MISCELLANY 



Arms and Armor. The former term is of Cambrai, in 1339. The projectiles first used 

 applied to weapons of offense, the latter to the for cannon were of stone. Hand firearms date 

 various articles of defensive covering used in from the Fifteenth Century. At first they 

 war and military exercises, especially before the required two men to serve them, and it was 

 introduction of gunpowder. Weapons of of- necessary to rest the muzzle on a stand in aiming 

 fense are divisible into two distinct sections and firing. The first improvement was the 

 firearms, and arms u-ed without gunpowder or invention of the match-lode, about 1476; th - 

 other explosive substance. The first arms of was followed by the wheel-lock, and about the 

 offense would probably be wooden clubs, then middle of the Seventeenth Century by the flint- 

 would follow wooden weapons made more deadly lock, which was in universal use until it was 

 by means of stone or bone, stone axes, slings, superseded by the percussion-lock, the invention 

 bows and arrows with heads of flint or bone, and of a Scotch clergyman early in the Nineteenth 

 afterwards various weapons of bronze. Subse- Century. The needle-gun dates from 1827. 

 ijiiently a variety of arms of iron and steel were The only important weapon not a firearm that 

 introduced, which comprised the sword, javelin, has been invented since the introduction of gun- 

 pike, spear, or lance, dagger, axe, mace, chariot powder is the bayonet, which is believed to nave 

 >e\ihe. etc.. with a rude artillery consisting of been invented about 1650. Some kind of def en- 

 catapults, ballista 1 . and battering-rams. From sive covering was probably of almost as early 

 the descriptions of Homer we know that almost invention as weapons of offense. The principal 

 all the (Irecian armor, defensive and offensive, pieces of defensive armor used by the ancients 

 in his time was of bronze; though iron was were shields, helmets, cuirasses, and greaves, 

 sometimes used. The lance, spear, and javelin In the earliest ages of Greece the shield is de- 

 \\ere the principal weapons of this age among the scribed as of immense size, but in the time of the 



In, The bow is not often mentioned. | Peloponne-ian War (about B. C. 420) it was 



Among ancient nations the Egyptians seem to much smaller. The Romans had two sorts of 



have been most accustomed to the use of the shields; the scutum, a large oblong rectangular 



bow, which was the principal weapon of the highly convex shield, carried by the legionaries; 



Egyptian infantry. Peculiar to the Egyptian- and the parma, a small round or oval flat shield. 



a defensive weapon intended to catch and carried by the light-armed troops and the cavalry, 



break the sword of the enemy. With the In the declining days of Rome the shields became 



rians the bow was a favorite* weapon; but larger and more varied in form. The helmet 



with them lances, spears, and javelins were in 

 more common use than with the Egyptians. 

 Most of the large engines of war. chariots with 

 projecting at each side from the axle. 



was a characteristic niece of armor among the 

 Assyrians, Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans. 

 Like all other body armor it was usually made 

 of bronze. The helmet of the historical age of 



catapults, and ballistic, seem to have been of Greece was distinguished by its lofty crest. The 



Assyrian origin. During the historical age of Roman helmet in the time of the early emperors 



M the characteristic weapon was a heavy fitted close to the head, and hid a neck-guard 



spear from twenty-one to twenty-four feet in and hinged cheek-pieces fastened under the chin. 



length. The sword used by the Greeks was aiul a small bar across the face fora visor. Both 



short, and was worn on the right side. The Greeks and Romans wore cuirasses, at one time 



Roman s\ V ord was from twenty-two to t went y- of bronze, but latterly of flexible materials, 



four iwhes- in length, straight, two-edged, and ('.reaves for the legs were worn by both, but 



obtusely pointed. and. as by the (Ire.-ks. was \\orn among the Romans usually on one leg. The 



on the right side. It was used principally as a ancient Germans had large shields ,,f pi 



ing ueapon. It was originally of bron/.e. osier covered with leather, afterwards their 

 The most characteristic weapon of' the Roman shields were small, bound wit h iron, and studded 

 legionary soldier, however, was the /i,7//w. which with bosses. The \nglo-8axons had round or 

 was a kind of pike or javelin, some sj x iVet or oval shields of wood, covered with leather, and 

 more in length. The pilum was sometimes used having a boss in the center; and they al-o had 

 at close-*) nit more commonly it was corslets, or coats of mail, strengthened with 

 thrown. The favorite weapons of the ancient iron rings. The Normans were well protected 

 nanic races were the battle-axe, the lance by mail; their shields were somewhat triangular 

 or dart, and the iword The weapons of the in shape, their helmets conical. Great variety 

 Angl spears, axes, KWonK km-. -. is found in tin : tlu 1 armor, and in some 

 and mace, or clubs. The N alar cases small pieces of metal were used instead of 

 weapons, and were well furnished with archers ring-, forming what is called scale-armor. \ 

 and cavalry. The cross-bow was a Comparatively suit of armor consisting of larg-T pieces of metal. 

 I. tie invention introduced by the Norman-, called plalf -armor, was now introduced, and the 

 ( lunpoudet was not used in Europe to discharge whole body came to be incased in a heavy metal 

 projectiles till the beginning <>f tl < nth covering. The various forms of ring or scale 

 Century. Cannon armor were graduallv superseded by the plate- 

 land m 1388, and there sect- 1 to l>e worn until long 

 I by the English at the siege after the introduction of i- tad field- 



