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anyone else. The best armours were probably irriported from Italy, and Italian armour also influenced that madę in France.

It was not the weight of fuli piąte armours which caused problems on the battlefield, sińce such an armour weighed about the same as a modern infantrymaiTs equipment and pack. The real problems were heat exhaustion, and limited visibility when the visor was worn closed. A list of a complete harnois a armer homme written in 1384 included a large, long and ‘sufficient’ cote de fer bonne wcighing at least 25 pounds, good avant-bras and gantelets for the arms and hands, the fuli set costing 16 limes toumois. In addition he should have good and ‘well sufficient’ paires de harnois dejamhes for his legs, each with mail protection at the back, at 5/ limes toumois a pair. Another document adds a bascinet and visor with a camail (aventail) ‘in the new fashion’, such bascinets costing 2 to 3 liures toumois. This madę a total cost of 25 limes toumois.

‘Charlemagne finds the body of Roland', in an early 15th century French manuscript. Here the heroic Roland is shown as a French knight with the most up-to-date armour, Including the new rounded visor and a bevor piąte attached to his bascinet.

(Chroniques de St Denis, Louvre Museum, Paris)

Fuli armour had changed slightly by the 1410s when Charles, Duke of Orleans, distributed lighter equipment to his men-at-arms and squires: bascinets a baoiere, which were probably ‘great bascinets’ with integral bevors, pieces d’allemagne which were probably breastplates, cuisses consisting of pieces of piąte for the legs, brasselles, gardę bras and mail gauntlets for the arms and hands. Much of this was covered in black satin fabric.

Infantry armour was lighter, less abundant and cheaper. We read that in 1372 Libert Borrein, a middle-class militiaman from what is now Belgium, had a mail hauherk with a colletin additional collar and shoulder protection, a bascinet with a visor and aventail, plated gauntlets, plus arm and leg defences madę of hardened leather. Around

the same time the cross-bowmen and paoesiers of Provenęe, far to the south, were expected to have a ceruelliere or a bascinet helmet, and plates (coat-of-plates) often with a gipponus (padded jupon) or pansiere (smali mail hauberk). Many had piąte Jaudes attached to the pansiere, plus a piąte braconniere or mail gorgiere to protect the neck. Only a few had gantelets, ghants, manicae or brasales for their hands and lower arms.

A French crossbowman’s weapons consisted of a crossbow, a relatively light ensis or spala sword and a couteau dagger, while some also carried a bloqueńum smali shield or buckler. Those of a pauesier were a spear and dagger, plus the

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