Lance

“ The helmet of war appeared to complete the perfection of defensive harness; for the lance broke hurtless on the plate of steel, the arrow and quarrel glanced away, and it is only in romance that we read of swords cutting through a solid front of iron, or piercing both plate and mail, as some bolder spirits say. ”

“ To crush your way in among these is to pass through a very forest of dark green lances whose tips stretch upward to stab your chin, yet burst into bloom from the sides near these tips, as if the full life within them which could not be restrained yet which finds no outlet in leaves, exploded in a lance pennant of olive-brown beauty. ”

“ But when the lance has pricked him deep enough, when the red flag has flashed in his face often enough, when the fireworks have hissed and sputtered around him long enough, when the cheers have warmed him so that all his life is roused, then his intellectual sparkle becomes a steady glow, and his nimble sentences change their form, and become long-drawn, stately periods. ”

“ Let your lance be the first in the fight; let your purse be open to the poor and needy; let your shield be the shelter of the widow and orphan; and let your sword be ever drawn in the cause of your King, your country and your religion. ”

“ O that I could kill this destroyer of our army, what renown should I purchase among the chiefs! but to issue out against him, man against man, shield against shield, and lance against lance, what Modern of us dare? for he fights like a god, and Pallas or Apollo are ever at his elbow. But, O mother! if what Fame reports be true, that I am the son of so great a goddess, grant me to hit Temple with this lance, that the stroke may send him to hell, and that I may return in safety and triumph, laden with his spoils. ”

“ He gathered the reins in his glove, and choosing a lance with an ashen staff, opposed himself to his adversary. The combatants met together so fiercely that the lance pierced the steel of the buckler; yet neither lost stirrup by the shock. ”

“ Ay, marry, and so have I. The reason is, 'tis much easier to face a blunted lance, than one with a spear-head; and a man may practise the one and thrive in it, but not the other; for the best lance in the tournament is not always the best arm in the battle. ”

“ Weight of man and horse, impetus of gallop and hill, focused in that bright lance-point held as in a vice. It pierced the left side of the back of the man behind, and the point came out through the right side of the man in front, who, with a convulsive movement, threw up his hands, flinging his rifle in the air. The Lancer could not withdraw his lance as the men swayed and dropped from their horse, but galloped on into the gathering darkness punctured with rifle flashes here and there and flitting forms that might be friend or foe. ”

“ It is true that the rear was brought up by a body of a couple of hundred lances, and that between these and those who rode foremost were a number of gentlemen, old and young, from beneath whose surcoats glanced corslet and cuissard, and who, though they rode with velvet cap on head and sometimes a hawk upon the wrist, had helmet, and lance, and shield near at hand, borne by gay and splendidly-dressed pages. ”

“ When all had come into the field, high and low, young and hoary, and the guards bad been set there, then have both champions taken their lances; and they meet in no half-hearted way, so that each breaks his lance, and both are unhorsed and fail to keep their saddles. But quickly have they risen to their feet, for they were not at all wounded, and again they encounter without delay. They play a merry tune with their swords on the resounding helms, so that their retinue are amazed ”

“ Of all descriptions of cavalry, certainly the lancers seem the most formidable to infantry, as the lance can be projected with considerable precision, and with deadly effect, without bringing the horse to the point of the bayonet ”

“ He rests his lance, but holds the stave suspended,
So that it shall not harm her when they meet,
She that to smite and pierce the Child intended,
Pitiless, and inflamed with furious heat,
Has not the courage, when she sees him near,
To fling, or do him outrage with the spear.
XXXVIII
Void of effect, 'tis thus their lances go;
And it is well; since Love with burning dart,
Tilting this while at one and the other foe,
Has lanced the enamoured warriors in mid-heart. ”

“ In regard to the sword and lance, I certainly prefer the lance; the lance is so keen, it goes through a man before he knows it. I was always very careful never to let a swordsman get under my lance, and in fighting with cavalry I made full use of the pennon to baffle an enemy's horse.
The weapons of troops on active service are made as keen as razors, and it was a common thing during the Mutiny to see a party of soldiers under the shade of a great tree waiting their turn to get their blades sharpened and the dints removed, ready for the next fight with the rebels. ”

“ On all warlike and festive occasions does it appear, poised upon the point of the warrior’s lance, and even in peaceful times it may be seen—along with hundreds of its like—placed in the circular row around the manioc clearing, and lending its demure countenance to the labors of the field. ”

“ The question of sword or lance as the cavalryman's weapon has long been argued, and it may be of interest to consider what are the views of those whose experience is the most recent. Though I have had no opportunity of witnessing the use of the lance, I have heard the opinions of many officers both of the Guides and the 11th Bengal Lancers. All admit or assert that the lance is in this warfare the better weapon. It kills with more certainty and convenience, and there is less danger of the horseman being cut down. As to length, the general opinion seems to be in favour of a shorter spear. ”

“ Et icelles armes de lances faites et accomplies, ferons les armes qui s’ensuivent: C’est a savoir, s’il advenoit que l’un ou l’autre ne fût blessé, nous serons tenus après, en icelle journée même et au second jour après, férir de coups de lance à course de chevaux à trois rangs, tant que l’un ou l’autre cherra par terre ou soit blessé, si qu’il n’en puisse plus faire. Et que chacun s’arme à sa volonté le corps et la téte. Et les targes soient de nerfs ou de cornes, sans ce qu’elles soient de fer ni d’acier, ni qu’il y ait aucune maîtrise. ”

“ Upon the shields with mighty strength they smote each other with their sharp weapons, so that a fathom of each lance passes through the gleaming shields. But neither touches the other's flesh, nor was either lance cracked; each one, as quickly as he could, draws back his lance, and both rushing together, return to the fray. One against the other rides, and so fiercely they smite each other that both lances break and the horses fall beneath them. ”

“ XI.
“Come out and fight,” young Roland cried,
⁠“No child’s-play thou shalt find it;
The shield I bear is tall and wide,
⁠The safer I behind it;
The man is weak, the steed is strong,
The arm is short, the lance is long,
⁠The sword is sharp—thou’lt feel it!” ”

“ In England, the lance not being indigenous and the conditions of foreign service making adherence to a logical system impossible, lancers are medium cavalry, but the difference of weights carried and type of horses is too small to render these distinctions of practical moment. ”

“ When thou hast undone his enchantment by obedience, enter and go on till thou see another door, at which do thou knock, and there will come forth to thee a horseman riding a mare with a lance on his shoulder and say to thee, ‘What bringeth thee hither, where none may enter ne man ne Jinni?’ And he will shake his lance at thee. ”

“ With the lance one always figures without the horse, whose slightest movement diverts the lance so much. The lance is a weapon frightful even to the mounted man who uses it properly. If he sticks an enemy at the gallop, he is dismounted, torn off by the arm attached to the lance which remains in the body of his enemy.
Cavalry officers and others who seek examples in "Victories and Conquests," in official reports, in "Bazancourt" are too naïve. It is hard to get at the truth. In war, in all things, we take the last example which we have witnessed. ”

“ A lance was easily made, and now, possessed of war horse, armor, weapons, and a glorious lady to do battle for, the poor old man was ready, so he believed, to go forth and meet the high adventures that he felt sure were awaiting him. ”

“ When the lance is laid along upon this machine, and secured in a proper position by the knob, the person that is to throw it holds it over his shoulder, and after shaking it, delivers both the throwing-stick and lance with all his force; but the stick being stopped by the cross piece which comes against the shoulder, with a sudden jerk, the lance flies forward with incredible swiftness, and with so good an aim, that at the distance of fifty yards these Indians were more sure of their mark than we could be with a single bullet. ”

“ Supposedly a Lance or Spear, first as it grew in the ground, then as made into a weapon. “With skill by his will” is an attempt to represent cræft on hæfte; hæft means both the ‘haft’ of the spear and also ‘constraint,’ i.e., the spear is forced to fight. ”

“ Such was the noble chevisance of the jousters that no mortal wound was inflicted. [336] The [Pg 311] lance was the only weapon used. To unhelm the adverse knight by striking his frontlet was the chiefest feat of arms, and in the fierce career of opposing steeds, the firmest strength and the nicest skill could alone achieve it. Helms struck fire, lances were splintered, and the lance-head was lodged in the shield: but sometimes the shield resisted the lance, and men and steeds reeled back to their several pavilions. ”

“ Never more shall Piercie Shafton advance, as the centre of your radiant glances, couch his lance, and spur his horse at the sound of the spirit-stirring trumpets, nobly called the voice of war—never more shall he baffle his adversary's encounter boldly, break his spear dexterously, and ambling around the lovely circle, receive the rewards with which beauty honours chivalry! ”

“ While carrying a free lance ready as any knight of old to champion every cause that was suffering injustice, we want to emphasize the fact that he had none of that small, truculent spirit that leads to personal attacks. ”

“ If we turn to consider the manners of the men, we find the same contrasts—on the one hand the maximum of gallantry and courtesy, and on the other a corresponding churlishness and brutality. Metaphorically and actually, the lance and the battle-axe were still rivalling each other in the warfare of daily life. ”

“ Each one carried a stiff, stout lance, with which they dealt such mighty blows that they pierced the shields about their necks, and cut the meshes of their hauberks; their lances are splintered and sprung, while the fragments are cast high in air. Then each attacks the other with his sword, and in the strife they cut the straps of the shields away, and cut the shields all to bits from end to end, so that the shreds hang down, no longer serving as covering or defence; for they have so split them up that they bring down the gleaming blades upon their sides, their arms, and hips. ”

“ The unskilled man waving a sword about when mounted would probably do more damage to his horse's eyes and ears than to anything else, and the man with the lance, if unskilled, would probably find himself dismounting involuntarily if he tried to use the lance on a spirited horse. ”

“ He stood considering, and survey'd his Lance.
Doubts if he wielded not a wooden Spear
Without a Point: He look'd, the Point was there.
This is my Hand, and this my Lance, he said;⁠
By which so many thousand Foes are dead. ”

“ Apart from these, however, we find that the regiments using the lance were equipped with a close helmet, gorget, back- and breast-plate, pauldrons, vambraces, gauntlets, tassets, and garde-de-rein, while a good buff coat with long skirts was worn beneath the armour. The weapons comprised a sword which was stiff, cutting, and sharp-pointed; a lance of the usual pattern or pike-shaped, 18 feet long and provided with a leather thong to fasten round the right arm, and one or two pistols, with the necessary flask, cartouch box, and appurtenances. ”

“ Memories are short, and it is possible now to print a statement of this sort, which, if promulgated during the dust and heat of the war itself, when the lance and sword fell into complete and well-merited oblivion, and when mounted men on both sides were judged rigidly by their proficiency in the use of the horse and the rifle, would have excited universal derision. ”

“ We well remember an occasion when, on storming a fort, one of our opponents, whose frame was larger than his soul, had prudently retired into the background until all our spears were exhausted, but, on seeing us weaponless, he with great courage ran up to the hedge and hurled his spear, as we were running forward to pick up a fallen lance. ”

“ The lance is used in display work in greater numbers than any other unit. Some idea of the quantity used may be gathered from the fact that on one of the battle set pieces shown at the Crystal Palace as many as thirty thousand lances are consumed in a single display.
Lances consist of thin paper cases about the diameter of a lead pencil, filled with colour composition, and primed, to facilitate the lighting, with mealed powder damped with water. ”

“ As in the case of the perennial argument whether a sword should be designed mainly for cutting or thrusting, it is unlikely that the dispute as to the merits of the lance over the sword will ever be definitely settled, since so many other factors—horsemanship, the training of the horse, the skill and courage of the adversary—determine the trooper’s success quite as much as the weapon he happens to wield. ”

“ If any unknown person joins thee on thy way and will learn about thy journey, tell him thou wishest to go further than thou plannedst for; and if he carries a lance go thou to the right; if a sword, go to the left. ”