Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe: From the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the End of the Thirteenth Century — John Shaqi
Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe: From the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the End of the Thirteenth CenturyHewitt, John
History
Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe: From the Iron Period of the Northern Nations to the End of the Thirteenth Century
Hewitt, John
Armor; Weapons
55. Monumental Brass of "Sire Johan D'Aubernoun, Chivaler," in the
church of Stoke D'Abernon, Surrey. This is the most ancient
sepulchral brass yet observed, whether in England or on the
continent: its date, about 1277. Till lately it was partly
hidden beneath the altar-rails, but is now fully disclosed. On
the shield, the tincture of the field (blue) is represented
by enamel; the copper lining being plainly discernible in the
narrow edge that borders the colour. The heraldic bearing is
repeated on the lance-flag and on the escutcheon above the
effigy. The armour of the knight will be described as the
various parts of it come to be examined in detail. 237
56. From Willemin's _Monumens Inédits_, vol. i., Plate CII. The
original is a drawing in the Album of Wilars de Honnecort, an
artist of the thirteenth century. The chain-mail chausses of
the knight are drawn together behind the leg and under the
foot by lacing. The coif of the hauberk thrown back on the
shoulders, discloses the under-coif, worn by the men-at-arms to
protect the head from the rough contact of the iron garment.
The figure is further curious from the "cotte à mancherons
déchiquetés." 238
57. Chess-knight of ivory, preserved in the Ashmolean Museum: seen
in two views. The knight wears the hauberk of chain-mail,
and the cylindrical helm of its earliest form. The gamboised
chausson is seen overlying the mail chausses. The triangular
bowed shield is very exactly represented, and the draping of
the surcoat has more freedom than is usually found at this
early period. The date appears to be the beginning of the
thirteenth century. 243
58. From a marble bas-relief in a cloister of the Annunziata
Convent at Florence, 1289. After a drawing in the Kerrich
Collection, Add. MSS., No. 6,728. The knight, Gulielmus Balnis,
among several singularities of equipment, presents us with a
very unusual pattern of leg-armour: the whole suit will be duly
examined at a future page. The composition conveys no very
exalted idea of Italian art in 1289; and, in the drapery, the
sculptor might well take a lesson from the humble chess-piece
carver of the days of Magna Charta, whose handiwork was the
subject of our last notice. 244
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