Page:A record of European armour and arms through seven centuries (Volume 2).djvu/281



Showing town foot soldiers with their leader

Yet another type of wood and parchment shield which the late XIVth and the XVth century can claim as their own is the one which was employed exclusively by the archer, to whom the shield, pavois, or pavis was almost as important as the bow or arbalest. Large numbers are in existence; but now they rarely come into the market. We illustrate a very fine example in the Tower Armoury; others can be seen in the Wallace Collection, in the private collection of Sir Edward Barry, in that of the late Lord Zouche, and in that of Mr. Godfrey Williams. Although they vary in size, these archers' shields are generally constructed in the same way. Roughly rectangular they show from the back a flattened concave indentation running from the top and widening towards the base. Across this at intervals iron bands, or even bands of toughened hide, were usually stretched. The manner of using the pavis was as follows. A strong stake was driven into the ground and the pavis placed over it, the stake running up between the groove and its cross bands. Behind such a target the archer could crouch and effectively shelter himself. Some of these pavises are of large proportions, over five feet high and proportionately wide; whilst others are small and can only have served the purpose of the knight's ordinary shield. The Tower pavis (Fig. 606), a representative example, was purchased by the authorities at the famous Bernal Sale of 1855. It is of soft wood covered in layers of canvas and gesso. The front surface is painted with the figure of St. George and the Dragon, the armour represented upon the saint dating the shield at about 1440-60. His salade helmet and breast shield are most