The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-07-24
THE KNIGHTS OF OLD.
How the Men Who Were Sheathed in ArmOf
Resisted Stout Blows.

SAO IhOuSduu anu one FOHldHceS Oh
the days of chivalry, says correspond
ent one naturally wonders whether
men have physically degenerated since
'Vlllainous saltpeter" rendered cold
iron non-protection against wounds
and death. And this wonder becomes
tantalizing because the problem can
never be solved. We have no measure
or meter to judge by. But whether
more muscular than we are or not, the
knights of old were hard hitters-very
hard hitters. This is proven by the fact
that they We're sometimes killed even
when in full armor. To anyone who
has seen a suit of plate armor, the idea
OF the wearer being killed by any force
less than that of gunpowder seems
ridiculous. Yet when the persons, who
were appointed to report the number of
men killed at the battle of Cressy
made their return, it appeared that
among the 10000 killed were 1880
knights There must have been a
great deal of labor expended in kill
ing these solid men. If one would I'M
dertake to batter to pieces, with the
medieval weapons, a man covered with
i63oiler-plates, the task would seem rather
formidable.
Let us look into the matter of mortal
ity among ''ironsides" and endeavor to
ascertain its cause. A knight in full
armor was very perfectly protected.
Clad in iron even to his boot tips and
gloves and mounted upon an armor-
wearing steed he seemed absolutely i'm
pervious to every assault. Hence the
ease with which Instructions were put
down.
Imagine such figure, armed with
lance, sword, battle-aX and mace turned
loose among herd of ill-clad, badly
armed peasants-strong, perhaps, in
their assertion of the great principles of
mems equal rights, but weak in every
other way.
How the armed man could NOW down
the rabble with as much impunity and
immunity to his OWE person as any
scythcswinger in grain field at the
present day. How the peasants must
have cursed as their weapons turned
harmless from the mail, while the rider
trampled them down One man, mail
clad, was able to cope with a hundred
unprotected men.
The knights of old were used to hard
knocks. Even their sport was rough,
and yet it was not deadly. Tourna-
ments would seem, at first. to be nearly
as bad as war, But there have been
instances where knights have held the
lists against all corners for thirty DAYS,
and were neither wounded nor fatigued
at it's close. At first sight, | admit,
having a man poke a sharp-pointed
lance at you with all his force, aided
by the momentum of his horse, would
seem dangerous enough; but, in addi-
ton to his armor, the knight wore when
fitting a triangular shield hanging from
his neck down over his breast, making
two thicknesses of boiler-iron, and if his
opponent hit his helmet, instead of his
shield the fastenings would generally
give way and off would go Tic head
piece, instead of the rider.
Sometimes the knight was cast over
the horses tail heavily to the ground.
He made an awful jngling like tin
shop with chilli and a dent in the
earth when he struck. but his armor
protected him from fracturing any part
of his person, though he was often very
stiff and sore next day. SO what killed
the chivalry of the middle ages is not
yet explained.
At the time when the heaviest armor
was used a knight, if he fell from his
horse, was very often unable to rise.
The weight of his harness kept him
securely fastened down, like turtle
on it's back. Sometimes he smothered
in his armor on a hot day. But oftener
could be seen the spectacle of dozen
lightly armed soldiers hacking and
hewing at PROSTATE knight like wood
men at logS~hoping to open some
joint or find some weak spot in the
steel. And also the knights were
armed with thin dagger called the
dagger of mercy" which they could
thrust through the bars of visor into
PROSTATE opponents brain. The
sword of the iron age was different
from the modern weapon. 1t extended
from the right heel to above the left
shoulder, being two-handed. and could
only be drawn over the left shoulder.
The sweep of the two-handed sword of
such a noted hard-hittter as Richard
Cnur de Lion must have been serious
to encounter, and if the armorer
had been negligent in any part
of his work and Richards sword
found that point woe was to the wearer
of the harness! When tie writer saw
the armor in the tower of London he
made up his mind that the battle-axes
and maces of olden time were more
deadly weapons than were the two
handed swords, and he noticed in read
ing Froissart's chronicles that that ven
cradle authority confirms this. The
maces were of steel, very heavy, and
often spiked. The axes were very heavy
and very sharp, meant for the use of
one hand only. But sometimes the
knights fought on foot and then they
used two-hauded axes, which very often
found some weak spot in the mail and
went through iron and flesh, and bone.
Sometimes in the siege of castles huge
stones were dropped upon the heads of
the. besiegers SO large that they crushed
helmets like nutshells, and great sta
tionary cross-bows, which required two
or three men to draw back their bow
60 shot o,.rp1uc hOi a