Document: 1302 Constable of France

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Ernst
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Document: 1302 Constable of France

Post by Ernst »

Source, with translation into English by F.M. Kelly, though I've tried my hand at it. Breaks in the listings are mine.
https://books.google.com/books?id=M8s-A ... or&f=false

Values given in l. (livres) and s. (sols or sous), pounds and shillings by any other name....
The Arabic numbers in Kelly's list refer to his beginning notes, and I have omitted them here to avoid confusion.



Inventory of Raoul de Nesle, Constable of France, killed 1302, Battle of Courtrai.

Image

iii arbalestes de cor et iii de fust xvi l.
3 crossbows of horn (composite) and of wood. 16 livre.
Primes plusieurs glaives et grant planté de quarriaus pour le garnisson de le tour sans pris car viés sunt
First, several glaives (spears) and a great number of quarrels for the furnishing of the tower, old and without value.
Item ii arbalestre a tour & xii a piet toutes de cor
Item 2 crossbows (for the tower-Kelly says with windlass), and 12 for the foot of horn.
Primes xix arbalestres de cor iiii(xx) l.
First, 19 crossbows of horn. 80 livres.
Item xvii arbalestes de fust xiiii l.
Item, 17 crossbows of wood. 14 livres
Item ii petites arbalestes de Genes xl s.
Item, 2 small crossbows of Genoa. 40 s.
Item viii ars maniers xx s.
Item, 7 hand bows. 20 s.
Item i baston a iii viroles d'argent i autre baston et une mache xx s.
Item, 1 staff (stick, club, cudgel) with 3 bands of silver, 1 other club, and 1 mace. 20 s.
Item ii cors d'ivoire dont l un est garni d'argent et un autre cor xxxs
Item, 2 horns of ivory of which one is garnished with silver, and another horn. 30 s.
Item une hache & pluseurs coutiaus a taillier xls
Item, an axe and several cutting knives. 40 s.

Primes ii jupiaus at i ganboissons vil.
First, 2 jupons and 1 gambeson. 6 livres.
Item une tunique et une cloque vert semée d'escuchons xls.
Item, a tunic and a cloak, green, powdered with shields. 40 s.
Item ii cotes de veluel et une de samit i tunique i houche a sarazin cs.
Item, 2 coats of velvet, and one of samite. 1 tunic, 1 housse (Kelly -"after the mode of Sarras", though perhaps "in Saracen style".)
Item uns cuisseus ganboisiés des armes de Neele xxs.
Item, a gamboissed cuisse with the arms of Nesle. 20 s.

Item iii couvertures a cheval ganboisiés cl.
Item, 3 coverings for the horse, gamboissed. 100 livre. (Quilted horse barding.)

Item i hauberiau et i camail xiil
Item, 1 haubergeon and 1 camail. 12 l.
Item i gazaraut & i camail de maisme viiil.
Item, 1 jazerant and 1 camail of the same. 8 l.
Item iiii pieches de fianchieres lxs.
Item, 4 pieces (of mail?) for the sides of the horse. 60 s.
Item ii bras et uns gousses iiiil.
Item 2 sleeves (of mail) and a gusset. 4 l.
Item ii gorgeretes pisaines xxxs.
Item, 2 Pisane gorgets. 30s.

Item unes plates vermeilles vil.
Item, a (pair of) plates, vermillion. 6 livre.
Item unes autres plates des armes de Neele iiiil.
Item, one other plates with the arms of Nesle. 4 l.
Item iii bacines ls.
Item, 3 bascinets. 50s.
Item iii paires de cuirs a bras & uns gantelés xxxs.
Item, 3 pairs of leather bracers and a gauntlet. 30 s.
Item couvertures de plates et banieres xls.
Item coverings for pairs of plates and banners. 40 s.
Item ii paires de gans des armes de Neele xxxs.
Item, 2 pair of gauntlets with the arms of Nesle. 30 s.
Item viii que capiaus que hiaumes at i bacin xiiil.
Item, 8 kettle hats and helm, and 1 bascinet. 13 l.
Item ii gorgeretes de plates xls.
Item, 2 gorgets of plates. 40 s.
Item ii harnas de gaumbes fourbis de coi les greves sont closes cs.
Item, 2 leg harness polished(?) with enclosed greaves. 100 s. (In English 'furbish' can mean remodel or polish.)
Item unes autres demie greves fourbies iiiil.
Item, one other half-greaves, polished. 4 l. (Schynbalds?)

Item uns bras de fer et i coutes xxs.
Item, a sleeve of iron and 1 couter. 20 s. (Likely a mail sleeve with plate roundel at the elbow.)
Item xi que targes qu escus cs.
Item, 11 targes and shields ("heaters"). 100 s.
Item x fraims que viés que nues
Item, 10 bridles old and new. (No price given unless added into the next line.)
Item en le tout xviii haubers prisiés xxl.
Item, in total 18 hauberks, all together 20 l.
Item vii hauberions que corsés viiil.
Item, 7 haubergeons which are? bodies. 8 l. (Perhaps sleeveless mail "corsets" or vests.)
Item xlii pieche de causes xxl.
Item, 42 pieces of chausses. 20 l. (Perhaps inventoried as single mail legs rather than pairs?)
Item xxxiiii pieches de testes que crupieres a cheval et iiii petites pieches de fer xl.
Item, 34 pieces of testiers and cruppers for the horse, and 4 small pieces of iron. 10 l.

Item pour x espeés sans argent cs.
Item, fo 10 swords without silver. 100 s.
Item une espée de Gennes garnie d'argent xl.
Item, a sword of Genoa, garnished with silver. 10 l.
Item une autre espée ai fuerre vermeille garni d'argent vil.
Item, another sword with vermillion sheath(?) garnished with silver. 6 l.
Item une autre a fuerre vert de soie semée d escuchons xxs.
Item, one other with sheath of green silk, powdered with escutcheons. 20 s.
Item une autre espée ai fuerre noir a rengere vert garni d argent vil.
Item, one other sword with black sheath and green belt garnished with silver. 6 l.
Item une autre pomel de cristal iiiil.
Item, one other with a crystal pommel. 4 l.
Item une mesericorde a fuerre de cuir bouli ai pommel d argent xxs.
Item, one misericorde with sheath of cuir bouilli with pommel of silver. 20 s. (Hopefully the French terms don't need much translation.)
Item ii autres mesericordes a fuerre vermans a bendez d'argent xls.
Item, 2 other misericordes with red sheaths and bands of silver. 40 s,
Item pour vi coutiaus a pointe de coi li uns est garnis d'argent iiiil.
Item, for 6 pointed daggers, of which one is garnished with silver. 4 l.
Item pour xxx fers a glaives de diverses fachons lxs.
Item, for 30 irons for glaives (heads) of diverse style. 60 s.

Premierement iii haubers vii fers a glaives de nul pris
To begin, 3 hauberks, 7 glaive-heads of no value.
Primes une cote a armes pour tournoier des armes de Neele xs.
First, a coat armor for the tournament with the arms of Nesle. 10 s.
Item i jupes xvis
Item, 1 jupon. 16 s.
Item i ganboison cs
Item, 1 gambeson. 100 s.
Item i autre ganboison lxs
Item, 1 other gambeson. 60 s.
Item i blanc tunikel xx sols
Item, 1 white tunic. 20 s.
Item i tunikel de samit seme des armes de Neele lxs
Item, 1 samite tunic, powdered with the arms of Nesle. 60 s.
Item une cloche de vermeil veluel et i chapel brodé des armes de Neele lxs
Item, one cloak of vermillion velvet and one hat embroidered with the arms of Nesle. 60 s.
Item i tunikel de drap asuré semé d escuchons lxs
Item, 1 tunic of blue drape, powdered with escutcheons. 60 s.
Item unes espauliere de balainne a tournoier xxxiiiiis
Item, one shoulder defense of baleen for the tournament. 35 s.
Item uns cuirs a bras xvis
Item, one leather bracer (arm) 16 s.
Item une baniere vs
Item, one banner. 5 s.
Item une couvertures a cheval pourpointée ii testieres de soie a cheval iii chapiaus de Montauban iii hiaumes et i baehinet vernicié viiil xvis
Item, one pourpoint horse bard, 2 silk testiers for the horse, 3 kettle hats of Montauban, 3 helms, and 1 varnished bascinet. 8 l., 16 s.
Item i autre bacinet vs
Item, 1 other bascinet. 5 s.
Item ii paires de plates cs
Item, 2 pair of plates. 100 s.
Item iii paires de plates toutes garnies pour son cors xiil
Item, 3 pairs of plate, fully garnished for the body? 12 l. (Kelly suggest fully lined.)

Item pour viii que hauberions que haubers et iii camaus en les cedules du pris précédent xliiil
Item, for 8 haubergeons and hauberks and 3 camails in the previously taken lists. 43 l.
Item une gorgiere xxs
Item, a gorget. 20 s.
Item unes couvertures de fer a cheval vil
Item, a covering of iron for the horse. 6 l. (A mail barding.)
Item une autres couvertures de fer viil
Item, another covering of iron. 7 l.
Item une autres couvertures viiil
Item, one other covering. 8 l.
Item haubers a tournoier xis
Item, a tournament hauberk. 16 s.
Item pluseurs menues pieches de haubergons iiiil
Item, a number of minute pieces of haubergeons. 4 l. (Scraps of mail.)

Item ii espées ii petites misericordes lxs
Item, 2 swords, 2 small misericordes. 60 s.
Item ix espées casenne vis. valent et sont loiées d une longue renges liiiis
Item, 9 barracks? swords are valued and related to a long belt. ???? 54 s. (Perhaps cased or chained together?)
Item xv espées loiées d une renge de soie chascune xiis valent ixl
Item, 15 sword 'loiées'? and one belt? of silk each at 12 s. Total 9 l. (i.e. 20 sol to the livre)
Item une espée garnie a pelle cs
Item, one sword garnished with hide. 100 s. (Kelly gives hide, possibly with fur - pelts.)
Item une autre espée garnie de brodures des armes de Neele vil
Item, one other sword garnished with embroidered arms of Nesle. 6 l.
Item vii coutiaus a pointe xxxs
Item, 7 pointed knives. 30 s. (Kelly gives "stabbing knives".)
Item v autres coutiaus xs
Item, 5 othe knives. 10 s.
Item ii coutiaus garnis d'argent vis
Item, 2 knives garnished with silver. 6 s.
Item i coutel a ymage a cristal et une fourchete garnie d'argent xs
Item, a knife with a crystal image and a fork garnished with silver. 10 s.
Item xiiii fers a glaive lvis
Item, 14 glaive-heads. 56 s.
Item iiii autres fers a glaive plus petis viiis
Item, 3 other smaller glaive-heads. 8s.
Item ii paires de gantelés couvers de rouge cuir xxs
Item, 2 pairs of gauntlets covered in red leather. 20 s.
Item iii maces ixs
Item, 3 maces. 9 s.
Last edited by Ernst on Mon Jan 25, 2016 3:59 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Document: 1302 Constable of France

Post by Gustovic »

Ernst wrote:
Item ii bras et uns gousses iiiil.
Item 2 sleeves (of mail) and a gusset. 4 l.
Item ii gorgeretes pisaines xxxs.
Item, 2 Pisane gorgets. 30s.
Ok, so this pushes the dating for separate maille sleeves at 1302. Nice.
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Re: Document: 1302 Constable of France

Post by Ernst »

Gustovic wrote:
Ernst wrote:
Item ii bras et uns gousses iiiil.
Item 2 sleeves (of mail) and a gusset. 4 l.
Item ii gorgeretes pisaines xxxs.
Item, 2 Pisane gorgets. 30s.
Ok, so this pushes the dating for separate maille sleeves at 1302. Nice.
Although it doesn't say "of mail", it falls in with other mail items, and given the date it's my best guess. It's also worth mentioning that Raoul was in his 50s at his death, and as Randall has noted elsewhere, probably took his best equipment on campaign to Flanders. Some of this may equipment may be hypothezised to date to the last quarter of the 13th century.
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Re: Document: 1302 Constable of France

Post by Derian le Breton »

Ernst wrote:Values given in l. (livres) and s. (sols or sous), pounds and shillings by any other name....
Not exactly. The ratios are the same (20 sous per livre), but generally the Pound Sterling was more valuable. In 1464-1526, the Pound Sterling was 8.5x more valuable than the livre tournois.

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Re: Document: 1302 Constable of France

Post by Ernst »

And then there's inflation on top of currency exchange rates....
Thanks for the note, to keep me honest. I think having contemporary values listed is useful for comparison, but it does fall apart when comparing different countries or times. Whole dissertations have been written on the expense of arms compared to wages.
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Re: Document: 1302 Constable of France

Post by worldantiques »

No mention of any particular type of mail, since he died in 1302 these items date from the 1200s, some other later dated inventories seem to list differences in the mail being inventoried.
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Re: Document: 1302 Constable of France

Post by Ernst »

Perhaps there were no distinguishing differences in construction, or perhaps with less mail to inventory, there seemed to be little reason to differentiate it. There's not much interest in describing distinguishing characteristics when you only have one of each to count.
Item 1 coat works well enough for the painter who only has one to go to church or funerals.
Item, 1 Ralph Lauren sports jacket, herringbone wool and silk, gray is appropriate for the man with a closet full of dress clothes.
As Constable of France, he likely had more arms than those listed here, though much of it must have accompanied him and his retainers to Flanders. However, it is one possible interpretation that all-riveted mail first appears between 1300-1315.

I think the price for the tournament hauberk, and the inclusion of various scraps of old mail is worth noting.
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Re: Document: 1302 Constable of France

Post by worldantiques »

Ernst wrote:Perhaps there were no distinguishing differences in construction, or perhaps with less mail to inventory, there seemed to be little reason to differentiate it. However, it is one possible interpretation that all-riveted mail first appears between 1300-1315.

I think the price for the tournament hauberk, and the inclusion of various scraps of old mail is worth noting.
The fact tht they even noted scraps of mail makes me think that they would have noted differences in the mail construction as in other inventories.

I noticed that leather bracers are mentioned and priced the same as the tounament hauberk, are leather bracers mentioned in later inventories?

Item uns cuirs a bras xvis
Item, one leather bracer (arm) 16 s.

Item haubers a tournoier xis
Item, a tournament hauberk. 16 s.
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Re: Document: 1302 Constable of France

Post by Ernst »

I know there are some in Richardson, and the 1420 Louvre inventory has some old ones listed as parts of complete leather harnesses.
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Re: Document: 1302 Constable of France

Post by Andeerz »

Among the things I find interesting is the use of the word "que". I do not know Old French, but from my brief googling of the matter, "que" in that period seems to fit the same role as in modern French. That doesn't seem to jive well in the document under discussion, though it doesn't seem to introduce much problem in understanding things.

Anyway, take, for example, "hauberions que corsés".

Does that mean "haubergeons and sleeveless mail "corsets" or vests"? In that case, why not use the word for "and" that you see everywhere else?

Or might it mean "haubergeons which(are) sleeveless mail "corsets" or vests"? In that case, is the document not omitting the verb for "are"?

Or might it mean "haubergeons that you (masculine plural past participle of "corser")", which would mean "corsés" is a verb? In that case, what does that mean? I agree that it likely means the same thing as you posit, but perhaps this could shed some light on the use of "que" in other parts of this document, not to mention a possible clue about the piece described.

Are there other uses for the word "que" that I am not aware of?
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