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He cracks his shield and knocks it from his neck,The fight between Engelier and Escremiz and many other instances in The Song of Roland makes reference to the hauberk and its destruction in battle. The hauberk was one of the most important parts of a knight's gear proving just as important as a sword or shield. Although not common among all warriors of the time and not entirely full proof protection, the hauberk, a type of mail that stretches to the knee, provided essential protection to a knight from potential damaging and lethal blows from other knights and gave the knight wearing it a distinct advantage. This makes it even more fantastical but still impressive to listeners, that the warriors in The Song of Roland sliced through them like butter, but this helps to add a special mythological quality that for sure inspired those who heard the epic poem before battle.
and rips into his hauberk at the gorget,
and hits his throat (Harrison, 94)
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Harrison, Robert. The Song of Roland. Signet Classic, 2002
McDonald, James. "Medieval Warfare Armour & Shields." Web blog. Medieval Warfare, n.d. Web. accessed Sept. 28 2017 LINK
The sword and the lance are always fun to write about because they are usually connected with glory. I liked that you chose to research a piece that is just as important to the battle but usually less known.
ReplyDeleteI like the historical description behind the hauberk because when you think of a medieval knight we usually draw ourselves to the large, heavy shining armor. We never realize the chain mail that the knights wore that protected them the most.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is interesting that practical considerations like wearing a halberd are ignored in The Song of Roland and their use is irrelevant to the story as it has no impact on the characters wearing them as the heroes kill their enemies as easily as if they were not wearing any armour.
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