by William's soldiery. Here we shall be chiefly assisted by that extraordinary and interesting monument, the Bayeux Tapestry. The date of that work, as most are aware, is disputed, but this is not the place to enter upon the discussion; and I will simply state my belief, that it is as old as the period assigned to it by some of our best authorities, namely, the life-time of Matilda, the Conqueror's queen. Whether it is actually the workmanship of the fair needlewomen of her court is little to our present purpose. I only claim for it all the authoritativeness of a contemporary document. The tapestry represents the horsemen clad in mail which usually reaches only to the knee, though sometimes, as in the case of the duke himself, it descends to the ancle. It is usually of the ringed, but occasionally of the mascled, or diamond pattern. The helmet is conical, and is remarkable for an appendage in front, called the nasal, which effectually protected the nose from injury. The feet, which rest in stirrups, are usually armed with prick-spurs. The left hand supports a kite-shaped shield, about four feet in length, sometimes plain, but often ornamented with roundles, crosses, and rudely pourtrayed wyverns: no trace of true heraldric bearings is found. The offensive arms are spears, sometimes furnished with trifurcated and other pennons, heavy swords, and maces, or batons of command. For the modes of warfare then prevalent, it is difficult to conceive of a more appropriate armature than the tout ensemble of a Norman cavalier, as shown in this needlework, presents. Of the few infantry shown, some are in mail, and others in ordinary costume, armed with bows and arrows. The tapestry does not show war-engines, although, according to the Carmen, there were balistæ intermixed with the infantry. These, however, may have been simple cross-bows.
"Premisit pedites committere bella sagittis,
Et balistantes inserit in medio."[1]
During the march from Hastings, a distance of about six
- ↑ V. 337, 338. The Carmen de Bello Hastingensi — a poem of more than eight hundred verses, is attributed to Guy, Bishop of Amiens from 1059 to 1075. In spite of some exaggerations, and a violent prejudice against the Saxons, it presents internal evidence of having been written very early after the battle, and by one who possessed exact information on the subject. Some incidents of the day are found in no other author.
