Armenia ingly warm in the lowlands, while the plateau lands have severe winters and short, hot summers. The soil is generally fertile, producing abundance of tobacco, grain, cotton, and grapes; the valley pasturage is good. Many minerals-copper, silver, lead, and iron are found. The Armenians are Caucasians, and speak a branch of the Aryan language. They have long been noted for their enter prising commercial spirit, and are to be found in all the Turkish possessions. The most important towns are Van, Erivan, Erzerum, and Arabkir. In Armenia the Ar nenians do not exceed one million; in Russia there are about half as many; in Asia Minor, outside of Armenia, about 150,000; in Europe, mostly in Turkey, some 420,000; and in Persia, 40,000altogether about a little over 2,000,000. In their native country they follow agricultural and pastoral occupations. They dress like the Turks, but instead of the turban, wear a tall fur cap. Carpets, shawls, rugs, and similar articles are woven; and fruit, silk, and wine are produced. Apart from the Armenians, the inhabitants consist of Kurds, Turks, Georgians, Jews, and Gypsies. See Tozer's Turkish Armenia (1881); Warkworth's Notes from a Diary in Asiatic Russia (1898); Lynch's Armenia (2 vols. 1901); Bryce's Transcaucasia and Ararat (4th ed. 1896); Supan, in Petermann's Mitteilungen (1896); Hogarth's The Nearer East (1902). History. The name Armenia first appears in the 5th century B.C. Previous to this, however, the country was known to the Assyrians as Nairi or Urartu, the latter being identical with the Alarodians of Herodotus and the Biblical Ararat; and, after the chief god Chaldis, the people were also called Chaldini, a name which is not to be confused with that of the Chaldæans. To what race this people belonged, whether to the Hittites or to the IndoGermans, is at present quite uncertain. Their history extends from at least the 12th century to the second half of the 7th century B.C., when it ceases as suddenly as it had begun. In all prob ability this is due to the fact that the country was overrun by the great Indo-Germanic invasion of barbarians, among whom the ancestors of the present people would be included. The original home of the Armenians is therefore unknown, and whilst old classical writers suppose it to have been Phrygia or Thessaly, modern critics have argued in favor of Cilicia, or perhaps even a district north of the Black Sea. Armenia, like Asia Minor in general, has never really had a history of its own, its fortunes 369 always having been closely linked with those of the greater empires of Media, Persia, Rome, Byzan tium, and Turkey. The country is called Haykh or Hayastan, after Hayk, son of Thorgom (the Septuagint form of Togarmah), son of Japheth; and the legendary accounts of its early days, as related by the native historians, are curiously influenced by the Old Testament narrative. In 546 B.C. it was conquered by Cyrus, whose schoolfellow, Tigranes, was the son of the defeated king of Armenia, and afterwards became the national hero. Tradition has much to say respecting this fig ure, ascribing to him, amongst other deeds, the overthrow of the Median empire. The last (the fifty-ninth) king of this highly legendary dynasty was Vahi, who was defeated by Alexander the Great in 328 B.C. During the succeeding years, with the excep tion of a short-lived independence under Ardvates, Armenia was ruled by governors appointed by the Seleucidæ. When Antiochus the Great was defeated by Scipio Africanus in 190 B.C., Zariadris (Zadriates) and Artaxias, the governors in W. and E. Armenia respectively, asserted their independence, and founded new dynasties. Ataxias, whose realm was by far the greater, may well be called the founder of the Armenian kingdom. Ultimately Artaxias was taken prisoner by Antiochus Epiphanes IV. and the country again fell into the hands of the Seleuci læ. In the middle of the 2nd century B.C. the Parthian Arsaces VI. (Mithri dates I.) set upon the throne of Armenia his brother Valarsaces (Wagharshag 1.), who became the founder of on of the greatest branches of the Arsacid family. His dynasty practically extended from 149 B.C. to 28 A.D. Under his great-grandsor, Tigranes II. (90-55 B.C.), Armenia attained the height of her power; the rival district of W. Armenia was annexed, and the outlying smaller states became vassals. Tigranes (with whom tradition has probably confused Tigranes 1.) became the most powerful monarch in Asia; but through his connection with his father-in-law, Mithridates the Great, king of Pontus, he found himself involved against Rome in the campaigns of Lucullus (69 B.C.) and Pompey, and at the conclusion of peace, in 66 B.C., Armenia was reduced to its former limits. His son Artavasdes, for treacherous dealings with Antony, was carried off to Rome, and ulti mately beheaded by Cleopatra (30 B.C.). In the following years Armenia suffered from the rival schemes of Parthia and Rome to gain possession of the country. In 114 A.D. a Roman army under Armenia Trajan invaded Asia Minor, and Armenia, in company with other states, was forced to do him homage. In 238 Chosroes the Great was assassinated by one Anak, at the instigation of Persia, and the royal family, with the ex ception of one son, was entirely exterminated. From this time onwards the country came under the power of the Sassanids. Tiri dates III., son of Chosroes, through the help of Rome, where he had been educated, ascended the throne in 259. He began his reign by persecuting the Christians; but on his conversion, by Gregory the Illuminator (according to tradition a descendant of Anak), he used his energies on their behalf, with the result that Armenia was the first country to make Christianity the state religion, and Gregory became known as the historical founder of the Armenian Church. This new policy of Tiridates, though it led to friendship with Greece, involved the country in frequent quarrels with Persia and Rome; and finally, in 387 A.D., the eastern portion was ceded to the former (whence it received the name of Persarmenia), whilst the latter an nexed the western. Artases (Artaxes) IV., last of the Arsacid dynasty, was removed in 429 through the machinations of the Armenian nobles, and the country was taken by the Persian king Bahram_v., and until 632 was ruled by Per sian governors (marzbans), several of whom were actually of Arme nian origin. This period is marked by internal anarchy, by the persecution of the Christians, and by ever-recurring insurrections, the most remarkable of which was that of Vartan, as recounted by the native historian Elisæus (trans. Neumann, 1830). Meanwhile the Armenian Church, which had never accepted the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon (451), separated itself from the Orthodox Church in 491, and named itself after Gregory the Illuminator. At the Synod of Duin (551) the Armenian calendar was regulated, and a new era introduced, the first year beginning July 11, 552. Shortly after the invasion of Heraclius (624) Armenia gained her first experience of the newly arisen Mohammedan power, whose hordes overran the land in 637, and until 855 held it in bondage. Under the dynasty of the Pagratides (Bagratides), a family claiming descent from an exiled Jewish prince, Armenia recovered some of her independence; but on the assassination of Gagik, in 1079 the country fell into the hands of the Byzantines on the one hand, and of the Seljuk Turks on the other. At this time, too, the rival dynasty of the Arts runian family, who claimed de (Reuben), a relative of Gagik which not only held sway over Cappadocia and N. Cilicía, but was eventually able to extend its borders to the Mediterranean. This kingdom of Lesser Armenia became the last stronghold of Christianity in the East, and played no small part in the wars of the crusades. The kingdom allied itself with the invading Mongols against the Egyptian Mamelukes; but when, in 1305, the former adopted Islam, and the crusaders were no longer a power to aid, it was exposed to the vengeance of Egypt. Its last king, Leon (Levon) VI., of the house of Lusignan (Cyprus), was taken prisoner in 1375, and ultimately died in Paris (1393). Lesser Armenia then became an Egyptian province. Thus Armenia slowly decayed. In 1604, the Persian Shah, Abbas, laid waste the land, and carried off 40,000 of the inhabitants to Persia, where some attempt was made to revive the national feeling. Armenia ceased to hold any position as a nation, and its subsequent history belongs to that of Turkey and Persia, and, as regards the last century, also of Russia. See ARMENIAN ATROCITIES. But This view, however, is no longer held, and it is recognized that the Persian elements, in common with features of Persian religion and culture, were borrowed by the Armenians in later historical times. In fact, Armenian forms a more or less independent branch of its own, but appears to be more closely akin to the European than to the Asiatic representatives-a circumstance that is in substantial agreement with the theories respecting the origin of the people. The language is hard, rough, and remarkably rich in consonants, especially in sibilants. The accent is on the last syllable. Syntactically it bears a close resemblance to classical Greek. It has no grammatical gender. The nouns have seven cases (including an instrumental), and the adjective is declined like the noun. There is neither dual nor superlative. There are four conjugations, characterized by the vowels a, e, u, and (passive) i. The ancient language still survives in the church and literature, but in popular usage has been replaced by several dialects, the chief being the Western (Constantinople) and the Eastern (Tartary, Persia, India): the latter adheres more closely Armenia to the ancient language. The leading grammars are those of Ancher (Venice, 1819), M. Lauer (Vienna, 1869), H. Petermann (Berlin, 1872), Carrière (Paris, 1883); for the modern dialects, E. Riggs (Constantinople, 1856) deals with the Western, and Petermann (Berlin, 1867) with that of Tiflis. To these may be added the works of Hanusz (Polish-Ar.; Vienna, 1889) and Thompson (St. Petersburg, 1887, 1890). Among the various dictionaries, mention may be made of Bedrossian (Ar.Eng.; Venice, 1878-9), and Ancher and Brand (Eng.-Ar.; Venice, 1868). For Armenian philology in general, the works of Lagarde (Armenische Studien, Göttingen, 1877), Fr. Müller, and Hübschmann should be consulted. Armenian literature begins with Mesrop (439 A.D.), who introduced an alphabet of thirty-six characters, to which two more were added in the 12th century. It was probably reconstructed and elaborated from several sources, some scholars having argued in favor of a Greek origin, whilst others have derived it from the Aramæan, through the Pehlevi. Previous to Mesrop, at all events, the Pehlevi, Greek, or Syriac alphabet-perhaps even the language-was doubtless in use. To this Mesrop, and to Sahak (Isaac) Bartevatsi, is due the Armenian version of the Bible which was made between 432 and 437. It is not certain whether it was based upon the Syriac or the Greek alone; it seems to contain both elements, and, in particular, has been carefully revised by the help of the Hexaplar version of the latter. The best edition is that by Zohrab (Venice, 1805). Armenian literature is very largely theological, and contains many translations from the Greek and Syriac, chiefly made in the 5th century. In a number of cases works have fortunately been thus preserved which are no longer extant in their native language; among these are the first part of the Chronicle of Eusebius, various writings of Philo, etc. (see Wenrich, De Versionibus, etc., Leipzig, 1842). The historical works are numerous, but, as regards their early history of the country, contain much unsound matter, and must be used with caution. On the other hand, they frequently offer important material relating to the several peoples with whom Armenia came into contact (Persians, Byzantines, Turks, and Mongols), and on this account are of considerable value. Among the best-known historians are Agathangelos, secretary to Tiridates the Great, continued by Faustus of Byzantium; Zenob, a pupil of Gregory the Illumi Armenian Atrocities nator; Moses of Choren, styled the 'Herodotus of Armenia,' in whose writings are embedded some fragments of the early literature previous to Mesrop's time. In the 7th century the chief names are John the Mamikon, Sebêos (author of a history of the wars of Heraclius), and Ghevond (Leontius), who wrote a history of the Mohammedan invasions of 661-788. For the 10th century, mention may be made of John Catholicus and Thomas Artsruni. Among the biographical works, the best are Korium's Life of Mesrop (Ger. by Welte, 1841), and the Life of Nerses the Great, by Mesrop the priest. Armenian folk-lore has always been rich in epic and legendary poems of very ancient date; but the introduction of Christianity in particular, if it did not lead to their suppression, at all events afforded no encouragement to their preservation in writing. A number of them have been recently published in the Theologische Quartalschrift, vol. lxxvi., 1894 (Tübingen). Of the sacred poets, the best known is Nerses Klaietsi, called Shnorhali (1102-73). Among the more general literature are the fables of Vartan (ed. Saint Martin; Paris, 1825) and the astronomical and mathematical works of Ananias of Shirak (7th century). In the 18th century Armenian literature received a noteworthy stimulus by the erection of printing-presses at Amsterdam, Moscow, Smyrna, Vienna, etc., and more especially by the foundation of the Armenian Mekhitarist monks at San Lazzaro, Venice. Among the notable works printed by this community are the History of Armenia, by Michael Chamchian (Eng. by J. Avdall; Calcutta, 1827), and its Antiquities and Archæology, _by Lucas Intshitshean (1835). For fuller surveys of Armenian bibliography, see the related works by Neumann (Leipzig, 1836); Somal (Venice, 1825, 1829); Langlois (Paris, 1867-9); Patcanian, Milanges Asiatiques, iv. (1860), and sketch of the literature (Russ.; St. Petersburg, 1880); Dulaurier (Venice, 1894). For the history of Armenia in general, see the writings by the Armenian scholars already named, to which add M. Brosset (St. Petersburg, 1874-6), Gatteyrias (Paris, 1883), and Fr. Murad's recent contribution to Armenian history and literature, Ararat und Masis (Heidelberg, 1901), in which numerous bibliographical references will be found. Armenian Atrocities. Within the last twenty years the juxtaposition of turbulent and bitterly hostile Mohammedans and Armenians in the Turkish empire, especially in Asia Minor, has re 371 En sulted in the continued persecution and brutal massacre of the latter. In 1885 a revolutionary propaganda on the Nihilist plan commenced among the Turkish Armenians, but was easily suppressed. In 1893 there was a recrudescence of the propaganda, and the Kurds, the national police, were ordered to raid the mountain districts. Regular Turkish troops were sent to their assistance, and in August, 1894, there was a terrible slaughter at Sassun, which roused deep indignation throughout Europe. In the same year a Turkish commission of inquiry, accompanied by the consular delegates of Britain, France, and Russia, was sent to Armenia. This evidence showed that there was no justification for the barbarity practised by the authorities; nevertheless the massacres continued. The powers then pressed the Sultan for administrative reforms, but the Porte met the demand with delays and counter-proposals. In 1895, a complicated scheme of reforms was accepted by the Porte. Meanwhile disturbances continued, and massacre after massacre tock place. Intervention was proposed, but Russia would not agree to coercion, and Britain refused to act alone. In the summer of 1896 there were massacres at Van, Egin, and Niksar. tire villages were desolated, and plague and famine attacked those whom the sword had spared. In August, 1896, Armenians of Constantinople seized the Ottoman Bank. In retaliation a Turkish mob, instigated by the government, massacred seven or eight thousand Gregorian Armenians. No reparation could be demanded for this outrage, as it arose out of the riotous conduct of the Armenian revolutionists. In April, 1909, a terrible massacre broke out in the district of Adana. Altogether, 30,000 Armenian Christians were slaughtered, 6,500 in Adana city alone. The outbreak began in the Armenian bazaar in that city, whereupon the redifs, or reserves, were called out, and the worst of the subsequent killing and house-burning was attributed to them. Most of the foreign property was destroyed, American commercial and missionary interests being ruined. Two American missionaries, Daniel M. Rogers and Henry Maurer, were treacherously killed. The condition of the survivors was pitiable, 35,000 homeless and penniless refugees being left to wander through the vilayet. At this time Mohammed v. succeeded Abdul Hamid on the Turkish throne, government troops were sent to the afflicted district, and the situation relieved. In December, Armentières 1909, 26 Moslems were executed at Adana for complicity in the April massacres. Efforts to re lieve the destitute widows and orphans of those slain in the many massacres have been made by the United States and Great Britain, and, though opposed by the Turkish authorities, have met with some success. See J. Bryce's Case for the Armenians (1896); Green's The Armenian Crisis (1895); Lepsius's Armenia and Europe (1897). Correspondence -Asiatic Province of Turkey (1895), gov. pub.: Turkey, No. 1; also articles in Nineteenth Century (vol. xl., pp. 654-680), Contemporary Review (Jan. and Feb., 1897), Missionary Review (1909, vol. xxxi., p. 599), Outlook (1909, vol. xcii., p. 145), London Graphic (June 26, July 3, 10, 17, 1909). Armenian Church, the oldest of all national churches. It owes its foundation traditionally to St. Bartholomew, and, according to legend, to St. Gregory the Illuminator, in the 3rd century. After resolutely opposing the Nestorian heresies, the Armenian Church embraced the doctrines of Eutyches (Eutychianism), holding, against the Council of Chalcedon (451), that Christ possessed but one nature, the divine-the final separation from other Eastern churches on this point occurring in 554. The Armenians gradually formulated a system of theology differing from that of the other Eastern churches, while their liturgy remained practically the same. In baptism they considered it necessary to sprinkle and to dip, three times each, and to conjoin confirmation with baptism. In the celebration of the Lord's Supper pure wine and leavened bread must be used. Extreme unction must be given only to ecclesiastics, and that after death. They worshipped the saints, but did not believe in purgatory. In 1439 certain foreign members, especially those in Constantinople, met the overtures of the Pope for reunion in so far as to give up belief in the one nature of Christ. There were thus introduced two sects in the church -those who adhered to the traditional beliefs; and the Roman Catholics, or Uniates, who gave up the Monophysite heresy. From their geographical position, the Armenian Christians have borne the brunt of cruel and incessant Mohammedan persecution, even as recently as 1895-6 and later. The head of the old Armenian church is the Katholikos of the Etchmiadzin monastery near Erivan, under whom are the patriarchs of Jerusalem and Constantinople. See ARMENIA and Tozer's The Church and the Eastern Empire (1888). Armentières, tn., dep. Nord, Armes Parlantes France, on river Lys, 10 m. N.W. of Lille, close to the Belgian frontier; largely manufactures cloth, hemp and table linen. Occupied by the English in 1339; captured by the French in 1668. Pop. (1901) 29,401. Armes Parlantes, in heraldry the term applied to such armorial devices as a pun on the bearer's name or attributes. Also called rebuses. Armfelt, GUSTAF MAURITZ (1757-1814), Swedish statesman; distinguished himself in the Danish War of 1788 and the Russian War of 1788-90, and was the Swedish plenipotentiary at the Congress of Värälä (1790). In 1805-7 he successfully commanded the Swedish troops in Pomerania. His support of the claims of Gustavus IV.'s son to the throne caused his arrest, and in 1811 he was banished. Thenceforth he became a Russian subject, and Alexander I. made him governorgeneral of Finland in 1812-13. He encouraged the Czar to resist Napoleon I., and drew up for him the plan of the Russian campaign of 1812. See E. Tegnér's Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (2nd ed. 188394); Ingman's G. M. Armfelt (1900). Armida, in Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, an enchantress, who by means of a magical girdle attempted to seduce the crusaders from their vows to deliver Jerusalem from the Saracens. Övercome by a Christian talisman, and conquered by Rinaldo, she turned Christian, adopting Rinaldo as her knight. The story has been made the subject of operas by Gluck (1777) and Rossini (1818). Armillary Sphere is an instrument formed by a combination of several rings, showing the relative positions of the imaginary circles of the celestial concave to which astronomers refer the situations of the sun, moon, and planets. The zodiac, or belt of the sky in which the movements of the greater planets take place, the equinoctial circle, the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the meridian and horizon, are represented, with the earth as centre. The instrument, by whose aid astronomical problems could be solved, has been superseded by the celestial globe. Arminius (18 B.C.-19 A.D.) served in the German auxiliary troops with the Roman army. When Varus, the Roman governor, aroused the German tribes by his exactions, Arminius secretly raised the country against him, cut off his outlying forces, and annihilated his main army in the Teutoburger Wald. The disaster caused great consternation at Rome. Tiberius led a force to the Rhine, which again became the Roman frontier. From 14 to 17 A.D. Germanicus fought with varying success against 372 Arminius, but was recalled by Tiberius in 17. On the ground of seeking absolute power over his countrymen, he was slain by his relatives. See Tacitus's Annals; Merivale's Romans under the Empire (1859-62). Arminius, JACOBUS (15601609), whose proper name was Harmensen, founder of Arminianism, was born at Oudewater, S. Holland. He joined the ministry at Amsterdam (1588), and became a leading theologian and preacher. He was invited (1589) to refute the attack of Coornhert on the extreme predestinarianism in the Netherlands; but abandoned the task, convinced of the untenableness of either the higher or lower predestination. He then successfully defended himself before the ecclesiastical courts. In spite of the opposition of Gomarus of Leyden, whom he defeated in argument, he succeeded Junius in the university (1603). Gomarus next traduced him as a Papist, a Pelagian, and a 'Coornherter'; whereupon he was proscribed by the clergy, and his students were subjected to persecution, although the states-general reported that he taught nothing but what could be tolerated. Prostrated by persecution, Arminius died at Leyden. Arminianism is the antithesis to Calvinism. It maintains that in respect of responsibility, guilt, and penalty, there must be a free and unpredestined will. It gave rise subsequently to the Remonstrant Church of the Netherlands, and left traces of its influence upon the Church of England. Arminius's Works were translated into English by James Nichols (1825-75). See Brandt's Life of Arminius (1724); Eng. trans. Guthrie (1854). Armistice. A general suspension of military operations in time of war either by the whole or a large part of the forces engaged. It is within the power of commanders in the field to bring about such a suspension of operations by agreement, but it is more often the result of agreement by the governments of the nations at war as a preliminary to negotiations for a peace or from some high political or religious motive. A brief cessation of hostilities between combatants in the field for the purpose of burying the dead or other cause due to local conditions does not rise to the dignity of an armistice, and is known as a 'suspension of arms.' Armisticio, territory of Venczuela (area, 7,040 sq. m.) on the S.W., including the country of the Upper Apure and its tributaries, and stretching w. to the Tachira R. Armitage, EDWARD (1817-96), a historical and mural painter, born in London. He was a pupil Armor (1836) of Paul Delaroche, to whom he gave assistance in the celebrated Hemiycle in the Ecole des Beaux Arts. In 1843 and following years he won three prizes for frescoes for the Houses of Parliament, the subjects being The Landing of Cæsar (1843), The Spirit of Religion (1845), and The Battle of Meeance (1847) as an oil picture now at St. James's Palace. A visit to the Crimea in 1855 led to his painting The Guards at Inkermann and A Cavalry Attack at Balaklava. In 1883 he published Lectures_on Painting. Armitage, THOMAS (1819-96), American Baptist clergyman, was born at Pontefract, England, and began work as a local preacher in 1835. Three years later he came to the U. S., where he was engaged in the Methodist ministry until 1848, when he was received into the Baptist ministry, and accepted a call from the Fifth Avenue (the Norfolk Street) Baptist Church, of New York. He held this pastorate until his retirement in 1890. Dr. Armitage was deeply interested in Bible revision, and was a founder and president (1856-75) of the American Bible Union. Entirely selftaught, he gained a high reputation as a polished and scholarly pulpit orator. He wrote A History of the Baptists (1886). Armor, strictly, garments of defence, but also applied to weapons. Previous to the discovery of metal, weapons and huntinggear must have consisted of clubs, axes of stone, and flint arrowheads. Axe-heads of many different kinds of stone and of a great variety of shapes and sizes are very characteristic implements of the earliest period. In addition to spear-heads and arrow-heads of exquisitely finished workmanship in flint, the art of fabricating weapons in this material reached its highest point in the knifedaggers, which, especially those of Scandinavian origin, display on their edges what is technically known as 'ripple-flaking.' With the use of bronze the variety of weapons increased, in the form of axes, daggers, swords, and shields. The earliest form of bronze dagger is a thin, knifelike blade about six inches long, broad at the hilt, and fastened to the handle by large rivets of bronze. The leaf-shaped sword, found all over Europe, was cast with the handle-plate in one piece, and was without a guard. Scandinavian bronze swords are longer than British. A narrow rapiershaped variety occurs frequently in Ireland. Spear-heads of bronze are chiefly feaf-shaped, though barbed examples have been found. The shields of the Bronze Age were circular, with concentric ridges and rows of studs, and the Armor handle was fixed beneath the boss. In Central Europe the Early Iron Age produced swords of iron formed in exact imitation of the leaf-shaped sword of the previous age. The Heroic Age in Greece is characterized by a bronze sword, double-edged, long and sharp, having gold or silver studs set in the hilt and scabbard; and its defensive armor consisted of helmet, cuirass, greaves, and shield, all of bronze. In the earliest Egyptian period the archers were provided with arrows made of a reed tipped with bronze. Their swordsmen carried straight, double-edged weapons of bronze, tapering from hilt to point. Their shields were of peculiar form, round-headed but square below, and the spears used at this time were fitted with bronze leaf-shaped heads. The armor of the Etruscans was, in the main, similar to that of the Greeks. About the 1st century B.C. the Romans used two varieties of sword the short, double-edged gladius, and the long, single-edged spatha. But of all the weapons carried by the Romans the most characteristic was the pilum, a wooden shaft fitted with a stout iron head resembling the modern pike. It could either be hurled, javelin-wise, or used like a bayonet, as well as to ward off swordstrokes. The Frankish angon was a development of the Roman pilum. Nearer the period prior to the Norman conquest, most weapons were of iron, consisting of broadswords with or without guards, and the curved blade called in A.S. seax, with sheaths of wood or leather. The longbow became of great importance, and mace-heads of iron and bronze were much in vogue. The shield, oval or circular, was of wood covered with leather, and had a high conical boss. Body armor consisted chiefly of the byrnie (chain-mail), the lorica, and crested helmets. A Norman knight was clad in hose of mail, steel knee-caps, a byrnie, gambeson, and helmet, and bore two swords, dagger, spear, and shield. Archery was encouraged in England by statute. The crossbow, at first prohibited by papal decree, came into use towards the close of the 12th century. With the 13th century archers and crossbowmen increased; and the varieties of armor, weapons, and decorations largely multiplied. With the advent of gunpowder in the 14th century, the use of body armor naturally decreased, chain-mail hauberks being discontinued. Leather and whalebone were much used in addition to metals in the manufacture of elbowguards, gauntlets, knee-pieces, and sollerets (armed shoes). From |
