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 applied
To 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.