'Roland', carving, Verona Cathedral, Lombardy, Italy, c.1139


Image source

A larger image of 'Roland', carving, Verona Cathedral, Lombardy, Italy, c.1139.


Photo by Wolfgang Sauber



Referenced on p.219, Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era, 1050-1350, Western Europe and the Crusader States by David Nicolle
577 'Roland', carving, Lombardy, c.1139
(in situ west front of Cathedral, Verona, Italy)

This unusually detailed mid-12th century carving is of considerable importance where Italian communal weaponry is concerned. The fact that the warrior clearly has a mail chausse on his left leg shows him to represent a man who would fight on foot in disciplined ranks, probably kneeling on his right leg and forming a shield wall with comrades to right and left. He has a slightly decorated conical helmet with a forward-angled crown, a slightly-curved lower rim and no nasal. His helmet is secured by a chin-strap and is worn without a coif. The rest of his equipment is straightforward, consisting of a large, flat-topped, kite-shaped shield with a boss and a straight pointed sword with straight quillons and a nut-shaped pommel. The apparent curvature of the sword is a result of high relief carving.



See also Pharoah's Army (Portrayed as Italian Knights) Crossing the Red Sea on the Baptismal Font in the Basilica of San Frediano, Lucca, Italy
Other 12th Century Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers
Italian Illustrations of Costume & Soldiers