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passing through four others, are riveted together in 

 such a manner as not to prevent any motion of the 

 body. Besides their ordinary clotiies, the knights 

 wore under their Hauberk a loose garment, called 

 Gambeson, which descended as low as the knee ; it 

 was stuffed with woollen or cotton, and quilted; its 

 use was to deaden the stroke of a sword or lance, 

 which, though it did not divide the mail, might se- 

 verely bruise the body. Between the Hauberk and 

 Gambeson a breast- plate of iron, called a Plastron, 

 was occasionally put on ; and over all, men of family 

 wore surcoats of satin, velvet, or cloth of gold and 

 silver, richly embroidered with their armorial bear- 

 ings. Thus enveloped, and loaded with such a num- 

 ber of weighty incumbrances, it is by no means won- 

 derful that in the midst of summer, in the heat, dust, 

 and press of an engagement, men at arms should be 

 suftbcated in their armour ; an event which we learn 

 from history often happened. Besides the inconve- 

 nience of being thus swathed up like an Egyptian 

 mummy, a man could have but little power of action, 

 and this in some measure accounts for the small 

 number of knights slain in an engagement \A'ith 

 cavalry only : probably as ransom was so great an 

 object in those days, they rather wished to capture 

 than kill their enemies, and for that purpose endea- 

 voured to unhorse them ; for when overturned, 

 they were immoveable, and lay on the spot till 

 remounted by their fiiends, or overtaken by their 

 enemies. This venerable relic of antiquity came 

 originally from the Castle of Tong, in Shropshire, 

 and was presented by the Rev. Mr. Buckridge to the 

 Museum of the late Richard Green, Esq. of Lich- 

 field, from whence it was purchased by the present 

 Proprietor. It is presumed that this Hauberk is the 

 only perfect one of the kind remaining in England, 



