The more simply equipped of the heavy archers are clothed in a coat of mail, which reaches from their neck to their middle, and partially covers the arms.  Below this they wear a fringed tunic reaching to the knees, and confined at the waist by a broad belt of the ordinary character.  Their feet have in most instances the protection of a sandal, and they wear on their heads the common or pointed helmet.  They usually discharge their arrows kneeling on the left knee, with the right foot advanced before them.  Daring this operation they are protected by an attendant, who is sometimes dressed like themselves, sometimes merely clad a tunic, without a coat of mail.  Like them, he wears a pointed helmet; and while in one hand he carries a spear, with the other he holds forward a shield, which is either of a round form—­apparently, of metal embossed with figures—­or oblong-square in shape, and evidently made of wickerwork.  Archers of this class are the least common, and scarcely ever occur unless in combination with some of the class which has the heaviest equipment.

The principal characteristic of the third or most heavily armed class of archers is the long robe, richly fringed, which descends nearly to their feet, thus completely protecting all the lower part of their person. [PLATE XCVII., Fig. 2.] Above this they wear a coat of mail exactly resembling that of archers of the intermediate class, which is sometimes crossed by a belt ornamented with crossbars.  Their head is covered by the usual pointed helmet, and their feet are always, or nearly always, protected by sandals.  They are occasionally represented without either sword or quiver, but more usually they have a short sword at their left side, which appears to have been passed through their coat of mail, between the armor plates, and in a few instances they have also quivers at their backs.  Where these are lacking, they generally either carry two extra arrows in their right hand, or have the same number borne for them by an attendant.  They are never seen unattended:  sometimes they have one, sometimes two attendants, who accompany them, and guard them from attack.  One of these almost always bears the long wicker shield, called by the Greeks [yeppov] which he rests firmly upon the ground in front of himself and comrade.  The other, where there is a second, stands a little in the rear, and guards the archer’s head with a round shield or targe.  Both attendants are dressed in a short tunic, a phillibeg, a belt, and a pointed helmet.  Generally they wear also a coat of mail and sandals, like those of the archer.  They carry swords at their left sides, and the principal attendant, except when he bears the archer’s arrows, guards him from attack by holding in advance a short spear.  The archers of this class never kneel, but always discharge their arrows standing.  They seem to be regarded as the most important of the foot-soldiers, their services being more particularly valuable in the siege of fortified places.