastle. This highly interesting figure lies
immediately behind the monument to Dr. Bruce. Captain Orde Browne
mentions examples of ailettes in the churches of Ash, Clehongre in
Herefordshire, and Tew in Oxfordshire, and quotes two authorities who
state that these three are the only churches in which effigies with
these appendages have been found; the names, however, have not been
preserved in the letter. At all events, the authorities in question had
overlooked the Newcastle example, on the shield of which there seems to
be a bend. We refer to this effigy as attributed to Peter le Marechal.
Brand believed it to be the effigy of the founder of St. Margaret’s
chantry, Peter de Manley, a baron who bore, according to Guillim, “or,”
a bend sable. He was associated with the Bishop of Durham, and others,
for guarding the East Marches, and died in 1383. His arms therefore
correspond with those on the shield of the effigy. The late Mr.
Longstaffe, however, ascribes the figure to Peter le Marechal, who died
in 1322.
As to the question between Peter de Manley and Peter le Marechal there
can be no doubt whatever, as the presence of ailettes, and the general
character of the armour, undoubtedly date the figure about the end of
the thirteenth century or very early in the fourteenth, and there is
an interval of sixty-one years between the deaths of the two knights.
Peter le Marechal was sword-bearer to Edward I., and is buried in St.
Nicholas’s Church. It appears from the king’s wardrobe account that a
sword was placed on the body by the king’s command. According to M.
Viollet le Duc, this innovation, the employment of ailettes, dates
from the end of the thirteenth century, but M. Victor Gay cites an
example of the employment of ailettes in 1274. There is, however, one
of a still earlier date, occurring in a MS. dated 1262, in which is
a figure of Georges de Niverlee. This manuscript does not say where
this figure is or was. There is an ailette on the right shoulder only,
and we may possibly infer that this piece was first used singly. A
very interesting example of this kind occurs on an illumination on the
psalter executed for Sir Geoffrey Loutterell, who died in 1345; and the
single ailette bears his arms, “azure,” a bend between six martlets
“argent.” We see from the roll of purchases made for the tournament
of Windsor Park (1278) that the ailettes specified for were to be of
leather and carda.[11] Ailettes were worn by Sir Roger de Trumpington
in the Windsor tournament, but these were of leather; and are figured
on his monumental brass rising from behind the shoulders. An incised
monumental slab in the church of St. Denis, Gotheim, Belgium, shows a
figure of Nenkinus de Gotheim (1296) with these appendages. These are
remarkable for their diagonal pose. If any device existed it has been
worn off. There is an example of another Gotheim (1307) charged with a
rose, and a couple in the Porte de Hal Museum, at Brussels, dated 1318
and 1331 respectively. A very elaborate pair of ailettes appears in
the inventory of Piers Gaveston (1313): “les alettes garniz et frettez
de perles.” There is a German example on the statue of Rudolph von
Hierstein at Bâle (died 1318).