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of the mail facing outwards so as not to ca usc wear to either the heads or the undergarment. (University Museum of National Andąuities, Oslo)

Prince of Antioch in noo by Daimbert, Archbishop of Pisa and papai legate, thus cutting himself from the Byzantine Emperor and from any interference from Jerusalem.

In iioo Bohemond was captured by the Turks and only released three years later. Returning to the west he was treated as a super-hero and began stirring enmity against the Emperor Alexis, accusing him of treachery in having turned back from Antioch when the Crusaders needed him. In 1106 Bohemond, newly married to the daughter of the king of France, preached a crusade in Chartres cathedral against Alexis. The following year, with papai backing, this restless warrior moved once again against the Byzantine Empire. Knowing Antioch was safe under his warlike nephew, Tancred, he set about besieging Dyrrhachium, the fortress guarding the gateway to the Balkans. When assault proved useless, Bohemond sat down to starve it into submission. Unfortunately, Byzantine ships thwarted his plans, blockading the coast and cutting him off from Italy. Soon the Byzantine army, with Turkish mercenaries, hemmed him in and waited. Trapped, his own men dropping with disease and famine, the Prince had no option but to surrender to Alexis in September, 1108. Forced to agree a treaty with the Emperor, he returned hu-miliated to Apulia and died three years later.

LOGISTICS

An apprentice to arms would be supplied by his lord with the items necessary for his training. He might possess a sword or even some armour as a gift from his father. Alternatively arms, armour and horse might be received from the lord who knighted him or even the lord who took him into his service, an echo of the old Germanie idea of the lord as gift-giver. Less romantically, such possessions might come from battlefield looting, the ransoming of captured knights or as spoils from the tournament. Any weapons or armour received in this way might be given to one’s

A mail shirt from Verdal, North Tronderlag, Norway, may be of 14 th-century datę but gives an idea of the style ofcoat used earlier. The shirt is worn with the rivet heads

own followers, sińce their appearance reflected the generosity and wealth of their master. Alternatively such booty could be sold and the money used for other purposes.

Mail, helmet and sword were tough and might take a fair amount of punishment before they needed replacement rather than repair. Mail in particular was long-lasting sińce any damage could be mended with new rings. This was just as well considering the cost of such equipment. Shields and lances, on the other hand, might need regular replacement depend-ing on the freąuency of action. For knights living in a lord’s household the cost was borne by the lord; for those on estates the bill was laid at their own door. Warhorses cost a fortunę, one reason a knight was set above other men, and the loss of such an animal through wounds or disease was a real setback to any knight with little financial backing.

Landed knights supplied their own food from the produce of their estates, whereas household knights and mercenaries were fed by the lord. On castle rota, landed knights would be fed at the lord’s expense. On campaign the whole force expected the king, duke or lord to make provision for supplying their needs. In

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