| Fig. 2 - from the Bayeux Tapestry - porters carrying byrnies |
| Fig. 3- from the late 11th century Italian Hrabanus Maurus. The leading figure has a green-bordered "bib" |
| Fig. 4 - from the Bible of Rhodes Catalan, 11th century |
| Fig. 1 - from the Bayeux Tapestry - Anglo-Norman c. 1070 William and Harold |
| Fig 6 - from the Bible of Rhodes, Catalan, 11th century |
| Fig. 5 - from the Bayeux Tapestry - ventail tied up |
| The "Norman Bib" Reconstructed with some thoughts about decorative borders on armour |
| A version of this article appeared in the Varangian Voice of May 1994. It ws reprinted in the Australian magazine New Hedeby in 1997 after re-working and revision. The present article is substantially the same as the one which appeared in NH. There has been considerable discussion over the years about a feature shown on the Bayeux tapestry which, for lack of a better name, I call the "Norman Bib". This appears to be a square of mail attached to the byrnie (hauberk), covering the chest. It has a coloured border similar to those at the cuffs and hem of the byrnie itself (see figs. 1 & 2). This feature keeps popping up, particularly around the late 11th - early 12th century, appearing in the Italian Hrabanus Maurus and the Catalan Bible of Rhodes, among others.. |
| It has been suggested that the square was a chamfron, a reinforcement for the chest armour, or simply a neck opening in the byrnie (the second idea can be dismissed immediately, as it is visible both when the byrnie is empty and when it is being worn). A third interpretetion, which I hope to demonstrate is the correct one, is that the "bib" was a form of ventail, a mail covering for the throat, usually left open, and fastened in place only when the wearer was just about to engage in combat. That ventails were in use in this period and region is demonstrated by a quotation from the Oxford version of the Song of Roland, dated to the end of the 11th century: |
| "He goes to strike Escremis of Valterne Shatters and shivers the shield at his neck Rends from his hauberk the ventail away . . ." (1) |
| In the Bayeux tapestry the "bib" is almost never shown on someone actually involved in combat. However, further scrutiny shows that many engaged in combat do have one horizontal border showing at the base of the neck, and the neck itself is covered by mail (see Fig. 5, and also Fig. 6 from the Bible of Rhodes). |
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| Fig 7 - from the Bible of Rhodes, Catalan, 11th century |
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| The information in this page is for research purposes only. |
| From the Farfa Bible, Catalan, 11th century (Vatican Library, cod. lat. 5729) |
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