He endangered his soul to smite the Philistine, and the Lord made a great salvation for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced; why do you want to sin against innocent blood and kill David for no reason?
First Book of Kingdoms 19: 5
Let's start with an early image of David and Goliath from a French manuscript of 700-799, which is located in the municipal library of the French town of Boulogne-sur-Mer. Its population consists of only 42 thousand inhabitants, however, in its library there are very rare medieval manuscripts, one of which contains this miniature, the image on which fully corresponds to its era.
And here is a miniature from the famous "Stuttgart Psalter", 801-850. It was created in Paris, France, but today it is kept in the State Library of Württemberg, Germany. Here Goliath is dressed like a typical Frankish warrior and even has a shield with a distinctive umbilicus, a Carolingian helmet and a very distinctive sword.
Goliath from the "Dijon Bible" 1126-1150. Burgundy, France. (Municipal Library of Dijon) He wears a chain mail with a hood and wide sleeves, typical of French mail armor throughout the "chain mail era".
Another biblical couple we are interested in we meet on the pages of the so-called "Worms Bible" from Frankenhall, Germany, dated 1148. (British Library, London) Here, if you look closely, you can clearly see that Goliath is dressed in armor and armed in the same way as the Norman horsemen on the "canvas from Bayeux". Although many years have passed, the knights of that time in Germany apparently did not feel much sense in changing their weapons. And that was enough for them.
The famous Winchester Bible, 1160-1180 from the Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum in New York. Here on Goliath is full chain mail, a domed helmet with a nosepiece, and a large almond-shaped shield. On the shield - a tug, a belt so that it is convenient to throw it behind your back.
We have already referred to this source here on VO more than once, and in general this miniature from the "Bible of Matsievsky" (1240-1250) wanders both on the Internet and in various printed publications. Goliath in this miniature of her is depicted in surcoat, and in an "iron", and even a painted "hat", a shield in the shape of an iron and with protective plates on the legs below the knees, while the knees themselves are protected by quilted knee pads. As you can see, the knights have a fashion for surcoat, and none of the illustrators depicts Goliath in "naked" armor anymore. (Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum in New York)
Also, in chain mail armor from head to toe, in surcoat and an iron-shaped shield, Goliath is depicted on a miniature from the Soissons Psalter, 1200-1297. (Municipal Media Library of Louis Aragon, Le Mans, France)
But this miniature, inscribed in a capital letter, is very interesting. First, the time of creation. Since this manuscript from the municipal library of the city of Lyon, in which this miniature is located, dates back to 1215-1240. That is, in fact, it appeared at the same time as the "Bible of Matsievsky". Secondly, it depicts the Philistine Goliath, very unusually equipped for battle. He is wearing chain mail leggings of an obviously outdated pattern, but a closed helmet with a mask. After all, involuntarily then the question arises, how did David hit him with a stone on the forehead, if he wore a helmet on his head … with a mask?
Another Goliath in surcoat and quilted knee pads. The Bible for Moralize, 1225-1249 Paris. (National Library of Austria, Vienna)
Here we have the original Goliath. On his feet he already had greaves and knee pads, traditional for the French chivalry of that time, but on his shoulders he had … ellets, and for some reason they were different. That is, "this Goliath" not only followed the chivalrous fashion, but in addition … wore very strange, if I may say so, ellets. Historical Bible. First part. Around 1300-1325 Saint-Omer, France. (National Library of France, Paris)
Probably, perhaps, the most unusual image of Goliath, which has nothing to do with the biblical plot at all. He wears a helmet with a visor on his head, and he dies because … he did not lower him in time! By the way, for some reason he doesn't have a spear at all. Historical Bible. OK. 1300-1325 biennium Paris, France. (Media Library of the Trojan Agglomeration, Troy commune, France)
Well, here we see at all Goliath has a completely closed "big helmet". That is, he is clearly a knight, because the infantrymen simply did not wear such helmets. But … he apparently forgot to put it on his head, that's why he received a fatal blow to the forehead with a stone! "Mirror of Human Salvation", about 1350-1399. Nuremberg, Germany. (Pierpont Morgan Museum and Library, New York)
Another completely striking miniature can be seen in the manuscript from Westphalia "The Mirror of Human Salvation" (1360). It depicts Goliath in a fully closed knight's helmet of the “sugarloaf” type, and even with horns on the helmet and on the shield, that is, this was his coat of arms! He wears a jupon or brigandine buttoned up in front, and plate gloves on his hands. And here are depicted stones hitting him in the head and even splashing blood! It is interesting that such helmets with horns were very popular at that time in Germany, which is also confirmed by … effigies! (University and State Library of Darmstadt)
This miniature shows a typical knight of the late 14th century. A typical "dog helmet", a bascinet helmet with a visor, plate leggings, knee pads and legguards, and on the torso there is a short jupon, possibly with lining of metal plates. There is a characteristic gorget on the neck. "Breviary of Martin of Aragon". OK. 1398-1403 Catalonia, Spain. (National Library, Madrid)
Looking at this picture, one gets the impression that its author did not read the Bible at all. After all, David took off the armor given to him by Saul … "History of the Bible and the Assumption of the Mother of God", 1380-1399. Paris. (Pierpont Morgan Museum and Library, New York)
As for the image of Goliath here on this miniature from 1400, it is just an excellent illustration of the armor of the very beginning of the "era of white armor". Goliath is dressed up from head to foot in forged armor, a "skirt" in the shape of a tourist cup made of overlapping rings, a bascinet helmet with a removable visor on his head, but the aventail is still chain mail. "Mirror of Human Salvation", 1400 Yorkshire, England. (Pierpont Morgan Museum and Library, New York)
Miniature 1410. And on it Goliath has a purely tournament helmet "toad's head" on his shoulders. That is, the author of the miniature saw such helmets at tournaments, but was so far from knowing the realities of military affairs that he painted it to a warrior who went out to battle, while such helmets were never worn in battle! And for some reason he drew some "rake" as a weapon for him. Moreover, not a single "tip" of this kind has reached us and has never been depicted on any other miniature! "The Mirror of Human Salvation", 1410 Basel, Switzerland. (National Library of France, Paris)
The "Last Goliath" in our series of miniatures looks like a typical "transitional" knight: a forged cuirass, plate covers for arms and legs, but a chain skirt and aventail. This is confirmed by numerous effigies. It is understandable why he does not have a shield. With such armor, at this time, shields were no longer worn. SBB Ms. germ. fol."World Chronicle", Munich, Germany, 1410-1415. (State Library of Berlin)
So, we see that the image of Goliath's military equipment changed over time, and in a similar way it changed on the gravestone sculptures - effigies. Since both effigies and miniatures are mostly dated, there is a chronological scale of such changes in weapons, which are confirmed by the content of the texts - inventories, reports, sales contracts, correspondence between monarchs and representatives of the nobility. That is, cross-referencing. Obviously, such a huge array of information can neither be faked, nor make any noticeable changes to it. It's like a river, into which no matter how you urinate, your trickle will still not be noticeable! Thus, in the form of miniatures from medieval manuscripts, we have a reliable source of information about the armor and weapons of their time - this is, firstly, and secondly, the exact scale of dating the genesis of weapons of the past centuries.
