Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1843-05-26

guished champions were often even more cele-
brated than their owners, and we're known by
names derived from some popularity in their
construction as Gold.hit, or from some remark.
able feat achieved with them, as Leg bitter, the
name of sword which had severed limb at n
blow. Other names were fgurativc, as Tizona,
or Firc.brand, the sword of the famous Cid, and
others again seem to have been purely arbitrary
he warriors sword, helmet, and breast plate
were often bur cd with him, and rs both these and
the other treasures deposited in the funeral mound
were objects highly priced by kindred spirits, the
snncttv OF the tomb was frequently violated, BY
those who dared to brave the supcrsttions, which
protected the last resting place the dead against
dcsccration by timid or vulgar hands The VIC.
la,'on OF tomb being supposed to be attended
WIN eariui terrors, IT was considered the highest
PROOF OF manhood, to enter the mound of some
oid nero, by night, alone or attended by but a sin
gle companion, and to wrcst from the resisting
grasp OF the grim corpse the sword which it had
so glorlously welded in life. For the dead we're
believed to be jealous of the sacredness Of their
rights, and strong in defending them, and we
read OF many desperate struggle, between the
dead warrior, and the living invader of the func.
raj barrow.
The art of refining and tempering steel is of
great antiquity in the East, and has attained to
li'Ih perfection in those countries According
to lIny, the oriental steel was the best known
Wootz is thought superior to any of European
manufacture. The iron and steel of Borneo par.
tlclarly are supposed to be the best in the world
"A sword OF the steel Of Borneo has been seen to
cut an English musket fairly through at the
| thickcst part, at single blow, without turning
the edge, and even to sever an European sword.
blade, without producing n flaw. The steel of
Damascus has long been celebrated, not only for
ITS temper, but for the curious waved appearance
OF us surface. Whether this is produced by an
artificial process has been disputed 1t was for.
merry supposed to be simply inlaid with steel of
different kind, and the practice of nlayinr,
thnngh very ancient one, has been generally
called Transferring, because the Damascus
blades were supposed to be the most perfect spec.
i!ncns OF tins style of work. 1t is now certain
mat Tins steel is not nlaid, for the texture TO
winch 1t owes its peculiar appearance extends
through the whole substance. II has been sun.
posed to be effected by welding together a great
number OF thin alternate LAYERS Of steel and ron
or OF different kinds of steel, and then repeated.
~ aonoi'ng, twisting, and re- forging the mass,
but recent investigations are thought to have
proved, that the constituent parts of these blades
are IN reality cast steel and cast iron, naturally
produced IN the course Of the process of cemen-
| tation.
| We find then, that the arts of smelling iron,
ana refining and tcmpcrng steel, have been car.
r,ed 10 the highest pitch, not only in remote an.
tqn'ty, nut among rude and even barbarous ma.
ions. Many savage tribes of the present dav
shcw much ingenuity in manufacturing imple
ments from these metals, but they generally de.
rive the raw material from civilized nations The
EsqnI'nauX possess considerable skill in working
IRON and steel on small scale though they are
incapable of smelling the ore, but. having only
seen metals IN small pieces, such as knives fish.
hooks, needles, and the spikes which they find
IN driit TIMBER, they are ignorant of their
weight, that they repeatedly attempted to steal
heavy anvil from one of the English discovery
snlps, ana were much surprised at finding block
/ oi IRON containing half Il cubic foot too pondc-
rous TO be concealed under loose dress, and
carried OFT without exciting observation New.
'r'hriess, they forge and repair their iron and
steel implements, with much ncatncss, and are
even able to drill new eye-holcs in broken nee.
dies
Inc skill Of the European smiths of the mid.
die ages is to be ascrbed chiefly to the practice
OF wearing defensive armour in war When the
| opponent was cased in iron, it was matter of
no small Importance to possess weapons of such
temper, as to sever or pierre" the plates, which
covered the entire person Of the cnemv and on
Tie other hand, the armourer had every induce.
ment to perfect himself in the art of forrinr
plates lmpcnetrable to the heaviest blows There
was mus n perpetual rivalry between the artz-
ans IN offensive and defcns i've arms and both at.
tanned to the highest degree of excellence. The
weapons IN common use were the lance or spear,
the sword both single, and two.handed, the dar.
ger ana the ba,'lcaxc; but in order to he provi-
ded against the contingency of encountering an
enemy, whose armour was proof against these
( me knight or mounted solder carried at his sad.
/ die bow a mace or club of iron This was some.
tunes rod or staff, with heavy ball attached ia
ne ehh ny short chain, aud frequently armed
with short spikes, but the more common mace
was staff about two and half or three feet in
| ,,.,tl q -. i.
IRON three or four inches in width, and runuino
nnc or ten inches up the staff A well directed
p'ow rom th's weapon upon the helmet could
scarcely iail TO stun an opponent, if indeed il did
not crush both the helmet aud the skull of its
wearer Notwithstanding the common opinion
TO The contrary 1t is settled that the ancicnts did
not wear plate armour. The trunk and some.
l'mes ihe limbs were protected by thick leather
or quilted cloth, to which were frequently at.
tached thin scales of metal tapping over each 9th.
er, Ike the scales of fishes, and shirts of mail
composed ct small iron rings, interlocked like
those OF steel purse, were employed by the
preeks ana Romans, as well as in the middle
ages The helmets of the ancients however, and
,heir grcaves and gorgets, were of plate iron
like those of later ages A complete sut Of
Plate armour protected the entire person, from
the crown to the foot The weight of such n
SUIT was not far from sixty pounds, the helme,
weighing eight or ten. The only part possessing
mnch thickness was the breastplate, which in the
strongest part was quarter of an inch OF even
three eIghihs thick The globuar shape of the
helmet admitted of thinner plates, because n
blow would ordinarily glance off In the best fin.
'shed helmets, the part protecting the face was
usuaily IN two parts moving on pivots, the upper
OF which called the visor, from word signify.
ing to see because it had longitudinal slit, OF
sometimes two separate openings, opposite the
eyes, could be thrown up, and the lower, called
,he nearer, from word sgnfying to drink, could
be let down, or in some helmets raised above the
visor, to enable the wearer TO eat and drink
some helmets however were without the beaver,
some without the visor, and many, especially
those Tor the men at arms or footmen, had Meth.
er. The breast and back plates were separate
connected at the sides by straps and buckles, OF
buttons and loops, and over the shoulders by the
gorget, which protected the neck and throat, and
served also to sustain part Of the weight of the
helmet The curved plates protecting the arms
and legs were connected Mt the knees and elbows
by thin bent plates sliding over each other on
pivois. These were so skilfuliy fashioned that
the limbs could be moved in all directions, with
great freedom, and without exposing the Joint
he armour was sometimes highly polished some
tunes dark, and often inlaid with gold and silver
Even the hands and feet were shielded bv MIA n.