Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 2).djvu/241

Among the effects of Sir John Fastolf (temp. Henry VI) were "vj jakkes stuffyd with horne" and "j jakke of blakke lynen clothe stuffyd with mayle."

Fig. 550. Jack of coarse worked linen

Second half of XVIth century

Porte de Hal, Brussels

Fig. 551. Jack

Middle of XVIth century. Ex Meyrick Collection

Burges Bequest, British Museum

We may accept the word "jack" as meaning in the latter part of the XVIth century any defensive garment made with folds of materials, with occasional introduction of metal plates. We see it in a late XVth century form, worn over a shirt of mail by one of the soldiers depicted in Hans Memlinc's famous "St. Ursula Châsse," painted in 1489 and preserved in the hospital of St. John at Bruges (Fig. 549). Here it is shown as if made of some thickly quilted material, with long sleeves, the surface broken into angular formation, each angle apparently studded with a rivet; whilst for better protection to the shoulders and running down the exterior of the arms is applied a length of fairly heavy iron chain. The first jack we illustrate (Fig. 550) is preserved in the Porte de Hal, Brussels, and is quite free from metal reinforcements, being made of coarse linen but of several thicknesses. It laces down the sides and extends over the groin. The whole surface is evenly pierced with multitudinous holes, each worked round with the button-hole stitch, a process which not only secures a general thickening of the material but also provides for the ventilation of the garment. This jack dates from the middle of the XVIth century. The second example, which