5th or Transition Period: c. 1405 A.D.—c. 1410 A.D. There are a few examples of knights clothed entirely in plate armour, with the exception of the basinet and camail, and this is therefore called the Transition Period leading to the time of the complete adoption of plate armour.
PLATE 36.
(Fig. 1): Brass of Sir John Creke, in Westley Waterless Church, Cambridgeshire, 1325. It shows a pointed and fluted basinet with the camail of “banded mail” fastened to it. The hauberk, also of banded mail, is seen just above the knees, and the legs and arms are covered with the same kind of armour. The roundles, taking the form of lions’ faces, are seen at the shoulders and elbow. The upper arms are covered with plates over the mail, and the fore-arm covered in the same way with plates, which pass under the 107 short sleeves of the hauberk. The cyclas is seen to be loose, girded at the waist, and shorter in front than behind. Under it is shown the escalloped edge of the gambeson; beneath that the pointed ending of the hauberk, and under that again the folds of the haketon may be seen reaching to the knee-caps. Jamberts or shin pieces cover the shins, and are continued to cover the feet as sollerets. (Fig. 2): A heaume or great helmet, worn in the tournament over the basinet and resting upon the shoulders (1375). (Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6): Shafted weapons of the period. (Fig. 3): A bill, also called a fauchard or guisarme, of the time of Richard II. (From a MS.) (Figs. 4 and 5): Pikes. (Fig. 6): A pole-axe (the voulge). (Fig. 7): A knight wearing a gambeson, from the monumental effigy of Sir Robert Shurland, c. 1300 (after Ashdown). (Fig. 8): A heaume, from the brass of Sir Hugh Hastings, 1347 A.D. It shows the mantling, or little mantle, hanging over the back of the helmet, the crest, and the torse, or wreath, hiding the junction of the crest with the helmet. (Fig. 9): A piece of armour, showing the “splints” or small overlapping plates in the elbow joint. (Fig. 10): A basinet, showing the loops by which the camail is fastened to it. (Fig. 11): Heaume and crest of Sir Geoffrey Luterell, from the Luterell Psalter, 1345 A.D. It has a round top, a movable visor, and a crest on which are displayed the wearer’s “arms.” (Fig. 12): A “snout-nosed” basinet with movable visor or ventaille of the time of Richard II., with the visor raised. (Fig. 13): The same with the visor lowered, as on the battlefield. (Fig. 14): The brass of Sir Robert Symborne, in Little Horkesley Church, Essex, 1391 A.D., showing the arms and armour of a knight of the camail period. The head is covered with a conical basinet (without a face-piece), to which the camail of chain mail is fastened. The lower edge of the hauberk is shown below the close-fitting, sleeveless jupon which covers the body. The arms, legs, and feet are covered with plate armour, and the laminated plates which superseded roundles are seen at the shoulders and elbows. The hands are protected by gauntlets, and the knight is armed with long, straight sword and misericorde. (Fig. 15): A mace, from a MS., c. 1350.
[LANCASTRIAN AND YORKIST PERIODS.]
MALE COSTUMES.
The effigies of King Henry IV. and his Queen at Canterbury are some of the most splendid of our royal effigies, uniting richness, grandeur, and simplicity. The King’s crown is particularly remarkable for its magnificence (Fig. 1.) Since there had been very great extravagance in costume during the reign of Richard II., when he came to the throne Henry revived the sumptuary laws of his predecessors regulating the quality of the clothing to be worn by the various classes of his subjects.
Four years after that, all slashing and cutting of garments into various devices was forbidden; but the people were very fond of display, and perfect disregard was shown by all classes of the community to any of these laws. A notable decoration that appeared in this reign was the collar of SS. Various accounts of its origin have been given, but the most probable one is that S is the initial letter of Henry’s motto, “Souveraine,” which he had borne while Earl of Derby.