1 2 The History of the Spur 



fifteenth century with " spurs attached," as is stated in the 

 catalogue, but which, both as regards the spurs themselves 

 and also as to their method of attachment, give grave cause 

 for doubt as to their ever having been worn in the manner 

 shown. 



By the end of the fifteenth century, armour about reached 

 its height as to weight and completeness, the man being 

 entirely covered, and the horse almost as completely. Con- 

 sequently the presence of the " flanchards," which formed a 

 kind of valance round the horse's sides, combined with the 

 shape of the saddle, necessitated that the rider's foot should be 

 eight or ten inches, or even more, from his horse's side. This 

 led to the introduction of very long-necked spurs ; often the 

 neck was nearly a foot long. These spurs, of which numbers 

 exist at the present day — I know of twenty at least in London 

 alone — were worn on the man's foot, and the long neck protruded 

 through a slit in the back of the jambe, or leg-piece, so that 

 when the owner took off his armour, which he must have been 

 thankful to have done at the earliest opportunity after dis- 

 mounting, he could still wear, and display, his spurs, which 

 were often enriched with gold or silver inlay. Now, in the 

 suits I speak of in the Wallace collection there are the slits 

 at the back of the jambe, and spurs of doubtful appearance — at 

 all events they are very unlike all the other specimens which 

 are so frequently seen — protrude from these slits. But on 

 investigation you find that the neck of the spur ends immediately 

 inside the slit, in a T-shaped arrangement, which is rivetted 

 to the jambe on the inside, thus doing away with any reason 



