Persian and Lydian and Libyan were in your army
and you were your warriors, they hung a shield and a helmet on you.
Ezekiel 27:10
Military history of countries and peoples. In the previous article, we mainly talked about the chain mail of simple warriors of the XIV-XV centuries. That is, the end of feudalism as such, when the New Age looms close to the horizon. It was then that the good old chain mail was replaced by the brigandine and the jacques - a short sleeveless jacket (jaque or jacques). The semi-rigid brigandine usually consisted of many small, overlapped, riveted iron plates. A sleeveless canvas doublet was worn under it, and from the outside the brigantine was covered with decorative fabric. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the brigantines were supplemented with chest protectors, often in the form of two L-shaped plates connected in front, and from the middle of the 15th century, some brigantines began to supply also a plate to cover the back.
Jacques is a cheaper "soft" armor, which was originally probably just reinforced purple - a jacket lined with pieces of cloth or made of several (up to 30) layers of fabric. For their manufacture in 1385, an order was received from Paris for 1,100 pieces of canvas. Although the jacques were considered armor for ordinary warriors, the top layer for them was often made of colored fabric with decorative embroidery. Other jacques of the 15th century were reinforced with chain mail or inner horn or iron plates. Some long-sleeved pieces were fitted with large-link chains attached along the sleeve for added protection.
The development of those parts of the armor, which were intended to protect the arms and legs, were less rapid, although more sophisticated. Plate armors were seen earlier than leg armors, as the latter were originally worn under chausses. Full iron leg armor did not begin to appear in France until around 1370 - around the same time as elsewhere.
The bascinet was the most common helmet of French men at arms in the 14th century. The most widespread were the conical bascinets (and later with the rounded one) and the visor, in which there were slits for the eyes and numerous holes for breathing. The chain mail aventail was often called "kamai" (carnail), and the leather lining was apparently called "hourson". A semi-rigid or rigid chin could sometimes be added to the aventail, and later they began to attach it directly to the bascinet on rivets. Thus, the "big bascinet" was obtained.
Another form of lightweight helmet came to France from Italy around 1410. It was a salade (salet), which could also be fitted with a small visor. The old chapeau de fer was also popular with many of the infantry.
Considering the threat posed by the English longbows, it is not surprising that horse armor received a significant development in the 14th century.
The early chanfron (chamfrons) covered only the front of the horse's head, although some had a continuation on the neck. The new forms that appeared in the 14th century were already larger, not only covering the back of the head, but had a convex protrusion over the nose and cup-shaped holes that covered the eyes. The increased need for men at arms to be ready for foot combat led to the fact that the halberd, a formidable 15th century weapon with a heavy shaft, replaced the shortened infantry spear.partially protected by a metal attachment at the top, which was connected to a blade, a war hammer and a sharp spike.
Anonymous author of "Military costumes of the French in 1446" (Du Costume Militaire des Français en, 1446) provided us with extremely detailed information about the equipment of the "spear" - the basic combat unit of the cavalry of that time:
“First of all, the aforementioned men at arms, preparing for battle, donned full white armor. In short, they consisted of a cuirass, shoulder pads, large bracers, leg armor, combat gloves, a salade with a visor and a small chin that covered only the chin. Each warrior was armed with a spear and a long light sword, a sharp dagger hanging to the left of the saddle, and a mace."
“Each warrior had to be accompanied by a bootie, who had a salade, armor for the legs, a haubergon, a jacques, a brigandine, armed with a dagger, sword and wuzh or a short spear. He was also accompanied by a page or varlet with the same armor and armed with one or two types of weapons. The archers had armor for the legs, a salad, a heavy jacque or brigandine lined with canvas, in his hands was a bow, and a quiver on his side."
A young aristocrat needed from 125 to 250 Tours livres to equip, which was equivalent to an 8- or 16-month salary of an ordinary soldier, respectively. Of course, we are talking about the best equipment, but the usual was not cheap either. Salad cost from 3 to 4 Tours livres. Jacques, corset or brigandine could cost 11 livres. A complete set of such armor and weapons cost about 40 livres, and the cost of equipment for the entire "spear" could range from 70 to 80 livres.
On the other hand, a poor-quality dagger, with which most Francs were armed, cost less than a livre, and a poor-quality sword a little more than one livre. An anonymous text from 1446 stated that
"There was another category of warriors, protected only by chain mail-haubergon, salade, combat mittens, armor for the legs, armed with a dart with a wide tip, which was called" ox tongue "(langue de boeuf)."
Crossbows continued to be produced in large numbers. In Clos de Gale, they were produced in batches of 200. The release of ammunition was even greater. The production of 100,000 crossbow arrows required ten birch barrels and a little less than 250 kg of iron.
The question of the time of the introduction into general use of crossbows with a steel bow remains controversial, although such crossbows may have already been used in hostilities around 1370. Despite, and perhaps thanks to, competition from firearms, crossbows gradually turned into a powerful weapon that combined great destructive power with low weight and no recoil. This weapon did not require a long training from the owner. Although the use of steel in the construction made the crossbow more compact, more accurate and made it possible to reduce the length of the bowstring tension to 10-15 cm, it nevertheless recharged very slowly and became more and more complicated in design. To tension the crossbow, a number of mechanical devices were required - a stirrup, a "goat's leg" and, finally, a hand winch with a tension hook and a double crank.
Well, what about morality with all these warriors?
Interesting question, isn't it? And then we all, armor, and armor …
And with her, things were really bad. No matter how bravely a commoner fought, he still remained a commoner in the eyes of the nobles, who boasted for generations of their noble ancestors.
However, the heroism of the knightly elite manifested itself mainly in tournament duels and quixotic feats, and not in real battles, in which no one simply wanted to die. Well, "the younger took an example from the elders." No wonder in 1369 a certain Eustache Deschamp complained that
“The soldiers are plundering the country, the concept of honor has been lost, they love to be called gens d'armes, but they scour the country, sweeping away everything in their path, and ordinary people are forced to flee and hide from them. If a soldier has walked three leagues a day, he thinks he has done his duty."
He also complained that the knights do not maintain their martial skills, sit back, dream of wine and luxurious clothes and knight boys aged ten to twelve who did not deserve this title on the battlefield.
In a word, there was a complete corruption of morals. Always had …
