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An illustration from Geoffrey ofMonmouth ’s History of the Kings of Britain transcribed af the abbey ofBcc in Normandy in about 1150. Thisknight may represent Robert, Earl of Gloucester, bastard son

o f Henry I and a prime mover in the civil war of Stephen ’s reign. Notice the long skirt issuing from beneath the mail and characteristic of the I2th century. (Leiden Unircrsity Library)

New York, appears to be from northern France or England. Even then there is no proof that it dates from the period under discussion.

The other surviving helmets are from eastern Europę. That supposedly of the ioth-century St. Wenceslas is held by Prague Cathedral along with a mailcoat which has never been fully studied but which may be from the ioth or 1 ith century.

The Hofjagd-und Rustkammer in Vienna holds the conical helmet forged in one piece. While a major museum of arms and armour, items of this period are rare and not from a Norman context.

The Royal Armouries at the Tower of London displays the segmented conical helmet on loan from Liverpool Museum. Swords, maces, spears and spurs of the time can also be seen. A i4th-century mailcoat gives an idea of the appearance of this form of armour. The Education centre has replicas of a conical helmet, kite-shaped shield and sword which are used as teaching aids.

The British Museum has a large collection of swords, spears, axes, knives, shield bosses and spurs dating from the migration period up to the nth century, many of which are held in storę.

The British Library is useful for studying manu-script representations of warriors, although many will, of necessity, be included in folios kept in storę.

The Centre Guillaume le Conąuerant in the Rue de Nesmond, Bayeux, houses the Bayeux Tapestry and provides an introductory display, exhibition and film show as well as the actual embroidery itself.

The Musee des Antiąuites at Rouen possesses some artefacts from Viking settlements in Normandy.

The north door and west front of the church of San Nicola, Bari, the ceiling of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo and the cloisters of Monreale Cathedral just outside Palermo, are all sources of pictorial representations of Norman knights and their mixed followings.

Manuscript pictures and sculptures are also scattered throughout museums, churches and ca-thedrals of Europę.

THE PLATES

A: Early knight, c. 1000

It is not known for certain at wdiat datę the Viking settlers of Normandy adapted themselves to become horsemen in emulation of their Frankish neighbours. Since armoured horsemen had been seen in Carolin-gian armies a century before, the invaders may have assimilated themselves ąuite ąuickly. This man’s eąuipment is essentially old fashioned. He wears a spangenhelm, an early style of helmet still used in the nth century and may even have survived into the i3th century. The initial shape was created by constructing an iron framework consisting of (usually four) vertical strips springing from a browband. The spaces between were then filled with plates, most probably of iron though horn may rarely have been used. A cap secured the apex. Additional lining rivets are provided along the browband. In some cases the nasal may have been formed by extending the front vertical strip downwards. The exact construction at this datę remains uncertain as no examples have survived. However, they may be seen occasionally in artistic representations. His mailcoat is split at the sides, a fashion far morę suited to use on foot but which appeared infrequently throughout the nth century and into the i2th. His shield is of traditional circular form and not of the kite-shaped variety only now beginning to appear. Since few shield bosses

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