The Right To Arms
January, 1977
Meaning Weapons. A sword and a lance or a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Or, in our time, a rifle and a handgun and a cache of ammunition. Firearms.In medieval England, a peasant caught with a sword in his possession would be strung up on a gibbet and left there for the crows. Swords were for gentlemen. For obvious reasons, only members of the ruling class were entitled to own and bear weapons. When the peasants attempted to rebel, as they did from time to time in England and Germany and other...
