Note 265 — XXXVIII WEAPONS FOR OFFENSE AND DEFENSE

Falk believes that this description is in some respects inaccurate. No such elaborate equipment could have been used in the North where cavalry was not an important part of the host in the thirteenth century. He also doubts that an equipment just like the one described was in use anywhere in Europe at the time. Ibid., 190-191. The medieval couverture was not placed beneath the covering of mail as the Speculum Regale states; and Falk can see no reason why a gambison placed beneath the mail should be ornamented. It seems clear that the author is somewhat confused as to these various coverings.