Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 1).djvu/15



his book does not pretend to open up a new road to the student of arms and armour, but it is a faithful record of my observations and notes since boyhood. My evidence confirms the accepted theories of the great scholars who preceded me. Herein I trust lies its interest and value for the reader.

I feel, therefore, that my homage is first due to the memory of Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick, that pioneer of all who have been learned in the study of the harness of war, and after him I think gratefully of those who followed in his footsteps. My book owes much to their research, although of necessity it covers a wider field, in view of the work of archaeologists during the last forty years.

At least I may claim for my pictures that they are all drawings or photographs of genuine pieces. I say frankly that my long experience in handling the work of the old armourers has made me bold to speak with some authority on what my eyes and fingers have learned about the technical aspect of ancient armour and weapons, the subject of this book.

I can warrant the genuine antiquity of every piece of armour of which I have given an illustration, and the student may trust himself in this gallery where all are accredited examples. I have not dealt with firearms, but the history of that weapon, which introduced the new strategy and ruined the armourer's craft, requires a volume of its own.

If I owe much of my knowledge of this subject to the pioneers of armour learning, I must confess a still greater obligation to present-day authorities: again and again I have availed myself of the fruits of their research, but never, I trust, without full acknowledgement.

To my very dear and old friend, the Baron Charles de Cosson, to whom the