THE KING'S MIRROR 



The rider himself should be equipped in this wise: 

 he should wear good soft breeches made of soft and 

 thoroughly blackened linen cloth, which should reach 

 up to the belt; outside these, good mail hose* which 

 should come up high enough to be girded on with a 

 double strap; over these he must have good trousers 

 made of linen cloth of the sort that I have already 

 described ; finally, over these he should have good knee- 

 pieces made of thick iron and rivets hard as steel. f Above 

 and next to the body he should wear a soft gambison, 

 which need not come lower than to the middle of the 

 thigh. Over this he must have a strong breastplate { 

 made of good iron covering the body from the nipples to 

 the trousers belt ; outside this, a well-made hauberk and 

 over the hauberk a firm gambison made in the manner 

 which I have already described but without sleeves. He 

 must have a dirk and two swords, one girded on and 

 another hanging from the pommel of the saddle. On his 

 head he must have a dependable helmet made of good 

 steel and provided with a visor. || He must also have a 

 strong, thick shield fastened to a durable shoulder belt 

 and, in addition, a good sharp spear with a firm shaft 

 and pointed with fine steel. Now it seems needless to 



* The mail hose were made of chain mail. Aarboger for nordisk Oldkyndighed, 



1867, 73-74. 



f The kneepieces> or genouilleres were pieces of armor worn to protect the 



knees. 



t Blom thinks that the breastplate was a new thing in the thirteenth century 



(ibid., 76), but Falk believes that it was used quite generally (Altnordische 



Wqffenkunde, 182). 



The dirk (brynknifr) was probably a poniard-like weapon used to pierce the 



chain mail at the joints. Falk, Altnordische Waffenkunde, 124. 



1 1 The helmet with the visor appears in the illustrations of the closing years of 



the twelfth century; the earlier helmet was a steel cap with a nose guard. 



Aarboger for nordisk Oldkyndighed, 83-84. 



