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74. RUS WARRIOR
An extract from Armies of the Dark Ages 600-1066by Ian Heath
74. RUS WARRIOR
Rus costume consisted of boots, white linen tunic, baggy trousers, and a cloak secured at the shoulder. Furs were also worn, particularly for their cloaks and tall hats; sable was predominant but ermine, squirrel, fox, marten and beaver are also recorded. Upper-classes might wear brocade. Ibn Miskawaih, an early-11th century Arab author, records main Rus weapons as spear and shield; they carried in addition sword or axe, knife and a javelin slung at the back. Leo the Deacon records that a great many wore mail corselets; he also says that they fought with swords, bows, spears and javelins and carried long shields ‘the height of a man’, clearly the tall rectangular shields of Slav origin described under 103 in ‘Armies of Feudal Europe’.