1 64 SPURS, ANCIENT AND MODERN 



the Edwardian ; but we cannot mention every 

 pattern minutely, because there have been so 

 many. Nevertheless, we can show that circum- 

 stances brought about a change in spurs, and we 

 can give the reader an idea of the reason why 

 each change took place, viz. on account of the 

 horses' trappings. Riders needed long-necked 

 spurs when their chargers wore armour, and also 

 when they were decked out for a pageant. 



We have mentioned the first sort of spurs, and 

 will now compare the Anglo-Saxon one. They 

 were goads of a rather curious shape. Here are 

 some remarks showing how recognised authori- 

 ties have referred to them. " The Roman spurs 

 differed but little from those of the Franks and 

 Saxons ; the neck was rather shorter, the pyra- 

 midal head rather concave on every side, which 

 afterwards suggested the ring and spike of the 

 'pryck' spur, and the shanks, instead of being 

 straight, became curved." Another view is more 

 difficult to substantiate as regards the " rouelle," 

 or *' rowel," for the great division in spurs con- 

 sists in whether they are the old "pryck " or the 

 modern "rowelled" ones. Henry HI. is said to 

 have been the first English king who used the 

 latter. Anyway, it is quite worth while to give 

 this quotation from Mr. Grose, an archaeologist 

 in the last century, whose statements seem correct 

 on other points, if not on this. " The rouelle, or 

 wheel spur, though evidently an afterthought, or 

 improvement on the ' pryck,' was worn in common 

 with it at the Conquest. Its superiority was, if 

 point was broken, spur was not useless, owing to 



