 Photo by stiffleaf. | |
 Photo by stiffleaf. |
 Photo by stiffleaf. |
Referenced on p.78, Knight - Noble Warrior of England 1200-1600 by Christopher Gravett
Stothard's drawing of the effigy of a de Vere in the Church of St Mary, Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex. The figure has a separate coif and gamboised cuisses with small poleyns attached. Its date is debatable but may be c.1300.
Referenced on p.69, Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era, 1050-1350, Western Europe and the Crusader States by David Nicolle
165 Effigy of Sir Robert de Vere, Essex, 1250-1300
(in situ Church of St Mary, Hatfield Broad Oak, England)
There is still debate about the date of this effigy. It was certainly made several years after the death of its subject in 1221. The style of carving could indicate the end of the 13th century, but the arms and armour could push the date back almost as far as mid-century. Perhaps a sculptor, aware that his subject died many years earlier, attempted to portray old-fashioned equipment, which consists of a separate mail coif held tight by a strap or lace around the brow, though this latter feature could be a decorative circlet indicating the man's rank. The mail hauberk still has mittens rather than individual fingers. The mail chausses are worn beneath padded cuisses, these having a very early example of knee-plates. These are not yet domed poleyns but appear to be simple plates of iron or hardened leather fastened directly to the cuisses. The flat-topped, almost triangular shield is held by enarmes around the upper arm, plus a guige. The scabbard is supported by a sophisticated series of straps which form an integral part of the buckled sword-belt. This is, in fact, one of the clearest drawings of such a system.
