In a number of cases, part or even the whole of the brasses on a slab have disappeared, but the empty matrix clearly shows the general form of the missing parts. (Fig. 1.)
We have in England a few magnificent brasses of a different kind that were manufactured and engraved entirely in Flanders or North Germany, and they are known as Flemish brasses. The great difference between the English and Flemish brasses is that in the former the figures were cut out of the rectangular sheets of metal, and the lines of the drawing were bold and few in number as was compatible with clearness; whereas in the latter the brass was kept in a rectangular form, and the whole plate was engraved as the plate of a picture might be. The figures were incised upon a background which was entirely filled in with diapered ornaments and suitable heraldic devices and patterns, while the inscription was engraved around the edge of the plate.
In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the inscriptions on all brasses were in Norman French; in the fifteenth century they were in Latin; and in the sixteenth century in English.
In the reigns of Edward I., II., III., and Richard II., the brasses rose to their highest quality and magnificence. The figures were usually life-sized; the lines were deeply and boldly cut, and there was an absence of “shading,” the brass being usually a pure, outline, incised drawing.
In the reign of Edward II., architectural canopies were often introduced (Fig. 1), and then the figures were consequently made less than life-size. At first only knights and ladies were represented, but in the reigns of Edward III. and Richard II., members of the great middle classes, which were increasing in power, wealth, and public influence, were included.
From the time of Henry IV. to Richard III. the brasses were not of so high an order, and at the latter part of the period they began to deteriorate in quality and size.
The Tudor period may be called the decadent period of brasses, for the drawings were often disproportionate and lightly cut, the figures crude, and the plates thin. There is often an excess of “shading” in them which detracts from the beautiful simplicity of the drawing. The practice of laying down these brasses, probably through these very causes, began to decay, the last known being laid in 1773 A.D.
Copies of brasses, or rubbings, are made in a very simple and interesting manner by taking a sheet of white lining paper (plain wallpaper), laying it upon the brass, and carefully rubbing over it with a piece of shoemaker’s heel-ball. The flat portions of the brass “catch” the heel-ball during the process, while the incised lines are left white, and if care be taken that the paper does not shift, a very faithful copy of the brass can be made. The rubbing should be continued until a deep black tone is obtained, for the heel-ball does not smear on the paper.
Most clergymen are proud of the brasses in their churches, and readily give permission for rubbings to be taken from them if a courteous application be made.