COATS-OF-MAIL. !!) 



From some passnp's iu tin. 1 Sagas it seems that some of the 

 shields were so large that men could be laid on them, and that 

 .some were oblong, as represented in wood-carvings and on the 

 1-Jiiyeux tapestry. 



" Then the king made ready and went along the valley ; he 

 selected a resting-place for the night where all his men 

 came together and lie in the open air under their shields ' 

 (St. Olaf s Saga, ch. 219). 



" When Olaf was in the Syllingar (Scilly Islands) a hermit 

 prophesied to him ' that he would get severely wounded in a 

 tight, and be carried on a shield on board his ship ; that he 

 would be cured in seven nights, and then be baptized ; ' and 

 this proved to be true ' (Olaf Tryggvason's Saga (Heims- 

 kringla), ch. 32). 



Brynja, or ring coats-of-mail, are often alluded to, and 

 the benches in Odin's hall were covered with them. We have 

 seen from the finds that Brynjas were used at a very early 

 period, probably even before the Christian era. They were 

 made long and short some, in fact, were so short as not to 

 cover the stomach. Only in two instances is the spanya- 

 brynja, or plate coat-of-mail, mentioned. Occasionally brynjas 

 are described as being made of gold. We read that the loss 

 of the famous battle of Stamford Bridge by Harald Hardradi 

 was attributed to his men having left their coats-of-mail on 

 board their ship. Many coats-of-inail are described as being 

 impervious to weapons, owing, no doubt, to their wonderful 

 workmanship and the hardness of the rings. 



Some of the poetical names given to brynjas are : 



The woof of spears. Shirt of Odin. 



War-woof. Grey clothes of Odin. 



Ring-shirt. Cloak of kings. 



Tent of Hlokk. Blue shirt. 



Shirt of Gunnar. Battle-cloak. 



From the following account we see that some of these coats- 

 of-mail were made thicker than others : 



" Hjalmar said: 'I want to fight Angantyr, lor I have a 

 brynja in which I have never been wounded ; it is set with 

 fourfold rinijs " (Orvar Odd's Saga, ch. 14). 



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