Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/432

* CAVALRY. 368 CAVALRY. blacksmitli, were called gisarms or bisarnis. The nature of these weapons caused a revival of the heay plate armor of the ancients, vastly im- proved in point of flexibility, and worn both by horse and rider. The expense of this outfit was of course enormous. At the siege of Har- fieur (1415), Conite Saint Pol's "chanfrain' (horse-head armor) cost $30,000, and that of Conitc Saint Foix $1.5,000; both were inlaid with gold and jewels. The horses were more vulner- able than their riders, as their legs were exposed to attack. The rider, when dismounted, was assailed with mace, battle-axe, or stones, in the attempt to crack his shell. At the storming of fortresses the knights dismounted and fought on foot, and P&re Daniel says "that the sjjlendor and extent of victories was always denoted by the number of knights, squires, and other gentle- men who had been killed or taken." Tactics were unknown among the early knights. In battle they formed in single rank, and each sought out his opponent and rode against him with couched lance, in order to disable or cap- ture him. While one may smile at the mediseval horse- man with his cumbrous armor, still his training in the use of arms, management of his horse, and self-reliance were valuable from the cavalry point of view. While that arm as a force in war had lost ]uominence, it was by no means dead. At the beginning of the Eighth Century the Frankish Army was largely composed of mounted men. In the" Tenth Century Europe suffered greatly from the incursions of the Hungarian horsemen until Henry I. of Germany, reorganiz- ing his cavalry and adopting the methods of the common enemy, finally defeated them. In 1241 the Jlongols invaded Centra! Eurojie and encoun- tered the heavy, armor-clad cavalry of those regions, and the struggle between the two sys- tems ended in victory for the light horsemen. The Jlongols would not stand a charge, but, dis- persing, would exhaust their opponents in pur- suit, and then rallying, would turn, and, rush- ing upon the broken masses, speedily decided the contest. EMIOHT MOUNTED, 1558. ':^a GERMAN EEITER, 1640. The application of gunpowder to war purposes in Europe early in the Fourteenth Century (al- though its origin is variously ascribed to the Chinese and to the Arabs), wrought a revolu- tion in things civil as well as military. War became a science, and in 1445 Charles VII. of France first organized a standing army and in- fused new life into the cavalry arm. The soldiers were assigned to permanent quarters and placed >mder rigid discipline. The men who fonned the retinue of the knight (called 'ser- vientes,' the orig- inal of our 'ser- geant'), took the name of gens d'armes. The King divided his cavalry into 15 companies of 100 lances each, the term 'lanee' meaning a squad; thus each company numbered 600 mounted men, making an aggre- gate of 9000. There were also volunteers at- tached to the gen- darmerie on proba- tion. Each homme d'armes had four horses, including his war charger, mounted only when battle was immi- nent. Thus, it is said, originated the expression, 'mounting one's high horse,' or showing a readiness to quarrel. The towns and provinces, in return for the protection afforded by this force, bore the ex- pense of their support. In 1550 the last vestige of the romance of war (the tournament) was de- stroyed by the death of King Henry II. of France, who, while engaged in a joust, was un- horsed and accidentally pierced through the visor of his helmet by a lance in the hands of a courtier. Count Gabriel de Jloutgomerie. About the beginning of the Fifteenth C«ntury we find mention for the first time of certain kinds of cavalry whose names are familiar at the present day. In Hungary the 'hussars,' so called from the Hungarian word hiis:: (signify- ing twenty) and lir (pay), were organized mder a State ordinance requiring every twentieth man to take the field. They were armed with a sword (sometimes two), rode small horses with light saddles, were well disciplined, and very mobile in battle. Jfahan well describes the type: "The dashing, bold hussar, that e]iitonie of mili- tary impudence and recklessness at the tavern, should i)resent these qualities in a sublimated form on the Held. Regardless of fatigue and danger, his imagination should never present to itself an obstacle as insurmountable." The hus- sar has always been noted for extravagance in dress, but the Polish hussars at the time of the wars with Charles XII. were unique. "They march," says Voltaire, "att^-nded by several va- lets, who lead their horses, which are adorned W'ith bridles, plaited with silver and silver nails, embroidered .saddles, saddle bows, and stirrups gilt, and sometimes made of massive silver." Ijong before this we hear of 'carabineers' (from the Arab word Karab) . They were armed ^