It is important to understand that the two source-types – textual and material – always work in tandem to increase our understanding. It is only out of necessity to the format of a sourcebook that they are introduced in this manner. There are many instances where the documentary evidence is all that survives. For instance, there are – at present – no surviving arming doublets of the type used in Western Christendom from the fifteenth century. These fabric foundation garments were essential to the proper fitting of a full harness.

Another salient point is worth reiterating here: the choice of my sources is governed by my linguistic and palaeographical expertise. These volumes are in no way comprehensive, nor do I make any claim for them to be. My gauntlet remains to be taken up by colleagues in the field.

A Justified Sinner's Confession

It is only through the hard work of the eminent scholars who have gone before that I have been able to produce this work. By the process of hunting down footnotes, endnotes, quotations, and bibliographies in their publications, I have (true to my Reiver ancestry) ruthlessly plundered from the works of the likes of Meyrick, De Cosson, Dillon, ffoulkes, Laking, Mann, Norman, and Blair. Many references appear multiple times in succeeding works, and thus the strands of the web spread and entwine into a near-impossible tangle. Readers of the grizzled-veteran variety will certainly recognize some auld acquaintances amongst the sources: Sir John Cressy's Milanese harness (97) and a very rudely-named dagger-type bequeathed by a York draper (93) being good examples. A great many of the sources can ultimately be traced to the exhaustive labours of such glossarists and lexicographers as Du Cange in the 1600s and Godefroy and Gay in the nineteenth century. These scholars sometimes drew directly from original manuscripts or, for many entries, from printed editions. It is of paramount importance that due respect is shown to this valuable research – especially as it was undertaken in a pre-digital age.

Whenever feasibly possible, I have endeavoured to source the original document. Loss, damage, or difficulty of access have, at times, hampered progress. By providing detailed references it is hoped that many originals might yet be tracked down.