Brasses

Monumental brasses come alive here as more than grave markers: they are vivid records of medieval armor, dress, faith, and status, and England's unusually rich survival of them makes the country a natural center for study. Written as a practical handbook for general readers, this survey explains how to identify major types, periods, and artistic features while pointing toward deeper scholarship. It begins with the earliest English examples and follows their distinctive development through knights, women, clergy, civilians, and judges, showing how effigies, inscriptions, and memorial design changed across the centuries. Close readings of figures such as Sir John Daubernon, Sir Roger de Trumpington, Sir Hugh Hastings, and Sir Simon Felbrigge trace the evolution of armor from chain mail to plate, while brasses of ladies, vowesses, and professionals preserve the fashions of their time. The book also explores heraldry, canopies, saints, mourners, heart brasses, shroud and skeleton memorials, and unusual pictorial subjects from biblical scenes to a warship. It concludes by comparing English work with Continental schools, especially German, Flemish, and French examples, and by noting the effects of war and reform on their survival. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.