Jeremiah 46:3-4

(3, 4) Order ye the buckler and shield . . .—The poem opens with a summons to the hosts of Nebuchadnezzar to prepare for their victory. First the foot-soldiers are called, then the horse, lastly the light-armed troops.

Put on the brigandines.—The history of the word is not without interest. Light-armed skirmishers were known in Italian as “brigands” (briganti—literally, “quarrellers”); the light coat of mail worn by them was accordingly known as a “brigandine.” When the Italian word became synonymous with robbers by land or sea, the ship used by them was called a brigantino, and from this is derived our English “brig” (W. A. Wright: Bible Word Book). The word “brigandine” is accordingly used by writers of the sixteenth century in both senses: by Spenser, for a ship—

“Like as a warlike brigandine appliedTo fight;”

and by Milton—

“Then put on all thy gorgeous arms, thy helmet And brigandine or brass”

(Sams. Agonist., 1120)—in the same sense as here and in Jeremiah 51:3.