_The Sword_ was attached to the belt at the uppermost part of the scabbard, and hung perpendicularly at the left side. It generally had a wheel pommel and a swelling grip, with quillons either straight or drooping slightly towards the blade. The latter was about an inch and a half broad at the hilt, thirty inches in length, and tapered to the point, while the section was either of a flattened or a lozenge shape. It was double-edged, and had a grip of varying dimensions, ranging from four inches in length to an extent which, in some examples, almost suggest a two-handed weapon, or the hand-and-a-half or bastard sword of a later period (compare the d’Eresby and Felbrigge brasses). The pommel, grip, and scabbard were at times elaborately enriched with a profusion of ornament. A new weapon was introduced at this period, the misericorde or dagger of mercy, used for despatching a fallen foe whose wounds were beyond all surgical aid, in the combat _à outrance_, or in the field; or as a last resource for defence when other weapons had failed. It was a straight dagger with no guard as a rule, and having both the hilt and scabbard curiously ornamented; the blade had but one edge, the section being triangular. From its occurrence upon many monumental effigies, we gather that as a rule the misericorde was attached to the belt by a chain, but this feature is not as a rule shown upon brasses. The curious brass to Sir Ralph de Knevynton, however, exemplifies it, though the chains for attachment of both sword and misericorde are affixed to the breastplate (see Fig. 204). The misericorde of John Cray, 1380 (Fig. 225), shows it depending at an angle from the belt, while towards the close of the reign of King Richard II. the knights have the weapon slung hilt downwards to the front, though this curious fashion was soon discarded. [Illustration: FIG. 227.--Shield, Hereford Cathedral, 1375.] [Illustration: FIG. 228.--Heaume of Thomas de Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, and Earl Marshal. (From a drawing of his seal, 1389: MS. Cott., Julius, C. vii.)]