Chapter IV: The Yorkist Period. 1453-1485

During the Wars of the Roses, England was practically isolated from the Continent. It is therefore not surprising that this period has a character of its own.

There are about 350 brasses, and these include an entirely distinct type of armour and a characteristic female head-dress.

There are not many really fine brasses, canopies are few and heavy in design, and the engraving is poor. The proportions are often bad. In particular the head is often made too big or too small.

The great characteristic of the armour of this period is the addition of extra pieces of huge size and curious shape. Yet all were the outcome of the exigencies of the time. So too were the ridges and flutings which were meant to deflect the point of a weapon. The armour was also decorated with punching, engraving, etc.

During the wars in France, the knights had often dismounted and fought on foot. During the Wars of the Roses, they usually charged on horseback. This explains why the heavier armour is on the upper part of the body, while the lower is more lightly protected.

Often the upper half therefore seems out of proportion.

Usually the head is bare, but occasionally the “sallad” or shell helmet is found, as at Castle Donington, Cirencester, Addington, Sprotborough and elsewhere. Among other peculiarities, a hooked lance-rest is often screwed to the right side of the cuirass, as at Hildersham. The elbow-pieces often attain to an enormous size. The tuilles have been re-introduced. The shoes are long and pointed, the sword slung in front.

The illustration of Sir Wm. and Lady Vernon, Tong, Salop, 1467, betrays one of the signs of deterioration: the head rests on the helmet with crest, yet the figure _stands_ on a field of grass. His wife wears kirtle, sideless _cote-hardi_, mantle, veil and the widow’s wimple. Her feet rest against an extraordinary dragon. This is probably in allusion to her name and patron saint, Margaret, whose emblem was a dragon.

In the Morley brass (1470) the knight rests his head on his helmet and stands on grass and flowers. The two wives wear the mitre head-dress and there are three saints above. These are St Christopher, St Anne and the Virgin, and St Mary and Child.

During this period, armorial tabards and heraldic kirtles and mantles became common.

The earliest tabard is at Amberley, Sussex, 1424.

Examples during the Yorkist period are found as follows: Wm. Stapilton and wife, Edenhall, Cumberland, 1458; Hen. Grene and wife, Lowick, Northants., 1467; Sir Jn. Say and wife, Broxbourne, Herts., 1473; Sir Thos. Sellynger and wife, St George’s Chapel, Windsor, 1475; Philip Mede and two wives, St Mary, Redcliff, Bristol, 1475.

The Yorkist collar of stars and roses takes the place of the S.S. It is found at Broxbourne, St Albans, Little Easton, 1483, and elsewhere.

The horned head-dress of the ladies changes to the mitred, as at Thornton and Morley. The memorial of Ly. Joyce Tiptoft, Enfield, Middlesex, c. 1470, is one of the few really fine brasses of the period and shows the dress and armorial bearings well. The canopy is fine, possibly copied from that of the Duchess of Gloucester (1399) in Westminster Abbey. The arrangement of shields hung from the shafts of the canopy is only one of several similar features. The head is far too large, as is often the case at this date, and spoils the general effect. Her jewelled necklace should be noticed (page 57).

The butterfly head-dress begins to replace the mitred head-dress, hitherto in vogue. A veil of gauze was extended over wires. In real life it was doubtless light and beautiful, but in brass it looks heavy and ungainly. The wife of Sir Thos. Urswyk, Dagenham, Essex, shows this type of _coiffure_. She also wears a low-necked gown, showing the upper part of the corsage. Her cuffs and necklace are characteristic, and her somewhat awkward poise is typical of the period. Her daughters are of special interest. The head-dresses of the six younger are formed by conical nets of several designs, their long hair hanging down behind. These examples are unique. The eldest daughter is a nun, and the other two resemble their mother, but wear no mantle. The sons wore the ordinary civilian costume of the time, but have quite recently been stolen.

Widows still wear the wimple, and maidens have long, flowing hair.

There is but little variety in the dress of civilians. The anlace becomes rare and its place is often taken by a rosary. The hair is close-cropped, and the figures usually small. Mantles are only worn as a sign of office.

The _Woolmen_ and the _Lawyers_ represent the best work to be seen at this epoch. Of the latter, Sir Thos. Urswyk, 1479, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, already mentioned, will serve as an example. He is bare-headed, and the fur lining of his mantle is visible, as is his rosary. His sons display the usual costume of the day without the mantle.

Notaries wear a plain gown with pencase and inkhorn hanging from the belt. A scarf and a cap are fastened on the left shoulder. (Appendix.)

We have now come to the close of the Middle Ages. The signs of deterioration of this, as of other medieval arts, are apparent.

The question may be asked--In what language and type were the inscriptions engraved? Briefly, the earlier (in Norman French) are engraved in separated Lombardic letters which were inserted round the edge of the slab. This gave place to a border fillet. This fillet soon began to be engraved in Gothic characters. In the fifteenth century Latin became the usual language--from the beginning it had been used for _ecclesiastics_. It never entirely fell out of use, but towards the end of the fifteenth century English began to appear. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the latter takes the place of Latin to a large extent. Roman characters replaced Gothic in the seventeenth century.

The arbitrary contractions of words employed by the engravers from the earliest to the latest periods render the deciphering of a large proportion of the inscriptions no easy task.