of the shield; as in combat it was found to slip off above or below, and search out for itself some dangerous resting place on the helmet or other vulnerable part of the armour. This shape could not readily be shown in front view on seals, but such shields curved outwards appear frequently with great clearness in illuminations where a side view is commonly given, see an engraving of men at arms in fourteenth century in Cutts, p. 339. I am also able to show a most interesting illumination of a knight of the fifteenth century bearing a very curious shield. This is from Cutts, p. 398. [Illustration: Date 14th century. Cutts, p. 339.] [Illustration: Grant of Arms to the Ironmongers' Company, 1st September, 1455. From _Herald and Genealogist_, vol. i, p. 37.] [Illustration] Round shields borne by foot soldiers appear curved and bulged out in the same way. I annex the representation of a soldier with a spear and such a round shield from Cotton MS. Claudius, D. ii, fol. 30. This dates from the earlier part of the fourteenth century, and is engraved in Hewitt, vol. ii, p. 114. This formation is apparently meant to give strength, and to ensure a cut or thrust gliding off, rather than resting upon the shield. [Illustration] The reasons for some other alterations are not so apparent; for instance, in the seal of Ralph Shelton, _circa_ 1460, see No. 58, a curious projecting point is shown in the right hand base [called sinister in heraldry] of the shield, and a similar projection occurs in the beautiful escutcheon of Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII., 1485, see No. 59, engraved in Willement's _Regal Heraldry_. A stone carving of a bouche, with a very similar formation and of the same date, and bearing the Tilney arms, is found upon Shelly Hall, Suffolk, and is etched in the Anastatic Drawing Society's volume for 1871. It seems probable this was originally meant to protect some part of the left leg or ankle which was liable to be injured in combat. Another shield here shown gives with great clearness this curious point. It is engraved in Mr. Cutts' book, p. 402, and taken from Harl. MS. 4925, fo. cxxx. This, however, is too small to protect the leg. [Illustration] Many shields now occur with hollowed-out sides, and engrailed at the top and base, and are classed in our plate under the various forms of Gothic (Nos. 9 to 12). Sometimes the top is straight, while the sides and base are engrailed out, and in instances, perhaps under German influence, the bases are rounded. The endless variety of these beautiful Gothic shields is most fascinating. The wonder is that they lasted for so very short a time, from the middle of this fifteenth century to the first few decades of the sixteenth.