From Wace and the Bayeux tapestry we have found that the Beard was not worn by the Normans at the time of the Conquest, though in fashion among the Anglo-Saxons:--
"Li Normant * * * N'unt mie barbe ne guernons, Co dist Heraut, com nos avons."--_Line_ 12,252.
And the Normans continued their custom till the second half of the twelfth century. The monumental effigy of Henry II. at Fontevraud represents him without either beard or moustache. "The beard," says Stothard[208], "is painted, and pencilled like a miniature, to represent its being close shaven." Among the English, however, the beard was often retained, and became a sort of protest against the new dynasty[209]. In 1196 William Longbeard, "le dernier des Saxons," as he is named by M. Thierry, became conspicuous from his opposition to the Norman rule, the inveteracy of which was manifested to the world by the excessive length of his beard[210]. At this time, however, a beard and moustache of moderate dimensions were in vogue among both races. The effigy of Richard I. at Fontevraud and that of King John at Worcester offer good examples of this change of fashion.
The WEAPONS in use among the knightly order were the lance, the sword, the mace, and, towards the middle of the twelfth century, the axe. The shaft of the Lance was of uniform thickness throughout, the swell at the grip being a much later invention. The material was usually ash or pine. Wace, in the _Roman de Rou_, has:--
"Mult i véissiez colps è de fer è d'achier, Mainte hante[211] de sap è de fresne bruissier[212]." --_Line_ 4639.
Guillaume le Breton, describing the combat of Richard I. and Guillaume des Barres, says:--
"Utraque per clypeos ad corpora _fraxinus_ ibat."
And Albertus Aquensis, speaking of the French, tells us: "Hastæ fraxineæ in manibus eorum ferro acutissimo præfixæ sunt, quasi grandes perticæ." The heads of the lance were commonly of the leaf-form or the lozenge; more rarely barbed. All three appear in the Bayeux tapestry, and are found in many monuments throughout the twelfth century. Lance-flags (or streamers) of two, three, four, and of five points are found at the close of the eleventh and during the twelfth centuries. See Harleian MS. 603, the Bayeux tapestry, and our woodcuts, Nos. 1, 27, 28, 30 and 37. A curious Eastern example of the use of the lance-flag is found in the wall-painting of the Ajunta caves, a work referred to the first century of our era. A fine copy of this interesting monument has been placed in the Museum of the East India House. The spear was also a weapon of the inferior troops:--