likewise a suspending loop to be passed round the neck, called the guige (Fig. 76). This extra means of attachment was almost a necessity, for from the very unwieldiness of the Norman shields, the enarmes could barely do their duty alone. The shield, when not in use, could also by this means be slung on the back, and it was possible to give the free use of both hands for wielding a weapon or controlling a horse. Wace, the Norman poet, in Roman du Rou, speaks of the advantage this extra means of attachment gave to his countrymen over the English, for "When they wished to strike with their battle-axe, they were forced to hold it with both hands; to strike strong, and at the same time to cover themselves, was what they could not do."
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Fig. 77. Harold represented in the Bayeux needlework
Showing the lobated pommel and belt of his sword
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Fig. 78. A noble from the same group
Showing his sword and the buckles of the belt clearly defined
It seems that from the very earliest times only those who were able to wear a sword, as a thegn, were privileged to bear the shield; and the same custom held good in Norman times, when the knight and squire were the lowest in the scale of nobility to possess this privilege.
Before the Conquest "Knight" signified a military dependant of the great land holder. The order of Knighthood afterwards became the distinguishing mark of a man who owned 500 acres of land. In 1166 from Henry II Cartiboronum we learn there were 5,000 mounted knights in
