Armour & Weapons

Ô2 THE WEARING OF ARMOUR CHAP. Ill Agincourt. He also quotes a letter from James Croft to Cecil on July i, 1559, which states that a man cannot keep his corselet and pay for the wear and tear of his clothes due to the rubbing of the body armour, under 8d. per day. Sir John Smith, in his Animadversions (1591), writes: ‘No man should wear any cut doublets, as well in respect that the wearing of armour doth quickly fret them out, and also by reason that the corners and edges of the lames and joints of the armour do take such hold upon such cuttes as they do hinder the quick and sudden arming of men.’ An interesting description of the arming of a man, entitled, ‘Howe a manne schall be armed at hys ese when he schall fighte on foote,’ is preserved in the Life of Sir John Astley (a manuscript in the possession of Lord Hastings).1 The knight is first dressed in a doublet of fustian, lined with satin, which is cut with holes for ventilation. This satin was to keep the roughness of the fustian from the wearer’s body ; for he wore no shirt under it. The doublet was provided with gussets of mail, or Vuyders, attached under the armpit and at the bend of the elbow by Arming Points or laces. These mail gussets were to protect the parts not covered by the plate armour. The ‘Portrait of an Italian Nobleman’ by Moroni, in the National Gallery, shows the figure dressed in this arming doublet. A pair of thick worsted hose were worn, and shoes of stout leather. It must be noticed here that the soleret, or sabaton as it is sometimes called, covered only the top of the foot, and had understraps which kept it to the sole of the shoe. First the saba- tons were put on, then the jambs, genouillière and cuisses, then the skirt or breech of mail round the waist. This is sometimes known as the Brayette. Then the breast- and backplates were buckled on with the accompanying faces, tassets, and Garde-rein or plates to protect the loins. After this the arm defences, and, if worn over the breastpiece, the gorget ; and, finally, the helmet completed the equipment. The sword was buckled on the left side and the dagger on the right. 1 Archaeologia, vol. Ivii; Arch. Jown., vol. iv.