Henry W. Donald

“ The doublet was made very short, open in front, without any waistcoat, showing a rich shirt, which bulged out in front over the waistband of the loose breeches, the latter, as well as the large, full sleeves, being ornamented with ribbons and points or laces.”
Beneath the knee hung long, drooping lace ruffles, and a falling collar of the richest lace enveloped the neck. A high-crowned hat, with a broad brim and a plume of feathers, still preserved its cavalier character. A short cloak, edged deep with gold lace was usually worn or carried over the arm. ”

“ The weight of armour was so great that, when a knight was unhorsed, he was utterly helpless, and at the mercy of his opponent, as it was impossible for him to rise without assistance, and the victor had only the trouble of coolly selecting the best chink in the junctures in the armour in which to insert his sword or his dagger. ”

“ Too often, in the past, has history been taught as a series of dry lessons on facts and dates, and although in late years there has been a great improvement in this respect, to many the living facts around us, as bearing on our history, in our churches, our historic buildings, our museums, and our national collections, are still disregarded. ”

“ The skirts at this time were only padded to a slight extent at the hips.
Unmarried women wore low-necked dresses even out of doors at this time.
About the middle of Elizabeth’s reign the great change took place which gave female costume of the sixteenth century its remarkable character. Elizabeth herself was long waisted and narrow chested, and in this costume the body was imprisoned in whalebone to the hips, while an enormous ruff was worn, rising gradually from the front of the shoulders to nearly the height of the head behind. ”

“ Instead of the shield, however, an additional piece of armour called the grande-garde was sometimes screwed to the breastplate to protect the left side and shoulder, while the great spear had also a piece of armour fixed in front of the grasp, which not only protected the hand, but was large enough to make a kind of shield for the left arm and breast. The tilting helmet disappeared altogether about this period, and the head-piece was adorned with streaming plumes. The armour generally, by its being fluted and laminated and puffed, imitated the costume of the time. ”

“ There is an additional advantage which the brass possesses over the stone monument, and that is that the brass is found as a memorial of members of every class of society—the knight, the noble, the bishop, the abbot, the priest, the nun, the lord of the manor, the judge, the lawyer, the University don, the merchant, the wool-stapler, the yeoman, women of every rank, and even the schoolboy, have their brasses. ”

“ It is interesting to note that the Saxon word for “build” was “getimbrian,” to construct of wood.
From the middle of the 5th century, for nearly 700 years, until the time when the Norman Castle arose, well-nigh every building of architectural merit was in some way or other connected with the Church.
The English were essentially workers in wood, and profoundly ignorant of masonry. The churches that sprang up all over England after the conversion of the country to Christianity were, no doubt, of wood, and even in the 9th and 10th centuries we hear of “the worm-eaten walls of cathedrals.” ”

“ Hence, many devices connected with the Holy Land and the Crusades were introduced into and remain in heraldry—e.g., the scalloped shell, the palmer’s staff, bezants (gold coins of Byzantium) , water bougets (leathern water-bottles) , crescents, stars, scimitars, Saracens’ heads, and the numerous forms of the cross. Probably from the same source came such mythical creatures as the dragon, the wyvern, and the cockatrice.
In time, the arms of knights became hereditary. ”

“ A slight alteration in costume was made in James’s reign. Short jackets or doublets were worn, and the trunk hose, instead of being slashed and laced, were covered with broad, loose strips, richly embroidered or adorned with buttons, displaying the silk or velvet trunk in the narrow intervals between the strips (see Plate 50, Fig. 1, which shows Prince Henry, the eldest son of James I.) .
The clothes of the nobles were very gorgeous, being made of silk and velvet, and ornamented with lace, gold and gems. ”

“ A course is successfully run if each breaks his lance full on the breastplate or helmet of his adversary, but neither is unhorsed; and they retire amidst the plaudits of the spectators.
If a knight is unhorsed, or lose his stirrup, he is vanquished, and retires from the game. Following that, there is probably a miniature tournament between the home champions and the strangers.
At length, when all have run their courses, the knights remove their helmets before the ladies, make their obeisance, and retire to their lodgings to change. ”

“ Many members of the noblest houses in Europe joined the Order, and endowments flowed in abundantly. Gradually dependent houses were established on its estates in nearly every country of Europe. Their rule, like that of the Hospitallers, was according to that of St. Augustine, and their habit consisted of a large white mantle with a red cross on the left shoulder, over the ordinary armour of the period. They came to England early in the reign of Stephen, settling first at Holborn in London. ”

“ The earliest known representation of a gun in England is contained in a MS., “De Officiis Regum,” at Christ Church, Oxford, of the time of Edward II. (1326) . It shows a knight in armour, firing a short, primitive weapon, shaped something like a vase, and loaded with an incendiary arrow—that is, one charged with an inflammable substance. Firearms of this type were evidently very small, as only 2 lb. of gunpowder was provided for firing forty-eight arrows. ”

“ The gowns of noble ladies were magnificent, and were made open to the waist, showing the kirtle or petticoat, and had trains. Ladies’ sleeves were made wide and separate, like those of the men, and could be attached at will to either gown or waistcoat. They were of very rich material, very gorgeous in colour and elaborate in construction.
The dresses of women of the middle classes were sober in this reign. They wore close hoods, and wore partly over their faces a muffle—an article that became very fashionable and remained in use among elderly women until the reign of Charles I. (Fig. 3.) ”

“ During the reigns of Edward III. and Henry V., owing to the French Wars and their effect upon the martial population of England, heraldry was practised most extensively and had its noblest application, but during the reign of that butterfly king, Richard II., it reached its most fantastic heights.
After the reign of Edward IV., the value and importance attached to the correct practice of heraldry declined, for during the Wars of the Roses many noble families became exterminated, and Henry VII. ennobled many of the upper middle classes to take their places. ”

“ It was said that many soldiers at thirty years of age were practically deformed or broken down in health through the habit of constantly wearing armour. Presently the troopers took the matter in their own hands by not commencing to put on their armour until the moment of battle, and then, not having time to arm themselves, they went into battle with their buff leather or padded jackets as their only protection.
In the reign of Elizabeth, when long-waisted doublets and short trunk hose became the fashion, the armour was considerably modified. ”

“ As Mrs. Ashdown says, in her British Costume, “Broadly speaking, it had been perfectly possible for a dressmaker to cut out and complete any garment worn by men up to that period; after the reign of Edward IV. the era of the tailor began.”
In Edward’s reign the jackets and doublets were cut shorter than ever, the sleeves slit so as to show the large, loose white shirts, and the shoulders were padded with moss or flock.
Men wore the hair long, and had hats of cloth a quarter of an ell or more in height, and all wore most sumptuous chains of gold. ”

“ The improvement continued until the work reached a high degree of perfection. The mouldings, the ornament, the sculpture, and all other details are of a lighter style, and more highly finished. The architecture that remains of this period is aptly termed “Transitional.” The transition, from the round-arched Norman style, with its heavy and massive appearance, and its strongly-marked horizontal lines, to the graceful Early English style, with its prominent vertical lines, is very gradual, and the first step in this direction was the introduction to general use of the pointed arch. ”

“ The common people, at the time when heraldry was most generally practised, were quite illiterate, but everyone could read and understand the devices of heraldry.
Among the most famous badges worn by retainers were the Planta genista, or broom plant of the Plantagenets, and the roses, red and white, of the Lancastrians and Yorkists. The Tudor family fittingly adopted as a badge a double rose, consisting of a white rose within a red one, to signify the union of the two great families. ”

“ The greatest innovation in the armour of this period was the introduction of the lamboy (Fig. 7) or outstanding steel skirt, which took the place of taces and tuilles, and covered the body from the waist to the knees in fluted folds ribbed vertically, giving it much the appearance of an inflated petticoat. It was sloped away before and behind to allow the wearer to sit with more ease in the saddle. The pauldrons or shoulder-pieces were made very large, and the shield was also elaborately shaped and curved to form an outer armour for the protection of all the left side of the body. ”

“ The earliest Norman work in England—as the transepts of Winchester Cathedral—is almost as plain as Anglo-Saxon; but the Norman churches are larger and higher than those of the Anglo-Saxon period. They are generally cruciform in shape, with a square tower over the intersection of the nave and transepts. The towers are not lofty, but are very solid, and usually contain windows with two lights. In a number of instances the choir ends in a semi-circular apse after the Roman style. ”

“ On the whole, there were no great innovations of male costume made during the actual reign of Henry VIII., for the same fashions appear to have continued during its whole extent.
Henry passed sumptuary laws regulating the use of the rarer furs, velvets, satins, and damasks to certain classes of society, while the working classes were confined to the use of cloth of a certain price and lamb’s fur only, and were forbidden to wear ornaments of gold, silver, or gilt work. ”

“ Doors are square-headed under a round arch. The simplest form is a narrow, round-headed opening with a plain dripstone. But Norman windows are not met with as frequently as doors, since they have, in many cases, been destroyed to make room for those of later styles. 52 In England the Norman style is usually assigned to the eleventh century, and in the latter half of it the transition to the Early English style took place. It was introduced into England in the reign of Edward the Confessor, who was more Norman than English, and who himself founded the Abbey of Westminster. ”

“ The costume of ladies consisted of (1) an under robe with sleeves, close-fitting at the wrist; (2) a loose garment, like the dalmatica, but without sleeves; (3) a mantle. A head-dress, called the wimple, was worn. This consisted of a piece of silk or linen passing under the chin, with the ends gathered overhead, and was first mentioned in the reign of John. It was worn with a veil hanging down by the sides of the face and over the back of the head. ”

“ The gown is high behind at the neck, and low in front, with a large bunch of flowers stuck in the breast, and the body is tightly confined in stays strengthened with steel busks. The sleeves reach to the elbow; long gloves are worn, and the fan is constantly displayed.
The gown is open from the waist, and gathered in festoons at the sides, the edges being ornamented with silk ribbons in puffs, forming a diamond shaped pattern and edged with lace. The petticoat, which is displayed by the open gown, is similarly decorated, and small, high-heeled shoes with rosettes complete the dress. ”

“ In the Temple Church there are nine effigies of knights, which are certainly the finest and most interesting collection of monumental figures of this early period possessed by any one church in the kingdom. They exhibit the military costume as it is said to have been worn at the Crusades. ”

“ They wore during divine service a surplice, and a fur tippet or almuce over a long black cassock, and a four-square cap called a baret or biretta.
They had much more liberty than the monks. A writer in the thirteenth century says: “Among them one is well shod, well clothed, and well fed. They go out when they like, mix with the world, and talk at table.” ”

“ The increasing use of fire arms also tended to hasten the disuse of armour, for it became difficult to make plates that would be sufficiently strong to oppose a bullet, unless the armour were made of great thickness. By the end of the reign of James I. its use had been so modified that the armour of the heaviest cavalry terminated at the knees. Sometimes the arms were encased in armour, and occasionally complete armour was worn by the commanders. ”