Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 8.djvu/388

 294 KNIGHTLY EFFIGIES AT SANDWICH AXD ASH. cord suspends the slieatli : the guard is formed by two knobs, though now nearly obliterated by damages of time and wantonness. The leg defences are no longer to be defined, and the shield (observed by Le ISeve) has totally disappeared. The action of the figure appears to be that of sheathing the sword. The slab beneath the effigy is of the coped form. The scales, which form the most remarkable part of this harness, are ridged ; therefore they were probably of metal or cuir-bouilli. Though occurring in comparative infrequency on the monuments of the middle ages, examples of scale- armour are not wanting in all times, from the epoch of the Kimroud sculptures to that of our own commonwealth ; and indeed later, for the Asiatic contributions to the "Great Exhibition" show us that even to this day, the " lorica squamata" is occasionallj^ worn in the east. The Assyrian sculptures in the British Museum offer numerous examples of scale-armour. The two figures here given are from Layard's large work on these monu- ments, Pis. 17, and 18. It will be remarked that the arcs of the scales are not set in the same direction in both cases : the figure with the staff is also curious in the addition of a chin-band, which seems to fasten his helmet over the gorget. In the second figure one cannot fail to be struck with the curiously close resemblance of the defences to the camailed bassinet of the European knight of the fourteenth century. Mr. Layard considers these scales to have been " fastened to bands of iron or copper." (Nineveh and its Remains, ii. 336.) Several of the real scales were discovered, and are deposited in the British Museum. The one here given has been carefully drawn from the original. It is of iron, three inches in length ; the ridge, which is raised in front, is hollow behind ; the apertures for fastening appear to have been obhterated by the oxidation of the metal. Some of the scales were inlaid with copper, and these,