Читать бесплатно онлайн книгу автора  The Dates of Variously-shaped Shields, with Coincident Dates and Examples

George Grazebrook

FIFTEENTH-CENTURY SHIELD
(Hewitt's Ancient Arms and Armour, vol. ii, p. 496).

See page 60.

The DATES of
Variously-shaped SHIELDS,
with coincident DATES
and EXAMPLES.

Enlarged from a Paper read before the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.

Ἀνεδέχθη μὲν γὰρ ἄσπις.

(Herod. vi. 124.)

BY

George Grazebrook, F.S.A.

LIVERPOOL:
PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION.
1890.

T. BRAKELL, TYP., LIVERPOOL.

PREFACE.

In venturing to place before the public this little work—which takes up a line of enquiry never before attempted,—I would solicit criticism, not of that slashing condemnatory kind which destroys a statement without pointing out its correction;—that would only break my head, and make no one the wiser!—but I hope that antiquaries who have more knowledge than I, may, when pointing out errors, also explain what such statements ought to be, and give exact references in proof.

With the help of such criticism (and the more severe, the more valuable it will be) I trust that another perfected issue, by myself, or by some other more qualified writer, may eventually appear as a handbook—most useful to the student, the antiquary, and the traveller.

It is now a subject for much regret to all of us that the great knowledge of seals (the chief source of evidence as to ancient shields) acquired by the late Mr. Albert Way, F.S.A., and by the late Mr. Charles Spencer Perceval, F.S.A., has passed away with them, never having been recorded; and it seems very desirable that a classified body of such knowledge should be drawn up and available—enabling us to date with some certainty (within the limit of a few years) seals pendant to undated charters, stone carvings on ancient buildings, and illustrations in MSS., which are now labelled "circa."

In the course of my researches I have noticed a number of cases where incorrect dates have been supposed,—and from some of these deductions have been drawn, which are consequently all wrong.

In the following treatise each century from the eleventh to the fifteenth is separately dealt with; after that date the nomenclature of shields devised by my friend Mr. J. Paul Rylands, F.S.A., is followed, and the earliest and latest examples found of each shape adduced,—thus showing the range of time when that variety was most commonly in use. References are given for every statement.

Mantlings, torces, wreaths, palm branches, and other adjuncts are discussed under their several headings—with descriptions and dates of any varieties found.

In conclusion a concise index is given, which, it is hoped, sufficiently focuses the whole book for ready reference.

AN ATTEMPT TO CLASSIFY AND DATE THE VARIOUS SHAPES FOUND IN HERALDIC SHIELDS—PRINCIPALLY IN ENGLAND, WITH INCIDENTAL DATINGS.[1]

It seems necessary, by way of introduction, to say a few words on the circular convex shields used from very early times by our Saxon and Norman ancestors. These were of wood, with a central boss of bronze, and were sometimes of very large size; frequently, if we may judge from contemporaneous illuminations, as much as four feet in diameter. Across the inside of the boss a handle was fixed, and the shields, which were thus held out almost at arm's length, as represented in many ancient MSS., must have been most cumbersome. It is hard to see how the sword or lance could have been conveniently used. The round shape must have interfered greatly with the view of one's opponent, and a bungler would inevitably slice pieces from off his own shield while attacking his enemy. Moreover, such shields must have been lightly made: we know exactly how the bosses were fastened with rivets through the shield, for they are constantly found in Anglo-Saxon grave mounds, and the wood is thus known to have been of some thickness. But we can obtain from contemporary writings many more particulars.

By the laws of Gula [said to have been established by Hacon the Good, who died 963] any possessor of six marks was required to furnish himself with a red shield, of two boards in thickness, a spear, and an axe or a sword.

In the history of the same king [Heimskringla, vol. i, p. 155] he is thus described: "he put on his tunic of mail (brynio), girded round him his sword called quern-bit [i.e., millstone-biter], and set on his head his gilded helmet. He took a spear in his hand, and hung his shield by his side."

Again, in the same book [Heimskringla, ii, 352], in the description of the Battle of Sticklastad, where Olaf King of Norway, called "the Saint," was slain 1030, the monarch is said to have worn a golden helmet, a white shield, a golden hilted and exceedingly sharp sword, and a tunic of ringed mail ("hringa brynio").

Again, in the Edda Gunnar one of the Reguli of Germany says, "My helmet and my white shield come from the Hall of Kiars."

These quotations are hardly sufficient evidence of it perhaps, but it seems as if in the tenth century white shields were borne by leaders and red ones by the common soldiers,—every one who possessed six marks.

Supplementing these and completing our description, Saxon poetry tells us that the wood was by preference the lime tree. I need not give quotations; they will be found in the several works on ancient arms and armour. Beowulf [line 5215] describes how Wigluf "seized his shield—the yellow linden wood." Again, these lines occur [Poem of Judith, Thorpe's Analecta, p. 137]:—

"The warriors marched

"The chieftains to the war

"Protected with targets,

"With arched linden shields."

It seems almost as if linden trees were cultivated with this view, for the Saxon Chronicle, under anno 937, tells us how King Athelstan and his heroes

"the board walls clove,

"And hewed the war lindens."

But certainly on one occasion remains of oak timber were found in connection with the bronze boss of an Anglo-Saxon shield.

Occasionally rims of metal have been found with such remains, but such protecting edgings do not seem to have been the usual custom. The laws of Gula, quoted above, mention "two boards in thickness," that is, glued crossways, to prevent warping or splitting. Such a formation in a convex shield would show a very great amount of skill in the working of wood at this early date. Leather seems to have been sometimes stretched over the shield; because the laws of Athelstan forbade the use of sheepskins for the purpose, under a penalty of 30s.: a very large sum. Had skin coverings been common, remains of such skins would be found still attached inside the bronze bosses; but only one skin-covered shield has been found [at Linton Heath, in Cambridgeshire], and in that the skin covered the boss also, having been stretched over the whole shield.

Lastly, red seems to have been at least a favourite colour, for Sœmund's Edda mentions a red shield with a golden border, and Giraldus de Barri says the Irish "carried red shields, in imitation of the Danes."

The boss was often carried out into a sharp spike, and the shield could thus be used for offence as well as for protection. But perhaps such points were also found of use in stopping the cut of a sword, which might otherwise slip down the shield and find a resting-place in the leg or other exposed part.

Date 1473.

We shall see as we proceed that such circular shields or targets constantly appear till the middle of the seventeenth century, borne by foot soldiers, with pikes, halberds, and swords, and sometimes as large as two feet in diameter. Frequently foot soldiers are represented with a small target, ten or twelve inches in diameter, wherewith to receive their opponent's cut, while the other arm wields a huge broadsword. Such were in later times called "targetiers." Their small targets were hooked to the side when not in use, and one is represented in 1473 which projects to a point (Hewitt, ii, 488), while others are flat and studded with nails, or otherwise ornamented, such as appear among the Scotch and Irish till a much later date. Small shields of a square form, and ten inches square, were used by fencers with rapiers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Such is a hasty sketch of the circular shields. They were used by all ranks of the Saxon nations—among whom, of course, were those we call Normans—to the end of the tenth century.

Fitness for the purposes of defence is the prime governing law in such matters. We shall see this leading to many strange alterations of shape in after centuries, and, at the date at which we have now arrived, (the first half of the eleventh century,) a perfect revolution in the appearance of shields took place within a space of about fifty years.

Meyrick explains how the Normans who were engaged in the conquest of Apulia, in the south-east of Italy, about the beginning of the eleventh century, learned there the advantages of long and narrow shields, such as were then in use among the Sicilians, and states that about fifty years before the battle of Hastings they received from Melo, the chief of Barri, supplies of such vastly improved arms. The intimate relations with Normandy at that time, and under Edward the Confessor, led to their prompt adoption in England also; and hence in the Bayeux tapestry kite-shaped shields No. 3 are universal among horse soldiers, both Anglo-Saxon and Norman. Some Saxon foot soldiers bear the old round shields, and one square-shaped one appears on that roll.

There is a very amusing picture of Harold and his companions proceeding, in company with William of Normandy, to the conquest of Britanny. They came to the little river Coësnon, where, the tide being out, the river-bed was an expanse of slippery mud. The prudent ones dismounted and led their horses across; but one horse is represented coming down and the rider falling over his head, while his shield flies through the air attached to his neck by the guige [Bruce's Bayeux Tapestry, p. 61]. This "guige" was another most valuable improvement which probably came from Sicily with the new shape of shields. It was a leather strap sufficiently long to let it hang from the neck, and so, when two hands were required to wield a battle axe or heavy weapon, the shield could be flung loose and recovered again. I am aware that in Cotton MS. Cleopatra, cviii, written early in the eleventh century, a group of Saxon horsemen is represented on a journey, and the round shield of one hangs from his back, looking like the beehive which the knight in Alice in Wonderland thought might some day prove useful. It has, it will be seen, an absurdly awkward appearance [Hewitt, vol. i, p. 77; Cutts, p. 313].

The principle, then, of the kite-shaped shields which we see in the eleventh century was that, with as much compactness as possible, they should protect the body with the wider part, while the extended point was sufficient to defend the leg; and following so nearly the shape of the body the knight had his sword-arm free. They seem to have been five feet long or even more, for they served as a bier whereon to carry away the slain or wounded.[2] It is amusing to see Goliath represented with a kite-shaped shield, while the little David on the top of him tries to wield his huge sword. This appears in a Latin Bible of 1170. [Brit. Mus., Add. MS. 14789, fo. 10; engraved, Hewitt, i, 134.]

A remarkable recrudescence of old ideas both in the shapes and sizes of shields occurs from time to time as we proceed. At times they seem to have been nearly as much as five feet long—and then, as protective mail became more perfect, and probably the varying style of fighting required it, they were greatly reduced. King David and his followers appear [Cutts, p. 335], on their expedition against Nabal, in full mail of the end of the thirteenth century, with shields scarcely eighteen inches long—just sufficient to prevent the point of a lance reaching some flat or dangerous or vulnerable spot from whence it would not readily glide off, or to receive the blows of an assailant's sword. Nor can we suppose that one scale of size, or indeed one exact shape of shield, reigned universal at any one period; every knight had his own fancies as to which best suited him; and at length we find many illuminations of the sixteenth century in which knights appear jousting and fighting without any shields at all. They were hung up, to show the heraldry, on their tents, and the massive body-armour alone was considered sufficient protection.

These few explanatory words are necessary to introduce upon the scene the various shaped shields occurring during the centuries which follow. While considering these variations we must bear in mind that they are strongly marked into two great divisions, viz., before the sixteenth century, when shields were in actual use and any alteration in their outline was considered to be an improvement to meet some freshly noticed want; this will be further referred to as instances occur. During and after the sixteenth century, shapes were selected in an arbitrary way, as a matter of taste alone; and hence earlier examples were sometimes exactly adopted, while at other times details and alterations were introduced, just to suit the fancy of the purchaser or artist and the conventional style of the times.

As references for what has already been said, I would name the works of Meyrick and Hewitt, Planché's work on Costume, Strutt's Horda, and a learned paper on shields, by Sir Frederick Madden, in Archæologia, vol. xxiv. This, although primarily discussing the chessmen found in the Island of Lewis, contains the results of wide researches as to shields in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. There is also a valuable and well illustrated book, Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages, by A. L. Cutts, published by Messrs. Virtue and Co., 1872.

The principal authority for the accurate dating and classifying of shields is the immense number of mediæval seals attached to deeds and charters, and with dates exactly known. If it were practicable to arrange in chronological sequence illustrations of a sufficient number of these, we should at once have the classification of dates, styles, and shapes, which would be so very valuable, and which it is the attempt of this paper to display. Hence it is that to the end of the fifteenth century seals form so large a part of the evidences submitted. The certainty of such records is unsurpassed: we have a parchment, itself dated, or the date of which in very early instances can be otherwise closely ascertained; and attached to this we have a seal with the shield; and, to make it perfectly certain, we have the owner's name inscribed around it, and so we know he is not using some one else's seal, found or come down to him from earlier times. Such instances frequently occur, and are at once in this way detected. There are instances where the same seal, acquired in early life, continued to be used for over fifty years; but that is the extent to which such valuable proofs can wander from the actual prevailing type and date.

Besides seals, the many invaluable illuminations in the British Museum and Bodleian Libraries, and in the great Continental Libraries, furnish numberless pictures of knights and their accoutrements, contemporaneously executed, and with the most manifest exactness in every detail. Many of these have been engraved in our popular literature, as well as in the learned works named above; but to enable the mind to form correct conclusions these should be all cut out and arranged in groups of exact dates, or drawn as they are in a student's note book.

The earlier monumental effigies afford many valuable examples of shields, and after they cease to be represented by the side of the figure, such often appear among the architectural details, giving the shape of shield, with an exact date attached.

Monumental brasses give evidence to a later date, and the canopy work introduced often carries ornamental shields.

Architectural stone carvings frequently give data of great value. I need only refer to those put up in Westminster Abbey about 1260, which show the exact shape and proportions of some of the shields then used, and are represented as hanging by their "guiges" from stone projections carved into various devices. But representations in stone and in stained glass, especially those of later date, seem to be greatly influenced by their surroundings, and cannot therefore be implicitly relied on as proofs of style and date. They are often found not to correspond exactly with other examples; indeed it is a curious fact, which all my fellow students will vouch for, that these two—stone and glass—seem of all materials most liable to err. The good name of many a respectable family has been ruined by the bend sinister introduced through the ignorant determination of some stone-carver; while in glass, colours are altered, and impaled shields have been turned round and so reversed; while, in the particular subject under discussion, viz., the exact shapes of shields which obtained at various dates, we find in both stone and glass that their shapes follow the necessities of the rest of the design, and are made to fit into them.

Plate I.

Printed books supply many shields from the end of the fifteenth century, showing the artistic taste in such matters which prevailed from that date to the present. Printers' marks begin still earlier, and are often contained in shields; but these usually show a spirit of exaggeration, and convey the impression that such would not be found elsewhere, and hence they are not of much use to us in our present purpose of laying down exact dates.

Grants of arms and book-plates come in to continue our information, giving shapes and the decorations surrounding them. Book-plates are usually efforts of art and taste at the dates when they were executed, and these two occur just at the time when other evidences fall short, and so they are peculiarly valuable.

In the following remarks I shall gladly avail myself of the new system of nomenclature devised and introduced by my friend, Mr. J. Paul Rylands, F.S.A. I welcome it as a most valuable desideratum, by means of which I hope to make my subject intelligible. Without such a system a still greater number of illustrations would have been required, and I should like to bear my small testimony to its very great and, I expect, increasing usefulness. It is not everyone who has the ready hand to dash off the correct outline when seeking to communicate the style of a shield, or a book-plate, and here we have a simple alphabet of shapes which can be read and understanded of all men, and which will certainly be found so convenient that it will come into general use.

ELEVENTH CENTURY.

Our examples of shields show very few varieties, nearly all seem to follow the long kite shape or "Norman pear" Nos. 3 and 4. The great seals of William I., William Rufus, and Henry I. all show this shield, also that of Ilbert de Laci [Archæological Journal, vol. iv, p. 249], while the Bayeux tapestry, worked at the end of this century, represents them exactly. Seeing, as we do in the seals of this date, which mostly represented mounted horsemen, the inside only, it may be noticed that all seem to be strengthened round their edges. In those of William I. and Ilbert de Laci a metal rim is shown; in that of William Rufus two of such strips, while in that of Henry I. rivets appear to fasten a similar rim on the other side. In the Bayeux tapestry some round shields with pointed bosses appear, and one of a square shape rounded at the corners.

In seals the lettering of the inscriptions is in plain Roman capitals, while longobardic letters for G E A and D appear sometimes, but in several seals preserved from this early date the inscriptions have unfortunately decayed away.

Gilbert de Gant, ob. 1156.

THE TWELFTH CENTURY

exhibits several varieties of shape, Norman and the Norman convex at the top (Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4); and many of these are curved, so as to partially surround the body. The great seal of Stephen represents a pointed boss and a shield almost pear-shaped. One very curious seal, that of Richard Basset, about 1145, merits a full description. He appears bearing a kite-shaped or very elongated pear-shaped shield (No. 3), about four feet long, and carried down to a sharp point. The top is bi-lobed, like a heart, and it is strengthened all round by a metal rim, while further strength is imparted by a boss or figure like a simple escarboucle, carried out to the sides. He wields a very powerful sword, with an extraordinarily heavy hilt, and with it he cuts off the large duck-like beak of a formidable rampant-winged animal like a dragon, and, apparently, thus frees a human figure held in its beak. This curious seal is attached to a charter printed in Blomefield's History of Norfolk (see No. 44). The seal of Gilbert de Gant, who died 1156, presents a shield more triangular than No. 2, and in the centre is a sharp pointed boss [Top. and Gen., i, 317]. The same boss appears in the seal of Ralph son of William, of Dimsdale-on-Tees, 1174-80 (Herald and Genealogist, i, 227); also in a good many contemporaneous seals, and it was evidently meant for use as an offensive weapon. It is noteworthy that on the first seal of Richard I. a spike is shown on the shield; his first coronation was in 1189. On the second seal there is none; his second coronation took place on 17th April, 1194. This may show the date when this fashion was discontinued. In the seal of Sewal de Ethindon, about 1167, the curved shield of Norman form, No. 2, runs down into a long point, somewhat twisted round, so as to show down on the right side of the rider. It does not protect his leg at all; in fact, the arrangement, to our eyes, seems awkward and most embarrassing to the mounted knight (engraved Nicholas Upton, p. 84; see No. 45). While in that of Sayer de Quinci, towards the end of this century, a heater-pear shield No. 6 appears. This is engraved in Spelman's Aspilogia, p. 67.

Plate II.

The men's seals of this date which present their shields for our consideration usually show them on horseback, fully caparisoned; and many interesting details of spurs, swords, and arms are represented, as well as the furniture for their horses. We are able here to show the two seals of Malgerus le Vavasour, 1140-50, showing heater-pear, almost heart-shaped shields. See Collect. Topog. et Genealog., vol. vi, p. 127, where the deed to which these are attached is supposed to date between 1180-6; but Malger's son, William Vavasour, was a judge 1166-84 [Itinerary of Henry II.], and Sir Robert, the grandson, paid a heavy fine—1200 marks and two palfreys—in 9 John, 1207-8, that Maud his daughter [and widow of Theobald Walter] might marry Fulke Fitzwarine: we have thus no difficulty in proving that the date of this seal is circa 1140 to 1150. We also give the beautiful seal of Egidius de Gorram, 1175-80 [Collectanea Topog. et Genealog., vol. v, p. 187.] The unmounted knight is represented in scale armour, kneeling, and holding a sort of heater-pear shield, No. 6, with a pointed boss.

The fields of seals are now quite plain, except sometimes in those of ladies. In the first seal of Roheis de Gant, Countess of Lincoln before 1156, lilies are introduced, to fill up what would otherwise appear too great a bare space. This is engraved in Topog. and Genealogist, vol. i, p. 318.

In counterseals of this century heater shields appear such as are common during the next century. A most curious instance of a pear-shaped curved shield, having a bouche cut into it for the introduction of the spear, occurs in the seal of Theodoric Count of Flanders, 1159, who wears tegulated armour. It is engraved in Oliver Vredius, p. 17 (see No. 46). So far as we know, this useful bouche, as a resting place for the spear, disappeared—to crop up again, as an improvement and novelty, in the middle of the fourteenth century.

Harl. MS. Y. 6. (See p. 18.)

The marvellous set of chessmen found in the Isle of Lewis afford us a most interesting series of shields of this century. They are fully illustrated, Archæologia, vol. xxiv. They give us the long Norman pear or kite-shaped No. 3, the Norman convex No. 4, also a flattened convex with rounded corners, and these shields are all long and narrow, just wide enough to cover the body. There are many instances of exactly similar shields. In Harl. MS. 2803, a Bible, written about 1170, Goliath of Gath bears a shield exactly resembling them; and in the most interesting monumental effigy of William, Count of Flanders, son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, who died in 1127, engraved in Oliver Vredius' Seals of the Counts of Flanders, 1639, p. 14. He apparently was a very old man at his death. He bears a shield exactly like the Lewis chessmen in shape, but the face of it is filled up with an elaborate escarboucle, carried out and attached to the rim, which wholly surrounds the shield. Shields with the flattened convex top and rounded corners, but of much shorter proportions, occur in Harl. MS. Y. 6. (engraved Hewitt, vol. i, p. 127), written at the end of the twelfth century, and one clearly shows the curved formation which is indicated in numberless seals and illuminations of this date.

The inscriptions are in Latin and in longobardic characters, but Gothic letters are sometimes alternated, while in others plain Roman capitals still occur. I have noticed one remarkable instance of an inscription of this century, in Norman-French, around the seal of Alanus fil. Adam, temp. Henry II. The deed to which it is attached is printed in Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, vol. v, p. 116.

THIRTEENTH CENTURY.

In the earliest years of this century Norman shields curved round the body still continue; while in seals, which at this date are our principal source of evidence, animals, such as dragons, appear to fill up the field, and especially to support a plain shield in large counterseals; also distinctive badges are introduced, such as cinquefoils, estoiles, mascles, boars' heads, lions, &c.; but sometimes in character they follow greatly the pattern obtaining at the end of the twelfth century. "Heater-pear" No. 6 occurs, and frequently such a shield stands in the centre of a circular seal, merely surrounded by the inscription in longobardic. The heater shield is now rather more pointed than it appears in later examples.

A very curious triangular shield No. 1 also now appears, as in the seal of Johannes fil. Galfridi de Edinton, such a triangular shield on a plain circular field, around which is the inscription, in plain Roman capitals. This is engraved in the Visit. Hunts., 1613, p. 100. Another seal, Nigellus de Amundeville, is entirely three-cornered, a little longer than an equilateral triangle; the shield is of the same contour, and shows three chevrons, while the edging leaves space for the inscription round the three sides. This is also engraved in the Visit. of Huntingdon, 1613, p. 121, published by the Camden Society. This shape of triangular seal seems to have been more common than was supposed. The curious seal of the Treverbin family of Cornwall is engraved, Archæological Journal, vol. x, p. 150; but, as it shows no shield, it stands outside our present subject.

Another curious shield is figured in Nicholas Upton, De Usu Militari, Bisse edition, 1654, p. 37, and of date 1257 (see No. 47). Henry de Fernbureg stands with a square shield in his left hand. It is about two feet long, considerably curved, and appears to be very thick. In his right hand he holds a hammer extending into a sharp spike at the back. Square shields very much like this, but more oblong in shape, and with a round boss projecting from the middle, occur in the very curious illustration of a wager of duel in the Miscel. Rolls, temp. Henry III., and therefore of date 1210-50. Each duellist carries such a shield; they must be over two feet long, and are much curved; while with the other hand he wields an awkward looking hammer, or more properly a pick, as it is pointed at both ends; while, after the manner of ancient pictures, the vanquished (and therefore the guilty one) is seen hanging up in the background. This is engraved in Hewitt's Ancient Armour, vol. i, p. 375, also in Madox's History of the Exchequer, p. 383.

In the very curious instance of the seal of Thomas Furnival, his arms are shown in a lozenge-shaped shield. This is of date 1274-9, and is engraved in Herald and Genealogist, vol. iii, p. 334. Even at this early date such a shape seems to have been usually reserved for ladies. Sir George Mackenzie [quoted in Guillim's Display, ed. 1724] mentions that Muriell, Countess of Stratherne, bore her arms in a lozenge in 1284.

Another very curious shield of Helie Count de Maine is reproduced in Montfauçon's Monarchie Française. This is a wedge-shaped or triangular shield, but the top has square corners and is peaked (see No. 48). The seal of Turstan Dispensator Regis, about 1210, shows the heater-pear with the upper corners slightly varied. This is engraved in Collect. Top. et Gen., vol. iv, p. 239. The ancient arms of Despencer are said to have been Ermine, a chief Gules; but this seems to represent ... six cloves, four and two, and a chief; and to fill up the space three cinquefoils are introduced in the field.

But, as before laid down, the general shapes of shields in this century are the Norman No. 2, often of very long proportions, as shown in William de Longespee, Earl of Sarum, 1226, and the statues at Wells Cathedral, 1230; the heater-pear No. 6, and the plain heater No. 5, rather long and pointed. A Clifford seal given in Nicholas Upton, p. 91, of date 1220, has a heater-pear shield on the seal, and an ordinary heater on the smaller counterseal (see No. 49). We may remark that on the tomb of Queen Eleanor, in Westminster Abbey, appears, on a long-shaped heater shield, the first example of quartering in England which just comes within the limits of the thirteenth century. This represents the two kingdoms of Castile and Leon, but it was undoubtedly the example which afterwards led to regular quarterings of arms by families.

It is noticeable that during the latter half of this century shields begin to be shown in seals, suspended by the guige, which is passed round a tree or other device from which it can hang.

Flowers, leaves, and even architectural details, enarching, &c., now begin to appear, to fill up the field, and the whole tone approaches the style prevailing in the following century.

It may be as well to remark in this place that milled, dotted, or roped lines around seals are no indication of date. They appear in all these varieties as early as William the Conqueror, and extend to the latest times, according to the fancy of the artist.

Inscriptions are in longobardic, with plain Latin capitals often alternated; and in the seal of Henry II. the letter R has a line across the tail, signifying a contraction—HENR for Henrici.

Until the end of this century a cross is used at the beginning of the inscriptions, but about 1275 stars appear, and in the next century trefoils and other devices are frequently introduced instead of crosses.

FOURTEENTH CENTURY.

This century opens with that most valuable fund of information the celebrated Baron's letter, 1301, the seals attached to which are beautifully engraved in the Monumenta Vetusta of the Society of Antiquaries, vol. i, plates 28-33. A large number of these show heater shields, some more and some less pointed. The beautiful round seal of Simon de Montacute shows a square shield, No. 7, with a pointed French base; while to represent the curving of the shield the top is concave. The side spaces in the field, as is frequently the case with seals of this date, are filled up with two grotesque animals or worms, while in the place where a crest would be appears a large castle, &c. The counterseal to this is square, representing a griffin segreant, not in a shield at all, but surrounded by a bordure.

Badges or portions of armorial bearings obtained from heiresses now frequently appear on the fields, to fill up; being the way in which such intermarriages were shown before the general introduction of quarterings. Flowers in the field, also enarching and architectural details, are freely used to fill up the blank spaces, and in one of the seals attached to the Baron's letter—that of Hugo Bardolf, of Wormgay (see No. 50)—no room is left outside the architectural embellishment for an inscription. Seals also occur shaped entirely like a heater shield; with a similar shield in the centre containing the arms, as in that of Matthew Fitz John, where the three lions rampant appear, while the space beyond is filled up with the inscribed name of the owner. See No. 51.

The seals of this whole century are most beautifully designed and executed, and almost universally show the heater shape; pointed in the earlier decades, and becoming gradually shorter and more square-shaped say about 1370. The secretum of Robert Braybroke, Bishop of London 1382-1401, well shows this squareness. It is engraved in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, 9th Dec, 1869, also 3rd Feb., 1887. To the same deed, dated 21st May, 1392, is also attached the seal of Sir Gerard Braibrok the younger.

The fields are beautifully decorated, being diapered or filled up with architectural or ornamental details—lines, dots, and flowers; while frequently crests, with helmets and mantlings, occur; and sometimes two of such helmets are placed as supporters on each side of the shield, or two grotesque animals hold up the helmet and crest, while the shield of arms appears in the base.

Gothic lettering in the Latin inscriptions now first appears, although more frequently longobardic, and occasionally still the plain Roman capitals. Frequently the whole face of the seal is so filled up that the only spaces left for the inscription are on the edges, above and below the arms. The seal of Edmund of Arundel, 1301-26, shows this arrangement. It is from Herald and Genealogist, vol. ii, p. 56. Now, also, two, three, or more shields appear, conjointed or standing side by side. The earliest instance I have noticed is Sigillum Ide de Clinton, 1298-1300, with three heater shields, points to the centre [Nicholas Upton, p. 82]. Towards the middle of the century they are frequently found.

In the curious seal of Rich., fil. Ricardi de Beyvill of Wodewalton, which is heater-shaped, and attached to a deed 1349, a square heater shield shows a chevron between three roundels, and is supported by two worms or dragons, while across the top of the seal appears the name "Beyvil." This is engraved Visit. Huntingdon, p. 116.

Besides the curved heater of the last century, which appears in the great seal of Edward II., 1307, and in several monumental effigies, others of Norman heater form No. 2 appear with the upper corners cut off and sometimes rounded. Refer to an effigy in Norton Church, Durham, engraved in Surtees History, vol. iii, p. 155 (see No. 52), while in illuminated MSS. shields occur with the bouche deeply cut and the base of the shield curved outwards. This curved outward turning will be discussed while speaking of similar shields found in the next century. Two which occur in Bamberg Cathedral are engraved Archæological Journal, vol. ii, p. 217, and in Hewitt's Armour, vol. ii, pp. 138-9, and are specially curious (see No. 55); and several are shown from Harl. MS. 14379, and engraved in Cutts, p. 434.

Plate III.

59 see Plate iv.

Shields on monumental effigies almost, if not entirely, disappear in the course of this century, and in battles and tournaments in ancient MSS. of this date the knights are more usually represented without shields. Such is the fact; the reason being that defensive armour had been added to and improved, and increased in respect of weight, as experiences of war showed the contingencies against which it was desirable to be protected. The shield, therefore, became an encumbrance to the mounted knight, while so perfect was his case of steel, and so admirably fitted and designed, that the shield was no longer required. We notice that this general discarding of shields by mounted knights begins about the latter half of this fourteenth century among the wealthy and powerful, who could procure expensive and perfect suits of mail. It is in memory of such only that costly monumental effigies were erected, and, as a consequence, the shields formerly shown carved by the side of the knights now entirely disappear from effigies. The reasons here put forward are quite borne out by other evidences. Monumental brasses, which now lend their assistance to our search, were far less costly memorials than such effigies. Some of the earliest of these represent the dead knight as he appeared in his life, with, his shield upon the arm; but in the course of the following fifteenth century these, too, follow the fashion we find prevailing in MS. illustrations, and the shields are only used for the purposes of heraldry, and are relegated into the corners of the brass, or up among its tabernacle work.

While on this subject of suits of mail, I may with advantage overstep the limits of this century—as, indeed, I have already done—and mention that such went on increasing so greatly in protective perfectness, and, pari passu, in their oppressive weight, that a knight falling off the horse upon which he had been placed lay perfectly helpless; and history records many times that they were slain by clowns and boys while lying helpless on the ground. When the style of protective armour became so exaggerated, a man so hampered could do little more than hold his spear and guide his horse. Until at last, about the year 1602, King James I. summed up the past experience of armour thus:—"It was an admirable invention, which preserved a man from being injured,—and made him incapable of injuring any one else."

In some books it is stated that the introduction and gradually increasing use of gunpowder in war led by degrees to the abandonment of shields; but the above evidences completely refute such an idea. Heavy mail armour, exaggerated into an absurdity—as pointed out by King James—did so disappear when it became evident that such afforded no protection whatever against a small bit of well-directed lead. But shields had already been abandoned by the knights,—long before, at a period when gunpowder was as yet a great and rare mystery.

Besides, we find round shields were still in continued use by the foot-soldiery, when every battlefield was contested with fire and sword—the smoke as well as the din of battle.

Moreover, examples have come down to us of such shields with fixed pistols projecting through, and with a peep-hole for sighting. Thus shields were made the handmaid of gunpowder; and, as a matter of fact, they were in use by foot soldiers so late as the middle of the seventeenth century.

We noticed that the heater shields which obtained so largely during this century, and grew less and less pointed as it progressed, at last became much squarer. The seal of Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, 1372, might well be taken for the fifteenth century; the square heater, with blunt-shaped base; the inscription in Gothic, and curiously placed at the top and bottom; and the two supporting helmets, with mantlings and huge panaches, out of which appear below the hinder half of the bodies and legs of two animals, the rest of their carcasses being crammed inside these helmets. This is taken from the engraving in Herald and Genealogist, vol. ii, p. 56.

But from about this date downwards we can perceive much more discriminating taste exercised in designing seals. The seal of Richard Earl of Arundel, 1330-76, from the engraving in Herald and Genealogist, vol. ii, p. 54, is an example of such beautiful design and execution.[3]

The small seal of Matilde Fraunceys, relict of Simon Fraunceys, citizen of London, attached to a deed 33 Edward III. [1359], is a characteristic example of ordinary small well-executed seals prevailing in this century. The engraving is from the Proceedings of Society of Antiquaries, 11th Dec., 1856.

Some families seem to have taken a special pride in their seals. Those of the Bardolfe family of Wyrmegeye, Norfolk, continue pre-eminent for several generations. Occasionally one member of a family shows a seal of extreme beauty, the work of some "Strongitharm" or "Wyon" of those days, and in this way the centuries may frequently seem to overlap each other. Such exceptional seals show an execution, shape of shield frequently, and design somewhat later than their art-date, in the sequence we are endeavouring to lay down. Other such overlappings occur from the great age of the seal user. Elianor Ferre uses on a deed, 1348, a dimidiated seal, which was surely made about 1290. She died, a very old lady, in 1349. This seal is engraved in Archæological Journal, vol. xi, p. 375; and if you will refer to Herald and Genealogist, vol. i, p. 485, you will see a seal of Clare and Fitzgerald dimidiated on a shield of apparently identical date. The inscription is "Sigill-Elianore-Ferre"; so she used her own seal made in early life, perhaps dating from her marriage. The seal of Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Albemarle, used in 1292, is another dimidiated heraldic seal, almost identical. See No. 53.

Pointed heater shields with concave tops, suggesting their curved shape, are not uncommon in this century, and inscriptions in Gothic type became much more frequent.

The description of a shield which used to hang, before the Great Fire, in old St. Paul's, London, will be an interesting illustration of how shields were made in the fourteenth century. This was the shield of John of Gaunt (or Ghent, as it was originally spelled), our Duke of Lancaster, the third brother of Edward the Black Prince, and father of Henry IV. He was born 1340, and died 1399, so we may assign 1370 as about the date of its manufacture. In shape it is an oblong square with rounded corners and hollowed-out sides and base, while a very deep bouche is cleft into the dexter chief. It much resembles the "Gothic-rounded No. 12," but the base is flat and hollowed out. I am quoting from Bolton's Elements of Armories, 1610, p. 69:—"It is very convex toward the bearer, whether by warping through age, or as made of purpose. It hath in dimensions more than three-quarters of a yeard of length and above halfe a yeard in breadth: next to the body is a canvas glew'd to a boord, upon that thin board are broad thin axicles, slices or plates of horne nail'd fast, and againe over them 20 and sixe peeces of the like all meeting or centring about a round plate of the same in the navell of the shield, and over all a leather clozed fast to them with glew or other holding stuffe,—upon which his armorie was painted, but now they with the leather itself have very lately and very lewdly bin utterly spoil'd." This is engraved in Bolton's Elements, in Willement's Regal Heraldry, in Randle Holme's Academy, and in several other heraldic works. There is also engraved in Bolton's Elements, p. 67, the shield of Edward the Black Prince hanging over his tomb at Canterbury. This was of the egg shape No. 35; and in a circle in the centre were, on a heater shield No. 5, the arms of France and England quarterly with a label of three points; while around this circle the rest of the shield was embossed or "tooled" with an elaborate filagree pattern, and a narrow plain rim extended round the outer edge.

The inscriptions in this century continue to be in Latin and in Roman letters, but sometimes Gothic lettering is used.

FIFTEENTH CENTURY.

Our materials for proof during this century are peculiarly numerous and rich. There is great store of beautiful seals, many of them highly decorated, and preparing us for their decay and disappearance after about 1490. Then again, MS. illustrations of tournaments show the shaped shields of the knights hung up on tents or elsewhere, and adorned with their heraldry; and occasionally, and in one case as late as 1480, two knights appear on horseback, jousting and bearing shields; also, in some cases, combats on foot, where the knights carry shields. We have also stained glass with shields, which, at this early time, seem more closely to follow the shapes of those actually in use.

Grants of arms now begin to supply shapes of shields, and towards the end of the century printers' marks appear, although these last seem to be affected by a fanciful exaggeration.

Add. MS. 15,477—date 1360.

As a case of recrudescence of old ideas we must refer to the instance of a bouche, in which to rest the spear, so early as 1360, in Add. MS. 15,477, in the British Museum (Hewitt, vol. ii, p. 231); indeed one is represented vastly earlier, in 1159, in the seal of Theodoric Count of Flanders, engraved in Oliver Vredius, p. 17 (see No. 46). Such shields are now very frequent, except upon seals, where they seldom occur; and the reason is, no doubt, that they would have interfered with the heraldic charges, which now begin to be multiplied.

Heater shields, and sometimes pointed, just as they appear at earlier dates, are still continued; but in most cases, and especially towards the middle and end of the century, they become much more square and blunter at the base.

Seals of the more important families are filled up with elaborate decorations—diapering on the fields, leaves and mantlings filling up the whole space, and supporting animals, finely and boldly designed, are introduced; and several concentric lines, differently ornamented, with quatrefoils, crosses, mullets, and stars upon these circular bands sometimes occur within the inscription.

From about 1420 a custom began, and is occasionally adopted in the larger seals, to represent as scrolls those bands upon which the inscriptions of name and title, &c., were written, while the ends were ornamentally unfolded and loose. To show exactly what I mean I would refer to the seal of John de Clinton de Say, 1438, No. 54, engraved in Archæologia, vol. xxxviii, p. 272, and to that of Sir John Pelham, 1469. This is engraved in Archæological Journal, vol. vii, p. 323; the Sussex Archæological Society's vol. iii, p. 220; also in Historical and Genealogical Notices of the Pelham Family, privately printed in 1873 by the late Mr. M. A. Lower.

Many of these seals are marvels of design and execution. At the very end of the century we notice so much is sought to be represented that the designs in consequence become flat and weak, losing much of their character and boldness, and thus preparing us for the startling change in the following century. Another noticeable circumstance is that such splendid and pretentious seals are not confined to the greatest nobility or people of vast territorial influence. Many untitled families towards the end of the fifteenth century showed seals not quite so large, but fully equal in workmanship and beautiful design to those of the house of Lancaster, the Nevilles, Lords of Abergavenny; the Dukes of Buckingham, and other great titled nobles. Through the kindness of Mr. H. S. Grazebrook I am able to show the seal of Richard Dudley of Clapton, Northants; the arms of Dudley quartering Hotot [see William Salt Society vol. x, p. 54]. This seal was exhibited to the Heralds at their Visitation of Northants, 1618, "antiquum Sigillum argenteum," and is tricked in their original MS. As its date is between 1440 and 1475, I have no doubt it was made for that Richard Dudley of Clapton who "condidit testamentum" 1465.

We must now take up those curiously curved outward shields, alluded to as shown in Harl. MS. 4379, of a date about 1360, see No. 55, and again at Bamberg Cathedral, 1370 [page 24], see No. 55A and No. 55B. We may lay it down as an axiom that every alteration in the shapes of shields at these early dates, and therefore for actual use, arose from some apparent advantage to be gained by it. Hewitt, vol. ii, p. 314, engraves a curved shield, about the end of the fourteenth century, from an ivory chessman. In the Archæological Journal, vol. ix, p. 119, there is one, from stained glass, of early in the fifteenth century. This is a square parallelogram with a bouche, and the top and bottom are projected forwards, while the intermediate portion is flat. This shield is of considerable thickness, see No. 56. In the statue of Henry VI. at Westminster, of the date 1422, a similar shield appears without any bouche, but with the top and bottom ends similarly projected and the middle portion flat, see No. 57. This is engraved in Meyrick's Ancient Armour, plate 42. A similar shield, from an ancient chest in York Minster, is shown in the same book, vol. ii, at p. 124. In the grant of arms to the Ironmongers' Company, 1455, and in many other instances, a bouched shield, deeply engrailed at top and bottom, has both ends similarly projected, the middle portion being curved, but to a lesser degree. This is engraved in Herald and Genealogist, vol. i, p. 37, and the same shield of arms is illuminated in the margin of the charter granted to the Ironmongers in 1483. It seems evident that the intention in thus hollowing out the face of the shield was to receive and to retain the spear point with greater certainty upon that part 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.

Date 14th century. Cutts, p. 339.

Grant of Arms to the Ironmongers' Company, 1st September, 1455. From

, vol. i, p. 37.

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.

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.

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.

In Cutts' valuable book, p. 454 (see No. 59), two unmounted knights, from an engraving by Hans Burgmaier, are represented in combat, about 1450, carrying two very curious shields, somewhat similar in idea to these Gothic shields. Being divided lengthways into three partitions; both are broader at the top and narrowed at the lower end, and they seem to be about 3 feet 6 inches long. One is convex at the top and engrailed, with a bluntly-pointed base; the other is flat but slightly engrailed, and the rounded base somewhat broken by the three divisions, which evidently suggest that these shields were curved round the body. But the old plain heater continues as by far the most prevalent shape throughout this century. It is usually very square, and in several instances there is an approach to the French base of Mr. Rylands' nomenclature.

As already remarked, foot soldiers of all ages, down to the middle of the eighteenth century, appear with round shields. During this century and the next these are shown with handsome decorations, but never with heraldry on the face: foot soldiers, perhaps, were not considered heraldically armigerous. In an Italian painting of this century, foot soldiers are represented with square and diamond shaped shields, each side shaped out in curves; and in one heraldry is painted; perhaps he was a dismounted knight and the others only retainers. This may be seen engraved in Jacquemart's History of Furniture, p. 24 (see No. 60).

In many other shields at the end of this century the heater shape has gradually arrived at what is named square No. 7, and in the charter granted to the waxchandlers, 1484 (see No. 61), and in many other instances, these shields were very long in proportion to their width. The same elongated shape appears in a shield on Christ Church gate, Canterbury, date 1517; engraved Archæologia, vol. xvi, p. 194.

Plate IV.

60 see Plate iii.

Mantlings.

The first observed instance of a mantling or lambrequin, as it was then called,—a term still applied to it by the modern French heralds,—occurs in the large seal of Ralph de Monthermer, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, 1299. This is engraved in Nicholas Upton, De Usu Militari [Bisse edition, 1654, p. 63]. In Planché's Poursuivant the helmet and mantling alone are engraved from this seal. It is represented as a square handkerchief or shawl fastened at one end under the crest, and flying out loose behind. There is no hacking (see No. 62). Ralph de Monthermer was a "plain esquire," but attracted the attention and secured the love of Joan of Acres, daughter of Edward I. and relict of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester. May we be allowed to fancy we see here the kerchief of the fair lady whose favour led to his advancement, and whose marriage eventually brought him his title? His second wife was also a widow, namely, the relict of John de Hastings and sister of Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke.

In Planché's Poursuivant is engraved another very similar, from the seal of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster (see No. 63). He was beheaded by Edward II. (1321). This seems to be of some thick material and bordered. It is better shown in the full-sized engraving in Sandford's Genealogical History, p. 102. Boutell (Heraldry, p. 212) describes No. 64 as a "contoise," and says it was used until the middle of the fourteenth century. These seem to have been stiff to stand out, but I have not found representations of any more of them. Mr. Boutell refers to two effigies showing them in Exeter Cathedral, and another in Westminster Abbey. In the seal of John de Tilneye to a deed, 1353 [engraved in the Visit. Hunts., p. 29], a voluminous and square folded mantling, without any hacks, is extended out to the inscription on each side, and is fixed under a broad-brimmed hat which stands on the top of the helm, and on this hat is the crest, viz., a tree supported by two lions gambs. There is another instance on the monument at Norton Brize, Oxfordshire, to John Daubygné, 1346, where the mantling is extended out square in folds, without any hacking, and hangs on each side of the helmet, while below is placed the shield. This is engraved in Boutell's Heraldry, p. 156 (see No. 65). Another such squarely-folded and unhacked mantle is shown on the seal of Elizabeth de Lucy, 1354, with a man's helmet and crest (!!)—see No. 66—and yet another in that of Sir William de Lucy, 1392. Both of these are engraved in Nicholas Upton, p. 73 (see No. 67). But these must all be taken as rare exceptions. Usually mantlings of so early a date as the fourteenth century are of very small dimensions, hacked and lying close on their helmets, clinging to them, as it were, and so fastened under the crest that they could not hang otherwise. As we see in the seal of Richard, Earl of Arundel, about 1350-70 (illustrated at p. 27), also in the seals of Sir Thomas Bysshe, 1381 [Nicholas Upton, p. 53], see No. 68; and in that of John de Clinton, 1386 [Nicholas Upton, p. 82], see No. 69; but seals of the fourteenth century more commonly show no mantlings: they were only just beginning to be introduced.

At the beginning of the fifteenth century the same small hacked mantlings, hanging closely upon their helmets, still continue, and become the rule; it was the exception to have any mantling at all in the fourteenth. About 1420, however, they begin to spread over the field of the seal, in free and bold curves and waves. In the seal of John, Lord Clinton de Say, 1438 (No. 54), and in that of Humphrey, Earl of Stafford and Perche, 1438, both engraved Archæologia, vol. xxxviii, p. 272, they are seen hacked, wandering away from the helm, and half way down the shield. But a noteworthy characteristic of the mantlings of this early date, and one to which I must draw your particular attention, is that, although stretching their arms boldly about the field, and in MSS. where space will allow, they may extend down below the base of the shield, they are not, perhaps never, seen to hide themselves behind it! The spirit of those old times when the mantling would probably be the gift of some fair lady, perhaps her kerchief or mantle, and borne with chivalrous fervour through the many adventures in which the knight of those days sought to gain fame and experience—this spirit of honouring the mantlet still remained burning brightly; a fold was therefore too precious to be hidden behind the shield. When we come to consider such decorations in later times, when such sentiment had departed, you will see why [beyond the valuable indication of date supplied] I have drawn your attention particularly to this peculiarity to be noted in the fifteenth century. The seal of Thomas Strange, 1419, shows a curious arrangement of mantling. This is engraved in Miscell. Genealogica et Heraldica, 1884, p. 59. In the very curious and interesting seal of Sir John Pelham, 1469, engraved in Archæological Journal, vol. vii, p. 323, and already illustrated on p. 32, the field of the seal is filled up with bold contortions of the hacked mantling, while on the helmet appears the most extraordinary crest—a large birdcage which is higher than the helmet itself; it is divided into three tiers of wickerwork, and has a pointed roof, while on the field appear two buckles. Sir John Pelham, at Poictiers in 1356, personally assisted at the capture of the French King, when the honorary distinction of the buckle as a family badge was accorded to him. His descendants sometimes used the birdcage crest, in remembrance of the same exploit and the imprisoned king.

In illuminations of this date, say of the latter half of the fifteenth century, we see the same characters—the mantlings so divided into narrow ribbon-like folds, much hacked and twisted to show the lining, and thrown out into bold arms around the shield and extending some way below it with fine artistic effect. I would refer to the grant of arms to the Fellowship of Ironmongers of London, 1st September, 1455, already illustrated on p. 35, also to the shield of Edward IV., 1460, in Willement's Regal Heraldry. There are also two beautiful specimens engraved in Boutell's Brasses; one, the stall plate at Windsor of Sir Humphrey Stafford, K.G., 1460, at p. 219 (see No. 70), and at p. 207 the brass of Sir William Say, at Broxbourne, Herts, 1473 (see No. 71): the mantling in the last ends in four tassels; this addition of tassels becomes the ordinary usage in the MS. illuminations and in grants of arms, but not in seals of the sixteenth century.

I refer to No. 72 for the lithograph of that very curious mantling carved in stone at Wyverton, Nottinghamshire (Thoroton's History, p. 98), which displays three tassels. This stands with two other helmets, each over its respective shield of heraldry, and on examination I am able to declare their date to be about 1440-50.

Licence of free warren and to make a park here was granted 24 Henry VI. (1445), at which time Thoroton supposes this house was built.

Following our entirely different lines of enquiry, I am able to state, to within twenty or thirty years, the date of these carvings; and I would further say that as to one of the quarterings displayed, the Chaworth family did not inherit the right to bear it until 1422; thus confirming very exactly Thoroton's date.

Perhaps the first appearance of a tassel on a mantling is on a monument to — Harsyck in Southacre Church, Norfolk, 1384; engraved in Boutell's Heraldry, plate I (see No. 73). This is also interesting as being a very early example of the wreath or torse which supports the crest, consisting of a twisted cord of silk of two colours. In a brass to Sir Hugh Hastings, at Elsing, co. Norfolk, 1347, the same is shown. In the effigy of Sir Richard Pembruge, 1375, now in the nave of Hereford Cathedral, the crest and helmet are attached with a wreath of leaves, above which rises a great panache of feathers.

The earliest instance of a date upon the face of a shield is said to occur about the middle of the thirteenth century, but such are very uncommon until the sixteenth century, when they are found both on personal and official seals.

The inscriptions on English seals of this fifteenth century are almost universally in Latin and in Gothic lettering. I have, so far, only noted one seal with Roman letters, and that occurs in 1403.