I had observed that in those earlier printed books which have copper plates, the invention of Father Silvester de Petra Sancta had been very cautiously and undecidedly adopted. In Spelman's Aspilogia [included in that small folio published by Edward Bysse in 1654, and to which I have frequently referred as containing also the works of Nicholas Upton and John de Bado Aureo] most of the shields have tincture lines; but in some of the copper plates, signs of various planets are given instead of those letters for tinctures which are usually seen in "tricks."
NOTE TO PAGE 36.
I have no doubt that the curious projecting point to which the attention of the reader has been drawn, was meant as a protection against the "Coup de jarret," that terrible feat of arms which aimed at severing the muscles behind the knee, a spot necessarily covered by leather only, and therefore peculiarly vulnerable.
INDEX.
SHIELDS FIGURED ON [PLATE I, PAGE 11].