Genre:

Serial, Essay, Drollery

Relevant illustrations:

wdct. [3]

Subjects:

Military Technology, War

    Discusses the types of armour used during the reign of King Edward III, notably the increasing use of iron plate in making the armour worn by soldiers. Draws attention to the use of spiked gauntlets and to the first use of cannon (in the Battle of Crécy, 1346), a weapon that 'would now be thought mere popguns' and 'very weak compared with Armstrong's'. Adds that when these early cannons burst, they 'often caused more damage to their own side than the enemy', and that the Battle of Crécy was won by the superior skill of the English archers. (68) Illustrations show the armour worn by 'William of Wimbledon', the gauntlet of 'Sir Thomas de la Marche', and an artilleryman igniting a cannon during the time of Edward III.