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TOP A pair of 14th-century Italian spearheads. (Private collection)

ABOVE A 14th-century ronco. (Musee Cantonal des Beaux Arts, Lausanne)

LEFT A late-14th-century Italian roneone. (Private collection)

shield. Apart from their crossbows, the weaponry specified for cross-bowmen was much the same.

In the 1280s King Charles of Naples gave orders that each cross-bowman be supplied with a giubetta quiltcd soft armour (possibly with mail inside), a ceruelliera light helmet, gorgiem, perjmnto (quilted armour), a crossbow with its bandolier and string, a sword, and a coltello eon pienia (pointed dagger). Spearmen were supplied with a giubetta, a gorgiem ‘suitable’ for the size of their shield, a spear, ceruelliera, sword and ordinary form of eoltello. Archers from the ‘Saracens of Lucera’ needed morę specialised weaponry including bows ‘of bonę in the manner of the Turks’ (composite bows) with eoeeari quivers, the long arrows used with such bows, spears and smali, round rotelle shields. On sonie occasions these ‘Saracens’ were given spalliere shoulder protectors, camiei A'armi (which were probably a sort of uniform coat), and taeehe, which have provisionally been identilied as archer’s tlnimb-rings.

Documents from the 14th century differ only in their reference to newer forms of equipment. By now Italian infantiy staff-weapons were highly developed, reflecting their importance in warfare. Whereas the blades of 13th-century infantiy spears were from 30 to 45cm long on hafts from two to almost three metres long, sonie 14th-century versions were considerably longer. The falce or faleione was a lighter staff-weapon used from the 12th to the 14th centuiy, common amongst urban militias, whereas the complex roneo or roneone came to prominence as a heavy infantiy weapon in the seconcl half of the 13th centuiy. Such weapons were mostly designed to fight cavaliy and kill their horses, as were specialised forms of spikecl clubs and maces. The broacl-bladed basilarda thrusting dagger was primarily an infantiy weapon, and although there is considerable argument about the origins of its name, the dagger itself was in a tradition of Mediterranean thrusting weapons known in Italy sińce the 9th centuiy.

Most infantiy militiamen could not afford the latest militaiy equipment, and throughout the 13th centuiy mail provided the most common protection for body, neck, arms and legs.

The fabric-covered ghiazzeńna, which also incorporated its own padding, is not recorded in Italy before the early-14th century. On the other hand, early forms of corellus or corettum cuirass and lameria coat-of-plates appeared towards the end of the 13th century. The paio di corazze, present in the finał third of the 13th centuiy, was a leather cuirass incorporating plates or lames of hardened leather or iron. It was almost certainly of eastern inspiration but was rarely worn by infantry.

Instead many Italian foot soldiers abandoned heavy and inconvenient mail in favour of quilted soft-armour. The infantrymans stmpecla mentioned in Vercelli in 1220-21 may have been an example, while the zuppa, zupone or zuparane, first mentioned a few years later, was certainly quilted armour though it may also have incorporated mail. The Southern Italian giubetta was the same garment and a document from Naples, dated 1283, specified that it must be madę of fustian dotli or canvas. Like mail, soft-armour offered little protection against arrows but it was light, cheap and