Sir Robert de Septvans, 1306, is another knight whose brass effigy has the cross-legged position; it is in Chartham Church, Kent, and affords an excellent illustration of the military accoutrement at the termination of the reign of Edward I. ([Fig. 146]). The singular name of Septvans (or Seven Fans) is derived from the heraldic cognisance of the family, and is shown upon the figure as seven fans of the shape used for winnowing wheat at that period. The coif-de-mailles is thrown back in this effigy, and rests upon the shoulders in folds; the ailettes are square or oblong, and the sleeves of the hauberk are thrown back off the hands and are shown depending from the wrist. Beneath the hauberk the quilted undergarment called the haqueton appears; the trews are of similar material, and apparently are continued under the genouillières, probably to avoid chafing. The latter are of plate, and a stud is shown which fastens them to a strap behind the knee. The sword-hilt and scabbard are enriched with a highly effective diaper design.
Fig. 145.—Knight in banded mail, 1310. Croft, Lincs.
Between the years 1306 and 1320 there are no brasses in existence exhibiting the full military equipment of the time, the example at Croft, 1310, being only a half-brass and singularly devoid of detail ([Fig. 145]). Two brasses, however, dating from 1320, afford us an opportunity of seeing the marked development in defences which had been adopted in the interval. The Bacon brass in Gorleston Church, Suffolk, has been much mutilated, but sufficient is retained to make it of interest. The coif-de-mailles, hauberk, surcoat, sword-belt, shield, and guige show no differences, but in the plate defences a great advance has been made. The back of the upper arms from shoulder to elbow, and the front of the lower arms from the bend of the elbow to the wrist, are protected by plates of steel, fastened by steel straps round the limbs; these are respectively the Demi-Brassarts and Demi-Vambraces. Upon the elbows are the Coudières, and upon the knees Genouillières of plate, while the shins are defended by Demi-Jambarts, all being fixed over the chain mail to fulfil the office of reinforcements. At the shoulder and elbow bends, roundels of plate appear, and over the shoulder are ailettes marked with the Cross of St. George. The shield is small and heater-shaped, and is furnished with a narrow guige. In the Fitzralph brass, 1320, Pebmarsh Church, Essex ([Fig. 147]), the general arrangement is similar to the Gorleston brass, but no ailettes are shown, and the shield is large and concave to the body. Upon the feet are Sollerets consisting of five lames of plate riveted together and kept in place by two straps passing under each foot. The swords of both figures show straight quillons not drooping to the blade as formerly. The pryck spur is still in vogue, and from the roundels the small projecting spikes should be noticed. The five cross-legged brasses thus described and illustrated are all that now remain to us, and of these five only one, that of Trumpington, so far as is known, represents a knight who followed the banner of the Holy Cross to Palestine.
Fig. 146.—Sir Robert de Septvans, 1306. Chartham Church, Kent.