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during this century, while Ghcnt and Liege wcre othcr important producers; as a precautionary measure against the Liege rebels in 1467, Charles the Bold forbade the forging of armour in the city, and we also learn that in the mid-i5th century the Liege armourers displayed their ware in stalls on the cathedral steps.

Unfortunately, however, it has proved im-possible in all but a few cases to distinguish between locally-made Burgundian armour and imported produets. The problem of ‘origin’ is further coin-plicated by the number of Milanese armourers who emigrated to Burgundy during the 15th century, not to speak of such pitfalls as Italian export armours—Italian-madc armours in Germanie style for sale to the northern markets.

Nor is it elear to what extent armour and weapons were issued to soldiers of the Burgundian armies, or how much a man was responsible for providing himself. There are many instances of bulk purchases ofarms by the dukes: in 1386, Philip the Bold ordered 4,000 escutcheons painted with his arms in red and white for use by his men during his planned invasion of England. Philip the Good bought 48 hauberks at the Antwerp fair in 1435, and in 1449 the ducal accounts show purchases of 146 brigahdines, 33 arm harnesses and 649 helmets. These were probably for use by the ducal household guard, however: men-at-arms were no doubt considered to be ofsulficient means to provide their own weapons and armour, tógether with those of their retinue, while foreign merceharies must have carried th'eir arms and armour as tools of their trade. In spite of this not all the gentry were well eąuipped: at Philip the Bold’s review at Chatillon in 1364, only 108 men-at-arms out of 153 had fuli body proteclion—the others had no leg armour.

Armour was always expensive, and was freąu-ently handed down from generation to generation, so that it can have been of no surprise to see footsoldiers wearing odd pieces of armour or helmets dating back a century or morę. However, such was the importance attached to arms that in Liege only. those citizens who possessed them had the right to vote. Laws were also passed forbidding the pawning of arms, or using them as collateral for debts.

The bearing of arms in urban areas (in northern Burgundy at least) was strictly controlled: everyone had the right to carry a smali knife called a taille-pain, but swords were tolerated only on condition that the bearer could prove that he intended to, or had been travelling outsidc the town limits. Visiting foreigners were required to deposit their weapons with their innkecpcr for the duration of their stay.

The manufact.ure ofarms other than armour and swprds, which required spccial skills and equip-merit, flourished in almost every town in Europę. Any country blacksmith was capable of turning out pikeheads, arrowheads, axes and maces, and these were all rcquired in vast quantities. Countless numbers of smiths were employed to satisfy this demand; in Ghent alone, 32 spccialised weapon smiths are recorded in 1357.

Bows and Crossbows

Since the battle of Crecy in 1346 the devastating efiect of the English longbowmen was well known, but on the Continent it was hardly possible to organise the discipline and continual training

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The pavise was the typical shield of the crossbowman, who used it for cover while spanning his weapon. Of wood and leather, it usually had a metal spike at the base for purchase in the soil, and was fitted with a handle of twisted sinews bchind. In spite of the large number of medieval pavises which have survived, they figurę surprisingly rarely in contemporary illustrations. The name is supposedly dcrived from Pavia in Italy. These examplcs—not to scalę—are painted with the emblems of Burgundy. (Swiss National Muscum, Zurich, and Bern Historical Museum)

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