In the Bayeux tapestry, the Saxons fight on foot with javelin
and battle-axe, and bear shields with the British characteristic of a
boss in the centre. The men were moustached.
The Normans are on horseback, with long shields and pennoned lances.
The men are not only shaven, but most of them have a complete tonsure
on the back of the head, whence the spies said to Harold, “There are
more priests in the Norman army than men in Harold's.”
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
More on Arms from Fact Monster:
- arm - arm arm, upper limb in humans. Three long bones form the framework of the arm: the humerus of the ...
- John Taylor Arms - Arms, John Taylor Arms, John Taylor, 1887–1953, American etcher and draftsman, b. Washington, ...
- blazonry - blazonry blazonry , science of describing or depicting armorial bearings. The introduction, since ...
- heraldry - heraldry heraldry, system in which inherited symbols, or devices, called charges are displayed on a ...
- Recently Suspended Armed Conflicts - Recently Suspended Armed Conflicts Main warring parties Years of conflict Serbia and Montenegro vs. ...