Chinstraps on Medieval Helmets

On some sallets the chinstraps have survived, and there are images showing chin straps or laces on kettle hats in the Morgan Bible and on helms in the Manesse Codex.

No chinstraps have survived on medieval bascinets, and for bascinets with mail aventails they would be invisible in contemporary images.

It is well to know that it is quite rare for chin straps to survive on medieval helmets of any kind. There must be thousands of surviving morions, but very few still have their chin straps, although they are well attested in contemporary iconography. And many barbutes and Italian sallets have rivets to attach chinstraps, but no straps.

However, in Christ before Caiphas in The Très Belles Heures of Jean de Berry we see a chinstrap on a small, round skulled bascinet worn without a mail aventail, as well as on a similar, somewhat more pointed helmet covered with scales.

Note how the straps widen to where they attach to the helmet. Surviving sallet straps often split to attach to the helmet at two points on each side, or attach to a shorter strap attached at two points on each side.

There is a reference in Froissart, Vol. III, chapter cxv. to a deed of arms between Sir Thomas Hapurgan, and Sir John des Barres.

It was then the usage (or at least, it seemed to me that it was) that one laced on their bascinet with a mere thong (une seule laniere), so that the point of the lance wouldn't set itself.

Froissart records a similar tactic was used by Sir Reginald de Roye against Sir John Holland in a combat before the duke of Lancaster, although in that case the helmets were heaumes.

The Bridport Muster: 1457

The Bridport muster  roll gives an unusually complete record of one of the musters held by the Lancastrians in 1457. Held at Bridport in Dorset, it records the arms owned, or that should have been owned, or in 82 cases were not owned, by 201 named individuals. Frequently the contraction ordinab occurs, probably for the Latin ordinabitur, or "he was instructed". Presumably it reflects equipment the individual should have had, but didn't bring to the muster. It's unclear how many of them the authorities expected to actually make good the deficiency, and how many would simply by fined.

For those that actually had bow and arrows, the most common kit was was jack, sallet, bow and arrows, often with a sword and dagger, for 33 individuals. Two had jack, sallet and habergeon: the 1473 Burgundian ordinance of St. Maximin de Tréves expected mounted archers to wear a a habergeon beneath their jack. One had jack, wallet and leg harness. One had a sallet and habergeon. 20 had bow and arrow, but no armor. 7 of the archers had a sallet as their only armor.  5 had a jack but no sallet.  Two had brigandines but no sallet.

This is somewhat at variance with Le Fèvre and Waurin's report that most of the English archers at Agincourt were unarmored: one would expect an expeditionary force to be better equipped than a local muster. Probably the many Welsh foot archers were less likely to have armor, and so brought down the average prevalence of armor among the archers as a whole.

The English Archers' Equipment at Agincourt

The archers were for the most part without armor, in their pourpoints, with their hose rolled down, with hatchets and axes hanging from their belts, or long swords.  Some were completely barefoot, and some wore hunettes (huvettes in Waurin) or cappelines of boiled leather, and some of osier reinforced with iron (sur lesquelz avoit une croisure de fer: covered with pitch or leather in Waurin )

Jean Le Fèvre and Jean Waurin were both present at that battle, and both wrote chronicles that described what happened at Agincourt. Their accounts were not independent: they essentially compared notes after the battle and their two versions of what happened were very similar. I have translated Le Fèvre above, with significant variations in Waurin noted.

Hunettes/huvettes and cappelins were head defenses.  Huvettes  could be made of boiled leather, but also iron, scales and plates, and were sometimes described as small and round.  Cappelins seem to have been a sort of helmet favored by infantry and light cavalry. Le Fèvre and Waurin seem to be describing some of the English archers wearing small helmets with lower, less pointed crowns than the bascinet of the contemporary man at arms.


Le Fèvre de Saint-Remy, Jean, and François Morand. 1876. Chronique de Jean Le Fèvre, seigneur de Saint-Rémy, transcrite d'un manuscrit appartenant à la bibliothèque de Boulogne-sur-Mer. Paris: Loones.

Colonial Plantation's Medieval Event: October 2014

Rain on Saturday depressed attendance for Medieval Days, but Sunday's lovely October weather brought a good turnout, although the human living history groups had to compete with the charismatic farm animals for attention. My group, La Belle Compagnie, was winnowed down by schedule conflicts, sickness, logistic issues and weather to one.

I brought the complete harness of an English man-at-arms ca. 1414, with both a grand bascinet and a kettle hat. I love it when the visitors ask "Why would you want to be able to wear more than one helmet?" Why, thank you for asking. And my sword ca 1385, and my grandfather's for comparison. And a rondel dagger, to demonstrate how acute points can curb your enthusiasm, even when you are wearing mail everywhere you don't wear plate.

I like to display my armor on a table, because you can easily pick up any particular piece and show how it works. Also, it's an authentic way to do it: you can see armor laid out in just this way in the 15th c. treatise on How a man schall be armyd. Also, if you have a tablecloth you can conceal less authentic kit below the table.

Ideally, I would have brought a longer table to display more of the armor at table height, but I was grateful for the shorter table borrowed from a friend.

For refreshment, I brought for drink a full pitcher of water and a beaker of water, and a modern bottle of wine decanted into a hand-blown bottle of wine and a pewter costrel. This was sufficient for the five hours ordained.

For meat I brought cold venison,  a portion of a loaf of bread, apples, dried unsulphured apricots and pistachios. This was also sufficient.

Next time I do a tent less presentation, I must remember to bring my broad-brimmed hat to wear between visitors.

My neighbors on one side were portraying Irish in German service about 1521, based on Durer's water color of that year:

Reproduction Bascinet with a Pomme: 1410-1414

This helmet, seen earlier here, now has a pomme, a ball of gilded wood to hold feathers, just like Hector's. (Yes, that's Hector of Troy). I think it adds a note of style.

Pitfalls in Understanding the Middle Ages: Archaicism

As a general rule, medieval artists portrayed the past as their own present. The Virgin Mary as a very respectable craftsman's wife of the year painted, the soldiers at the crucifixion in the armor of the year painted, and so on.

Except when they didn't.

The past is a different country. Things changed more slowly then, but still some artists noticed that the armor on the old effigies in the churches was different from the current state of the art, and likewise for old manuscripts and pattern books and so on.

For example, consider BNF Français 343 Queste del Saint Graal/Tristan de Léonois, a beautiful Milanese manuscript of 1380-1385. At first glance, it seems like a detailed depiction of contemporary fashion, arms and armor.

Yet the artist has actually taken steps to evoke an earlier age, since the text is of Arthurian legend. The knights are repeatedly shown in crested helms that have, by the 1380s, been abandoned except for jousts and tournaments. The pollaxes that were popular weapons for  men at arms in the actual 1380s are absent. The knights consistently wear sleeveless tightly fitted coat-armors and jupons over their armor, although artwork done at the same time that wasn't so deliberately aimed at evoking the past often show knights in looser garments with full or partial sleeves.

This sort of  deliberate archaicism was not uncommon in art of the 14th and 15th centuries and later. It is well to know what content the artist was depicting, and whether it was far enough in the past to perhaps justify archaic elements. It is also helpful to know of contemporary art where the artist was trying to depict the present or recent past, as a point of comparison

Hanging Up Armor in the 14th Century

Pelegrinage de la Vie Humaine, 1348,  two images from Guiron le Courtoise, 1370-80, Pelegrinage de la Vie Humaine 1375, 1375-99, and c. 1400.

If you are at home you can store your armor in a chest or hang it in a cabinet.  Or perhaps hang it from something like a closet rod, perhaps behind a curtain, for neatness.

One caveat: the two versions of Pelegrinage de la Vie Humaine were written between 1330 and 1355. Guiron le Courtoise was written in the 13th century. The illustrations may conform to the text illustrated rather contemporary practice when the illustration was made.

That said, hanging up armor was still a practice in the mid 15th century: the splendid intarsia panels at Urbino show armor suspended inside a cabinet.

Armor 1375-1387

Manuscript Miniatures Note that the Lyon Grandes chroniques de France looks later than 1380 to me and the Lyon library dates it to the end of the 14th century.
Effigies & Brasses Both of these are limited to England, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Why the particular date range? Because I'm part of La Belle Compagnie. In addition to the  years leading up to Agincourt, we do a 1382 and a 1386-7 scenario, John of Gaunt's expedition to Galicia, which is well suited to the weather at a June event we do in Cape May NJ. I was going to take it back to only 1377, but adding two years brought in a lot more images.

The Amor of Charles VI at Chartres, ca. 1380

The Black Prince and Pembridge helms.  By this time, I believe these were for jousts and tournaments, not war. And mostly jousts.

Gauntlets, from before 1361, and probably old at that time, to around 1450.

Armor: 1410-1415

From England, France, Belgium and the Netherlands:

From Manuscript Miniatures. Some of these have deliberately exotic elements because of a setting that is supposed to be classical, mythical, historical, Asian, or more than one of the above. They should generally be pretty obvious.

From Effigies & Brasses. Bear in mind that these are biased towards people who could afford effigies or brasses,  a wealthier subset of the people who could afford full armor.

From Armour in Art

Reproduction Gauntlets: 1380-1415

These gauntlets are partly inspired by the carving of St. George in Dijon above, commissioned in 1390. The metacarpal and cuff plates, knuckle plates, and copper alloy decoration at the wrists are by Robert MacPherson, the leather gloves by Karl Robinson, and the thumb and finger scales and final assembly by Jeff Wasson. The reproduction gauntlets were photographed by Jeff Wasson.

Dmitry Nelson has collected a gallery of images of gauntlets that have partially survived from before 1361 to middle of the 15th century. Most are from 1380-1415. Some of the oldest pieces may have been old when they were buried at Visby in 1361: the losing side seems have died in armor that was far behind the contemporary state of the art.

Here are some images of medieval gloves or mittens, either fitted in gauntlets or for civilian use:

Churburg Gauntlets
A closer view
Yet another view
Gauntlets of the Black Prince
Another view
Civilian Gloves:
The gloves of Emperor Frederick II, worn at his coronation in 1220
A 15th century mitten in the Museum of London, showing the thumb inset, also here,, here, and here.
A 15th century glove
Medieval gloves and mittens from archaeological finds.
"Glove of Henry VI" However, Alison Weir believes the glove does not predate the 16th century.

Reproduction Early 15th c. Bascinet

Just arrived today, from Jeff Wasson. I threw it on right out of the box,  so I hadn't yet tightened the lining for optimal height. It sits low in the pictures above. The main inspiration was this image from 1410-14. The visor was based on Churburg 16.

The aventail lining and attachment of the aventail to the helmet are based on the effigy of Philip the Bold in Dijon.  Several surviving great bascinets have similar pairs of holes around the lower edge of the helmet, the earliest being H. 24 in the Musée de l`Armée in Paris, dated to ca. 1400 and illustrated in Claude Blair's European Armour.

The 1434 Ghent Altarpiece in Close Up

Van Eyck, marvelously zoomable. Thank you, Tracy Justus. Some pretty amazing hats.

La Belle Compagnie: "How Shall a Man Be Armed?"

Our presentation at Kalamazoo. Liveblogged here.

Of the array of knychtis lordes and vtheris, 1429

ACT OF THE PARLIAMENT HELD AT PERTH, 6th MARCH 1429.
Of the array of knychtis lordes and vtheris.

Anent the maner of grathing of gentilmen and utheris for weir.

4. Item, be the awyse of the haill parliament it is statute and ordanit that ilk man that may dispende yerly xx lib. or at has jC (100) lib. in movabil gudis, that he be wele horsit and haill enarmyt as a gentill man audit to be. And vther sympillaris of x lib. of rent or L lib. in gudis, haif hat gorgeat or pesane, with rerebrasaris vambrasaris and gluffis of plate brest plate panse and legsplentis at the lest or better gif him likis.

Anent the maner of grathing of yemen for weir.

5. Item, that ilk yeman that is of xx lib. in gudis haif a gude doublat of fence or ane habergeone, ane yrn hat, with bow and schefe, suerde buklar and knyfe, and all vther yemen of x lib. in gudis haif bow and schefe, suerde and buklare and knyfe And the yeman that is nane archer na can nocht deyll with a bow sail haif a gude souer hat for his  hede and a doublat of fence, with suerde and buklar and a gude ax or ellis a brogit staff.

Anent the maner of grathing of burgessis for weir.

 6. Item, it is statute that ilk burges hafand jC lib. in gudis salbe hail enarmyt as a gentil man audit to be, ande at the yeman of lawer degre ande burges of xx lib., be bodyn with souer hate and doublat habergeone suerd buklar bow schefe and knyfe, ande at he that is na bowman haf a gude ax' or wapynis of fens, as is forsaide. Ande the balyeis sal rayse the payn in the burgh gif it be nocht kepit as is forsaide, that is to say of ilk harnest man iiij s. at the first warnyng, at the secund warnyng viij s., ande at the thrid tyme a mark and sa furth, whil he be wele enarmyt, ande of ilk yeman at the first tyme ij s., at the next tyme iiij s., and at the thrid tyme viij s., ande sa furth whil he be wele enarmyt.

Brogit staff: spiked staff
Gorgeat: gorget
Grathing: dressing, making ready
Legsplentis: leg protection
Panse: pauncer, belly protection of mail or plate 
Pesane: pisan, mail collar
Soure: sure, assured

Scotland, Cosmo Innes, and Robert Renwick. 1868-1919. Ancient laws and customs of the burghs of Scotland. Edinburgh: Printed for the Scottish Burgh Records Society. Vol. 2 pp15-16

Modus armandi milites ad torneamentum.

Primo fit ignis et extenditur tapetum, et spoliatur ad camisiam; pectine parat capillos, in pede calciatur  de quyr, induit ocreas, gall. muscylers, in tibiis de ascer ou de quyr boily. Deinde quysouns in femoribus et genicularia, gall. genulers. Deinde aketoun, et deinde camisia de Chartres et coyfe de Chartres , et pelvim in qua debet esse cerveylere defendens capud ne contiguetur pelvis cum capite. Deinde loricam quyrée, cote armée, in qua fuerit signa militis, et gayne payns ou gayns de baleyne sa espeye, .i. gladius, et flagellum et galeam, .i. heaume. 
 
Ad Bellum: aketoun, plates de Alemayne ou autres cum, aketoun ut supra et bone gorgeres, gladius, haches a pik, et cultellus. Scutum raro portatur ad bellum quia impediret plus quam promoveret.

Ad Hastiludia: aketoun, haubert, gambisoun, quod fit de panno serico et consimilibus, si sit preciosum, nuelere ke sunt plates de ascer, sicut bacyn et galea.



First the fire is made and the carpet spread, and he is stripped to his shirt and his hair is combed in preparation, and leather shoes put on his feet and greaves, in French muscylers, on his legs, of steel or of cuir bouilli . Then on his thighs he puts cuisses and knee pieces, in French genulers. Then an aketon, a shirt of Chartres and coif of Chartres, and a bascinet with a lining to keep it from contacting the head. Then body armor fashioned of leather, coat armor on which should be the knight's device, gayne payns* or whalebone gauntlets, his espeye, i.e. sword, and a riding whip, and a helmet, i.e. heaume.

For War: an aketon, plates from Germany or elsewhere, and in addition to the aketon as above, a good gorget, sword, axe with a spike, and a long knife. The shield is rarely carried in war as it hinders more than it helps.

For Jousts: aketon, hauberk, and gambeson, which is made of silken cloth and the like, and can be so costly that the steel plates, basinet and helmet are as nothing in comparison.

*A type of gauntlet

From BL MS Additional 46919, compiled by William Herebert before his death around 1333. The author, writing in Latin but describing gear unknown to Cicero, was frequently forced to lapse into contemporary French.
 
Meyer, Paul, Gaston Bruno Paulin Paris, Antoine Thomas, and Mario Roques. 1884. Romania. Paris: Société des amis de la Romania [etc.].  P. 530 Translation copyright Will McLean 2013

Layers Beneath Armor

An image from Lancelot du Lac et la Quête du Graal, BNF Francais 343, showing the layers a man-at-arms normally wore beneath his armor: breeches, shirt and arming doublet. Note that this differs from How a man schall be armyd, which I believe is specific to a judicial duel.

Modus armandi milites ad torneamentum, a manuscript compiled around 1330 and Chaucer's Sir Tophas both describe a man-at-arms wearing a shirt as his innermost layer. Cloth worn next to the skin accumulates sweat, skin oils, dead skin cells and dirt. For a soldier on campaign, it is both pleasant and convenient to be able to simply put on a clean shirt in the morning.

However, a shirt worn beneath a tight fitting doublet can ruck up awkwardly. A man planning to fight a judicial duel won't need to wear the same doublet the next day, so having the doublet lining the innermost layer is a reasonable approach in that context.

Most Read Posts of 2012

Horses as a Force Multiplier for Armored Combat
Muscle vs. Armor: Blunt Impact
Muscle vs. Armor: Intrusive Attacks
Two Modest Proposals to Improve SCA Heraldry
Tent Structures 1380-1415
Muscle vs. Armor: Variation in Armor Protection
Tents in Il Libro del Sarto
Caparison Patterns
Breast Sacks and Medieval Ideals of Female Beauty
Medieval Helmet Padding

Also, not quite as well read as the above, but I liked it anyway:

The Aliens from Alien Explain

Weapons at Bamburgh Castle: 1328-29

…unius aketon nullius valoris, v. bacinettis nullius valoris, vij balistis de vicibus quarum j de baleigne cum j hasepe de novo apparatu, xij balistis unius pedis de novo apparatu, j cista, iiij bukettis plenis de quarellis pro predictis vj balistis, j arcu, v garbis sagittarum, vij costis pro arcubus, xij costis pro balistis unius pedis quarum iiij nullius valoris, ij costis pro balistis de vicibus, x balistis unius pedis nullius valoris, j teler sine nuce pro balista de vicibus, xxxv quarellis pro springald de novo apparatu, xxviij quarellis pro springaldo sine pennis quarum iiij sine capite, xlvj torches cere in una cista, 1 tortie et xxvj broches cere in una alia cista, xv baudreis quorum iiij sine clavibus, …

Compotus of Roger de Horncliffe, from 8 Feb. 1 Ed. III. to Mich, 4 Ed. III. in Ministers' Accounts, Bamburgh, V2 1-4 Ed. III. P.R.O. .

…one aketon of no value, five bassinets of no value; seven screw crossbows, one of them of whalebone, with one new hasepe, 12 new one foot crossbows, one chest and four buckets full of quarrels for the aforesaid 6 crossbows, one bow, five sheaves of arrows; seven staves for bows; twelve prods for one-foot crossbows, four of them of no value; two prods for screw crossbows,  10 one-foot crossbows of no value; one tiller without a nut for a screw crossbow, 35 new springald quarrels, twenty-eight unfeathered quarrels for a springald, four of them without heads; forty-six wax torches in one chest, and fifty torches and thirty-six wax tapers in another chest; fifteen belts (for spanning crossbows), four of them without hooks…

Translation: Will Mclean 2012

Inventory of the Castle of Montgomery: 1301

Transcriptum indenture inter dominum W de Leyburn recipientem et dominum Bogonem de Knoville liberantem Castrum Montis Gomeri.

Memorandum quod die Lune proxima post festum sancti Luce Evangeliste anno regni Regis domini E. xxix° Bogo de Knoville liberavit domino Willelmo de Leyburn Castrum de Monte Gomeri cum omnibus rebus in eodem contentis, videlicet cum tribus prisonis de Scotia1 per dominum Regem ibidem prius missis. Liberavit etiam eidem xiij galeas parvi valoris,  xxviij capellos ferri parvi valoris, xx. balistas lesas et x. milia quarellorum pro balistis unius pedis, et j miliare quarellorum pro balistis duorum pedum iij bandrellos pro balistis duorum pedum, et ij viceas pro balistis extendendis. Item liberavit eidem iij balistas cornuas ad viceas integras et unam lesam, et iij balistis cornuas ad ij pedes, & duas ad unam pedem de dono domini Bogonis ad opus Principis. Item xij targias et iij. scuta parvi valoris, et unum incudem et j martellum et ij  sufflettos parvi valoris.  Item liberavit eidem iij par cooptorum ferri et ij testeras ferri et v. loricas1 cum capite et v. sine capite de veteri opere cum pluribus defectibus. Item j molam ad manum sine hoper, j ollam eneam, et j craticulam, xvj. par firgearum  et iij cathenas ad pontes trahendas. Item de ornamentis Capelle liberavit eidem unum par vestimentorum integrum cum corporalial iij manutergia debilia et terciam partem unius antiphonalis et terciam partem unius gradate et unum cofrum predictis ornamentis imponendis, et ij. cruettos et unam pixidem' et unam campanam pendentem in capella, et iiij"r cistas cum coopturis et iij sine coopturis et Iij dolia vacua.

Transcript of an indenture between lord W. de Leybum receiver and lord Bogo de Knoville deliverer of the Castle of Montgomery.

Be it remembered that on Monday next after the festival of Saint Luke the Evangelist in the 29th year of the reign of our Lord King Edward, Bogo de Knoville delivered to Lord William of Leyburn the Castle ot Montgomery with all things contained in the same, namely with three prisoners of Scotland previously sent there by our Lord the King. He also delivered to him 13 helmets of little value, 28 kettle hats of little value, 20 damaged crossbows and 10,000 quarrels for crossbows of one foot, and 1,000 quarrels for crossbows of 2 feet, 3 bandrellos for crossbows of two feet and two screws for spanning the crossbows. Also he delivered to the same 3 complete horn crossbows with screws and 1 damaged, and 3 horn crossbows for 2 feet and 2 for one foot of the gift of Lord Bogo for the use of the Prince. Also 12 targes and 3 shields of little value and 1 anvil and 1 hammer and 2 pair of bellows of little value. Also he delivered to the same 3 pairs of iron (horse) coverings and 2 iron testiers and 5 hauberks with headpiece, and 5 without headpiece of old work with many defects. Also 1 hand mill without a hopper, one brass pot and one grill, 16 pair firgearum and 3 chains for drawbridges.

Also of chapel ornaments he delivered to the same one whole pair of vestments with a corporal, 3 worn towels  and the third part of an antiphonal and the third part of a gradual, and one chest receive these ornaments, and two cruets and one pix and one bell hanging in the chapel and 4 chests with covers and 3 without covers and 3 empty casks. [Oct. 23rd, 1301]

Bandrellos: probably belts with hooks for spanning crossbows, related to the French baudrier.

Testier: head protection for a horse
Screw: In this context a machine with a screw and handle for spanning a crossbow
Firgearum: Unknown

Cott. MS. Brit. Mus. Vitellius C. x. fo. 154.  Translation by Will McLean, 2012


Excerpta historica, or, Illustrations of English history. 1833. London: Bentley. p.22

Militarie instructions for the Cavallrie, 1632

Lancer

His arms were a close casque or headpiece; gorget, breast pistoll-proof (as all the cuirasse in every piece of it), and caliver-proof (by reason of the placcate), the back pouldrons, vanbraces, two gauntlets, tassets, cuissets, culets, or guard de rein, all fitting to his body; a good sword (which was to be very stiffe, cutting, and sharp-pointed), with a girdle, and hangers so fastened upon his cuirass as he might easily draw it; a buffe coat, with long skirts, to wear between his armour and his cloathes ; his lance, either after the wonted manner, or (as Walhausen hath it) after the manner of a pike, only somewhat thicker at the butt end, the head of it either to be three-edged, or otherwise, like a pike head, made strong and sharpe, the length to be about eighteen foot, it being otherwise of little effect either against infantine or cavallarie; within two foot of the butt end to be bored through, and through it a thong of strong leather to be put, to fasten it to the right arm, for the surer holding and better managing thereof. On the outside of his right stirrop to have a socket of leather fastened thereunto, to place the butt end of his lance therein. His saddle to be handsome, made with advantage, fit for the rider to keep firm against the violence of a shock; thereat he should have one, if not two, pistolls, of sufficient bore and length, with keys and cartouches; also he must have flaske and cartouche-box, and all appurtenances fitting.

Cuirassier, 

...again, is to be armed at all points, and accoated with a buffe coat under his arms, like the lance; his horse not inferior in stature or strength, though not so swift. He must have two cases, with good fire-locks; pistolls hanging at his saddell, having the barrell of eighteen inches long, and the bore of twenty bullets in the pound (or twenty-four, rowling in); a good sword, stiffe, and sharp-pointed, like the lancier. This sort of cavalarie is of late invention: for, when the lanciers proved hard to be gotten, first, by reason of their horses, which must be very good, and exceeding well exercised; secondly, by reason their pay was abated through scarcity of money; thirdly, and principally, because of the scarcitie of such as were practised and exercised to the use of the lance, it being a thing of much labour and industry to learn; the cuirassier was invented only by discharging the lancier of his lance. He is to have a boy and a nagge, as is otherwise said, to carry his spare arms and oat sacke, and to get him forage. His saddle and bit must be strong, and be made after the best manner. He is also to wear a scarfe, as hath been showed, chapter 20. He is to have his bridle made with a chain, to prevente cutting; and he must be very careful to have all his furniture strong and usefull.

Harquebusier

The harquebusier was first invented in France, at the time of the warres of Piedmont; whom Melzo and Basta would have either not armed (though they confesse themselves contradicted therein by others), or but slightly (only with a head-piece and breast), and those but some few of the foremost. But the printed edict of the States of the United Provinces expressly commandeth that every harquebusier be armed with an open casque, gorget, back and breast, of the horseman's furniture; and captain Bingham, in his 'Low Country Exercise," appointeth him a cuirasse, pistoll-proof. Moreover, by the late orders rendered in by the council of warre, the harquebusier (besides a good buffe coate) is to have the back and breast of the cuirassier's arming more than pistoll-proofe, the head-piece, &c. For offensive arms, he must have the harquebuse of two foot and a half long (the bore of seventeen bullets in the pound, rowling in), hanging on a belt by a swivel, a flaske, and touch-box and pistolls, like the cuirassiers, (as some writers have it). His horse (according to the same edict of the States) should not be under fifteen hands high, being swift and well managed. The carabinier is to be mounted on a middling guelding, and to have a good buffe coat, a carbine or petronell (the barrel two foot and a half long, the bullet twenty-four in the pound, rowling in), hanging as the harquebusse, a sword, girdle, and hangers, flaske and touch-box, as the harquebusier.

Dragoons

The dragoni is of two kinds, pike and musket. The pike is to have a thong of leather, about the middle of the pike, for the more commodious carrying of it. The musketier is to have a strap or belt fastened to the stock thereof, almost from the one end to the other, by which (being on horseback) he hangeth it at his back, keeping his burning match and the bridle in the left hand. His horse is of the least price, the use thereof being but to expedite his march, alighting to do his service.

Cruso, John. 1632. Militarie instructions for the Cavallrie.