The most notable of such decorations during the medieval period was the collar of SS which formed the distinctive cognisance of the House of Lancaster (figs. [178], [179]). It was worn by persons of every degree, from the King and Queen to the knight and his esquire, and it was likewise worn by their wives and even conferred on civilians.
Fig. 178. Collars of SS.
1. From the brass of Lady Camoys, 1419, at Trotton in Sussex.
2. From the brass of Sir William Calthorpe, 1420, at Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk.
The collar of SS was apparently invented by King Henry IV before his accession, and quite a number of important entries that throw light upon its history occur in his household accounts while he was only Henry of Lancaster earl of Derby.
Fig. 179. Collar of SS from the effigy of William lord Bardolf (ob. 1441) at Dennington in Suffolk.