but we will pick out and dissect the armour and weapons of some of the principal figures in the famous roll and seek to trace the likeness in their accoutrements to that of those appearing in other existing documents of the same period, by this comparison endeavouring to determine the actual aspect and method of manufacture of Norman armaments.
We will however keep to the order in which we have already discussed the armaments of the Saxon warrior—that is, first the body armour, then the helmet and the principal weapon, the sword, and finally the secondary weapons, such as the lance, the spear, the mace, and the bow.
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Fig. 41. William the Conqueror
His eleventh representation on the Bayeux needlework, showing his helmet thrown back on his head to assure his followers of his presence.
First look at the representation of Duke William himself—he appears eleven times on the roll. The most interesting of these figures is that in the scene where, to assure his followers of his presence, the Duke has thrown back his conical helmet with its broad nasal guard, holding it raised with his right hand, while with his left he brandishes a curious mace that resembles nothing more closely than a stout wooden cudgel (Fig.41). The rambling letters of the background tell you that HIC EST WILEL' DVX. With the exception of the horseman in front of him, William is the only warrior represented in full mail; by that is meant that he and his companion have the additional mail covering of chausses for their lower limbs, differing therein from the other knights who are defenceless below the knee save for leather thongs or the equivalent. His hauberk descends below the knee, its skirt slit back and front for convenience in riding, in a fashion that has bred a controversy as to whether the hauberk ended below the waist, as a pair of short breeches, and was, in fact, cut like a modern bathing suit. But on reference to another part of the Bayeux roll we see weapons and armour being carried to the ships. None of the hauberks, which are clearly drawn from a full-face view, are so fashioned
