Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/615

Rh example, he can raise troops, collect stores, receive reinforcements, and fortify places that are not actually in a state of siege. (2.) Neither party can take advantage of the armistice to do what he could not have done had military operations continued. Thus he cannot throw provisions or reinforcements into a besieged town, and neither besiegers nor besieged are at liberty to repair their fortifications or erect new works. (3.) All things contained in places, the possession of which tvas contested, must remain in the state in which they were before the armistice began. Any infringement by either party of the conditions of the truce entitles the other to recommence hostile operations without previous intimation.  ARMORICA. The Armorici were, in Ccesar s time, the Celtic inhabitants of the coast from the Loire to the Seine. The word appears to bo composed of &quot; ar&quot; near, and &quot; mor,&quot; the sea, and would originally be applicable to any maritime population. It is said to be akin to &quot; Morini,&quot; and &quot; Pomerania &quot; (Po-more). In the Middle Ages the name Armorica was still further narrowed into an equivalent for Brittany.  ARMS ARMOUR. The history of arms and armour forms one of the most suggestive chapters in the history of civilisation. The use of stone weapons appears to have been universally characteristic of the earlier, as it is still distinctive of the ruder races of mankind. The forms of the weapons fabricated in this intractable material were of necessity few and simple. The commonest and most widely distributed type is that of the imperforate axe, varying from the roughly-dressed wedge of flint, to the finely-shaped and highly-polished lenticular &quot; celt.&quot; They were fabricated of flint, diorite, greenstone, serpentine, indurated clay-slate, in short, of almost every material capable of being worked into the desired form, and of retaining the requisite sharpness of edge. Spear-heads and arrow-points were chipped in flint with such surprising dexterity and skill, that they were nearly as effective as those subsequently fabricated in metals, and not much inferior in form and finish. The highest efforts of the ancient stone-workers culminated in the short leaf-shaped knife-dagger of flint, suggestive of the form which after wards became the characteristic weapon of the Bronze Age, the leaf-shaped sword. These knife-daggers of flint exhibit considerable variety of form, though always of the same type. They vary also in size, but seldom ex- ceed about 12 inches in length. They are never ground or polished, but delicately chipped to a straight edge, while the flakes are so regularly removed from the convex portions of the blade as to give a rippled or wavy surface, and the corners of the handle are deli cately crimped, thus producing an appearance of great beauty and finish. 1. Leaf-shaped flint Dagger.

The Bronze Age.—In the earliest interments in which the weapons deposited with the dead are of other materials than stone, a peculiar form of bronze dagger .occurs It consists of a well-finished, thin, knife-like blade, usually about 6 inches in length, broad at the hilt and tapering to the point, and always riveted to the handle by massive rivets of bronze. It has been found associated with stone celts, both of the roughly-chipped and the highly-polished kind, showing that these had not been entirely disused when bronze became available. A later type of bronze dagger is a broad, heavy, curved weapon, usually from 9 to 15 inches in length, with massive rivets for attachment to an equally massive handle. The leaf-shaped sword, however, is the characteristic weapon of the Bronze Period. It is found all over Europe, from Lapland to the Mediterranean. No warlike weapon of any period is more graceful in form or more beautifully finished. The finish seems to have been given in the mould without the aid of hammer or file, the edge being formed by suddenly reducing the thickness of the metal, so as to produce a narrow border of extreme thinness along both sides of the blade from hilt to point The handle-plate and blade were cast in one piece, and the handle itself was formed by side plates of bone, horn, or wood, riveted through the handle-plate. There was no guard, and the weapon, though short, was well balanced, but more fitted, however, for stabbing and thrusting than for cutting with the edge. The Scandinavian variety is not so decidedly leaf-shaped, and is longer and heavier than the common British form; and instead of a handle-plate, it was furnished with a tang on which a round, flat-topped handle was fastened, like that of the modern Highland dirk, sometimes surmounted by a crescent-like ornament of bronze. A narrow, rapier-shaped variety, tapering from hilt to point, was made without a handle- plate, and attached to the hilt by rivets like the bronze daggers already mentioned. This form is more common in the British Isles than in Scandinavia, and is most abundant in Ireland. The spear-heads of the Bronze eriod present a considerable variety of form, though the leaf-shaped pre dominates, and barbed examples are extremely rare. Some British forms of this weapon are of great size, occasionally reaching a length of 27 inches. The larger varieties are often beautifully designed, having segmental openings on both sides of the central ridge of the blade, and elaborately ornamented with chevrony patterns of chased or inlaid work both on the socket and blade. Arrow-points are much rarer in bronze than in flint. In all probability the flint arrow-point (which was equally effective and much more easily replaced when lost) continued to be used throughout the Bronze Period. Shields of bronze, circular, with hammered-up bosses, concentric ridges, and rows of studs, were held in the hand by a central handle underneath the boss. The transition period between the Bronze and Iron Ages in Central Europe is well defined by the occur rence of iron swords, which are simple copies of the leaf- shaped weapon, with flat handle-plate previously fabricated in bronze. These have been found associated with articles assigned to the 3d or 4th century B.C. FIG. 2. Leaf-shaped bronze Sword.

FIG. 3. Bronze Spear Lead, length 19 inches.

The Greek Heroic Age.—The Greek sword of the heroic age is described by Homer as double-edged, long, sharp, and trenchant, the blade of bronze, and the hilt and scab bard adorned with gold or silver studs. In the Homeric combats, however, the spear, lance, or javelin always plays the principal part, and the sword is only used when the combatants meet at close quarters, the spear having failed to decide the contest. Both sword and spear appear to have been of the forms which are characteristic of these weapons in the Bronze Age of Central and Northern Europe. The bow of Pandarus is described as made of ibex-horn and strung with sinews. The arrow-head is the only part of the warrior s equipment which Homer expressly describes as of iron, and the mode of its insertion in a split in the head of the shaft, where it was made fast by a liga-