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Description: | A cast, copper alloy, medieval heraldic harness mount (stud), with enamel, dating from 1250-1400. It is a "heater shaped" shield mount similar to the "London Museum Medieval Catalogue" page 118, figure 38 (I). It is complete with a shank (spike), projecting from the reverse, which comes to a point; perhaps for fixing into wood behind the leather. Virtually all the blue enamel remains. The metal finish is lost. There is a brown patina where the original finish is lost, with some green verdigris on the reverse. It measures 30.61mm x 25.13mm wide x 2.95mm thick. The shank is 11.27mm long x 5.05mm thick at the thickest part close to the mount. It weighs 8.89gm.The heraldry is; Azure (blue), six lions rampant argent (silver), and a canton ermine. The bottom three lions are clear as all the blue enamel remains around them. One lion at the bottom , in the pointy end, two lions in the middle register, and three would have been intended on the top row. Only the lion on the right can clearly be seen as there is some enamel loss here. In any case the the canton of ermine certainly covers one and maybe two lions as it covers half the width of the mount. The ermine can be identified from the five depressions which represent the centre top of the ermine tails. Presumably the background was silver as the metal finishes have gone. If it had been white it may have remained. See PAS, PUBLIC-5A10E5 for a discussion of this.Sir Roger de Shirland (Shurland) is listed as having borne these arms c.1285 in two Rolls of Arms, the Charles and the St George's. His son, the more famous, Sir Robert de Shirland is listed as bearing these arms at the first Dunstable Tournament in 1308, and in the Parliamentary Roll of 1312. See Humphery-Smith "Anglo-Norman Armory Two" page 126. For his further career, see Saul "An Early Private Indenture of Retainer" in the English Historical Review, Vol. 128, pages 519-534. This tells of an agreement in 1323 whereby Sir Robert is to serve Hugh Despencer the Younger in peace and war. (See PAS, PUBLIC-450195 for the Despencers). Sir Robert was buried at Minster-in-Sheppey, Kent. His tomb, dating to 1325-1330, bears his effigy. This did have lions rampant on his jupon. But the details have since been lost. See Downing "Military Effigies of England and Wales " Volume 3, page 125. I have not found another example of these arms, on any pendants or mounts, on the PAS Database.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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